Vintage synth featured in 1957 film "Different from You and Me."

video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"The dangers of electronic music, according to a film about the menace of homosexuality from 1957 called 'Different From You and Me'. It features the Trautonium, a synthesizer from the 1930s that was created by Friedrich Trautwein and used by Oskar Sala. The film, which was called 'The Third Sex' or 'Bewildered Youth'(!) when released in the US, is about a prosperous German family whose son is lured into a seedy world of gay men, nude wrestling and avant garde electronic music by an effete friend and a licentious antique dealer.

Terrified that their son is not into women, the teen's parents induce their cleaning lady to seduce him and awaken his more 'natural' desires. This ends in the month's arrest for arranging prostitution!

While the film is based on homophobic ideas, the original version has some nuance and depicts some of its gay characters in a relatively balanced light for the time. Being gay was still a crime in Germany and elsewhere in the 1950s. However, before it could be released in West Germany censors insisted on changes, weaving in more anti-gay rhetoric, making the gay characters more criminal and removing scenes that showed gay men in positions of authority and respectability.

For me, it's remarkable only for the scenes featuring the synthesizer, but it is interesting that even then electronic music was associated with same-sex relationships, given that 20 years later the gay communities would be such a driving force behind the foundation of the electronic music scene.

I have uploaded all the scenes from this film that feature the Trautonium to my YouTube channel, which is also called Robotussin Vintage Synths."

Morton SUBOTNICK Documentary - North American Premiere + Live Performance Event

Details follow:

A special 2-night event in Toronto:
North American premiere documentary screening, and LIVE A/V performance by Morton Subotnick.

After our international preimere screening of Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer nearly 1 year ago in Berlin, we had a few setback in terms of music licensing clearance delays... but we're finally ready to proceed with new screenings, and it all starts in October...

Announcing our North American premiere screening + live performance event in Toronto, please see details below. We are actively looking to book screenings, so if you have any interest/leads, please get in touch: info@waveshapermedia.com (or REPLY to this email).. More screenings booked and TBA soon include screenings in San Francisco, Barcelona, Malta, and Limerick Ireland.

Friday October 27th.

Morton Subotnick + Lillevan — LIVE.
A special A/V performance of Subotnick's newest work "As I Live and Breathe" — a multi-media, surround sound experience.
Subotnick’s final composition, and final live performance in Canada.
With an additional performance by Heidi Chan (modular synthesizer) & Kristine White (shadow projections).
Al Green Theatre, Miles Nadal JCC — 750 Spadina Ave
RESERVE YOUR TICKET NOW (General Admission seating):
https://SUBOTNICK.eventbrite.ca

Saturday October 28th.

"Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer"
Documentary screening — North American premiere.
Post-screening Q&A with Morton Subotnick and director Robert Fantinatto.
From Waveshaper Media, producers of the acclaimed modular synth documentary, "I Dream Of Wires".
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema — 506 Bloor St W.
RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW: https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/films/subotnick

All that you need to know (!) about 80s Synths

video upload by Krakli Software

"Synths MIDI and more condensed from an 80's show that teaches you all that you need to Know!!"

This one is in via John L Rice.

The video features Alastair Gavin, Herbie Hancock, Tony Banks, Vince Clark, and Jan Hammer.

If anyone knows what this is from feel free to leave a comment.

Update via the comments: "The clip is from 'Rockschool', produced by the BBC from 1983-87...great stuff!:)"

And sure enough, here it is posted back in 2011. I thought it looked familiar. You can find additional posts mentioning Rockschool here.

OFFICIAL TRAILER: MORTON SUBOTNICK • SIDEWINDER - Live from Tool's studio

video upload by Peter Grenader

"On April 23, 2023 with profound appreciation for his historic contribution to art and music a taped live performance of Morton Subotnick's Sidewinder by Jill Fraser, Shiro Fujioka, Peter Grenader and Thomas Klepper - filmed at Tool's studio in Hollywood CA - will be released in Celebration of his 90th birthday."

