Daphne Oram - Electronic Music Pioneer

To commemorate the centenary of electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram on 31 December 2025, Caro C explores Oram’s lasting influence in a conversation with Sarah Angliss and Ian Stonehouse. The episode continues with Shiva Feshareki and James Bulley discussing their Proms performance of Still Point, Oram’s innovative orchestral work from 1948 that integrated electronic sound and live manipulation.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction

Sarah Angliss & Ian Stonehouse

02:15 - Composer, Inventor and the Radiophonic Workshop

06:42 - Inspired by the sound-houses of Francis Bacon

11:34 - Working In Frequency, Not Pitch

13:01 - Tower Folly and the Oramics Machine

16:09 - Working With Post-War Equipment

22:12 - Insights and Inspiration from the Archives

26:56 - Top Musical Selections From the Archive

Shiva Feshareki & James Bulley

32:57 - A Proms Performance Of Still Point

37:55 - The Daphne Oram Archive and Goldsmiths

41:12 - Creating A Historically Accurate Performance

45:22 - Following The Written Instructions

53:27 - Creating An Updated Score

See also:
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/graham-wrench-story-daphne-orams-optical-synthesizer
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/story-bbc-radiophonic-workshop

Daphne Oram Biog
Daphne Oram (1925–2003) was a pioneering British composer and inventor, and one of the founders of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. A trailblazer in electronic music, she developed the Oramics system, a groundbreaking method of composing sound by drawing directly onto film, allowing pitch, timbre and dynamics to be controlled visually rather than through traditional notation. Her work fundamentally reshaped ideas about how music could be created, laying the foundations for electronic composition, sound synthesis and experimental music practices that continue to influence composers, producers and sound designers today.
Website: www.daphneoram.org

Sarah Angliss Biog
Sarah Angliss is an Ivor Novello Award-winning composer, performer, and instrument designer working across film, theatre, and live performance in Europe and North America. Her work includes the electroacoustic score for Romola Garai’s Amulet and the opera Giant, which combines baroque instruments with electronics and DIY music machines. Drawing on European folk, cybernetics, and electroacoustic engineering, her music explores inventive sound design. Sarah has received the Visionary Award from the Ivors Academy (2021) and a Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers (2018). She’s recently joined the Augmented Instruments Lab at Imperial College, London, for researching lost alternative design strategies dormant in forgotten electronic musical instruments.

Website: www.sarahangliss.com

Instagram: @sarah_angliss

Ian Stonehouse Biog
Ian Stonehouse is an archivist, researcher and performer working in the Electronic Music Studios and Special Collections at Goldsmiths, University of London, with the archives of composers Daphne Oram, Lily Greenham and Hugh Davies. He has lectured in Sonic Art for over 30 years and was Head of the Electronic Music Studios at Goldsmiths from 2004-2019. Most recently he's been a research consultant and instrument maker for projects including Lily Greenham: An Art of Living at Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe, Germany (2024), the Science Museum's Time Loops concert series with composer Gavin Bryars and the group Icebreaker (2024-25), Ensemble Contrechamps' Daphne Oram: An Individual Note concert at the Auditorium Ansermet in Geneva (2025), Nonclassical's Vari/ations: An Ode to Oram event at the Barbican in London (2025) and as part of an ensemble celebrating the legacy of experimental group Gentle Fire at Cafe Oto in London (2026).

Bandcamp: ianstonehouse.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @soonheisatune

Shiva Feshareki Biog
A doctoral composition graduate from the Royal College of Music, Shiva Feshareki is an Ivor Novello award-winning British-Iranian composer and turntablist, working at the intersection of contemporary-classical and electronic music. She has performed internationally in concert halls, galleries, and raves, including the BBC Proms, Southbank Centre, Barbican, Konzerthaus Berlin, Mutek Montreal, and Amsterdam Dance Event, collaborating with ensembles such as the BBC Singers, London Contemporary Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Website: studiofeshareki.com
Instagram: @shivafeshareki
X - @shivafeshareki

James Bulley Biog
James Bulley is an artist and musician working with sound across installation, performance, immersive audio, film, theatre, and public art. His work has been presented internationally in galleries, concert halls, and public spaces. Projects include the world-premiere performance of Daphne Oram’s Still Point at the BBC Proms, alongside collaborations with artists, filmmakers, and institutions including Marshmallow Laser Feast, the National Trust, Opera North, and the BBC.

Website: jamesbulley.com

Instagram: @jjbulley

Caro C Biog
Caro C is an artist, engineer and teacher specialising in electronic music. Her self-produced fourth album 'Electric Mountain' is out now. Described as a "one-woman electronic avalanche" (BBC), Caro started making music thanks to being laid up whilst living in a double decker bus and listening to the likes of Warp Records in the late 1990's. This 'sonic enchantress' (BBC Radio 3) has now played in most of the cultural hotspots of her current hometown of Manchester, UK. Caro is also the instigator and project manager of electronic music charity Delia Derbyshire Day.

Website: carocsound.com

X: @carocsound
Instagram: @carocsound

Facebook: www.facebook.com/carocsound

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