Ian Sommerville (technician)
Encyclopedia
Ian Sommerville was an electronics technician and computer programmer. He is primarily known through his association with William S. Burroughs
's circle of Beat Generation
figures, and lived at Paris
's so-called "Beat Hotel
" by 1960, when they were regulars there, becoming Burroughs's lover and "systems
adviser".
Sommerville was educated at the King's School, Canterbury, and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
. Around 1960, he programmed a random-sequence generator that Brion Gysin
used in his cut-up technique
. He and Gysin also collaborated in 1961 in developing the Dreamachine
, a phonograph
-driven stroboscope
described as "the first art object to be seen with the eyes closed", and intended to affect the viewer's brain alpha wave
activity.
Sommerville and Burroughs made the 5-minute tape "Silver Smoke of Dreams" in the early 1960s, and later provided the basis for the quarter-hour audio "cut-up" and "K-9 Was in Combat with the Alien Mind-Screens" around 1965. The following year Sommerville also installed two Revox
reel-to-reel machines for Paul McCartney
in Ringo Starr
's apartment at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone
, London
, and recorded Burroughs on the machine.
Sommerville along with Gysin and Burroughs collaborated on Let The Mice In, published in 1973. Burroughs' book My Education: A Book of Dreams
, indeed largely composed of accounts of his dreams, includes dreams of talking with Sommerville. He died in a single car accident due to inexperience near Bath, England in 1976 shortly after obtaining his first driving licence.
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
's circle of Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
figures, and lived at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
's so-called "Beat Hotel
Beat Hotel
The Beat Hotel was a small, run-down hotel of 42 rooms at 9 Rue Gît-le-Cœur in the Latin Quarter of Paris, notable chiefly as a residence for members of the Beat poetry movement of the mid-20th century -Overview:...
" by 1960, when they were regulars there, becoming Burroughs's lover and "systems
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
adviser".
Sommerville was educated at the King's School, Canterbury, and at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
. Around 1960, he programmed a random-sequence generator that Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin was a painter, writer, sound poet, and performance artist born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.He is best known for his discovery of the cut-up technique, used by his friend, the novelist William S. Burroughs...
used in his cut-up technique
Cut-up technique
The cut-up technique is an aleatory literary technique in which a text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text. Most commonly, cut-ups are used to offer a non-linear alternative to traditional reading and writing....
. He and Gysin also collaborated in 1961 in developing the Dreamachine
Dreamachine
The dreamachine is a stroboscopic flicker device that produces visual stimuli. Artist Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs's "systems adviser" Ian Sommerville created the dreamachine after reading William Grey Walter's book, The Living Brain.-History:In the dreamachine's original form, a...
, a phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
-driven stroboscope
Stroboscope
A stroboscope, also known as a strobe, is an instrument used to make a cyclically moving object appear to be slow-moving, or stationary. The principle is used for the study of rotating, reciprocating, oscillating or vibrating objects...
described as "the first art object to be seen with the eyes closed", and intended to affect the viewer's brain alpha wave
Alpha wave
Alpha waves are neural oscillations in the frequency range of 8–12 Hz arising from synchronous and coherent electrical activity of thalamic pacemaker cells in humans...
activity.
Sommerville and Burroughs made the 5-minute tape "Silver Smoke of Dreams" in the early 1960s, and later provided the basis for the quarter-hour audio "cut-up" and "K-9 Was in Combat with the Alien Mind-Screens" around 1965. The following year Sommerville also installed two Revox
Revox
ReVox is a brand name of Swiss audio equipment created by Studer on March 27, 1951.The ReVox brand name was spun off into Studer Revox AG in 1990. During Studer's acquisition by Harman International Industries, Revox was sold separately to a group of private investors...
reel-to-reel machines for Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
in Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
's apartment at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone
34 Montagu Square, Marylebone
34 Montagu Square is the address of a London ground floor and basement flat once leased by Ringo Starr during the mid-1960s. Its location is 1.3 miles from the Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles recorded...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and recorded Burroughs on the machine.
Sommerville along with Gysin and Burroughs collaborated on Let The Mice In, published in 1973. Burroughs' book My Education: A Book of Dreams
My Education: A Book of Dreams
My Education: A Book of Dreams is the final novel by William S. Burroughs to be published before his death in 1997. It is a collection of dreams, taken from various decades, along with a few comments about the War on Drugs and paragraphs created with the cut-up technique...
, indeed largely composed of accounts of his dreams, includes dreams of talking with Sommerville. He died in a single car accident due to inexperience near Bath, England in 1976 shortly after obtaining his first driving licence.