I Dream of Wires to Add Additional Extended Interview

via I Dream of Wires on Facebook:

"It looks like we'll be producing and releasing one more free I Dream Of Wires: Extended Interview piece in 2014. If you could choose just one person, out of all of the people we interviewed in IDOW, who would you like to see featured in a full Extended Interview? [leave your pick on Facebook here]

If you're not familiar with our Extended Interview series, we've released 9 of them so far. See the list below, and check out our Vimeo channel to watch.

I Dream of Wires - Extended Interview Series:"

9. Chris Carter:

CLICK FOR MORE »

I Dream of Wires Extended Interviews 4 - 8

Carl Craig - Modular Pursuits: IDOW Extended Interview #4 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

In April 2012, the I Dream of Wires team met with legendary Detroit techno producer Carl Craig, to discuss his electronic music influences and production experiences, including his recent interest in eurorack modular synthesis. Craig's experiments in modular synthesis are best heard on 2010's "Modular Pursuits" 12-inch, released under his No Boundaries alias. For more info on Carl Craig: carlcraig.net Music, used with permission from Planet E: "Desire" by 69 "Pursuit 1", "Pursuit 2", "Pursuit 3" by No Boundaries.

http://www.carlcraig.net
http://soundcloud.com/carlcraiginc
http://planet-e.net

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 4th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://idreamofwires.org
http://www.facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Made in Canada - Modcan & Intellijel: IDOW Extended Interview #5 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Canada holds a significant place in the history of electronic instrument development: from the ground-breaking inventions of Hugh Le Caine in the 1940s to the innovations at the University of Toronto's Electronic Music Lab in the 1960s. Recently, Canada has again come to play a significant role with the modern day resurgence of modular synthesizers; it is home to two highly respected manufacturers: Modcan, founded by Toronto's Bruce Duncan, was the first company to reintroduce modular synthesizers to the post-MIDI marketplace, and Intellijel, founded by Vancouver's Danjel Van Tijn, is one of the fastest growing and most respected lines of Eurorack synthesizer modules. For more info on Modcan, visit: modcan.com For more info on Intellijel, visit: intellijel.com Music/sound: Jason Amm (Solvent), Bruce Duncan (Modcan), Danjel Van Tijn (Intellijel), John Elliot (Emeralds) I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 5th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://www.modcan.com
http://intellijel.com
http://idreamofwires.org
http://facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Orphx & Modulars - The Physical Element: IDOW Extended Interview #6 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Canadian duo Orphx have been releasing electronic music since 1993, and while they were best known in experimental/industrial music circles for many years, today they are regarded as pioneers in the fusion of techno and industrial music. Orphx's recent output on Sonic Groove has met with critical acclaim from many of techno's leading DJs. Having performed live with laptops for several years, Orphx's Christina Sealey made the decision to delve in modular synthesizers, hoping it would bring some spontaneity and excitement to Orphx's music, both on stage and in the studio.

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 6th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://www.orphx.com
http://orphx.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/orphx
http://www.soundcloud.com/orphx

http://idreamofwires.org
http://facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Solvent - Modular Encounters: IDOW Extended Interview #7 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Canadian electronic artist Solvent was commissioned to create an all-modular synthesizer based soundtrack for the forthcoming documentary I Dream of Wires; The challenge allowed him the opportunity to work with a vast array of modular synthesizers, both new and vintage. Solvent, born Jason Amm in Zimbabwe, and currently residing in Toronto, Canada, has been releasing his unique brand of analogue synthesizer music since 1997, encompassing crunchy IDM, melodic electro, and vocoder synthpop. Best known for his releases on Morr Music and Ghostly International, Solvent is also co-founder of the obscure, yet influential electro(nica) label, Suction Records. All of the music heard in this video segment was created by Solvent during several on-camera album recording sessions. No drum machines, samples, or hardwired synthesizers were used; each and every sound was created from scratch on the following selection of modular synthesizer systems: Eurorack, Modcan, Synthesizers.com, and Moog 15. In addition to creating the film's soundtrack, Amm has recently been serving as writer and producer for "I Dream Of Wires".

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 6th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://solventcity.com
http://facebook.com/solvent
http://soundcloud.com/solvent
http://suctionrecords.bandcamp.com

http://idreamofwires.org
http://www.facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Richard Devine's Analog Voodoo Effect: IDOW Extended Interview #8 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Richard Devine is an Atlanta-based electronic musician and sound designer. He is recognized for producing a layered and heavily processed sound, combining influences from hip-hop, to old and modern electronic music. Richard Devine has released records through such esteemed labels as Schematic and Warp Records, and is the creative force behind his own sound design company, Devine Sound. Though he has contributed sound design to a number of hardware and software manufacturers, he recently released his first official sample library through Sony Creative Software. Devine has also scored commercials for the likes of Nike and Touchstone Pictures. Since the late-90s, Richard Devine's sound has been synonymous with taking cutting-edge computer-based DSP (digital signal processing) to its limits. In recent years, however, Devine has also become a convert to the unlimited sonic capabilities and hands-on "analog voodoo effect" of the Eurorack modular format. I Dream of Wires spoke to Devine at NAMM 2012, which he attends annually. Judging by the studio footage on his Vimeo channel, and his wild enthusiasm on the subject, Devine is a bonafide Eurorack obsessive! All music and sound in this video is by Richard Devine. Additional studio footage supplied by Richard Devine.

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 6th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://richard-devine.com
http://devinesound.net
http://soundcloud.com/richarddevine
http://vimeo.com/channels/richarddevine

http://idreamofwires.org
http://facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary

See the IDOW label below for more.

SPITFIRE's eDNA EARTH Organic Synthesis

Published on Sep 3, 2014 Spitfire Audio

"Spitfire successfully pilots next-gen soundware back to EARTH with elemental eDNA release

LONDON, UK: compositional tools creator Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of the first phase in its eDNA (Electronic DNA) project, EDNA01 - EARTH — a mouth-watering, once-in-a-lifetime collection of electronic sounds served up from the most valued collection of orchestral recordings on the planet, creating the next generation of soundware for the next generation of music makers, as of September 12...

Fact: Spitfire Audio has spent the last decade creating the world’s finest orchestral library. But the simple fact is that this was never its prime objective. Often words are never enough, in fact, yet the tantalising EDNA01 - EARTH teaser did just that with a carefully chosen few: SPITFIRE DIRECTIVE: MAY 2004... PROJECT CODENAME: GAIA... OBJECTIVE: INFILTRATE THE WORLD’S GREATEST ORCHESTRAS... MINE SONIC ORE... TO CREATE RAW COMPONENTS FOR... eDNA... PHASE #ONE... EARTH ORGANIC SYNTHESIS.

