Image provided by the Daphne Oram Trust and Goldsmiths University of London Special Collections & Archives
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 BBC Proms performance of Still Point, Oram’s innovative orchestral work from 1948 that integrates electronic sound and live manipulation.
Show Notes
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:
www.soundonsound.com/people/graham-wrench-story-daphne-orams-optical-synthesizer
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.
Photo Information: A publicity photograph of Daphne Oram at her Tower Folly Studio, Nov 1972. © Daphne Oram Trust
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 a lecturer and archivist in Experimental Sound at Goldsmiths, University of London, having previously been Head of the Electronic Music Studios (1999-2019). He has perfomed with the Merz Nite Ensemble, Sebastian Lexer, Tania Chen, the Open Sound Systems Ensemble, Rutger Hauser, Ingrid Plum, prof_lofi (aka Bill Thompson), and Lucia H. Chung (aka en creux).
Bandcamp: https://ianstonehouse.bandcamp.com
Shiva Feshareki Biog
Shiva Feshareki - Still Point performancePhoto: Felix Löchner
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: www.studiofeshareki.com
X - @shivafeshareki
Instagram: @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: www.jamesbulley.com
Interviewer: Caro C - Biog
Described as a 'one-woman electronic avalanche' (BBC) and a 'sonic enchantress' (BBC Radio 3), Caro has been making her own brand of sensual electronica since the late '90s, reared on a diet of black music, Warp Records and Björk.
Caro currently finds herself in ample musical mischief in the Manchester creative mycelium and beyond — making music, teaching, producing podcasts as well as being the instigator and project manager of electronic music charity Delia Derbyshire Day.
http://carocsound.com/
Twitter: @carocsound
Instagram: @carocsound
Facebook: www.facebook.com/carocsound/
Delia Derbyshire Day Charity: https://deliaderbyshireday.com
About the Electronic Music podcast channel
On this SOS channel we feature some of the pioneers of the industry, interview musicians, and talk about retro and current gear.
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts.
