An Interview with Bruno Spoerri on Astronauta Pinguim

Update: in case you read this post when it first went up, be sure to give it another look for a few updates.  It's a bit convoluted with quite a few tangents, but that's how it goes sometimes.

Read the full interview on Astronauta Pinguim here.

The following are some excerpts and tie-ins to other bits of synth history.

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Initially a saxophone player, Bruno Spoerri explored electronic music in the 1960s on.

"In 1964 he was invited to a job in an advertising agency and began to work with electronic music using a Ondes Martenot and, after, using lots of synthesizers and also experimenting with electrified/synthesized saxophones..." "As a saxophonist and jazz improviser I always looked for ways to play without a keyboard."

Pictured above is Bruno with his EMS Synthi 100 (videos previously posted here and here).

On the Synthi 100: "I bought the Synthi 100 in 1971. In 1987 I gave it to Felix Visser (Synton) in exchange for a Fairlight CMI; some years he had to sell it at an auction, and I don't know where it is now (I would recognize the instrument, as I did some small changes on it)."  It was listed on Vemia back in 2009 posted here and here. Click though for pics.

In 1974, he recorded the album 'Iischalte (Switched-on Switzerland)'.

Bruno Spoerri - Le Ranz Des Vaches


Uploaded on Jul 25, 2011 Aura Archange Maudit·57 videos

"Bruno Spoerri - Iischalte (Switched-on Switzerland)
1974

Imágenes de la película La lunga notte di Veronique (1966)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183441/

Video made by Aura Archange Maudit"

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"On 'Voice Of Taurus' (1978), Bruno Spoerri experiments a lot with electrified wind instruments and also with jazz-rock and rock."

Bruno Spoerri - Hymn Of Taurus (Taurus Is Calling You!)

Uploaded on Nov 19, 2009 MrJJBonanza·29 videos
Re-Published on Sep 30, 2014 Bruno Spoerri - Topic

"First track of Bruno Spoerri's 'Voice Of Taurus'
1978 Gold Records, Switzerland
Cat# 11 061 (Vinyl, LP)

Bruno Spoerri on 'Hymn Of Taurus':
"The rhythm track was created with my very first primitive ring modulator (4 diodes and 2 transformers) that is why it is so dirty The voice went of course through the EMS vocoder, the choir was created through the VAKO Orchestron."

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Again, don't miss the full interview with Bruno Spoerri on Astronauta Pinguim here. There's some fascinating history there including Ginette Martenot and the Ondes Martenot, Oskar Sala with his Mixturtrautonium, and Joel Chadabe. Regarding his original gear, "most of my analog gear is sold (most of it to the remarkable Swiss Synthorama of Martin Hollinger), but I still have my first synthi, the EMS VCS-3 (from 1970), the ARP 2600 with sequencer and the Lyricon I and II. I use the lyricon quite often in performances, the other gear mostly for demonstrations to visitors."

I was fortunate enough to visit Synthorama back in 2008. You can find my pics and videos from the visit here. See the Synthorama label for other posts including a one of a kind modular, the Airböurne, created by the curator of the museum, Martin Hollinger.

For more posts featuring Bruno click here and scroll.  Check him out on the Synthophone and Gesture Based Synthesis here.

via Fabricio Carvalho aka Astronauta Pinguim on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

You can find links to additional interviews with synth history's early influentials by Astronauta Pinguim here.

Wie funktioniert ein Synthesizer? Bruno Spoerri & His EMS SYNTHI 100

Published on Jul 15, 2013 SRF Archiv·287 videos

EMS SYNTHI 100.

"Das Eurovisionssignet kennt jedermann. Dass es auch ganz anders klingen kann, zeigt der Musiker Bruno Spoerri und führt uns gleichzeitig in die Welt des Synthesizers ein. ("Perspektiven" vom 13.4.1972)"

Be sure to see these other posts on Bruno Spoerri. His EMS SYNTHI went up for sale on Peter Forest's VEMIA twice in 2009.

Spoerri to this day composes music - you can find him here http://www.computerjazz.ch/

This one in via Simon Balissat.

Bruno Spoerri and his EMS Synthi 100 and VCS3

YouTube via molesmile — May 07, 2010 — Bruno Spoerri, EMS Synthi 100, VCS3

EMS Synthi 100 starting at 100GBP no reserve

via Peter Forest:
"The Synthi 100 that didn't get a bid in the last VEMIA now has to be sold without reserve, so if you'd like to be able to say you once bid on a Synthi 100, now's your chance. Since the bid will include full servicing we're relying on it getting a bit higher than the 100GBP start bid.

http://www.spheremusic.com/Bargaindtl.asp?Item=7459 - bidding ends a week today, Thursday 17 Dec, at or very soon after 20.00 UK time (GMT)." images here be sure to click on All Sizes followed by Original for the full glory.

