MUSIQUE CONCRETE – A genre that features a wide array of sounds recorded to tape and then arranged in a specific order to create spatially composed sound. Original Vortex Concerts
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, MAY 29, 1957 "Space became a creative dimension of sound last night at the Morrison Planetarium, when a group of composers and technicians, headed by Henry Jacobs, demonstrated a new resource called VORTEX

"As described in the program, Vortex involves the use of 36 loudspeakers grouped in stations of thee speakers each evenly spaced around the perimeter of the planetariums dome with two additional Bass speakers diametrically opposed to each other. The name VORTEX is derived from the ability to move the sounds around the dome in either clockwise or counter clockwise rotation at any speed

"....It is ideally suited to the new world of sweeping jarring, scattering, booming, reverberating sounds introduced by the TAPE RECORDER and several of the tape recorder compositions performed last night were magnificent in their affect. Especially magnificent was the sense of space-limitless, incomprehensible vast, and awe-inspiring - witch this music evoked...." SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, MAY 29, 1957

This Factory Release original tape was only sold at the San Francisco Morrison Planetarium in the late 50's... The tape is a 2-track stereo tape for inline or "Stacked Heads" And played on a Technics 1506 reel to reel tape player

ABOUT the VORTEX Concerts:

During the late 50s, Jordan Belson collaborated with Henry Jacobs to produce a series of performances titled ‘Vortex Concerts’ at the San Francisco Morrison Planetarium. These widely popular shows, consisting of experimental electronic music and abstract visuals, became an early counter-cultural magnet for the Bay Area.

'Especially magnificent was the sense of space limitless, incomprehensibly vast, and awe-inspiring in its implications,' wrote Alfred Frankenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle.

"'Amazing!' said a member of the capacity audience. 'It's hypnotic,' said another.

A Euphoric Correlation of Image and Sound VORTEX was a swirling totality of sensory experience. Featuring new electronic music from avant-garde composers worldwide curated by composer/DJ Henry Jacobs

Artists include Henry Jacobs, Gordon Longfellow, David L. Talcott, and William Loughborough.