Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Synth Rorschach #11
What do you see?
This remind me of a specific synth or rather system. See what you think that might be and share what it reminds you of. I'll post what it actually is in the comments below.
via Earthnik
See the Synth Rorschach label below for more.
Update: see the bottom comment below for what this actually is.
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO & Jeff E. Winner with Raymond Scott's Motown Electronium
Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO & Jeff E. Winner with Raymond Scott's Motown Electronium from Jeff E. Winner on Vimeo.
"Video shot by Stan Warnow; bonus scene from DVD: http://ScottDoc.com • YouTube alternalink: http://youtu.be/lCvkcGlhwoo
• Transcript follows:
MARK MOTHERSBAUGH: So sick! I mean, there are temporary touch-buttons called "DOOWAH!" What does that mean?!
JEFF E. WINNER: It was made for Motown, so we figure he was trying to relate to their vocabulary.
MM: That's great. I don't know — but it really makes you wanna hear this thing. Looks like this was some sort of a — like that was the sequencer part of it. Decay, staccato, envelopes, and chords, but there's just such a mixture of things...
STAN WARNOW: You don't really know that much about what each one of these things did? It's a mystery to all of us, I think.
MM: It's all speculation until you fire it up. Maybe Mister Entenmann... is that his name? He would probably be able to come here and say, 'Here's what they did, and I'll tell you why he bought red Krylon spray paint for this...'
SW: Yeah, he would.
JW: Raymond told this guy what he wanted, and he executed it, on this very model.
MM: That's amazing.
SW: Mitzi said he worked on it from the very beginning, until it was shipped out to Motown.
MM: They made a beautiful cabinet for it. The cabinet's kinda interesting because it's the most retro part of it, in a way.
JW: Yeah.
MM: It looks like an old telephone communications station or something.
JW: An airplane.
SW: My dad valued all that stuff, and he had a complete wood-working shop, when he had that big place…
MM: When he was really going.
JW: He seemed to like this shape, because even his big rooms full of equipment, when it filled his room, was also this same kind of angle.
MM: Yeah, like a cockpit. You're sitting right there and you're like...
JW (to MM): Here's an earlier version, and here's that digital thing you were talking about last night. But he completely rebuilt it.
MM: Look at that room, that's amazing.
JW: See these angles?
MM: That's cool! (laughs)
JW: It used to be whole walls-full, then he shrunk it down, more and more.
MM: (laughs) This one almost fit on the console of your car, you could drive your Honda around town with a...
JW: Do you happen to remember if this is all removable? Does this stuff come off? Is this the base? You don't know? Is there 'guts' in there, or is that mostly empty?
MM: Oh no, there's stuff in there. Let me see... It's pushed up against the wall right now, so we can't... but there is some things inside it.
SW: That's what I was wondering."
via Jeff E. Winner on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
MFOS 16 Step Sequencer & Raymond Scott's Circle Machine
YouTube Published on Jul 23, 2012 by NoizeToy2
"An analogue sequencer laid out in a rotary style similar to Raymond Scott's Circle Machine.
The PCB is available from www.musicfromouterspace.com and I ordered the panel from www.resynthesis.co.uk"
via Jeff E. Winner on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge
Jeff E. Winner is the co-producer of the Raymond Scott documentary Deconstructing Dad. The Circle Machine is considered the first sequencer.
Also see:
Raymond Scott Archives Remembers Bob Moog
Bob Moog on Raymond Scott and the History of the Sequencer
Update via Dick in the comments: "Ray [Wilson] has just released the pcb's for the updated version of this - the Variclock 16 step sequencer adds an step duration knob (1-16) for each individual step. check the mfos site for the video "
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Raymond Scott Documentary Screening with Special Guest Herb Duetsch
via Jeff E. Winner on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge
"The Raymond Scott documentary film will be screened 5 times per day, for a week, at the Quad Cinema theater in New York City, between Friday July 13th and July 19th. Daily showtimes are: 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:15pm, 7:30pm, 9:50pm. Q&As with filmmaker Stan Warnow, co-producer Jeff E. Winner (me), & special guests including MOOG Synthesizer co-inventor Herbert Deutsch, to follow after select shows on opening weekend:
• Friday July 13 following the 7:30pm & 9:50pm shows
• Saturday July 14 following the 7:30pm & 9:50pm shows
• Sunday July 15 following the 3pm show
Stay 'tooned for more announcements of special events connected to this week of theatrical screenings.
