Tod Dockstader

Tod Dockstader (March 20, 1932 – February 27, 2015) was an American electronic music composer and sound designer. He is regarded as one of the first American musique concrète composers.

Biography Dockstader was born on March 20, 1932, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

In the early 1990s, Starkland re-released most of the content of Dockstader’s out-of-print Owl recordings, alongside previously unreleased material, on two CDs. These releases brought him new, significant acclaim. The Washington Post called Dockstader "a highly imaginative pioneer," and The Wire concluded: "The obsessive care with which Starkland have compiled these extraordinary recordings should ensure that Dockstader will be remembered as the innovative, visionary figure he undoubtedly was." Reinvigorated, Dockstader returned to music at the start of the 21st century, adopting computer composition. New CDs appeared from Sub Rosa and ReR Megacorp.

Work on a documentary about his life, Unlocking Dockstader, was begun in 2011; however,a lack of funding stalled the project.

Dockstader died in Arlington, Massachusetts, on February 27, 2015, at the age of 82.

In 2016, Starkland released From the Archives, a CD that premiered 15 works selected from the unexpected discovery of 4,200 sound files found on Dockstader's private computer after his death. Created from 2000-2008, these were among the last pieces composed by Dockstader, before dementia made his studio work too difficult.

Influence Alvin Lee of Ten Years After took influence from Dockstader when recording the band's 1969 album Stonedhenge; he said he was in a "musique concrete phase." Classic Rocks Hugh Fielder deemed Dockstader an "avant garde industrial composer".

Discography 1961 Eight Electronic Pieces (re-released by Folkways Records in 1968 and Locust Music in 2003) 1966 Luna Park, Traveling Music, Apocalypse (Owl Records) 1966 Drone, Two Fragments from Apocalypse, Water Music (Owl Records) 1966 Quatermass (Owl Records) 1966 Omniphony 1 (with James Reichart) (Owl Records) 1979 Electronic Vol. 1 (Boosey & Hawkes Library) 1981 Electronic Vol. 2 (Boosey & Hawkes Library) 1992 Water Music, Two Moons, Quatermass (Starkland) 1993 Apocalypse (Starkland) 2004 Pond (with David Lee Myers (Arcane Device)) (ReR Megacorp) 2005 Bijou (with David Lee Myers) (ReR Megacorp) 2005 Aerial #1 (Sub Rosa) 2005 Aerial #2 (Sub Rosa) 2005 Aerial #3 (Sub Rosa) 2016 From The Archives (Starkland)