Auction Description:
"START BID £100, no reserve; to be sold FULLY SERVICED by EMS experts Lucid Sound - ** the bid includes the servicing cost**. AUCTION ENDS 20.00 GMT OR SOON AFTER, THURSDAY DECEMBER 17. This wonderful Synthi 100, serial number 3007, was owned originally by Bruno Spoerri, and was the first ever to be sold to a private studio. He used it for many years. At some stage he decided he wanted some more variety within this massive system, and changed some (maybe 10%) of the modules' circuitry to more modern analogue designs. He also added some interesting and useful additional mods. Because of the modular nature of the beast (all the important boards are contained within card-frames for simple removal and work) it would be very possible to return these to their original design - all parts are still readily available. But our feeling is that it would be good to start with Bruno's mods intact, and only change back if they proved not to be useful or interesting. The winning bidder can decide what he or she prefers - if necessary after discussion with Lucid as the servicing proceeds. The bid will include complete servicing to Bruno's modded spec, whereas returning the machine to original factory spec might possibly involve some extra expense, payable to Lucid Sound. After Bruno Spoerri, it was owned by Felix Visser of Synton, who bought it as one of the centrepieces of a massive museum planned for the Netherlands. The museum never happened, and so he sold it 18 months ago. The new owner unfortunately has hit a crisis which involved having to move out of his current studio and home without having been able to use it once, and so the Synthi is up for sale again. It is in very good cosmetic condition. There is some cosmetic marking where damage to one of the massive pin matrices has been repaired - see the photo - and a small amount of corrosion on the right of the serial number panel. Apart from that, and the odd scuffs and marks consistent with its 35 years' life (including on the padded top), it is really lovely. The 'producer desk' in between the two matrices has been repaired and re-tolexed and looks great. All knobs are beautiful; all keys on the twin-manual keyboard are excellent. There are a lot of photos of this machine at http://www.flickr.com/photos/73278691@N00/ (or http://www.flickr.com/photos/matrixsynth/sets/72157622974821168/. The photos are poorly organised but do show most aspects of this gorgeous instrument. This is totally complete: it comes with the stand for the keyboards, the back panels, sliding front panels for the Synthi stand, a generous number of matrix pins (including some for the sequencer) - well into three figures, we think - and the original manuals, massive tomes like old bibles. This is the eighth out of less than 30 of these incredible machines, and one of very few (just 3 or 4?) to go to a private studio, so much less likely to be abused during its life by a succession of careless students or employees. Servicing will take a maximum of three months from the end of the auction - the hope is to do it more quickly, but three months is the worst case scenario.) The winning bidder will receive regular progress reports from Lucid. Payment: because of the considerable value we hope this will reach (exceptionally rare, beautiful, and fully serviced), there are special payment arrangements. 10% **non-returnable** deposit to be paid within 24 hours of the auction finish, by bank transfer, credit or debit card (or UK cheque by agreement) - and then the rest by bank transfer or UK cheque within 14 days of the auction finish. SHIPPING: we are willing to ship worldwide, with the buyer paying for crating and transport (and of course any import costs). We will also offer personal delivery in the UK mainland, northern France, Belgium, Holland, and possibly other countries, depending on distance."

Computone Wind Driver Lyricon-type controller

via this VEMIA auction

"Rare and special wind controller, owned from new by Bruno Spoerri, one of the pioneers of wind-controlled synthesis. Here's Bruno's comments from today:- 'I tried the Wind driver and it worked perfectly, as far as I can analyze it. It's 220 Volt (if I remember well, it can easily be converted to 110), and it comes with the original handbook and the original service handbook.' Cosmetically it looks nice. Even if you aren't a wind player, it's a great way to get wind-instrument-like expression into analogue synths. There's a manual online for more info during the auction at:" [link - mirrored here]

EMS Synthi 100

via this VEMIA auction
"This wonderful Synthi 100, serial number 3007, was owned originally by Bruno Spoerri. He used it for many years. At some stage he decided he wanted some more variety within this massive system, and changed some of the modules' circuitry to more modern analogue designs. Because of the modular nature of the beast (all the important boards are contained within card-frames for simple removal and work) it would be easy to return these to their original design - all parts are still readily available. But our feeling is that it would be good to start with Bruno's mods intact, and only change back if they proved not to the new owner's taste. After Bruno Spoerri, it was owned by Felix Visser of Synton, who bought it as one of the centrepieces of a massive museum planned for the Netherlands. The museum never happened, and so he sold it 18 months ago. The new owner unfortunately has hit a crisis which involved having to move out of his current studio and home, and so the Synthi is up for sale again. It is in very good cosmetic condition. There is some marking where damage to one of the massive pin matrices has been repaired - see the photo - and a small amount of corrosion on the right of the serial number panel. Apart from that, and the odd scuffs and marks consistent with its 35 years' life, it is really lovely. The 'producer desk' in between the two matrices has been repaired and re-tolexed and looks great. All knobs are beautiful; all keys on the twin-manual keyboard are excellent. It needs some servicing: Output channel 1: full on, slider not effective. Some other mixer sliders feel a bit rough, but sound smooth enough; Output channel 5: not working; panel lights: not working; meter 4 light: not working; sequencer: not tested fully but the counter and reset work fine. Oscillator 5: not working; oscillator 12 (LFO): not working; frequency counter: probably not working properly - counts OK, but doesn't seem to respond to frequencies. Filter bank: not tested. Ring mod: not tested. EQ1: not working; EQ2: working in every respect except not triggering from keyboard or button; EQ3: triggering, working as envelope, but internal VCA not working. Input amp XLR socket missing its locking thing. VCF6: not working; VCF7 and 8: not working (inverted, strange behaviour). Top keyboard: 1 note iffy; bottom keyboard: pitch drifting. There are some aspects of the mods that need exploring more fully, so would also count as not tested. That still leaves perhaps 90% of this amazing machine working well. We have asked EMS experts Lucidsounds to estimate the cost of a full service, and their estimate is £2000. Please look at the photo carefully. It's difficult for space reasons to take a proper picture of the whole machine; please note that the back picture was taken when some of the heaviest modules had been removed for safe transport - hence the dangling connector, etc.. This comes with the stand for the keyboards, the back panels, a generous number of matrix pins (including some for the sequencer) - well into three figures, we think - and the original manuals, massive tomes like old bibles. This is the eighth out of less than 30 of these incredible machines, and one of very few (just 3 or 4?) to go to a private studio, so much less likely to be abused during its life by a succession of careless students or employees."