Intriguing, isn’t it? So what on earth is EDNA01 - EARTH, exactly? Easy answer. For the last five years Spitfire Audio has been cherry-picking its way through the best musical moments from seven years’ worth of orchestral recordings and placing them through a series of extraordinary analogue and digital signal-warping chains to create the largest sound set of jaw-dropping, next-generation, organic-sounding electronics ever heard anywhere on earth. Either this is some of the best hyperbole ever written or something special has been happening behind closed doors, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed upon the unsuspecting music-making masses, more often than not already jaded by the morass of identikit, mainstream, and clichéd dance and pop sounds already available elsewhere. EDNA01 - EARTH is far from this, and far more besides, however. Hearing will be believing, believe us. Now that’s another fact to chew on! And here’s some more serious food for thought...

While Spitfire Audio has been hard at work recording the finest orchestral players for several years now, practising its collective craft of carefully creating the best strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion libraries in the world to let loose on musicians the world over, coming from a background of the first wave of EDM (Electronic Dance Music), many here have hungered to get their hands on those superb sounds for further ill-gotten gains — hence the best orchestral recordings being saved to an above top secret hard drive to act as a repository for raw material. The elemental ore or set of polished diamonds, waiting to be roughed up all over again, if you will. While this proved to be a drawn-out process, it was well worth waiting for, that’s for sure!

Indeed, five long years were spent experimenting with orchestral warping techniques, finding the most rarefied analogue outboard and synths with which to filter, mangle, and much more besides, as well as commissioning and creating bespoke digital signal paths. Sounds were pulled up from that top secret hard drive, fed through an awesome multistage signal path, then left simmering overnight to create the most delicious and sometimes just plainly ‘wrong’ sets of sounds. Spitfire’s supremely talented team of multi-award-winning composers, producers, technicians, and engineers subsequently set about pairing down over a terabyte of data to more manageable musical chunks — the very best of the best with which to create a set of multi-sampled sound-sets that became the very building blocks of EARTH itself. Indeed, these were then meticulously organised by sound type into even more manageable sound banks, ready for future release when the time was right.

Rightfully so, Spitfire Audio — in partnership with Blake Robinson — has been hard at it for the last several years or so, cleverly creating some of the most intuitive and ingenious scripts, simple to use GUIs, and attractive front ends for its ongoing series of virtual instruments for Native Instruments’ industry- standard KONTAKT platform for Mac (OS X 10.7 or higher) and PC (Windows 7). Around a year ago, Spitfire Audio wiped the slate — or should we say script? — clean, and set about creating a monstrous new script engine, called eDNA (Electronic DNA), into which those ear-opening EARTH sound banks were effectively transplanted. ‘EARTH - Beta’ was then duly distributed around Spitfire’s state-of-the-art studio complex in central London, where the team truly went to town to create a quite frankly jaw-dropping selection of the most original, haunting, beautiful, epic, fat, angry, and downright unpleasant sounds you’re ever likely to set ears upon — here, there, or anywhere (else). EDNA01 - EARTH’s ingenious GUI genuinely fosters exploration into hitherto uncharted sonic vistas, all of which are a knob or slider away from being tweaked to belong to the user as they themselves see fit. Mangle (via the main MIX window) and add effects galore (via the main FX and MOTORISED FX windows)... it’s all there for the taking and more!

Who better to extol the many musical virtues of EDNA01 - EARTH than Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson. “There’s huge scope for you to get in and start making your own sounds with all this stuff,” says the working composer. “We are really excited about this one. It’s very useful, and it’s the kind of thing that we’ve been hankering after for a long time — especially Christian [Henson] and myself, who are always looking for some great, unusual synth sounds. The advantage of the way that we’ve put this library together is that you won’t hear the same sound that you’re using on your one- hundred-million-dollar blockbuster on the documentary about the lifecycle of the fruit fly the following day! So you can really dig in and create sounds that are your own signature in here.”

There you have it, then. An awesome-sounding collection of 1,900-plus basic instruments mangled into 1,001 custom patches across several so-called factory and artist ‘cartridges’ by Spitfire Audio’s award-winning team of composers, sound-smiths, producers, and engineers. eDNA (interface) and EDNA01 - EARTH (cartridges)... what a beautiful combination. Everything needed to take anyone ‘out there’ — and back to earth again!


EDNA01 - EARTH can be purchased and downloaded directly from Spitfire Audio for an attractive introductory price of £129.00 GBP (subject to VAT within the EU) — rising to £149.00 GBP (subject to VAT within the EU) on October 1, 2014 — from here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/products-page (Note that this is a free Native Instruments KONTAKT PLAYER library — no additional purchases necessary to run this product to its full potential.)

For more detailed information, please visit the dedicated EDNA01 - EARTH webpage here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/edna01-earth"

'Vangelis And The Journey To Ithaka' Documentary

video upload by Best Documentary

The boxes are his Zyklus preset managers.

"Vangelis was arguably the most prolific film composer of all time. His music for Blade Runner is among the most influential scores ever written. His Oscar-winning theme for Chariots of Fire is used for sporting events around the world. This all-encompassing film details his influences and inspiration with many of the most influential stars.

Director: Tony Palmer Cast: OLIVER STONE, HENRY MANCINI, SEAN CONNERY, RIDLEY SCOTT, MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ, DAVID PUTTNAM, MARISS JANSONS, JULIAN RACHLIN, JON ANDERSON, HUGH HUDSON, GÉRARD DEPARDIEU, ROMAN POLANSKI."

Update via the world of next tuesday in the comments: "Correct that those manage presets on synths and midi modules. They are custom. Pretty sure he no longer uses the Zyklus sequencer. They are definitely not for the Zyklus though perhaps someone building those had ties with it's development"

"The two-hour documentary includes interviews with Vangelis and many of his friends and colleagues, including Sean Connery, Hugh Hudson, Jessye Norman, Oliver Stone, Akiko Ebi, Julian Rachlin and many others. It also includes rare, historical footage, most of which has never been seen before. Another highlight includes recent footage of Vangelis improvising new music!.."

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15580

Ground Control to Major Tron

Ground Control to Major Tron from Jim Tracy on Vimeo.

Don't miss the ClodiTron (?) at 2:26. Transitron and OrbiTron follow.

"Short documentary about the man behind Melbourne's iconic street act the 'Sonic Manipulator'.

Filmed and edited in a day as part of the 15/15 International Film Festival, the film went on to win best documentary and best editing. It was also recently invited to become a part of the Australian National Film Archive."

This one in via Ghost_

Happy Birthday Suzanne Ciani!

Today is Suzanne Ciani's Birthday! Thought I'd put up a playlist of some of her work and appearances. Those of you that have been coming to MATRIXSYNTH over the years, will recognize some of these.  There's a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 in the first Letterman clip, however she is primarily known for her work with Buchla.  Be sure to see the 8th video of her live at Lincoln Center, previously posted here.  That was from this April!  Needless to say Suzanne Ciani is a HUGE inspiration to all of us that are diehard about synths.

Happy Birthday Suzanne Ciani!

