Suzanne Ciani

One of the better things to happen over the last twenty years has been the more thorough recognition of the role that women played in the development of electronic music. And even as I say that, I realise that I'm not making it clear that I believe that their role was more significant than that of their male peers.

If you've heard of one female electronic artist, then it's probably Delia Derbyshire but, believe me, there are plenty more. And one of those - and a bit of a fave of mine -  is Suzanne Ciani.

Here she is in what I think would have been her first television appearance, when she was interviewed on 'Letterman'. By the time that was aired, in August 1980, she was already a successful working musician, particularly in the area of advertising. Her most famous piece from the time is the sound of a coke bottle being opened and poured.

Tonight, she was playing at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, and I drove over there from Salford after work. As an aside, though I've almost certainly mentioned this before, the Brudenell is one of my favourite venues, not least because of the pies served in the social club.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect, but Suzanne Ciani bounded on stage just before nine-thirty, laughing and shaking her head like she hadn't believed that anyone was going to turn up. And then, once she'd said hi, she turned and set to work with her Buchla 200e synthesiser (and a few other bits and pieces).

I'm not going to even begin to try to explain it, but if you're interested, you could always watch her demonstration here. Certainly, I wasn't the only person who was rapt; literally NO ONE spoke during the gig. It was absolute bliss.

And after playing for, I guess, about forty-five minutes, she chatted to the audience a little longer, and then made to leave. Except everyone started shouting "MORE" and "ENCORE", which seemed to genuinely surprise her, but she readily obliged, and we enjoyed another happy ten minutes.