Morton Subotnick Documentary Completed

First announced back in 2017, the upcoming Morton Subotnick documentary has been completed.

Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer

We are thrilled to announce the completion and world-premiere screening of “Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer” (or “Subotnick” for short), our official bio-documentary on revered avant-garde music composer, and electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. We could not be more proud of the film, and can’t wait to share it with all of you. We also take great pride in the fact that Mort has given his full approval of the finished film. We are truly humbled by that!

Our world-premiere screening for the film will take place in early-November at a very special event. This is truly going to be a night for the history books, and you can expect full details in an event announcement next week.

About the film:

Through a series of candid interviews and illuminating conversations with key figures from his past and present, Subotnick provides an overview of this fascinating composer’s rich life and uncompromising career. Over 5 years in the making, Subotnick is a first-hand account, and an artistic portrait, of this seminal composer, who’s approach to art, and outlook on life, reveal a unique thinker with a fiercely individualist streak. The film narrative moves along two parallel lines; exploring a year in his life as he creates and shapes the multi-media chamber opera “Crowds and Power,” while simultaneously exploring his past — going back in time to his days as a child prodigy on the clarinet, his disastrous stint in the army during the Korean War, founding the San Francisco Tape Music Center, and culminating in his breakthrough recording of “Silver Apples of the Moon,” the world’s first electronic music composition specifically created for the record medium. Featuring several live performances from around the globe, captured in glorious surround sound, and augmented with innovative liquid-light psychedelic effects, Subotnick is a multimedia experience that highlights and celebrates one of the world’s most influential living composers.

An update for our Subtonick Indiegogo supporters:

For those of you who contributed to our Indiegogo campaign for Subotnick, please check your inbox (/spam folder) &/or log in to your Indiegogo account, to read a more extensive update on the film's completion, and for those of you still waiting on delivery of an Indiegogo perk (namely, the film itself, whether on a physical disc, or a digital download), the update includes information about that as well.

Update:

Subotnick will premiere on November 3, with a truly special screening / live performance event at the legendary and historic Kino Babylon theatre in Berlin, presented alongside CTM Festival and Ableton. Morton Subotnick, now 90 years old, is not only the subject of our documentary; he will also be taking part in an audience Q&A alongside Subotnick’s director, Robert Fantinatto, and finally, treating us to a rare live A/V performance of “As I Live In Breathe,” in collaboration with longtime visual collaborator Lillevan.

Event info:

3 November 2022 at Babylon Berlin (https://babylonberlin.eu)
Doors 18:00, start 19:00
Tickets (premiere screening + performance): 28€ / 14€ reduced Ticket
Link: https://ctm.stager.de/Morton%20Subotnick/tickets


Programme:
19:00 World premiere screening of Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer
20:45 Q&A w/Morton Subotnick & director Robert Fantinatto, moderated by Lisa Blanning
21:45 Morton Subotnick & Lillevan – As I Live and Breathe live A/V performance

About the concert: Morton Subotnick & Lillevan – “As I Live and Breathe”

Between 1961 and 1980, Morton Subotnick’s principal work as a composer was devoted to the development of electronic music as a studio art. The first four years of that period were spent with Don Buchla designing and building an appropriate instrument with which to make music specifically for recorded formats, to be heard in one’s home. The work which brought Subotnick celebrity was Silver Apples of the Moon (1966-7), which marked the first time an original large-scale composition had been created specifically for the disc medium – a conscious acknowledgment that the home stereo system constituted a present-day form of chamber music. Later, Subotnick began creating works for electronics and instruments and large-scale multimedia projects. In the last decade, technology has made it possible for him to bring equipment onto the stage and perform in public.

The work technique and process of the last decade of his creativity has resulted in As I Live and Breathe, which Subotnick feels will be the ultimate fulfillment of his public performance; one of the last, if not the last, of his public performance works. Centered around Subotnick’s breath – which becomes ever more musically and visually ornamented, only to end with a single, exhaled breath – the work is meant as a musical metaphor for the composer’s life in music.

