MetaFilter posts tagged with Synth

Everyone wants to pet Riker

urbanwhaleshark — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:39:01 -0800

Original ST:TNG makeup and wardrobe footage from 1987

Your hair is falling out and your teeth have gone, your legs are still together but it won't be long

Mezentian — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:31:33 -0800

Fad Gadget was the brainchild of Leeds-born electronic music pioneer Frank Tovey He died on April 3, 2002, just as his career was entering a new phase with his first arena tour in support of Depeche Mode's Exciter tour. He left a legacy of 10 albums, most of which are now out of print, and his name is largely forgotten, although his legacy (ever so slightly NSFW) lives on. Tovey was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist working at near the start of industrial music, before moving into more experimental and folk directions, including an album of protest songs as heard on Tyranny For The Hired Hand. His music was originally created by a mix of DIY synths, tape recorders, and found objects such as drills, bottles, pipes and electric razors. He was the first artist to sign to Mute with the track Back To Nature, which was produced by Daniel Miller (The Normal). Depeche Mode said they had “made it” when they were supporting Fad Gadget. Perhaps his best known song is Collapsing New People, recorded in Berlin during the sessions for what would be the fourth and final Fad Gadget album: Gag. The B-side (Berlin Mix) was a remix of the song featuring percussion by kindred souls in the "found object" school of hitting-things-make-music Einstürzende Neubauten. After Gag he recorded an album with Boyd Rice Easy Listening for the Hard of Hearing. (Live). There as a transitional album (Snakes And Ladders), and then set out to explore new sounds in a folk direction. After his death of a heart attack in 2003 a documentary was released as part of a best of boxed set Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey, telling his life story as was a posthumous re-mix of Collapsing New People (WestBam Remix) (b/w Lady Shave - John Acquaviva Remix. There is still an official site and a fan site, and his legacy pops up sporadically, as in this art exhibitions. The following is a mix of live, TV and recorded Fad Gadget songs based around the singles: Back to Nature Ricky's Hand or Ricky's Hand - Live State Of The Nation (demo tracks) 1979 Fireside Favourite Make Room Saturday Night Special Hotel Suburbia (1983) Part I Part II Lemmings On Lovers Rock (live at Hacienda, 1984) King of the Flies Life on the Line For whom the Bells toll Under The Flag I Discover Love Love Parasite Collapsing new People One Man's Meat Luxury Luddite Joe And then we go folky... Bridge St. Shuffle Sam Hall The Liberty Tree All That Is Mine Worried Man (Live 2002) Chasing The Blues Away (Live 2002) A 1980s interview on the telly. And: .

Great Googley Moogley

naju — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:29:50 -0800

Celebrating the memory of beloved synth pioneer Bob Moog and commemorating his birthday, Google's home page (currently in Australia, live in the US tomorrow) is a fully working, multi-trackable Moog synthesizer. Share your masterpiece!

Blue Veils and Golden Sands

running order squabble fest — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:39:05 -0800

Delia Derbyshire, most famous for the original Doctor Who theme tune, would have been 75 years old last Saturday. In celebration of her pioneering work on electronic music, and her role at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, British remix artist Soundhog created an hour-long mix of Derbyshire's words and music, combined with more work from the Radiophonic Workshop and other electronic music pioneers of the time. (mp3 download) Further Deliana: Obituary. "Falling", from 1964's sound poem "The Dreams". Ziziw Ziziw OO-OO-OO, and her explanation ("The robots sang this song of praise to this... bloke. The prophet, I assume..."). Die Antwoord samples "Ziziw Ziziw OO-OO-OO" on "Hey Sexy" (NSFW lyrics) More Derbyshire recordings. Delia Derbyshire - Sculptress of Sound (BBC Radio 4): Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 The Alchemists of Sound (2003 BBC TV documentary on the Radiophonic Workshop): Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

"Very few drums or vocals"