Playlist:
1. Ciani on Letterman Show
2. 3-2-1 Contact "Noisy/Quiet: Music" (1980)
3. Omni-Suzanne Ciani
4. GE Dishwasher Production Session
5 - 7. Fifth Wave Recording Session Parts 1 - 3
8. Suzanne Ciani Live at Lincoln Center
9. 1980 Xenon pinball by Bally - gameplay multicamera edit - "Xenon pinball was manufactured by Bally in 1980 and 11,000 units were produced. The voices and music used in the game were created by electronic music composer Suzanne Ciani. Game design by Greg Kmiec and art by Paul Faris."

Pic to the left via Suzanne Ciani's official website.

The following is her current bio via Wikipedia:

"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. Besides music, her specialty was reproducing sound effects on the synthesizer, that recording engineers had found difficult to record properly; the sound of a bottle of Coca-Cola being opened and poured was one of Ciani's most widely recognized works, and was used in a series of radio and television commercials in the late 1970s. She is also responsible for "logo" sounds pertaining to Energizer and ABC.[2] Such was the demand for her services, that at one point she was doing up to 50 sessions a week. Her sound effects also appeared in video games (the pinball game Xenon featured her voice[3]). Such audio logos as the Coca-Cola pop and pour along with video game sound effects and more appear on the 2012 album Lixiviation (Finders Keepers) along with the only currently available excerpts from her 1975 Buchla Concert.[4]

In 1977, Ciani provided the sound effects for Meco's disco version of the Star Wars soundtrack, which was certified platinum. She added the signature electronic "swoosh" to Afternoon Delight by the Starland Vocal Band. At the time, Ciani thought the work was just a "song about spaceships".[5] Ciani scored the Lily Tomlin movie The Incredible Shrinking Woman, distinguishing her as the first solo female composer of a major Hollywood film; Lloyd Williams's 1975 experimental film Rainbow's Children; and a 1986 documentary about Mother Teresa, as well the TV daytime serial ("soap opera") One Life to Live. She also composed and perhaps best known for the 1976 Columbia Pictures and Columbia Pictures Television theme jingles. She has toured throughout the United States, Italy, Spain, and Asia.

In 1982 Ciani began to record albums in the new-age genre, characterized by a mix of electronic and traditional instruments. Her first album, Seven Waves was first released in 1982 in Japan, and was later released in her native US in 1984 through Atlantic Records. Her 1986 album The Velocity of Love, released by RCA Records, featured Ciani's best known song, the title track. In 1987 she signed to the Private Music label, which released a number of albums from 1988 to 1992, including re-issues of her first two albums. Although emphasizing electronic music in her recordings, her solo piano album Pianissimo, from 1990, became her best-selling album. Ciani ended her contract with Private Music with the compilation The Private Music of Suzanne Ciani, in 1992.

In the 1990s Ciani founded her own music label, Seventh Wave, from which she has released all her subsequent albums, which have been more classically oriented than her previous recordings. 1994's Dream Suite was recorded in Moscow with the Young Russia Orchestra, and was Grammy-nominated. 1999's Turning featured her first composition with lyrics, in the title track, sung by Taiwanese artist Chyi Yu.

In early 2006, Ciani's Silver Ship won in The 5th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best New Age Album.[6] Ciani was also an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.[7]

Five of Ciani's albums have been nominated for Grammy awards."

I Dream of Wires Call for Action - Please Read & Happy Thanksgiving!

Update: the new funding page is here: I Dream of Wires on IndieGoGo
Note the links below point to the old funding page.

Hi everyone! First off, Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating. Second, the I Dream of Wires crew is currently 10 days away from their target date on gathering funding on IndieGoGo for the film. In short, they are making a documentary on the modular scene. They have much of the North American scene covered but would like to cover the UK and Europe as well. In order to do so they need funds. If you plan on picking up the DVD when it is released, please consider paying for it now on http://www.indiegogo.com/I-Dream-of-Wires. Why now and not when it comes out? Because the more they raise now, the more they will be able to cover. Is there a risk in paying now if they don't reach their goal funding? Yes and No. No in that they have plenty to cover for a DVD now, so you will get your money's worth. Yes in that if they don't receive enough funding, the UK's & Europe's modular scene will likely not get covered.

The long version via Solvent (also on Muff's):

"An update on I Dream Of Wires' fund raising:

We now have less than 2 weeks left in our IndieGoGo campaign, and have so far raised just one third our $30,000 goal. We have done our best to avoid badgering you with endless pleas for a contribution, but the time has come where we need to come right out and ask you to please consider contributing to the campaign now, if you haven't already.

If you are reading this, chances are you are interested in seeing this documentary, so if you do intend to buy the DVD when it comes out, there is really no reason not to contribute to the film now; your contribution is essentially a DVD pre-order. In fact, your advance contribution will net you the DVD at a cheaper price than it will be available for commercially. More importantly, your advance contribution will help to make 'I Dream Of Wires' into a better documentary.

The $10,000 we've raised so far is not even enough money to cover expenses for our upcoming West Coast trip / series of important interviews. We've booked our tickets and committed to this trip, but if part of the money ends up coming out of our own pockets, this is unfortunately the last trip that we are going to be able to consider. That means no trips to Germany and/or UK, trips that we had hoped and made tentative plans to do. This would essentially limit the film's perspective to the North American modular scene, which would be a shame. 
 


Some notes and clarifications:

(1) Unlike it's more well-known competitor, Kickstarter, IndieGoGo campaigns remain active after the closing date. So technically, we will still be able to receive contributions after the campaign has finished. Here is what the closing date represents to us: In December, we will be evaluating and determining the future scope of the project, and this will largely be based on the results of our IndieGoGo fund raising. Yes, we are also looking into alternate funding options, but ultimately we would prefer to keep this production as independent as possible. Raising the money through IndieGoGo is our best option for maintaining 100% independence. This will allow us to keep our vision pure and in tact, without the compromises that investors often bring to the table.

(2) People continue to ask: 'What happens if I contribute and then you don't reach your goal?' Similarly, we've had several comments saying things like: 'I hope you reach your goal so this film will become reality.' To clarify - the film is going to be completed, regardless of the fund raising outcome; contributors will get the package that they paid for, guaranteed. We have already invested a lot of time, energy, and money into this film - we are passionate about it, and committed to seeing it complete! We want to take this film beyond the Youtube playing field and into the greater public realm, to help foster an appreciation for the incredible talent, passion and dedication found in the modular synth community. Your contributions are helping us to document this exciting time in the history of electronic music, and the more contributions that we receive, the more wide-reaching our scope will be. 



Finally, we would like to say THANK YOU to the 143 people who have contributed to our campaign so far - Amazing! It is greatly appreciated, and has already proved vital in the film's continuing production."

Again, if you plan to pick up a copy, please considering paying for it now: http://www.indiegogo.com/I-Dream-of-Wires Update: new link here.

Arturia Memorialises Moog’s Birthday with Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack Promotion

"GRENOBLE, FRANCE: music software and hardware company Arturia is introducing a timely time- limited pricing promotion for its limited-edition Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack produced in collaboration with — and in aid of — The Bob Moog Foundation as a tribute to synthesizer pioneer Dr. Bob Moog who would have been 79 on May 23...