Bruno Spoerri - Synthophone and Gesture Based Synthesis

via Ricko:

"great videos on youtube of Bruno Spoerri (ex Lyricon and Synthi 100)"

Dancing Robots

YouTube via computerjazz
"A performance with 2 Robosapien Robots and David Rokeby's Very Nervous System, by Bruno Spoerri in 2009"

Synthophone 1997

"For Shirleigh and Bob, a performance with the Synthophone by Bruno Spoerri in 1997"

Very Nervous System Performance 1997

"Shake shuttle and blow: a Performance with David Rokeby's Very Nervous System by Bruno Spoerri, 1997"

Bruno Spoerri - Iischalte (Switched-on Switzerland) (1974)

on 36 15 MOOG

Synton Syntovox 221

via this auction, via the comments of this post

"incredibly rare Dutch-made vocoder. One of only roughly 20 originally produced, this vocoder originally sold for the equivalent of 6000 Euros and is quite possibly the finest vocoder available to man. Aimed firmly at serious electronic musicians and studios, users include Wendy Carlos and Bruno Spoerri.

This unit was supplied to us without power supply. We had our engineer custom build a suitable unit for 240V operation. This is included in the auction and the vocoder is now up and running, fully working and ready to be put to use producing some amazing sounds.

This item is generally in good condition as the photos illustrate. Unfortunately some of the control knobs are missing their end caps, and there are minor marks and scratches on the unit. One of the pins on the matrix is broken but still usable (just shorter than the others) and the pot for the second filter band has a damaged stop meaning that it can be turned through 360 degrees. Despite these minor issues the unit is fully functional and sounds incredible.
More info on the unit is available at the following websites:

http://www.dutchsynth.nl/Syntovox221.html

http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/davies/vocbasy2.htm

http://www.manhattansoundlab.com/spacelab/vocoders/synton/221.spec.html"

EMS Synth100 track from Irmin Schmidt and Bruno Spoerri

via Rick
"Tribute clip for track "When the waters came to life" from Toy Planet album. Schmidt on Synthi 100 and Spoerri on sax (and perhaps Lyricon and probably Synthi 100 too.)

[YouTube link - unfortunately embedding is disabled on this one so you will have to go there]

Also see great pic of Synthi100 (with Spoerri in 1971) [pictured]

Another Spoerri track, featuring lyricon or perhaps some kind of kind of pitch follower (he is big on sax->synth) and very sonically similar to the Toy Planet material is his excerpt 'Cantata' at mp3_3.mp3"

Bruno Spoerri - Iischalte (Switched-on Switzerland)

via swissdoc in the comments of this post:

"Synthi-100 is used on other Spoerri Records as well, i.e. his Swiss version of Switched-On "Iischalte" He still has some records left."

Metamorphoses

[Switched-on special] Various Artists - Metamorphoses. Electronic Interpretations of Classic and Modern Musical Works (Melodya, 1980)

"Take a regular switched-on xxxx record like Wendy Carlos' Switched-on Bach, play it on an EMS Synthi 100, and you'll get this lost diamond of Russian electronic music, and possibly one of the rarest "switched on" records ever made.

Since the Synthi 100 is perhaps the most versatile synthesizer ever build (at least that's what Karlheinz Stockhausen once said) and given the lack of recordings with it (I remember Stockhausen's Sirius, some early Rolf Gehlhaar stuff and Bruno Spoerri's Toy Planet) this record might also appeal to the vintage gear fetishists."

via Orpheus Music where you can find the download (Sharebee link at bottom)

Bruno Spoerri's old EMS Synthi 100

Serial number 3007 currently up for auction on VEMIA.

click here for more images.

Synth CDs

See the Synth CDs label for more.

Vintage MOOG Albums - Free downloads. Check this one out. This is not an ad.


Amin Bhatia Virtuality
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Switched on Bach (MOOG)

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