Andriessen's early works show experimentation with various contemporary trends: post war serialism ("Series", 1958), pastiche ("Anachronie I", 1966–67), and tape ("Il Duce", 1973). His reaction to what he perceived as the conservatism of much of the Dutch contemporary music scene quickly moved him to form a radically alternative musical aesthetic of his own. Since the early 1970s he has refused to write for conventional symphony orchestras and has instead opted to write for his own idiosyncratic instrumental combinations, which often retain some traditional orchestral instruments alongside electric guitars, electric basses, and congas.