Musique Concrète is a genre that goes for found sounds and creates soundscapes through manipulation. Add a splash of reverb, reverse the sound, slow it down, add a delay or a chorus, then reverse again.

The BBC radiophonic went for this approach, using things such as lamps, bells, and vocals and render all of these into strange atmospheres that confused some, but gave their era as composers a definite sound. Heck, the infamous TARDIS sound is simply Brian Hodgson scrapping keys on a piano string, reverberated for our pleasure.

I got hooked on the genre thanks to Dr. Who, and especially during the 60s era, where the strange music paired with the eerie black and white cinematography gave us splendid horror moments. Also gave us cheesy insects doing interpretative dance, but you gotta have some duffers when creating, right?

When I started rewatching old Dr. Who in 2006, I started buying DVDs from the UK. They took up to 6 months to arrive to Mexico (air mail my ass) but the wait was usually worth it (except The Web Planet…which was sent by mistake).

Lost in time, the cheekily named collection of odds and sods from Hartnell and Troughton’s eras was a mixed bag. You had great episodes that tantalize you for what is lost, and other ones make you kinda relieved there’s nothing remaining (a sin in Dr. Who fandom to say that, but sod it.)

Of all the stories, there were two that I rewatched the most: The Faceless Ones and The Wheel in Space. The latter has a much better soundtrack and it’s Brian Hodgson going full atmosphere. The droning sounds for the cybermen, the spacey atmospheres with eerie silence for the space scenes. It’s a delight to listen to and I’ve used it sometimes as an “on repeat endlessly” bit for the background when I really want to focus on writing.

Rocket in space is my fave, but I understand that the droning can be tiresome for a lot of folks out there. Instead, I’ll go for what I feel is the definite “Cybermen theme”, when the doctor’s foes were mummy/zombie facsimiles that sneak upon and strangle you if you’re lucky, make you one of them in the worse case scenario.

PS: I know I’m using the incorrect artwork. I think it’s neat. Sorry.

-Sam J. Valdés López