Magic Box

Delia's papers contain eleven pages of notes for something she calls Magic Box, which consists of new music and reworked versions of Aztec, Arctic, S.F., French Eyes on the Future, The Dreams, The Evenings of Certain Lives, Cubism, Planetarium and the Green Lampshade.

The closest hit in the Radio Times is:

Sunday 5 February 1967 16.30
IN TOUCH
A magazine of special interest to blind listeners
[...]
Magic Box: television heard but not seen.
Archibald Felber describes his special set for television sound only.
Introduced by David Scott Blackhall
Produced by Thena Heshel 

Papers

The 11 pages may correspond to 11 tape reels or, more likely, to 11 cues requiring sound.

• 

  DD111931: "[1] MAGIC BOX [O] = Angels"

• 

  DD112002: "[2] Evenings' type"

• 

  DD112024: "[3]"

• 

  DD112042: "[4] Peaceful. modern"

• 

  DD111029: "[5] Low git."

• 

  DD111048: "[6] Arctic"

• 

  DD111114: "[7] Arctic"

• 

  DD111129: "[8]"

• 

  DD111203: "[9] Aztec"

• 

  DD111235: "[10] Aztec"

• 

  DD111256: "[11] Aztec & French Eyes"

Transcripts

DD111931

[1] MAGIC BOX [O] = Angels
1. Long atmos. track: "Lost, modern, structural": Ring mod. mid. freq. chords + P.A.St.f/b, Bosh[?] perc. phrases
2. Ring mod. chords w. P.A.St. f/b &arrowup; & &arrowdown;
   Component for "drifting in a lost galaxy"
3. Ditto + delay & f/b.
   "Weightlessly walking thro' threatening space factory"
4. M/Cs. - Off beat rhythmic ticks/bleeps
5. "ditto double speed"
6. "ditto low pitch"
7. " " " " slower - accels.
8. gentle high bleep sh. - accels.
9. Thicker version of bd. 2 - use at slightly slower speed.
10. Like bd. 2

• f/b: feedback
• M/Cs: ???

DD112002

[2] "Evenings' type"
    Reflective, nostalgic, domestic, old fashioned
1. Elec. strings & piano - could be slowed
2. Cubist type (P A St. + delay) treated guit - " " " Short
   time passing, happy OR mechanical hens feeding (Russian toys)
   OR satis. after sch.
3. " " " " - goes low "
4. " " " " - high "

DD112024

[3]
1 - _Planetarium_ type - or _forests & wolves_
2 - Boshes thick mix as in [|] (O) [French eyes]
    Component for architecture
3 - " thin mix
4 - v. thin basic
5 - * Patterned ditto
6 - Elec. knockings: Industrial archeology?
7 - S.F. "Green lampshade" Ring mod. phrase rep^d^.
8 - Sust^d^. " " high
9 - " " " low
10 - Ring mod. - Green chord
Red yellow
                    11 or 13 time.
11 - Low git. - one note rep^d^. [at 7½, pood[?] dark b/g sh.]
12 - High z. - sh. 11 &/or 13 time
13 - mid. ring mod. sust^d^. -green
14* - Rh. mix 11 time - bass & clap
15 - Green phrase
16 - Low perc. off beat sh. temple blocks

• b/g: background
• rep^d^: rep^d = repeated
• sust^d^.: sust^d = "sustained"

DD112042

[4] Peaceful. modern
1 - v. beaut. green ring mod. mixes "Giacomatti"
   "walk thro' modern sculpture gallery or gardens"
blue
2 - ditto thinner: "glimpses into " " " " thro' glass"
3 - " "
4 - low perc. [valves?] - gentle
5 -  "   "  + low git. - strange mix not good
                        weird - evil.

DD111029

[5] _Low git._
                                          "Footsteps of mountain giant"
 1. Low git. phased - 2 tones alternating  "Teutonic"
 2.  "   "     "      "      "   uneven sh. at first
[3. (pink tape)  rising sust^d^.
[4.   "    "
 5. Low git. b/w. phased                  "insidious, industrial"
                                         "coming round from gas"
 6.  "   "    "      "

• b/w.: Maybe "bandwidth filtered"?

DD111048

[6] _Arctic_   [ snow wind
               [ low git.
               [ organ

DD111114

[7] _Arctic_   [ Organ m/u
               [ High Organ
               [ Liver-type - Dreams + Fr.Eyes tog. + Dr. alone

• m/u: makeup
• Line 3 is probably "The Dreams and French Eyes together, then The Dreams alone"

DD111129

[8]            [ Aztec
               [ Gongy[?] for Gods[?]
               [ conches
               [ low perc.

DD111203

[9] ["Aztec"] [ large animals  low speed ]
              [ insects - - high         ]
              [ Tribal, archetypal       ]
   1. "Rising doom"   v.low voice chords gliss.
                      v. slow h/b.
   2. low voice chords gliss down    "Near extinction?"       "sounds like
      + h/b, v.slow "doom drum"                                aeroplanes"
Blue                                                      "protection-womb-cave"
   3. "Doom drum"
Blue
   4. "Snake hiss" (preceded by & followed by low git)
Red blue
   5. Low minor mew[?], semitone gliss
Red
   6.  "    "    "
Red
   7. Single sustained slowed v.low voice note

   8. Voice chords mix - "disturbed" low sustained glisses

   9. See bd.7

   10. "    "  up a tone

• h/b: Heartbeat ?
• bd.: Band
• References to colours in the left margin are probably tape splice marks where she uses coloured tape to splice the pieces together and is using these as visual reference points.

DD111235

[10] Aztec

DD111256

[11] Aztec
     & French Eyes
                                                 bad quality -
1. Magic tune  "New Worlds" beaut., reflective - needs accompanying tracks

2. Water, wind, descending
n.l.
3.   "      "      "   longer, better mix
                      with -- later (+ hum) - used fr. red mark
4. Boshes mix [Fr.Eyes] - v. thick + descending delay
n.l.[?]
5.    "    "                  "       "   _v. beaut._