Bruce Haack

Bruce Clinton Haack (1931–1988) was a musician and composer, and a pioneer within the realm of electronic music. He was born in Alberta, Canada.

Biography

Haack had a notoriously disturbed childhood, growing up isolated in a dysfunctional rural Alberta home. He allegedly took Mescaline with Native Americans at the age of 8. He received a degree in psychology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Later, he attended the Juilliard School of Music in New York on a scholarship, where he made many friendships that would prove important to his career. However, he ultimately dropped out after 8 months.

Haack worked extensively on children's music, releasing more music and seeing more success in this field of music than in any other. For these children records he worked together with Esther Nelson, a dance teacher. His most important records (for adults) were "Electric Lucifer" 1 & 2; the first of which was made largely on modified synthesizers. This attachment is explained in the film Haack: The King of Techno.

In 1988, Haack died of heart failure. Most of the Haack/Nelson albums remain unreleased in the United States, though they are available through Japanese imports and via peer-to-peer file-sharing programs.

Despite not having any formal knowledge in electronics, Haack built his own musical instruments, like "The Magic Wand," "The Dermatron" (a synthesizer that was played by leading an electrical current through physical contact with another person) and the "People-odion." He also composed music under the artist names of "Jackpine Savage" and "Jacques Trapp."

Tribute album

In 2005, a tribute album was released titled Dimension Mix, featuring covers of Haack songs by Stereolab, Beck, Oranger and others.

Documentary

Haack: The King of Techno, is a documentary film about Haack by Philip Anagnos. It was released in 2004 at the Slamdance Film Festival and is distribued by Koch Vision. It features interviews with some of Haack's associates and collaborators such as Esther Nelson and Ted Pandel as well as contemporary artists including The Eels, Mouse On Mars, Money Mark and Peanut Butter Wolf. Additionally, the film includes archival footage of Haack's appearances on various talk shows and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	UK	US	Additional information
1963	Dance Sing and Listen	-	-
1964	Dance Sing and Listen Again	-	-
1965	Dance Sing and Listen Again and Again	-	-
1968	The Way Out Record for Children	-	-
1969	Electronic Record for Children	-	-
1970	Electric Lucifer	-	-
1971	Together	-	-	as Jackpine Savage
1972	Dance to the Music	-	-
1973	Captain Entropy	-	-
1974	This Old Man	-	-
1975	Funky Doodle	-	-
1976	Ebenezer Electric	-	-
1978	Haackula	-	-	Unreleased because of content
1979	Electric Lucifer Book II	-	-	Released in 2001
1981	Bite	-	-	Reversioning of Haackula

Singles

• Les Etapes (1955)
• Lullaby for a Cat (1956)
• Party Machine (1983)

Compilations

• Hush Little Robot - QDK Media (1998)
• Listen Compute Rock Home - Emperor Norton Records (1999)
• Dimension Mix: A Tribute to Dimension 5 Records - Eenie Meenie Records (2005)

Film and television

• I've Got a Secret (1958)
• The Mike Douglas Show (1965)
• The Tonight Show - Johnny Carson (1965)
• Mister Rogers Neighborhood (1968)

See also

• Leon Theremin
• Raymond Scott
• Robert Moog
• Jim Copp

External links

• Bruce Haack Web