Arturia’s Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack pricing promotion starts on May 23 and runs for one week only. During this time, Moog fans, musicians, and producers worldwide wishing to pay tribute to the inventive individual responsible for singlehandedly revolutionising the sound of modern music production with his namesake 1965-patented Moog Ladder Filter design — which featured in the breakthrough voltage-controlled Moog modular synthesizer and its game-changing 1971-vintage compact MinimoogTM monosynth followup (for which Dr. Bob Moog was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office National Inventors Hall of Fame) — can purchase Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack from the Arturia website at a reduced rate of €129.00 EUR/$129.00 USD (instead of €249.00 EUR/$299.00 USD). As always, a percentage of the sales proceeds will be donated by Arturia to The Bob Moog Foundation. In turn, this supports the dream of building the MoogseumTM (Bob Moog Museum), the convergence of The Bob Moog Foundation’s goals of inspiring and educating people through electronic music.

Moog fans, musicians, and producers will take delight in the beautifully produced and carefully curated package that is Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack on many levels — be it factual, historical, and, of course, musical. First up, the latest versions of two award-winning soft synths from Arturia successfully showcase the company’s ear-opening TAE® (True Analog Emulation) synthesis technology: Mini V 2.5.4 meticulously models the distinctive tones and analogue nuances of the legendary MinimoogTM Model D monosynth; after all, Dr. Bob Moog changed the musical world with the MinimoogTM and Arturia helped change the music software world with the Mini V! Similarly, Modular V 2.6.3 gives Dr. Bob Moog’s monstrous Moog modular synthesizer concept a software makeover fit for 21st Century composition and recording workflow — virtual analogue nirvana, indeed! (The use of trademarks is only meant as a reference to clarify the instruments whose sound was modelled and does not imply any endorsement.)

But that’s not all: the included Moog DVD documentary film by Hans Fjellestad — Best Documentary award winner at the Barcelona Inedit Film Festival — takes viewers on a compelling journey inside the imaginative mind of its illustrious namesake, alongside admiring interviews with and performances from the likes of DJ Spooky, Keith Emerson, Money Mark, Stereolab, and Rick Wakeman. Curated and prefaced by Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director at The Bob Moog Foundation, the limited-edition From Bob Moog’s Private Archives book fascinatingly features never-before-seen photographs and rare documents from the archives of Dr. Bob Moog himself.

And last, but by no means least, the official Bob Moog Foundation button badge is a great way of showing support for The Bob Moog Foundation by buying Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack — wear it with pride! So let’s collectively celebrate a legacy in honour of Dr. Bob Moog’s 79th birthday and help inspire the future.

The Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack pricing promotion runs for one week from May 23 during which it can be bought from the Arturia online store (http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en/buy/online-shop.html) for the reduced rate of €129.00 EUR/$129.00 USD (returning to €249.00 EUR/$299.00 USD thereafter)."

New 2010 Optigan Disc - SURF ROCK!

YouTube via peahix — June 01, 2010 —

"Now available for pre-order at http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan/inde... is our brand new Optigan disc: SURF ROCK! When we've reached 15 pre-orders, we'll go to press with the limited run of 25 discs.

Surf's up! It's time to wax the board and catch a wave! Optigan.com is proud to present Surf Rock , featuring the vintage sounds of the 1960's surf scene. For this music program disc, we've gone into the recording studio with a couple of SoCal's best surf rockers.

Reverb enthusiast Matt Quilter is one-half of the guitar assault from the award-winning Reventlos http://www.reventlos.com/ whose quirky instro albums alternately intrigue and horrify surf music purists. In addition to his duties on guitar, he co-produced the documentary feature Pounding Surf! http://www.surfdrums.com/surfdrums.html an insider's look at the SoCal surf music scene from 1961 to the present day. For the Optigan session, he chose from his arsenal a Fender Stratocaster played through a blond Fender Tremolux and Reverb unit, both from 1963.

Lee "Kix" rarely strays from playing Death-Surf / Afro-Billy music with the Reventlos. However in days past he has recorded with world famous instrumental guitar gods, The Ventures. As a veteran of many Linn Drum sessions, Kix is no stranger to having his drums sampled for posterity. The Optigan session was recorded with vintage 1960's Oaklawn Camco drums, 20x14 bass drum and 14x5.5 metal snare. T he 12x8 and 14x10 toms used in the session were obtained when Kix was a Los Angeles Camco endorsee in the mid-70's.

Guitar and Bass played by Matt Quilter.
Drums played by William Lee "Kix".
Music arranged by Matt Quilter and William Lee "Kix".
Music produced, edited, and mastered by Pea Hicks.
Engineered and Mixed by Jon O'Brien. Recorded at The Music Box Studios, Garden Grove CA http://themusicboxstudios.com/
Disc creation software, disc production cover artwork and jacket layout by Robert Becker .
Cover artwork by Mark Crafford.

RHYTHMS: 4/4
LEFT HAND: Bass, guitar, and drums.
RIGHT HAND: Tremolo electric guitar.
SPECIAL EFFECTS SWITCHES: 1. Guitar Gliss, 2. Drums, 3. Tom-
Toms, 4. Snare Fill, 5. Guitar C Chord.

Be sure to check our other videos for a mini-documentary of the Surf Rock recording session!"

Making of the Optigan SURF ROCK Disc

"peahix — June 01, 2010 —

Here's a mini-documentary of the recording session for the Optigan SURF ROCK disc, shot and narrated by Pat Quilter, co-founder of QSC Audio Products http://www.qsc.com

Featured are Matt Quilter (Pat's brother) on bass/guitar and Lee Kix on drums. Matt and Lee are both members of The Reventlos http://www.reventlos.com. Also appearing are Pea Hicks (optigan guru), Robert Becker (new optigan disc guru) and Jon O'Brien (sound engineer).

Please see our other videos for a demo of the Optigan disc that resulted from these sessions, and visit http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan/inde... to order a copy of the disc."

Synth East 2024 - Synth and Modular festival in Norwich

video upload by Molten Music Technology

"Synth East is a festival of synths and modular in Norwich from Friday the 23rd of February to Sunday the 25th. Brought to you by the Norwich Arts Centre, Electronic Sound Magazine and Molten Modular.

Tickets are available for each event separately. There's a discount if you order the Saturday Expo and evening gig at the same time.

Friday: Subotnick documentary [trailer here], Adam Buxton interviews Steve Davis and music from Luke Sanger.

Saturday daytime: Synth Expo with performances

Saturday evening: Blancmange, Ultramarine and Molten Modular

Sunday: DIY Workshops from Thonk and Befaco.

http://www.syntheast.com"

Update: press release follows:


"Pouring from the heart of Norfolk, hosted by the Norwich Arts Centre, curated by Electronic Sound Magazine and run by Molten Modular, Synth East is back. After a devastatingly successful 2023 show the sold-out Norfolk-based festival of synthesizers returns in 2024 but this time it's been widened into a full weekend experience.

