Caravan - The Dog, The Dog, He's At It Again [1973] w/ Davoli Davolisint - First Italian Synthesizer

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Caravan - The Dog, The Dog, He's At It Again [1973] (Promotional Film) Published on Jun 21, 2012 officialcaravan

Solo with the Davolisint comes in at 2:51. Spotted this one in the listing further below.

"'The Old Grey Whistle Test' and the audio/video source of The Old Grey Whistle Test © BBC Worldwide. All rights reserved. Caravan promo video source © Decca Music Group / Chris Worrall / Caravan. All rights reserved. 'The Dog, The Dog, He's At It Again' © Decca Music Group. All rights reserved.

This is the promo made by the Caravan's label in 1973 following the release of 'For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night'.

This promotional film paid and made for Decca Records in 1973 was shot as a playback recording (not live). It was featured on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test programme in the same year but was never seen again until release on the Caravan 35th Anniversary concert DVD set in 2004. The band and management now own the original negative print of the film which was rediscovered in the old vaults of Metrocolor at Technicolour London.

Band Lineup:

Pye Hastings - lead guitar / vocals
Richard Coughlan - drums
Geoffrey Richardson - viola
Dave Sinclair - organ / davolisint
John G Perry - bass"

via this auction

"For auction a Very Rare 1972 Davoli Davolisint. First Italian synthesizer. Works great with original case. Museum piece

There are numerous demos of this on the web. Italian monosynth, two oscillators, control over pitch 1/2-32', organ style.
Each oscillator can be detuned, each oscillator has independent vibrato, each oscillator has independent glide (T1 and T2 switches on panel). Two decay waveforms quick and no decay (continuous) (C switch on panel). High key priority.
Pitch bend level at left of control panel.

Includes original carrying case. Good condition with some dents and scuffs, one broken latch.
Synth is in excellent condition, tolex on case clean with no cuts, bruises or stains, keys clean, minor scratches to black painted control panel with a large scratch on top (see photo)

Unusual feature is the left most grey and black keys, rather than part of the notes keyboard these keys control the panel switches so one can 'play' the pitch, glide, vibrato and decay of the black/white keys.

See Dave Sinclair of Caravan play one here" [embed above]

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Ryuichi Sakamoto Has Passed Away

via @KorgUSA

"We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto. He was a trailblazing composer and producer who scored films such as the 'Last Emperor' and 'The Revenant' to name a few. He was a pioneer of electronic pop music by founding the 'Yellow Magic Orchestra' which produced hits on synthesizers and sequencers in the 70s and 80s. He will be missed 😔"

Indeed. He created magic.

Two of my favorites below.

via Wikipedia:

"Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一[a], Sakamoto Ryūichi, January 17, 1952 – March 28, 2023) was a Japanese composer, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres.

Sakamoto began his career while at university in the 1970s as a session musician, producer, and arranger. His first major success came in 1978 as co-founder of YMO. He concurrently pursued a solo career, releasing the experimental electronic fusion album Thousand Knives in 1978. Two years later, he released the album B-2 Unit. It included the track "Riot in Lagos", which was significant in the development of electro and hip hop music. He went on to produce more solo records, and collaborate with many international artists, David Sylvian, Carsten Nicolai, Youssou N'Dour, and Fennesz among them. Sakamoto composed music for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and his composition "Energy Flow" (1999) was the first instrumental number-one single in Japan's Oricon charts history.

As a film-score composer, Sakamoto won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and 2 Golden Globe Awards. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) marked his debut as both an actor and a film-score composer; its main theme was adapted into the single "Forbidden Colours" which became an international hit. His most successful work as a film composer was The Last Emperor (1987), after which he continued earning accolades composing for films such as The Sheltering Sky (1990), Little Buddha (1993), and The Revenant (2015). On occasion, Sakamoto also worked as a composer and a scenario writer on anime and video games. In 2009, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Ministry of Culture of France for his contributions to music."
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

video upload by Decca Records

"Official music video for Ryuichi Sakamoto's 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence'."

YMO Technopolis Live

video upload by matrixsynth

Spitfire Audio - Spitfire Symphony Orchestra Solo Strings Update

video upload by Spitfire Audio

"Spitfire Audio announces update to significant SPITFIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA release recorded at AIR, adding three stunning-sounding soloists

LONDON, UK: Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of an update to its significant SPITFIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA release — relatively recently relaunched with reviewed content and an updated UI (User Interface) in a single more user-friendly package that became last year’s bestseller as a set of flagship virtual instruments featuring full SYMPHONIC STRINGS, SYMPHONIC BRASS, and SYMPHONIC WOODWINDS sections (including solo instruments, plus harp, piano, and all core elements of percussion needed to complete the band), beautifully performed by top-tier musicians who have featured on some of the top film scores of the last decade, duly captured in Lyndhurst Hall’s hallowed acoustic at London’s legendary AIR Studios as some of the leading sounds and sample libraries creator’s best, most classic recordings, readily realised as a definitive selection of blockbuster sounds that have already made their musical mark in hundreds of AAA film, game, and TV score productions by the world’s top composers and music- makers — with the welcomed addition of SOLO STRINGS, featuring three stunning-sounding soloists, as of February 6…

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