Buried In Several Earths and the reincarnation of the Radiophonic Workshop

Connecting the dots between Delia Derbyshire and Aphex Twin.

From tales of twanging rulers and tape experiments in the Dr. Who laboratory, the artists formerly known as BBC Radiophonic Workshop re-entered the fray in recent years to perform their most iconic incidentals and theme tunes once more.

And while the show, led by lab-coated veteran engineer Dick Mills, was a massive hit, it seemed at odds with the relentless future-facing experimentation that made the original Workshop among the most pioneering in electronic music.

Hell bent on making new music, the Workshop dropped the BBC association to record new album Buried In Several Earths, merging analogue techniques they’d pioneered first time round with new digital technologies – perhaps the only living thread between the world’s of Delia Derbyshire and Aphex Twin.

And as you’d expect the 10″ box set release is steeped in meaning. Pressed on their newly minted Room 13 label – a nod to the Maida Vale studio where they initially operated – the title and track names reference Francis Bacon’s unfinished 1627 opus New Atlantis, once weaved into a sonic manufesto by the Workshop’s original godhead Daphne Oram.

With artwork and design for the 4×10″ box coming from David Chatton Barker, founder of the acclaimed Folklore Tapes label – whose own editions explore the myths of rural England with hand-made prints and beautifully designed sleeves – we had to have a closer look.

Check out the photos below and order your copy of the box set here.