The all new Friday evening Synth East event is curated by Electronic Sound Magazine and kicks off with (possibly) the UK premiere of a documentary on electronic musician Morton Subotnick, who at 90 years old, is known affectionately as the Father of Techno. It’s called Subotnick, Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer by Waveshaper Media who brought us the intoxicating 2014 documentary, I Dream of Wires.

Following the film we have writer, broadcaster, comedian and musician Adam Buxton chatting with Synth East alumni Steve Davis about music, life and modular synths. Finishing off the evening we have an ambient set from modular musician Luke Sanger as we relax into some beers in preparation for what’s to come for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday’s Synth East Expo is a carnival of control voltage, a festival of synth sounds and a party of epic performances. Dozens of manufacturers will be filling the Arts Centre with synths and modulars to give you an opportunity check out their marvellous machines and bask in the glow of synthesiser technology. You’ll be able to chat with the makers about the gear and even have a personal demonstration. Simply walking through the auditorium in the company of such exciting gear is completely thrilling.

Throughout the day we’ll be having some performances from local artists Hardwired and Tristan Burfield before we once again embark on the awesome modular experiment of the all-star patch off. This year, joining Robin "Molten Modular" Vincent, Steve Davis and Gaz Williams will be Mylar Melodies, Nina Richards, and Jason Jervis. These are unique, improvised performances that you’ll never see anywhere else.

Saturday night’s synthesiser explosion features the 80s synth legends Blancmange who have kindly agree to fit us in before their extensive Everything is Connected: The Best Of Blancmange tour of the UK. Supporting Blancmange we have eclectic electronic music duo Ultramarine featuring Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond. And in the warm up slot is our own Robin “Molten Modular” Vincent and a special guest.

On Sunday we are hosting some Eurorack DIY workshops presented by Befaco and Thonk. They will be held at Electronic Sound HQ at Capital House over a few hours. The idea is that you buy a ticket for the workshop and then order the kit that you hope to build directly with Befaco or Thonk.

Synth East 2024 runs from the 23rd to the 25th of February. Each event is available as a separate ticket and there's a bundle deal on buying the Saturday Expo and evening performance together.

Our intention is to revel in the world of synthesizers, modular and electronic musical boxes. We want to explore sound through performance, discussion and hands-on interaction. It's a lot of fun and open to anyone with an interest in bleeps, tones and noises."

Moogfest 2014 Presenters Include Makers Roger Linn, Dave Smith, Tom Oberheim, Don Buchla, Forest Mims & More

"Moogfest 2014 Announces Daytime Presenters Including Futurists, Musicians, Scientists, Authors, Filmmakers, and Pioneers of Electronic Music Instrument Design

Phase 1 tickets start at $199 for 5-Day General Admission, and $499 for 5-Day VIP Admission while supplies last through December 19 when Phase 2 GA tickets go up to $299. All prices exclusive of applicable fees.

ASHEVILLE, NC – November 14, 2013 – Moogfest is a five-day festival dedicated to the synthesis of technology, art and music. Since its inception in 2004, Moogfest has been a magnet for artists, engineers, and enthusiasts of Bob Moog. With an experimental lineup of daytime conference programming featuring cultural, artistic and technological luminaries and punctuated by a diverse line up of landmark nightly performances, Moogfest honors the creativity and inventiveness of Dr. Robert Moog and pays tribute to the legacy of the analog synthesizer. This is no ordinary festival.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Dave Smith Instruments In the Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Tom Darom

You can find the full interview with Tom Darom here.

"Tom Darom is an Israeli producer, composer and keyboardist based in Tel Aviv, Israel. She tours and records with the Balkan Beat Box as keyboardist and programmer, is A&R/creative director for APE Records, and is also a composer for TV, film, and media. Her recent work, Shadow of Truth, is a 4-part documentary on Netflix. She received the DocAviv Best Original Music award in 2016 for the documentary Death in the Terminal. The movie also won the Best Israeli Film award.

“I live in an environment that is a melting pot of cultures, rhythms, religions, languages, and conflict. This obviously filters into the art that’s produced here. Many of my scores cover these issues. Much of the music I produce, and artists I work with are an intricate weave of eastern and western influences. Our generation is fortunate to be able to search for what defines our complex identity. From this a new, hybrid middle-eastern sound has been born.

We chatted with Tom about how she’s using the Prophet-6."

---
You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Buchla Documentary by Connie Field Now on Kikstarter

Follow-up to this previous post.  via Kickstarter:

"With a passion for music and engineering, Don Buchla created electronic musical instruments the world had never dreamed of before.

When we've told people that we're preparing a documentary about Don Buchla, we get one of two reactions:

a) Wow! It's about time The man's a genius! Why hasn't this happened already?

or

b) Don who?

We want to make a movie that can live up to the expectations and desires and hopes for the people who answered a), and that can introduce Don in the best way possible to those who answered b).

Don Buchla is a legendary instrument maker whose inventions were part of the greatest musical transformation of the 20th century. His pioneering work laid the basis for what electronic music was to become by creating a unique analog synthesizer which completely changed the way people think about, compose, and perform music. The list of musicians and composers who have used the Buchla range from avant-garde composer Morton Subotnick to Nine Inch Nails, with plenty more along the way. Don hasn't stopped inventing since the arrival of the Buchla, and his other instruments combine an idiosyncratic sound with a sense of wonder and theatrical magic.

"Music is a mirror that we hold up to see how cultural structures are formed. Race, social hierarchy, class, national origin the twentieth century saw a questioning of these issues on a global level, and in a sense, electronic music was the soundtrack to that intense investigation into the human situation. Almost all traditional notions of space, time, and physicality have been reconfigured in ways that we are just beginning to understand. I think that electronic music has helped us understand the process we've lived through. Think about everything from the tones you hear coming out of your telephone to the frequencies underlying cellular communication to the algorithms used to route the information holding it all together -- most of this stuff has been explored one way or the other by the avant-garde."
--Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky)

Don was definitely part of the avant-garde. He has been called a mad scientist, a genius, an innovator, a recluse, an iconoclast, and has gathered a horde of fiercely loyal admirers by following his own visionary path, and dancing to his own muse. His name and instruments are known from Indonesia to France.

We have begun to film because there have been performances and interviews to capture that we simply couldn't pass up, such as Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender from the San Francisco Tape Music Center, who commissioned Don to build the first Buchla; French composers Jean-Baptiste Barrière and Marc Battier; and performances by Subotnick and Marimba Lumina player Joel Davel, who has assisted in Buchla's workshop for over a decade.

But now we need to raise production funding to complete the rest of our filming. Among the other people we will be including in the film are early Buchla composer/performer Suzanne Ciani, analog synth performer/music journalist Gino Robair, Lightning virtuoso Forrest Tobey, synth maestro Alessandro Cortini (of Nine Inch Nails and Sonoio), Marimba Lumina co-designer Mark Goldstein, and, of course, Don himself. Ideally, we're hoping you can support us beyond what we're asking for here so we can also edit and do post-production for the film.

