In celebration of the World Cup, Jukebox Heart kicks off another new category, Picture Disc, with this field recording by German artist Ror Wolf, “Der Ball Ist Rund”. Wolf’s career spans nearly five decades, and he has worked as a writer, visual artist, and sound artist. The tracks on this record were recorded from the Hessischer Rundfunk radio program originally broadcasted on 30th January 1979 and 18th May 1978. “Der Ball Ist Rund”, or, “The Ball is Round” was a music show on radio of the Hessischer Rundfunk, which aired from 1984 until the end of 2008 launched and moderated by Klaus Walter. Away from the musical mainstream, Walter dealt primarily with artists who may not have showed chart success, but who very definitely set new trends. The title of the program is derived from the terse “football wisdom,” “The ball is round and a game lasts 90 minutes” a phrase attributed to the former German national coach Sepp Herberger.
14:42 | 13.95MB
“Der Ball Ist Rund” was released in 1987 on the highly regarded Edition RZ imprint, a German independent label founded in the mid 1980s by Robert Zank and dedicated to contemporary and electroacoustic composers. Edition RZ has published works by such uminaries as Iancu Dumitrescu, Luigi Nono, Earle Brown John Cage, Morton Feldman — the list is endless. Edition RZ is still in operation. edition-rz.de.
Ror Wolf
And so, now Jukebox Heart will be periodically bringing music to you sourced from these picture discs. These vinyl records are created with a unique process different from traditional vinyl records in that a large image is embedded in clear vinyl, beneath the playing surface. I’m not sure why, but these always tend to sound inferior to traditional pressings, but their uniquely striking presentation often overrides that dirty little secret…