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Bruce Haack

National Flag

The king of techno, as a famous documentary about the man proclaimed him to be, started off making children's music with the aid of partner Ester Nelson, a dance and music teacher in NYC back in the late sixties. Recorded in the most DIY fashion, using the cheapest microphones they could afford, recording at specific times of the day in order to avoid having the neighborhood noises infiltrate the recordings (garbage trucks, traffic, etc.), these albums went on to become classics and collectors items. I even believe they won prizes within school circles and the courses Ms. Nelson was giving became extremely popular with the local kids (it's through the suggestion of a parent that the duo actually decided to put their efforts on wax). Not only are these recordings educational, letting kids work out their motor skills, dance to funky tunes and sing along with Bruce and Ester; they were also completely psychedelic and ahead of their time.

Haack comes up with some of the strangest noises this side of Perrey and Kingsley. There are some similarities, both sound completely far-out, but I would have to say Haack is slightly more out there. And considering the electro-psych recordings he would do solo in his later career, there was something almost disturbingly weird about him and his work. The man was obviously a genius and like many genius minds, they are not all that stable and this side of him seems to have found it's way onto record. There is something definitely mysterious about the man and his work and a lot of it is researched in the aforementioned documentary

In fact, if it wouldn't have been for the film (which I had the chance to see on government TV here in Sweden), I would probably never have found out about this fellow country man who is still criminally unknown today. I urge anyone into strange and bizarre music to see the film and try and find a few of his recordings. A japanese label has recently released almost all of Haack's early children's albums on Dimension 5 and they are well worth seeking out.

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Album Cover The Way-Out Record For Children
Label: King Records/Dimension 5
Release: 1968
Format: CD
Cat. no: KICP 2632

Song list:

  1. Introduction (0:34)
  2. Motorcycle Ride (3:11)
  3. Medieval Dancing (3:04)
  4. School For Robots (3:00)
  5. Mudra (6:12)
  6. Accents (2:41)
  7. Rubberbands (2:16)
  8. The Saucer's Apprentice (6:24)
  9. Encore (2:18)
  10. Four Seasons (5:21)
  11. Tools (3:51)
  12. Nothing To Do (1:13)


Album Cover The Electronic Record For Children
Label: King Records/Dimension 5
Release: 1969
Format: CD
Cat. no: KICP 2633

Song list:

  1. Sing (3:14)
  2. Mara's Moon (1:48)
  3. Dance (1:58)
  4. Listen (2:40)
  5. Poppies (3:25)
  6. Saint Basil (2:13)
  7. Upside Down (1:36)
  8. First Lady (2:39)
  9. Echo (4:41)
  10. African Lullaby (3:41)
  11. Spiders (3:36)
  12. Clapping With Katy (2:32)
  13. Goodbye (3:40)


Album Cover The Electric Lucifer
Label: The Omni Recording Corporation
Release: 1970
Format: CD
Cat. no: OMNI-110

Song list:

  1. Electric To Me Turn (1:50)
  2. The Word (Narration) (0:32)
  3. Cherubic Hymn (2:19)
  4. Program Me (4:39)
  5. War (3:45)
  6. National Anthem To The Moon (2:40)
  7. Chant Of The Unicorn (1:24)
  8. Incantation (3:17)
  9. Angel Child (1:04)
  10. Word Game (3:50)
  11. Song Of The Death Machine (3:03)
  12. Super Nova (5:23)
  13. Requiem (3:22)
  14. Untitled (5:01)
  15. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (6:37)
  16. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (0:32)
  17. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (2:17)
  18. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (5:58)
  19. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (2:37)
  20. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (5:59)
  21. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (5:22)
  22. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (3:21)
  23. Bruce Haack Interviewed On Canadian Radio CKUA (0:48)
  24. Electric To Me Turn (Alternate Version) (1:48)


Album Cover Dance To The Music
Label: King Records/Dimension 5
Release: 1972
Format: CD
Cat. no: KICP 2639

Song list:

  1. Hand Jive (5:22)
  2. Eio (New Macdonalds) (3:56)
  3. Friendship (6:43)
  4. When The Music's Over (5:31)
  5. Surprise (1:15)
  6. Bored Of Education (4:02)
  7. Soul Transportation (5:26)
  8. Squarefinger (3:14)
  9. Liza Jane (3:18)
  10. Praxiteles (3:52)


Album Cover Captain Entropy
Label: King Records/Dimension 5
Release: 1972
Format: CD
Cat. no: KICP 2639

Song list:

  1. Captain Entropy (9:34)
  2. Army Ants In Your Pants (4:50)
  3. Music (2:52)
  4. Mallangong (2:14)
  5. The Universal Unicycle show (Pedal It) (2:08)
  6. Walking Eagle (6:03)
  7. The American Eagle (3:06)
  8. Metric Conversion (2:53)
  9. Catfish (3:19)


Album Cover Bite
Label: King Records/Dimension 5
Release: 1981
Format: CD
Cat. no: KICP 2643

Song list:

  1. Crazy Dream (5:09)
  2. Lie Back (3:28)
  3. Child Psychologist (4:20)
  4. Bored Of Education (4:08)
  5. Noonday Sun (1:55)
  6. Program Me (4:06)
  7. Snow Job (5:05)
  8. Fantastic Skullastic (2:10)
  9. Invocation And Dance Of Death (2:33)
  10. Hookin For The Honey (3:58)