With your help, we will be able to do the legacy of Don Buchla justice."

MOOG LIVES. PLAY ON. | The Making of the Little Phatty & Its Discontinuation

Published on Sep 9, 2013 MoogMusicInc·253 videos

"The Little Phatty was released in 2006 as a tribute to the life and legacy of Moog Music founder and synthesizer pioneer, Bob Moog. Following the passing of Dr. Moog, The Little Phatty was the first Moog synthesizer designed by Moog Music's Chief Engineer, Cyril Lance.

Over the course of its seven year production run, the Little Phatty has gone through three incantations including The Tribute, Stage I, and Stage II editions. During that time, the Little Phatty has become one of the best selling professional analog synthesizers in history. Its sonic impact on modern music can be heard on thousands of records, and its signature swooped-back silhouette can be seen in top recording facilities around the world as well as on the stages of internationally touring musical acts such as Rush, Jack White, Queens of The Stone Age, No Doubt, Bernie Worrell and the hit shows American Idol, Nashville and Portlandia"

via Moog Music Inc. on Facebook

"Today we announce the discontinuation of the Little Phatty synthesizer, released in 2006 as a tribute to the life and legacy of Moog Music founder and synthesizer pioneer, Bob Moog"

Update: and the official press release:

"ASHEVILLE, NC – September 9, 2013 – Moog Music today announced the discontinuation of the Little Phatty Stage II analog synthesizer. Moog plans to continue building a limited quantity of units at their factory in downtown Asheville while parts and materials last, which is not expected to be more than two months. The Little Phatty was released in 2006 as a tribute to the life and legacy of Moog Music founder and synthesizer pioneer, Bob Moog. Following the passing of Dr. Moog, The Little Phatty was the first Moog synthesizer designed by Moog Music's Chief Engineer, Cyril Lance.

“After Bob’s passing, we faced the immense challenge of creating a new synthesizer that would embody the values that we all treasured in Bob," Lance recalls. “We worked around the clock to develop an instrument that was founded on his continually forward-looking view of synthesis."

Over the course of its seven-year production run, the Little Phatty has gone through three incantations including The Tribute, Stage I, and Stage II editions. During that time, the Little Phatty has become one of the best selling professional analog synthesizers in history. Its sonic impact on modern music can be heard on thousands of records, and its signature swooped-back silhouette can be seen in top recording facilities around the world as well as on the stages of internationally touring musical acts such as Rush, Jack White, Queens of The Stone Age, No Doubt, Bernie Worrell and the hit shows American Idol, Nashville and Portlandia.

“The Little Phatty represented a key foundational element in what would become the future of Moog Music," said Michael Adams, Moog Music President & CEO. "It was the synthesizer that proved to the world that Moog Music would continue to create market leading, forward-thinking synthesizers. The fact that the Little Phatty remains an industry standard instrument for artists and producers to this day, is a testament to its design.”

The Little Phatty Stage II is still available in limited quantities at stocking dealers in standard and custom colors while supplies last. For pricing and availability, please visit www.moogmusic.com/dealers.

Mini Documentary and Promotional Incentives
Moog Music released a mini-doc entitled Moog Lives. Play On.: The Making of the Little Phatty today which can be viewed on the Moog website. In the video, Moog Music President Mike Adams, Chief Engineer Cyril Lance, and Product Development Specialist Steve Dunnington recall how the Little Phatty came to life, the challenges that were faced when Dr. Moog fell ill, and how they were eventually overcome to create this one of a kind instrument.

As a thank you to existing Little Phatty owners, Moog Music is offering a free Little Phatty Gig Bag (an $80 value) with the purchase of the Little Phatty CV Output Modification. The modification adds one gate and four CV outputs to the Little Phatty for those desiring greater expressive flexibility. Moog Music is also offering a free percussion and legacy preset pack for Phatty owners available via download on its website.

The Phatty family of synthesizers lives on through the new Sub Phatty analog synthesizer and the Slim Phatty desktop synthesizer. For more information on the Phatty family of analog synthesizers go to: www.moogmusic.com/products/Phattys

Links:
Video Link: http://www.moogmusic.com/content/moog-lives-play-making-little-phatty
Free Percussion and Legacy Preset Pack Link: http://www.moogmusic.com/content/percussion-legacy-presets
CV Out Modification: http://www.moogmusic.com/products/phattys/little-phatty-cv-out-modification
Moog Music website: http://www.moogmusic.com/
Moog Music on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/MoogMusicInc/
Moog Music on Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/MoogMusicInc/"

The Delian Mode - Delia Derbyshire Documentary

Published on May 5, 2015 mprobs

"The Delian Mode (Kara Blake, 2009) is a a short experimental documentary revolving around the life and work of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire, best known for her groundbreaking sound treatment of the Doctor Who theme music. A collage of sound and image created in the spirit of Derbyshire’s unique approach to audio creation and manipulation, this film illuminates such soundscapes onscreen while paying tribute to a woman whose work has influenced electronic musicians for decades.

http://thedelianmode.com"

And a couple of videos from the Delia Derbyshire YouTube channel:

Delia at Queen Elizabeth Hall on 18 1 1968

Published on Sep 23, 2015 Delia Derbyshire

"Delia Derbyshire starts the computer playing Zinovieff's "Partita for Unattended Computer" at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 18th Jan 1968"

Max Träger's "diagrams" video of Delia Derbyshire's papers

Published on Aug 31, 2015 Delia Derbyshire

"This is a first demo version of a video Max was doing in July 2011 to display some scans of Delia's diagrams and diagrammatic scores for her electronic music.The accompanying music is "The Wizard's Laboratory" from the album Electrosonic.

Questa è la prima versione dimostrativa di un video che Max stava facendo a luglio 2011 per presentare alcuni scan dei diagrammi e degli spartiti diagramattici preparati da Delia mentre componeva la sua musica elettronica. La musica che l'accompagna è "The Wizard's Laboratory" dall'album 'Electrosonic'."

Check out previous posts featuring Delia Derbyshire in the archives here.

Wowa Cwejman Has Passed Away

Some sad news in today. Legendary synthesizer maker Wlodzimierz Cwejman, known as Wowa Cwejman to the synth community, has passed away. As anyone who has visited this site over the years knows, his creations are recognized as the best of the best when it comes to quality and sound. He will be sorely missed.

The following was shared by Maho Cwejman:

“I’m incredibly sad to say that Wlodzimierz Cwejman (Wowa ) passed away yesterday. Wowa was an incredible man making great things and I love that we made so many together. Right now I hope you appreciate I need some time but will come back as soon as possible with an update to Cwejman. I want to thank everyone for your support and kind words🙏 Wlodzimierz Cwejman 1949-2021

Cwejman music AB
#Cwejman”


A tribute by verstaerker:

In Memory of Wowa Cwejman
video by verstaerker

"In memory of Wowa Cwejman who passed away 30.01.2021
Thank you Wowa for you wonderful instruments wich always inspired me making music.

