Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 3,01 Dec 2025,14 mins

SeriesElectronic Women

Daphne Oram

The Essay

Available for over a year

Composer Hannah Peel delves into the sounds and stories of five female electronic pioneers, exploring some of her personal musical heroes: women who paved the way for the sort of music she makes today. In the first programme Hannah explores the work of the inventor, composer and co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Daphne Oram, who was born 100 years ago this December. From her early days as a studio engineer during the Second World War, to inventing a new way to make music using drawn shapes via her Oramics machine - Hannah explores how Daphne Oram changed the world of electronic music. And she is joined every night this week by producer and composer Marta Salogni to explore some of the techniques Oram used in her music making and electronic explorations. Music by Daphne Oram, courtesy of the Daphne Oram Trust Archive: The World this Weekend, Tomorrow's World

Programme Website
More episodes