Featuring John Williams ("STAR WARS") • Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) • DJ SPOOKY • Directed by: STAN WARNOW • Co-Producer: JEFF E. WINNER
DETAILS HERE: http://tinyurl.com/RaymondScottNYC"
First posted here.
Update via Jeff in the comments: "ORDER ADVANCE TICKETS HERE:
http://movietickets.com/movie_detail.asp?movie_id=102788"
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Raymond Scott Documentary "DECONSTRUCTING DAD" Screening in NYC
via Jeff E. Winner on
The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge:
"To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's music, the award-winning documentary film, "DECONSTRUCTING DAD," will be screened several times a day, for a week, at the Quad Cinema theater in NYC…
DETAILS HERE: http://raymondscott.blogspot.com/2012/06/week-of-theatrical-documentary-film.html"
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Raymond Scott Archives Remembers Bob Moog
Don't miss this one. It's a really nice look back on some of the history and influences of Bob Moog directly from the man himself. Bob Moog on seeing Raymond Scott's workplace for the first time: "So there my father and I were with our mouths hanging open! It looked like heaven to me. My father was an electrical engineer who worked for Consolidated Edison, and I was a twenty year-old electronics nerd who found himself on the track to becoming an engineer... Raymond then brought us into the big room downstairs where he had music synthesis equipment."
via Jeff E. Winner on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge
Monday, May 07, 2012
Mrs. Raymond Scott Obit Now Online
The link has also been added to this post.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
RIP Mrs. Raymond Scott
Mrs. Raymond Scott: "Mitzi"
(18 July 1918 - 3 May 2012)
via Jeff E. Winner on
The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge
Jeff E. Winner is the co-producer of Deconstructing Dad, a critically acclaimed documentary on Raymond Scott. The film was directed by Raymond Scott's son Stan Warnow.
Sincere condolences to Jeff, Stan and "Mitzi's" family and friends.
Update via Jeff E. Winner in the comments: "Thanks, for me and many others, Mitzi is the real 'star' of the documentary. Mitzi was RS's 3rd & final wife, and Stan's step-mother, from 1966 until the present — from his "Lightworks" era, thru Motown, and beyond….. until today. Mitzi is seen in this (longer) trailer on Vimeo [below], just after me, at the approx. 4:00 mark"
Documentary Trailer--DECONSTRUCTING DAD--The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott--DVD NOW AVAILABLE from Stan Warnow on Vimeo.
Update via Jeff E Winner in the comments: OBIT is now online: http://tinyurl.com/MrsRaymondScott"
Update via Jeff E Winner in the comments: "A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 22, 11:00 am, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 24901 Orchard Village Road, Santa Clarita. A reception will follow in the church hall. The service is open to the public: http://st-stephens.org/"
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/329962387077682/
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Raymond Scott Tribute on KALX-FM Radio Tonight
"Tonight at midnight (PST) on KALX-FM Radio, Berkeley — join host Rubberband Girl and guest Jeff Winner (me) for a special tribute show celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's music"
Listen here: http://kalx.berkeley.edu/ -or- 90.7 FM Radio in Berkeley, California
Update via Jeff E Winner in the comments:
"Listen online here:
http://raymondscott.blogspot.com/2012/03/75th-anniversary-radio-special-hosted.html"
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Raymond Scott's MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC.
