"Atlantis Anew": Daphne Oram and the Utopian Potential of Electronic Sound

Daphne Oram’s (1925–2003) work in electronic music was not only technologically pioneering but also deeply utopian in scope. This paper brings together the multifaceted, and under-explored utopian dimensions of Oram’s practice. As an early experimenter with electronic sound, and co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Oram consistently drew on Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis, particularly his concept of “soundhouses”, as a guiding metaphor for imagining technological and social progress through sound. Her ambitious 1960 manifesto, “Atlantis Anew”, reinterprets Bacon’s utopian vision to propose an expanded role for sound in society: from rehabilitating criminals and healing the sick to facilitating communication with the non-human world.

Further, Oram’s proposal for collective organisation within the music industry reveals a practical feminist strand to her utopianism. She advocated for women composers to form “packs” that would oversee all aspects of music production, from composition and recording to criticism and distribution, creating an artistic and professional ecosystem independent of patriarchal influence, a vision that parallels the ideals found in feminist literary utopias and in real-world experiments such as the Womyn’s Land movement.

Despite these significant utopian elements in her work, scholarship on Oram has largely neglected this dimension. Addressing this gap, the paper argues for a deeper recognition of Oram’s utopian aspirations, situating her within the broader field of utopian studies. By examining Oram’s personal archive, including her writings, correspondence, and technical notes, this paper untangles the multifaceted nature of her utopian thinking, situating her philosophy within broader currents of mid-20th-century utopian thought. In reconsidering Oram through this lens, the paper contributes to our understanding of the utopian impulse underpinning the the early development of electronic music, and offers creative and practical strategies for engaging with this legacy for the contemporary sound practitioner.