Doleful Creature — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:03:00 -0800

musicForProgramming(); a series of mixes intended for listening to while programming to aid concentration and increase productivity (also compatible with other activities). From the site: Music possessing these qualities [listed in the tags] can often provide just the right amount of interest to occupy the parts of your brain that would otherwise be left free to wander and lead to distraction during your work. More detail from the Aesthetic page. So far there are seven episodes. Each episode is a single .mp3 track compiled by a electronic/ambient musician (links to each musicians' website on the respective episode page): 01: Datassette* 02: Sunjammer 03: Datassette 04: Com Truise (previously on the blue) 05: Abe Mangger 06: Gods Of The New Age 07: Tahlhoff Garten + Untitled *Datassette (aka John Davies of videogame musicmakers PixelJam, games featuring their music here, posted many times on the blue but most recently here) is the primary force behind the site. His website also has a mix section. The aesthetic doesn't have the same productivity intent but the mixes are quite interesting nonetheless (especially the "business funk" mixes, here's the first one).

'Legends of the Cassette Underground'

wcfields — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:16:04 -0800

When not terrorizing Mr Bond, from the late 1970s until 1994, Mike Mangino and Chris Shepard were in a basement full of musical toys, novelty space microphones, a TR-606, and a SH-09 in Piscataway, NJ recording cassettes as the band Smersh. In 1981 Smersh released their first cassette under their own label of Atlas King. They never rehearsed, they couldn't read music, and they never played live, and they contributed to far too many compilations throughout the known world. In the early eighties they established a unique sound that is known and loved, combining cheap electronics and wild guitar sounds with distorted vocals. By trading cassettes they garnered international acclaim leading to releases on dozens of other labels. Some write-ups about their career include:

A sampler of songs from the Free Music Archive.
A write up by Seattle radio's KEXP of "The Part of the Animal That People Don’t Like" LP.
An interview of the band in their basement recording studio 1988 video interview shot by Frank Edward Nora (host of the Overnightscape).
WFMU has a blog write up of the band from which many of the above information was gleamed.

Selected Songs:

Greasing Wheezer & Hollow Promises [The Beat From 20,000 Fathoms LP (RRR, USA 1986)]
Jungle Bonnie [Hothouse Bodies In A Cool Culture Cassette (Atlas King, USA 1983)]
Armored Man Dub [Emmanuelle Goes to Bangkok LP/CD (KK, BE 1990)]
Rhythm Crash [Deep House Anthems (Atlas King, USA 1991)]
The Meandering Profile ["Aural Fixation" Cassette Comp. (Sound Of Pig, USA 198?)]
She is Nervous ["The Gift Of Noise" LP Comp. (L'Invitation au Suicide, France 1983)]

buzz buzz buzz

w0mbat — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:11:47 -0800

In 1978 a tiny English company called Electronic Dream Plant produced their first product, the EDP Wasp synthesizer, the first of a short-lived range of creepy-crawly-named devices. In the golden age of big wooden and metal synths the wasp was made of plastic, battery-powered, with a built-in speaker, a keyboard with no moving parts, and used a brilliantly minimalist CMOS circuit design (in fact, people are still copying the Wasp filter circuit). It was the first analog synth to be truly affordable. The Wasp's accessibility, unique sound and portability saw it quickly used by musicians ranging from buskers to rock stars. The Wasp's main designer Chris Huggett later went on to design some of the most respected synths and samplers of the following decades like the OSCar and he helped make Akai's hit S range of samplers working with EMS synth legend David Cockerell. These days Mr Huggett designs Novation's terrific sounding synths. Not too many working Wasps survive, due to their flimsy construction, but EBay demand is very high for the few that live on. The sound is as popular as ever, you can still get them repaired, and because of the kind of cottage industry that gave birth to the Wasp in the first place, the magic box required to MIDI-control Wasps is still in production.