Instrumental Innovators DVD Featuring Dave Smith, Roger Linn, and Tom Oberheim

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

I believe this was released back in 2007 based on this post. Description from that post:

"Dave Smith founded Sequential Circuits in the mid-70s, and in 1977 he designed the Prohet-5 - the world's first microprocessor-based musical instrument and first completely programmable and polyphonic synth, which set the standard for all synth designs that have followed. In the last few years Dave has returned to the hardware instruments with the Evolver and Poly Evolver synths, which combine real analog electronics with digital processing to create yet another new world of unique instruments. This DVD includes a 90 minute complete history of Dave Smith from Prophet to MIDI to the PolyEvolver and roundtable discussion with Dave Smith, Roger Linn and Tom Oberheim."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Discovering Electronic Music (1969-1983)

Discovering Electronic Music (1969-1983) video upload by Fran Blanche

Note this is new cleaned up, single video, version of Discovering Electronic Music first posted here back in 2009.

"This film by Bernard Wilets was originally produced around 1969-70, but this reel that I present is the updated version from 1983 which includes new added Fairlight sequences with Rory Kaplan. The original sections are VERY 1969 and the color of this print is still remarkable. Great footage of Moog modular synths right in their heyday and lots of screenshots of waveforms and such. Is it coincidental that so much Bach is being played on the Moog? Calling Wendy Carlos! The film features several people who went on to make their names in electronic music, including Rory Kaplan, Douglas Leedy, and Jean-Claude Risset. This reel was transferred from my own 16mm archive print using my Eiki Telecine. The Eiki has a 5 Blade Shutter that projects a 24fps print at 30 frames per second for a flickerless NTSC transfer. A special diffusion plate eliminates the 'hot spot' of the projector, and the sound is pulled right from the optical track. Enjoy!

Join Team FranLab!!!! Become a patron and help support my YouTube Channel on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/frantone
#Moog #Music #film

- Intro music by Fran Blanche -"

This one was sent my way via John L Rice.

How does a synthesizer make sounds?

video upload by Are Sounds Electrik?

Midge Ure of Ultravox clip previously posted here.

Moog Sonic Infinity Clinic (2005)

video uploaded by Rhythmicons

"In 2005, Moog offered this DVD for free to anyone who asked. It consists of a product clinic led by Brian Kehew and showcased the Moogerfoogers up to the 105 and the Voyager.
I am offering this for educational purposes only. The DVDs are scarce, the Moog products are discontinued."

The DVD was actually free back in 2006.

Update:

MoogerFooger Training DVD Clinic, 2007

video uploaded by Rhythmicons

"This is the no longer available MoogerFooger Training DVD featuring Brian Kehew demonstrating the Moogerfoogers through the Murf and Bass Murf.
This DVD is no longer available on the market, the Foogers are discontinued, so I thought that I'd upload the DVD for educational purposes to suit the fancy of Fooger enthusiasts everywhere."

Minimoog Voyager Training DVD 2007

video uploaded by Rhythmicons

"This is the no-longer-available Minimoog Voyager Training DVD clinic hosted by Brian Kehew. Since the DVD is out of production and the Voyager has been discontinued, I thought I would share this excellent demonstration of the Voyager's features for educational purposes and to suit the fancy of Moog Synthesizer Connoisseurs everywhere.

Clinician: Brian Kehew
Videographer: Mark Mahoney
Producer: Jared White
Sound Production: Collapsible Studios
Original Music: Mark Mahoney"

Alan Pearlman - Philip Dodds & Close Encounters (Bright Sparks Outtake)

video by GForce Software

"In an outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary, ARP founder Alan R Pearlman talks about Philip Dodds and the story behind the use of the ARP 2500 on Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.

Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.

'An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music' Vince Clarke

https://www.gforcesoftware.com/blog/b... www.imonstermusic.com
Alan Pearlman Foundation: https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org"

You can find additional Bright Sparks Documentary posts here.