"Prepare yourself. This collection of Raymond Scott's electronic music is your ticket to uncharted realms. These 1953-'69 recordings were performed by Raymond Scott on pioneering music machines designed and built by Scott, such as the Clavivox, Electronium, Circle Machine, and Bandito the Bongo Artist. Also included are soundtracks of Scott's maverick (and decidedly 'non-kiddie') film collaborations with pre-Muppet era Jim Henson. A 144-page hardcover book features interviews with Scott colleagues, including synthesizer innovator, Bob Moog. The full-color book also contains countless unseen photographs, lab notes, schematics, and US patents. Over 2 hours of music... (Note: This is NOT a reissue; all music is previously unreleased.)"
Follow-up to Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds For Babies
This one added to the Synth CDs post.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds For Babies
via wikipedia:
"Soothing Sounds for Baby (1964) is a three-volume set of ambient electronic music by American composer, musician, and inventor Raymond Scott. Scott originally intended to lull infants to sleep with the music, but later generations have found value in the music for its minimalist aspects, often comparing it to the works of Brian Eno, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream despite having predated such artists by more than a decade.
Originally released in collaboration with the Gesell Institute of Human Development[1], the volumes are split up into three age groups: Volume 1 is 1 to 6 months; Volume 2 is 6 to 12 months; and Volume 3 is 12 to 18 months. The music gets more complex with each volume. Scott created much of the music on the albums with instruments he created, such as the Electronium and the Clavivox. "Particularly on Soothing Sounds for Baby, Scott proved to be one of the first composers to merge the Brave New World of electronic sounds with a rhythmic pop sensibility."[2] Basta Music of Holland released the albums as a 3-CD set in 1997[2]."
Surprisingly you can currently find copies on eBay here.
Vol. 1 Track Listing
1. Lullaby
2. Sleepy Time
3. Music Box, The
4. Nursery Rhyme
5. Tic Toc
Vol. 2 Track Listing
1. Tempo Block
2. Happy Whistler, The
3. Toy Typewriter
Update: Per above I was surprised to see these on eBay. It turns out these are re-issues. Via Jeff E. Winner in the comments: "We issued CDs of all 3 volumes in 1997 — which are still in-print & selling very well — and these vinyl LPs, also still in-print. We have a 3-LP vinyl version of our MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. compilation too (but it doesn't include the amazing, 144-page hardcover, full-color book):" link
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Mark Mothersbaugh with The Electronium
via The Raymond Scott Archives's Photos
"Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) with the Motown version of Raymond Scott’s instantaneous-composition invention, THE ELECTRONIUM (and a Yamaha DX-7), in Scott’s guesthouse in Van Nuys, CA, 1993. [Photo by Mr. Bonzai, published in BILLBOARD magazine]"
This one in via Jeff
Friday, April 08, 2011
Raymond Scott techno w/Cyclebox + Sound of Shadows
YouTube Uploaded by s0LVentCIty on Apr 8, 2011
"Hi my name is Solvent and this is my 3rd Eurorack modular system video. Today I've made some Raymond Scott techno, with the help of my newly arrived Cylonix Cyclebox and Flight of Harmony Sound of Shadows. I haven't really got a clue how to use the Cylonix yet, but I thought this sounded good, so I pressed record. Drums and everything else are being triggered/sequenced from the MFB Urzwerg."
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Raymond Scott Documentary - Deconstructing Dad Now Available
http://scottdoc.com/dvd/
"The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott
Director: Stan Warnow
Studio: Waterfall Films Ltd.
Producer: Waterfall Films Ltd.
Starring: Raymond Scott, Wayne Barker, Gert-Jan Blom, Don Byron, Irwin Chusid, Jeremy Cohen, Herb Deutsch, Greg Ford, Will Friedwald, Skip Heller, Mark Mothersbaugh, Paul D. Miller ( DJ Spooky), Stan Warnow, Hal Willner, Jeff Winner, John Williams
Genre: Music Documentary
Region coded: 0
Run time: 98 MInutes
UPC bar code: 885007134848
Disc: dvd
Release date: September 9, 2010
His filmmaker son probes the life of his remote but fascinating father--musician, composer, inventor and futurist Raymond Scott.