Snap, Crackle, Rattle and Hum.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:53:17 -0800

40 Noises That Built Pop [parts 2 • 3 • 4]

Pssst: MNDR fpp

umbú — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:09:45 -0800

Singer, knob twiddler and bass player MNDR has had a great year, especially considering that she hasn’t even finished her first full-length solo recording yet. MNDR is best known in the pop world so far for her collaboration with Mark Ronson and Q-tip on Bang Bang Bang, a song that plays with the french children’s song alouette with a double entendre squeezed out of the consonants in “plucking feathers.” MNDR* has released her own songs such as Fade to Black, I Go Away, C.L.U.B., and Cut Me Out (with a video shot with real time kinect-based effects). She writes her own songs, and is deeply nerdy regarding electronic gear and studio production to get the sounds she wants. This reputation as a gear head once landed her an awkward interview with Duran Duran member Nick Rhodes who hardly lets her get a word in edgewise. Amanda, who has professed a childhood love of Bjork and the Sugarcubes, has a “Sugarcubes” of her own in her past. The band Triangle, which she formed with Brian Tester in St. Paul, Minnesota in the late 1990s before moving to Oakland, California, indexes how the boundaries between indie rock, electronic dance music and mainstream pop have shifted in the last decade. In Triangle’s songs, you can hear much of the experimentation with old and new electronics that still makes up her sound, but you can also find acoustic and electric guitars in the mix, and a somewhat lower-fi laptop pop aesthetic than she is now aiming for. Some songs worth checking out from around 2000-2002 include The Results, Two Claps, and Wood. Triangle toured with the Shins, among other notable bands, and was even featured on the James Mercer-curated stage at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. Two closing factoids: MNDR grew up on a farm in North Dakota, and she once recorded a duet with Har Mar Superstar (although this video is a different HMS song without her). *Amanda Warner with lots of letters sucked out

Dr. Rhythm will see you now

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:03:12 -0800

SynthMania - The internet premiere resource for keyboardists Previously, but with a great many updates since 2006.

From the book that launched a thousand synthgeeks

mhjb — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:07:12 -0800

Adachi Tomomi, Alex Baker, Ian Baxter, Ithai Benjamin, Lesley Flanigan, Lorin Edwin Parker, Peter Blasser, Phil Archer, Todd Bailey, Tommy Stephenson & Patrick McCarthy, Tuomao Tammenpaa, and Vasco Alvo are all featured in Nicolas Collins' extraordinarily good book Handmade Electronic Music.

"Another Green World" - Brian Eno BBC documentary

item — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 22:56:34 -0800

Earlier this year, the BBC's Arena produced and aired an excellent documentary on Brian Eno entitled "Another Green World" containing "a series of conversations on science, art, systems analysis, producing and cybernetics". Watch it here 2 3 and/or download it here.

Not Safe For Santa

The Whelk — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:33:06 -0800

Kasio Kristmas (2 3 4 5) Traditional Christmas Songs played on a casio keyboard by a man in a conehead mask.

Custom Electronic Instruments

mhjb — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 01:18:58 -0800

folktek do beautiful things with sound and sculpture that are so unique as to defy description

Now We Dance

puny human — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 21:06:54 -0800

Now is the time on MetaFilter when we dance: with GROSSE FREI HEIT, Mera naam Chin Chin Chu (Hindi: मेरा नाम चिन चिन चू, Urdu: میرا نام چِن چِن چو) , and Occult Chemistry - Fire.

What can we do after Gijs?

mhjb — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 03:16:31 -0800

Gijs Gieskes is an astonishing inventor/hacker/bender/maker of electro/mechanical/audio/artistic devices.

