IBM 1401, a User's Manual

by J贸hann J贸hannsson

IBM 1401, a User's Manual cover art

This deeply moving neoclassical concept album incorporates reel-to-reel tape recordings made by the composer's father on an early IBM mainframe computer. The pristine, melancholic string orchestration swells beautifully around the synthesized, robotic melodies of the antique machine. It is a profound, elegiac meditation on obsolescence and the humanization of early technology.

Genres

  • Modern Classical

Tracklist

  1. Part 1/ IBM 1401 Processing Unit
  2. Part 2/ IBM 1403 Printer
  3. Part 3/ IBM 1402 Card Read-Punch
  4. Part 4/ IBM 729 II Magnetic Tape Unit
  5. Part 5/ The Sun's Gone Dim And The Sky's Turned Black