Copyright (C) 2010 Waterfall Films Ltd. All Rights Reserved"
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Deconstructing Dad - Raymond Scott Film
Friday 17 / 19.45 / K1 On KLIK!"Raymond Scott was a prolific composer, musician and inventor whose music became synonymous with animated films during the Golden Age of Animation in the ‘30s and 40’s. In the 90’s, Scott’s music had a resurgence in animation through Ren & Stimpy, Duckman and the Animaniacs.Scott was also a pioneer in electronic music, building a “simultaneous composition and performance machine” called the Electronium and acting as the mentor of Robert Moog, who went on to invent the Moog Synthesizer."via vitomf, via cartoon brew
Update via Jeff E. Winner in the comments: "Jim Henson took that photo — that's his briefcase on the floor. And you're only seeing half of the shot — here's the entire thing"
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Circle Machine Complete
"I've more or less finished my Circle Machine project. I finished the 5U panel and built a desktop enclosure for it. It's fun to operate. I've put another video of it in operation on my Circle Machine web page. I use a control voltage to vary the sequence length to 4, 8, or 16 steps. I create the shorter sequences by skipping lamps but keeping a constant rotation rate. This has the effect of changing the tempo by 1/2 or 1/4.
None of my "modern" sequencers can use a control voltage to vary the sequence length. Doing so adds an interesting twist to the sequence. The first video on the Circle Machine web page shows demonstrates this using a sine LFO to control the sequence length.
A fun project. - Dave"
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Circle Machine
The only information I have is the picture on the Raymond Scott site. I used a Hammond vibrato scanner base as the base for the circle machine and mounted it on a plate with 16 potentiometers around it. I only have 8 lamps installed but I have it playing an octave scale (the output is quantized). I've got a thread going on Muff's in the Music Tech DIY but thought I'd post a link here as well. I'm not sure how practical it is but it's kind of fun to watch. It's also been fun to prototype.
I'm using incandescent lamps, rheostats (e.g. potentiometers) and a CdS sensor. All the control and processing electronics are done in a microprocessor (I know it's not original but those are the electronics *below* the panel). This will be a stand-alone module as it takes over 12 watts of power.
Details, photos, and videos are at http://modularsynthesis.com/modules/DJB-circle/circle.htm."
Friday, June 25, 2010
1932 ART DECO 10K GOLD RAYMOND SCOTT MEDAL MOOG
via this auction
"This 1932 Sigma Tau metal is 10K solid gold, measures 1.1" (28mm) across, weighs just over 9 grams and belonged to Raymond Scott, the famous recording artist and synthesizer genius who was involved in many facets of the music industry, TV, and films. The medal has outstanding detail in deep relief on one side. Excellent condition. Shipping is $4.95 in the U.S.A. and includes full insurance. International shipping by Express Mail is $25.00 including full insurance."
Update: calls on this one being BS in the comments below.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Bob Moog on Raymond Scott and the History of the Sequencer
"Raymond then brought us into the big room downstairs where he had music synthesis equipment. He had rack upon rack of stepping relays that were used by the telephone company. The relay would step through all positions when dialed. He had them hooked up to turn sounds on and off. It was a huge, electro-mechanical sequencer! And he had it programmed to produce all sorts of rhythmic patterns. The whole room would go 'clack - clack - clack,' and the sounds would come out all over the.place!
Raymond also showed us his "Circle Machine," which was a big disc, and a rotating arm with a photo-cell at the end of the arm. There was a series of lights on the circumference of the disc that this arm would pass over, and you could adjust the brightness of each lightbulb. As the arm swung around, and the photocell was illuminated and got darker, the different sounds would come on and.off."
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Raymond Scott's Electronium: The Restoration.
YouTube via DoseoDave — April 29, 2010 — "Raymond Scott Electronium: The Restoration.
As a teaser trailer, this video is designed to spark interest in learning more about the history of the Electronium, an early electronic music device invented & built by Raymond Scott.
To learn more about Raymond Scott check out this site:
YouYube
http://www.youtube.com/user/RaymondSc...
Website
http://RaymondScott.com"
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