What The Future Sounded Like

mhjb — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:23:09 -0800

What The Future Sounded Like (1 2 3) is an excellent documentary about the birth of electronic music. "Documentary about the the people of EMS (Electronic Music Studios) a radical group of avant-garde electronic musicians who utilized technology and experimentation to compose a futuristic electronic sound-scape for the New Britain. Comprising of pioneering electronic musicians Peter Zinovieff and Tristram Cary (famed for his work on the Dr Who series) and genius engineer David Cockerell, EMSs studio was one of the most advanced computer-music facilities in the world. EMSs great legacy is the VCS3, Britains first synthesizer and rival of the American Moog. The VCS3 changed the sounds of some of the most popular artists of this period including Brian Eno, Hawkwind and Pink Floyd."

Double Slide Controller

mhjb — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:29:58 -0800

This is exactly what I imagined a Visi-Sonor would sound like. [SLYT] "The Double Slide Controller is a new electronic instrument whose playing technique is based on the acoustic slide trombone. It has 2 independent slides and two versatile hand controllers that allow free motion in three spatial dimensions. In this clip the right hand slide is generating the pitches which are triggered by the breath of the player while the left hand slide is controlling the pitch of some drone tones. Several sensors built into the hand controllers allow the player to modify in real time the sound of the drone tones. In this example the software (MAXMSP) directs the melodic material via MIDI to a Yamaha VL-70m synth while the sustained notes are produced by a softsynth (NI Massive). One can also hear some delay+echo type effects on the main melody. These are controlled by a joystick on the right hand controller."

The Chipophone

marienbad — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:00:22 -0800

The Chipophone is a homemade 8-bit synthesizer. [SLYT] So this guy has taken an old organ and re-engineered it into an 8 bit synth to play live chip tune music. Here is his website where he explains how he did it.

Cabin of Synth

urbanwhaleshark — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:01:45 -0800

Vince Clarke welcomes Motherboard.tv to his electronic cabin in the woods. Clarke, formally of Depeche Mode and Yazoo, and currently still working with his Erasure partner, Andy Bell, relocated first to NYC, and then wandered into the Maine wilderness. His workshop is something to behold.

TED? Head(hunters)

fixedgear — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:02:37 -0800

Herbie Hancock delivers a TED Talk. Not much talking, plenty of jamming. Marcus Miller and Harvey Mason accompany Hancock. Check out the monster Watermelon Man that starts around fourteen minutes in.

Synth Britannia

vronsky — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:27:35 -0800

Synth Britannia "Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage. In the late 1970s, small pockets of electronic artists including the Human League, Daniel Miller and Cabaret Voltaire were inspired by Kraftwerk and JG Ballard and dreamt of the sound of the future against the backdrop of bleak, high-rise Britain."

Post Punk Minimalist Synth Wave

vronsky — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:49:33 -0800

Zomeeggz's channel of post-proto trance-punk minimalist-futurist synth-wave: Snowy Red - Come On Dance::Holger Hiller::Die Kapazität - Kurzfilm::Mekanik Kommando - Stop And Play::Carol - So Low

Stylophoniacs of the world, unite!

Outlawyr — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:54:49 -0800

It's time to learn about . . . the Stylophone! (YouTube link) This very portable instrument has been used in some famous songs, and has inspired many to do Stylophone versions of their own faves like Pacman, Star Wars Death March, and The Model. The Stylophone master of all time is quirky Brett Domino, who not only made the short film in the main link but does this lovely 80's Hits Medley. (All links go directly or indirectly to YouTube.) [via ZoomForum] And for those who crave more info, Wikipedia does not disappoint. Still not satisfied? Here are all the YouTube Stylophone links. And one final link, a little Bach.

The Tone Generation, A Radio History of Electronic Music

jack_mo — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:15:34 -0800

The Tone Generation is a radio series by Ian Helliwell 'looking at different themes or composers in the era of analogue tape and early synthesizer technology'. The original globe-trotting series: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, USA, Canada, Rest of World. Bonus programmes: Expo 58, The RCA Synthesizer. All links are to MP3 files, except the first one. Alternatively, you can slurp down the lot in one go by subscribing to the podcast feed.