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.