The video is from a workshop long time ago in Schneidersbuero .. i think around 2008.
The music is made in 2007 after i bought my Cwejman S1. The sounds are done with a Doepfer A-154/155 Sequencer, Cwejman S1 and a Roland JV1080 for the pad.

Rest in Peace!"


And a couple of interviews from the archives:

Wowa Cwejman Interview From Totally Wired [previously posted here]

Published on Jan 19, 2017 brian tregaskin

"last bit of totally wired which includes interview with wowa cwejman"

Totally Wired was a documentary associated with Schneiders Buero, the people behind SUPERBOOTH.

Workshop with Wowa Cwejman @SchneidersLaden [previously posted here]

Published on Jan 15, 2019

"At the beginning of July 2018 SchneidersLaden had the opportunity to welcome Wowa Cwejman again. The occasion was the presentation of four new modules. Wowa Cwejman was so kind to give us an overview of these modules in the large showroom of SchneidersLaden, together with Tom Körting they went through all new aspects of the modules and patched some sound examples. With the displayed oscilloscope you get a good sense of what is happening with the signals. All in all a lot of new possibilities to explore!

Update: a tribute from C Nich0llsL.



"Single take recording from Cwejman S1. I was fortunate to pick up one of the last batch (in grey). Had been kicking myself for not getting one when they fist launched for several years. It is beautiful.
The recording had been sitting on my desktop for a couple of months. After hearing of Wowa's passing, I am sharing as an homage to the beautiful tone of this instrument and to the man that created it.
Recorded through Strymon;s Night Sky, the resonances seem to stretch out into the darkness.
Left unadorned for those who may want to take a moment and gaze at the Night Sky.
Thank you, for a beautiful instrument."

RIP William Onyeabor - Nigerian Electronic Funk Pioneer as well as Nigeria's 1st Moog Dealer

'Fantastic Man' (Full Length) - A Film About William Onyeabor

Published on Feb 25, 2014 Noisey

Video description: "'You Need To Hear This' is proud to present 'Fantastic Man' a documentary investigating Nigerian musician William Onyeabor, a man shrouded in mystery and myth. Directed by Jake Sumner (Alldayeveryday) the film tells the story of a label's attempt to track William down, speaking to fans such as Damon Albarn, Caribou and Femi Kuti and travelling to Nigeria to meet those who've worked with him in a bid to uncover the truth about his story. http://williamonyeabor.com/"


William Onyeabor was Nigeria's First Moog Dealer & Electronic Musician. He passed away this Monday, January 16, at the age of 70. Be sure to see the video further below for a taste of his music. To the left you can see him with an Octave Cat, Elka Rhapsody 610, and Moog Polymoog.  MiniKorg 700s in back.

via Boing Boing, via Luaka Bop:

"It is with incredibly heavy hearts that we have to announce that the great Nigerian business leader and mythic music pioneer William Onyeabor has passed away at the age of 70. He died peacefully in his sleep following a brief illness, at his home in Enugu, Nigeria. An extraordinary artist, businessman and visionary, Mr. Onyeabor composed and self-released 9 brilliant albums of groundbreaking electronic-funk from 1977-1985, which he recorded, pressed and printed at Wilfilms Limited—his personal pressing plant in southeast Nigeria.

For people in his hometown of Enugu, Nigeria, Mr. Onyeabor was simply referred to as "The Chief”. He was known for having created many opportunities for the people in his community. In his early 30s, he traveled the world to study record manufacturing, so that he could build, "the greatest record manufacturing business in all of West Africa." After those successful years as an artist and record label President in the 1980's, he opened a flour mill and food processing business. In 1987 these new business ventures saw him awarded West African Industrialist of the Year—just two years after the release of his most successful song "When The Going is Smooth and Good", and what should have been the height of his musical career. He was given the honorary title "Justice of the Peace"—a local judicial position elected by the community to provide independent legal ruling. In the early 1990's, he became the President of Enugu's Musician's Union and Chairman of the city's local football team, The Enugu Rangers. Despite all of these extraordinary achievements, his biography was always shrouded in mystery—some claimed he had studied filmmaking in the Soviet Union, while others placed him in France or Great Britain. To his great amusement (and ours too for that matter), this mythic image was at times so deeply ingrained, that we often encountered people who were convinced that he didn't actually exist. Whenever we shared this with him, or would ask him a question about his past, he would just smile and say, "I only want to speak about God."

After five long years of painstaking waiting, negotiating and intense research, we were finally able to release “Who is William Onyeabor?” in 2013 and his music and story took the world by storm. The release was featured in major newspapers, radio and television stations around the world. Time Magazine listed him as number 4 on a shortlist of that year’s best albums. In 2014, the film documentary “Fantastic Man” followed, as well as the “Atomic Bomb! Who is William Onyeabor?” live shows, which travelled to the most regarded festivals and music venues worldwide-starring over 50 special guests from many diverse generations, genres and backgrounds.

Still, William Onyeabor would never speak about himself and for a long time refused any of the many interview requests that came his way. For an artist that had never performed live in his entire life, he repeatedly, and very sadly, would always decline our invitations to take part in any of the joyous celebrations that were created in his honor. Having become Born Again in the latter part of life, he had turned his back on the music from the earlier part of his life.

As one of the absolutely smartest people we ever encountered—William Onyeabor was always in charge, whatever the situation may be (and even though he was living in a fairly isolated part of rural West Africa). As can be heard in many of his songs, he looked at the world from a bird's eye view. He would watch American, Chinese and European news simultaneously, so he could learn about the different points of view from around the world. In his later years, he was still conducting business as usual. Whenever we visited him in Nigeria, he welcomed us warmly into his home. Whether it be at his palace outside of Enugu or via crackly phone lines to America, he always made us laugh. As is also very evident in his songwriting—another example of his true intellect and originality—he had the greatest sense of humor. His life and accomplishments will never cease to astonish us. More than anything, and still to this very day, his music continues to live on—nearly 40 years after it was originally released.

Chief William Ezechukwu Onyeabor is survived by his wife, children, and four grandchildren. We would like to send our deepest condolences to his family and thank each and every one of you who has helped share the love for his music around the world.

In the short and wonderfully intense nine years that we came to know him, he changed our lives in many ways. If he hasn't yet, we hope he will affect you too, one day."

William Onyeabor - Good Name (Official)

Published on Dec 12, 2013 Luaka Bop

William Onyeabor Boxset available digitally at https://luakabop.lnk.to/OnybrBox. Mr. Onyeabor on iTunes and Amazon.

I Dream of Wires 4: Solvent - Modular Encounters

I Dream of Wires 4: Solvent - Modular Encounters from MUTEK on Vimeo.

