From the earliest experiments with the manipulation of 78-rpm disks during the 1920s, the technology of recording has played a major role in the evolution of electroacoustic music. This has extended not only to the recording and reproduction of materials but also to key components of the compositional process itself. Although such influences have become less prominent with the advent of digital technology, their impact during the formative years of electroacoustic music was significant and far-reaching. This article examines some key aspects of the pioneering era of creative development through the early 1950s, with particular reference to the Bauhaus sound artists, Pierre Schaeffer and musique concrÈte , and the Cologne studio for elektronische Musik