Update: see this post for the actual order invoice for the 2500.

SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS

SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS from Monoduo Films on Vimeo.

VIRTUAL THEATRICAL - ONE WEEK ONLY!

SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS is the remarkable untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers, composers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to utterly transform how we produce and listen to music today. Theremins, synthesizers and feedback machines abound in this glorious ode to the women who helped shape, not just electronic music but the contemporary soundscape as we know it.

Avant-garde composer Laurie Anderson narration accompanies fascinating archival footage to trace the history of the technological experimentation of sound, the deconstruction of its parts and the manipulation into something altogether other. While traversing a range of musical approaches and personalities, from academia to outsider art to television commercials, we meet Clara Rockmore, Bebe Barron, Suzanne Ciani, Laurie Spiegel, Daphne Oram, Pauline Oliveros, Delia Derbyshire and Eliane Radigue, fascinating and enigmatic musical geniuses and their peculiar way of hearing the world.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sisterswithtransistors/534043397

https://sisterswithtransistors.com

Switching the waves. An introduction to the modular synthesizer with Enrico Cosimi

Materia Films

Massive synthesizers.com and GRP systems. EMS SYNTHI in there as well.

"interview with Enrico Cosimi
Rome, 1 July 2020

filmed by Paolo Parmiggiani

John Cage photo, courtesy Corinto Marianelli

Pierre Vellones and Maurice Martenot photo
["File:Vellones et martenot.jpg" by femme de Pierre Vellones]
is licensed with CC BY-SA 3.0

translation: David Kerr


© Materia Films 2020. All rights reserved (Safe Creative identifier: 2012186259224)"

Coca-Cola Star Snacks Drive In Intermission Snipe (1979)

FT Depot

"35mm scan of a Coke commercial"

Some serious synth action in this. Curious what was used. The year was supposedly 1979.

Update: CR Wallace in the comments suggested this might be from Suzanne Ciani who was doing commercials for Coke at the time. That would make sense; from this happy birthday post: "In 1974 she formed her own company, Ciani/Musica, and, using a Buchla Analog Modular Synthesizer, composed scores for television commercials for corporations such as Coca-Cola, Merrill Lynch, AT&T and General Electric."

You can find some the commercials in this previous post from 2009.

P.S.  That might make for some Buchla vs. Moog Popcorn above at :24 seconds in.  :)

The following is the classic "Pop & Pour' Coca-Cola Logo" w/ some Buchla fizz.

Pop & Pour' Coca-Cola Logo

Suzanne Ciani - Topic

LE CHOC DU FUTUR - THE SHOCK OF THE FUTURE Synth Movie

Published on May 3, 2019 MPM Premium

This one was sent in by a good friend of mine, Carla. I can't believe I hadn't heard of this one before. There's some prime synth spotting in the trailer alone. It's currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Note this is an actual movie, not a documentary. The film features music by Human League, Devo, Throbbing Gristle, Marc Collin, Clara Luciani, Jean-Michel Jarre, Cerrone, Aksak Maboul, Suicide, and Julie London.

In the trailer: Roland CompuRhythm CR-78, Moog modular, ARP 2600 orange & black, and a Yamaha CS80. Vintage Maestro Phase Shifter as well.


Description for the trailer above:

"FRANCE, 2019 / 84 MIN / FRENCH

In the Paris of 1978, old formulas do not charm listeners anymore and new music must arise. In a male-dominated industry, Ana uses her electronic gadgets to make herself heard, creating a new sound that will mark the decades to come: the music of the future.

