A simple, raw, electronic tone.
January 28, 2022 12:56 PM Subscribe
Today sees the release of Stylophonika, the debut album from the Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra. As both the album title and band name suggest, the Stylophone features heavily throughout...
Invented in 1968 by Brian Jarvis of Dubreq Studios while repairing a toy piano for his niece, the Stylophone has an instantly recognisable, primitive electronic sound. Controlled by a metal keyboard on a printed circuit board and played with a hand-held stylus, it is perhaps best known for its use in Bowie's Space Oddity (although you might be surprised how many other Bowie songs it appears on!)
The Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra was born when Senior Lecturer Leah Kardos was shown the collection of new and vintage synths (including, naturally, dozens of Stylophones) donated by the manufacturer of the Stylophone, Dubreq to legendary producer Tony Visconti's analogue synth archive at the University.
The Orchestra comprises current and ex-students and pays homage to electronic music pioneers Vangelis, Harold Budd, Brian Eno and Jean-Michel Jarre. And, of course, contains a cover of Bowie's Space Oddity.
Head on over to Bandcamp (link in the description) to listen/buy. Or watch the Orchestra perform Space Oddity on YouTube. It's really, really good!
Invented in 1968 by Brian Jarvis of Dubreq Studios while repairing a toy piano for his niece, the Stylophone has an instantly recognisable, primitive electronic sound. Controlled by a metal keyboard on a printed circuit board and played with a hand-held stylus, it is perhaps best known for its use in Bowie's Space Oddity (although you might be surprised how many other Bowie songs it appears on!)
The Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra was born when Senior Lecturer Leah Kardos was shown the collection of new and vintage synths (including, naturally, dozens of Stylophones) donated by the manufacturer of the Stylophone, Dubreq to legendary producer Tony Visconti's analogue synth archive at the University.
The Orchestra comprises current and ex-students and pays homage to electronic music pioneers Vangelis, Harold Budd, Brian Eno and Jean-Michel Jarre. And, of course, contains a cover of Bowie's Space Oddity.
Head on over to Bandcamp (link in the description) to listen/buy. Or watch the Orchestra perform Space Oddity on YouTube. It's really, really good!
Baby Driver fans will probably recognize this as one of the instruments used by the protagonist.
One of my favorite diy projects of all time, lovingly documented : Stylophone Business Card
posted by q*ben at 1:07 PM on January 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
One of my favorite diy projects of all time, lovingly documented : Stylophone Business Card
posted by q*ben at 1:07 PM on January 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
The cover of Jarre's Oxygene (Pt. 4) is kinda jaw-droppingly accurate - like as soon as it came on I spent a couple of minutes poking around my desktop, convinced I had somehow accidentally triggered a YouTube playlist or opened the original in iTunes.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by soundguy99 at 3:11 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Two Little Boys - Stylophonia - YouTube.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:21 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by zengargoyle at 3:21 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm 99% sure they were playing around with a Stylophone in one scene in Get Back.
posted by bondcliff at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by bondcliff at 4:15 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
My Bowie-branded Stylophone should be arriving tomorrow. Fantastic timing!
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:53 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:53 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
The stylophone is dramatically under-appreciated for what it is. I own three. One of my bands has two stylophone players. I find them deceptively difficult to play well (it's the timing with the stylus, it just violates every learned response I have from playing guitar) but at the same time, anyone can pick one up and be playing a tune within a minute or two.
And they're like what, maybe twenty quid these days? Been a few years since I bought one, they were about fifteen then. Bargain.
posted by Dysk at 9:22 PM on January 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
And they're like what, maybe twenty quid these days? Been a few years since I bought one, they were about fifteen then. Bargain.
posted by Dysk at 9:22 PM on January 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
If Rolf had merely kept himself to two little boys as part of his campaign of paedophilia... I had a stylophone - won by my grandmother at bingo - and that record that came with it to prove it was a real instrument, with Rolf’s stylophone orchestra.
posted by davemee at 12:16 AM on January 29, 2022
posted by davemee at 12:16 AM on January 29, 2022
Two Little Boys - Stylophonia.
That's immediately what I thought of when I saw this. Was on an old techno CD I had from when everything sounded like the Mortal Kombat theme. Very little actual stylophone in it.
posted by charred husk at 9:00 AM on January 29, 2022
That's immediately what I thought of when I saw this. Was on an old techno CD I had from when everything sounded like the Mortal Kombat theme. Very little actual stylophone in it.
posted by charred husk at 9:00 AM on January 29, 2022
It's amazing how different the old and new Stylophones sound. The first ones used a relaxation oscillator circuit, while later ones use the grotty 555 square wave oscillator. The latest ones use who-know-what under a blob of epoxy
posted by scruss at 11:44 AM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by scruss at 11:44 AM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
« Older Flu Trux Klan | Falling through the cracks of the American Dream Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by deeker at 12:57 PM on January 28, 2022