T.S. Eliot initially discouraged this collaboration with Oxford undergraduates of the 1930s until he became intrigued by the group's theories regarding the effect of repeated listening to simple repetitive sounds upon the passive subconscious. In 1993, a reel-to-reel tape of the recording was found during an inventory of the effects of a custodian retired from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., who reportedly received them from Ezra Pound as thanks for smuggled chocolate bars. Though remastered for the present release, every effort has been made to remain faithful to the Pound tapes. No new sounds have been added.