WITH
Alma Jodorowsky from 'Blue is the Warmest Color'
(Cannes 2013); Philippe Rebbot from 'Gauguin' (2017);
Clara Luciani and Corine, both French singers

Produced by Nebo Productions, The Perfect Kiss Films
and Sogni Vera Films"

Electromotive - The Story of ARP Instruments

Published on Apr 11, 2020 Alex Ball

"Electromotive: The Story of ARP Instruments

Electromotive is the definitive documentary charting the rise and demise of one of the world’s most influential and pioneering synth companies. It dives deep into the world of ARP and their instruments, with fascinating insights from those involved, copious amounts of previously undocumented information, and then debunks many myths. A triumph, a true labour of love and essential viewing for any synth nerd.

Chris Macleod / GForce Software

//

This was a project that started in the spring of 2019 when I was loaned an ARP 2600. I knew little of the ARP story at the time, but having an amazing instrument to play with piqued my interest. Aware that Alan R Pearlman had passed only a couple of months earlier, I started looking into the articles and history and speaking to a couple of people about it on email. The way things unfolded from there is an entire story unto itself that I’ll probably tell in another video, but suffice to say I was staggered by the generosity, passion and kindness of countless people whose help meant that we were able to feature an amazing array of original instruments and interview many of the original people who were there (on and off camera).

Every single person who contributed to this film did it gratis so that you can enjoy this story free and without even having to sit through a single advert. Isn't that amazing?!

Dina Pearlman has been absolutely crucial to this project and has been industrious in opening doors for me this past year, to the point that we’ve joked she’s the patch chords between the modules. 

Please take a moment to check out the foundation and at the very least, give them a like, subscribe and comment of support.

The Alan R Pearlman Foundation

https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/"

Maria Teriaeva - SØS (Official Video)

Published on Mar 31, 2020 Maria Teriaeva

“SØS” is taken from the forthcoming album “Conservatory of Flowers”.
Listen: https://bnd.lc/ConservatoryFlowers (out on April 17).

Strange things are happening in the science lab - here and there new objects appear. The exact settings of the universe are lost due to the unforeseen events in outer space. At the same time, Maria Teriaeva conducts musical experiments at her studio. The laboratory resonates with the studio. We do not know all the laws of the universe, and collapse can occur unexpectedly and in unpredictable forms. But anomalies are of particular interest to Maria Teriaeva.

This is the first video clip of the Moscow production studio SUPERBASIC.

Part of the clip was shot in the scientific experimental complex at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. The protagonist of this part is the scientist Mikhail Yuryevich Sotskiy. Mikhail publishes works in Acta Astronautica, and knows what to do if a trash ball flies to Earth.

CLICK FOR MORE »

first words ever heard in a feature film - The Jazz Singer; Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet

Published on Jan 4, 2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment

via Boing Boing:

"In 1927, Al Jolson spoke those words in The Jazz Singer, marking the end of the silent film age. (Of course, that film also featured Jolson in blackface which unfortunately was common at the time."

Synths at Bedtime: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde Impulse Command Synthesizer

Published on Feb 10, 2020 GetJervis

"The Strange case of The Impulse Command! This fabulous Synth has a lot of similarities to the excerpt read in this episode of Synths at Bedtime.. Hope it doesn't give you nightmares!"

Suzanne Ciani On Modular Synthesis & The Buchla 200e | Composer Magazine

Published on Feb 9, 2020 Spitfire Audio

"Suzanne Ciani gives an in-depth demonstration of how she composes using the Buchla 200e for our latest Composer Magazine feature.

https://composer.spitfireaudio.com/en..."

MOOG: Behind the Soundtrack: 'Uncut Gems' with Daniel Lopatin (TRAILER)

Published on Dec 13, 2019 Moog Music Inc
Update: Re-Published Jan 9, 2020

"Experimental electronic musician Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) and indie filmmaker Josh Safdie have joined forces once again on ‘Uncut Gems,’ the latest Safdie brothers crime thriller featuring Adam Sandler, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, and The Weeknd.

Join Lopatin and Sadfie on a cosmic journey through the film's synth-packed score in this original Moog Music mini-documentary.

Coming January 2020.

Preorder the 'Uncut Gems' score now: http://opn.ffm.to/uncut-gems"