Also on MUTEK

"Canadian electronic artist Solvent was commissioned to create an all-modular synthesizer based soundtrack for the forthcoming documentary I Dream of Wires; The challenge allowed him the opportunity to work with a vast array of modular synthesizers, both new and vintage.

Solvent, born Jason Amm in Zimbabwe, and currently residing in Toronto, Canada, has been releasing his unique brand of analogue synthesizer music since 1997, encompassing crunchy IDM, melodic electro, and vocoder synthpop. Best known for his releases on Morr Music and Ghostly International, Solvent is also co-founder of the obscure, yet influential electro(nica) label, Suction Records. All of the music heard in this video segment was created by Solvent during several on-camera album recording sessions. No drum machines, samples, or hardwired synthesizers were used; each and every sound was created from scratch on the following selection of modular synthesizer systems: Eurorack, Modcan, Synthesizers.com, and Moog 15.

In addition to creating the film's soundtrack, Amm has recently been serving as writer and producer for "I Dream Of Wires".

Solvent was scheduled to perform live on June 2nd, 10pm at the Satosphere as part of I Dream Of Wires' 2012 MUTEK showcase, but unfortunately his performance at the event has been cancelled.

For more info on Solvent:

http://solventcity.com
http://facebook.com/solvent
http://soundcloud.com/solvent

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 6th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

Catch I DREAM OF WIRES' showcase at Mutek Montreal 2012: Saturday June 2 @ Satosphere, with live performances, all incorporating modular synthesizers, by Sealey/Greenspan/Lanza (Orphx/Junior Boys), Keith Fullerton Whitman (Kranky/Editions Mego), Clark (Warp Records), and Container (Spectrum Spools).

For info on the film: facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary

[French below]

CLICK FOR MORE »

Spitfire Audio Fractured Strings - A New Force Of Nature

video upload by Spitfire Audio

"Award-winning composer Paul Thomson takes you to the edge of the world and beyond with Fractured Strings. Created in collaboration with Hans Zimmer’s prestigious scoring collective Bleeding Fingers Music and London’s finest string players, this small ensemble library features an eight-piece string ensemble and two soloists, brought to life in the unparalleled acoustics of AIR Lyndhurst Hall, complete with 15 signal paths.

Fractured Strings introduces an innovative approach to articulations that delivers inspirational surprises through intervallic performances and new modal colours with unparalleled depth and realism. Introducing our brand new Scale Mode technology, these sophisticated, emotive movements and textures reflect the intricacies, patterns and contrasts found in natural phenomena — as heard in BBC's #FrozenplanetII.

Explore Fractured Strings here - https://bit.ly/3xEL8h1

00:00 - Trailer
1:00 - Interview with Bleeding Fingers Music
7:02 - Walkthrough
7:47 The Scale Mode
10:38 - The Articulations
15:40 - The EVO Grid
19:33 - The Seventh Reach
21:10 - The Solo Instruments"

And the press release:

"Spitfire Audio works with Bleeding Fingers to forge FRACTURED STRINGS as a new kind of chamber string library introducing a novel approach to articulations

“Early on in the process of scoring Frozen Planet II, we looked at the patterns of splintering ice and the individuality of snowflakes; in creating FRACTURED STRINGS, we worked closely with the Spitfire [Audio] team and London’s best players to represent these natural phenomena in musical performances — creating a toolkit that became the foundation of our score for the show.”

- Frozen Planet II composers James Everingham & Adam Lukas, 2022


LONDON, UK: created in close collaboration with Bleeding Fingers Music, the Emmy Award-winning and BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award-nominated composer collective, hand-selected and mentored by Hollywood hotshot Hans Zimmer (as a multi-Academy Award- and GRAMMY® Award-winning film composer of some serious standing), sound-specialising British music technology company Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of FRACTURED STRINGS — itself introducing a novel approach to articulations as a new kind of chamber string library featuring a 10-piece ensemble inspired by the Arctic and brought to life in the unparalleled acoustics of Lyndhurst Hall in London’s legendary AIR Studios, served up as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible (NKS-supporting) proprietary plug-in with 15 signal paths and infinite intervallic possibilities, designed to infuse any gestures, leaps, and cellular motif anyone might compose with warmth, colour, and humanity — as of September 22…

Being billed as a journey through Earth’s frozen worlds, home to unique and remarkable wildlife, it is little wonder that Santa Monica, CA, USA-based Bleeding Fingers Music were looking for a library that could not only support scenes of frozen silence but also scenes of action, tension, crisis, and drama when composers Hans Zimmer, James Everingham, and Adam Lukas started scoring the small screen wonder that is Frozen Planet II, the 2022-broadcast British nature documentary series co- produced by the BBC and The Open University as a sequel to 2011’s Frozen Planet. Putting it this way, James Everingham and Adam Lukas collectively comment: “Early on in the process of scoring Frozen Planet II, we looked at the patterns of splintering ice and the individuality of snowflakes; in creating FRACTURED STRINGS, we worked closely with the Spitfire [Audio] team and London’s best players to represent these natural phenomena in musical performances — creating a toolkit that became the foundation of our score for the show.”

Serious demands demand serious solutions, so a small section of London’s finest string players were brought by the Spitfire Audio team tasked with bringing Bleeding Fingers Music’s requirements to life in the unparalleled acoustics of Lyndhurst Hall — home to many a blockbuster film scoring session by Hans Zimmer and many more — in London’s legendary AIR Studios. The ten players concerned closely collaborated with the Bleeding Fingers Music team and Spitfire Audio’s own collective of composers, conductors, and engineers there to create a vast suite of intricate decorations, leaps, and swells.

So who better to formally introduce the finished FRACTURED STRINGS, then, than Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson — truly no stranger to the wonderful world of music-to-picture scoring himself as an English composer for film, television, and video games, as well as a music technologist to boot: “This is our latest collaboration with Bleeding Fingers [Music], and it is a set of unique and original content made for the BBC show Frozen Planet II. It showcases a huge amount of string articulations and gestures — wispy, ice-y, ethereal fragments that we have never before recorded, and that you can't play very easily with existing string libraries.”

CLICK FOR MORE »

Electronic Sound Artist Laetitia Sonami, a Documentary on Kickstarter

via Kickstarter where you'll find additional details and can help fund the project.

"the ear goes to the sound: the work of Laetitia Sonami is a film portrait of the French born, Oakland based electronic sound artist Laetitia Sonami. Sonami, a student of the pioneering sound composer Eliane Radigue, is perhaps best known for her Lady’s Glove instrument, which controls sounds and mechanical objects with gestures of the hand. I hope that this film will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of women working at the intersection of technology and art.

This documentary offers an intimate look at one of the most extraordinary, yet underappreciated electronic sound artists of today, and is structured around an intricate combination of performance and in-studio demonstration. The film features interviews with acclaimed composers John Bischoff, Maggi Payne, Eliane Radigue, and writer Melody Sumner Carnahan, and includes never-before-seen and rare performance footage from the early 1990’s to the present..."

Update: also see http://sonami.net/ladys-glove/