Peter Zinovieff: A Tribute by CatSynth TV

video upload by CatSynth TV

"We look back at the life and work of Peter Zinovieff, who passed away last week at the age of 88. His work at Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was a major influence on musicians of the 1970s and beyond. At EMS, he co-created the well-known and coveted VCS3 and Synthi series. But he was also a composer in his own right, working on pioneering electronic music in the 1960s and returning to active composition in the 2010s with several collaborations with artists in other media and exploring massive sound spatialization.

Additional background music provided via the Arturia Synthi V as a tribute."

---

Also see EMS Founder Peter Zinovieff Has Passed Away

EMS Founder Peter Zinovieff Has Passed Away

Update: Image of Peter Zinovieff (previously in via Brian Kehew).

"Circa 1975: A photo from the Frankfurt Music Fair

Peter Zinovieff in the EMS synthesizer booth.

They are featuring the rare SYNTHI P model, just announced on the left side and stand. Underneath the board listing EMS musical artists is a SYNTHI HI-FLI effects unit is barely seen. Another unusual/prototype model is next to the Hi-Fli."


Peter Zinovieff and Electronic Music Studios video upload by JeffreyPlaide


Peter Zinovieff: Synth Pioneer video upload by Sound On Sound magazine Jul 21, 2016


Peter Zinovieff talks about modern musical interfaces video upload by Expressive E Jan 6, 2016


Peter Zinovieff feature uploaded by Erica Synths on Nov 23, 2020. This was the latest video to feature Peter Zinovieff that I am aware of.


Peter Zinovieff interview 2015 video upload by 香港電子音樂社 Hong Kong Electronic Music Society Jun 30, 2015


Dr Peter Zinovieff intro & performance excerpt - Deliaphonic 2017 video upload by Deliaphonic Aug 29, 2018

And a few perspectives from others:

Bright Sparks Behind The Scenes - The Brits video by GForce Software published Feb 16, 2021

Cosmic Tape Music Club Podcast hosted by The Galaxy Electric - E1 Peter Zinovieff

video by The Galaxy Electric published Jan 27, 2021

Peter Zinovieff Electronic Calendar

video by Mark Jenkins published Dec 9, 2019 - Electronic Calendar available through this post.

You can find a history of posts mentioning Peter Zinovieff here.

via The Guardian

"Peter Zinovieff, a hugely influential figure in British music whose early synthesisers helped to change the sound of pop, has died aged 88. He had suffered a fall at home earlier this month.

With its marketing slogan 'think of a sound – now make it', his company Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was one of the first to bring synthesisers out of studios and to the public. With products such as the portable VCS3 and Synthi A, EMS customers – including David Bowie, Kraftwerk, the Who, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd – were often taught to use the instruments by Zinovieff.

In 1967 he collaborated with Paul McCartney on Carnival of Light, a performance of a 14-minute avant garde composition created between Beatles sessions for Penny Lane that has never been released.

He was also a respected composer of his own work, including early experiments with AI composition and sampling – he claimed to have invented the latter technique." You can read the full post here.

via Wikipedia:

"Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021) was a British engineer and composer, whose EMS company made the VCS3 synthesizer in the late 1960s. The synthesizer was used by many early progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd[3] and White Noise, and Krautrock groups[4] as well as more pop-oriented artists, including Todd Rundgren and David Bowie. In later life he worked primarily as a composer of electronic music.

Zinovieff was born on 26 January 1933;[5] his parents, Leo Zinovieff and Sofka, née Princess Sophia Dolgorouky, were both Russian aristocrats, who met in London after their families had emigrated to escape the Russian Revolution and soon divorced.[6] During World War II he and his brother Ian lived with their grandparents in Guildford and then with their father in Sussex. He attended Guildford Royal Grammar School, Gordonstoun School and Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate in geology.[7][8]

Zinovieff's work followed research at Bell Labs by Max Mathews and Jean-Claude Risset, and an MIT thesis (1963) by David Alan Luce.[9] In 1966–67, Zinovieff, Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson ran Unit Delta Plus, an organisation to create and promote electronic music. It was based in the studio Zinovieff had built, in a shed at his house in Putney. (The house is near the Thames, and the studio was later partially destroyed by a flood).[10][11] EMS grew out of MUSYS, which was a performance controller operating as an analogue-digital hybrid.[12] It was a synthesiser system which Zinovieff developed with the help of David Cockerell and Peter Grogono, and used two DEC PDP-8 minicomputers and a piano keyboard.[13] Unit Delta Plus ran a concert of electronic music at the Watermill Theatre in 1966, with a light show. In early 1967 they performed in concerts at The Roundhouse, at which the Carnival of Light was also played; they split up later in 1967.[11] Paul McCartney had visited the studio, but Zinovieff had little interest in popular music.[14]

In 1968, part of the studio was recreated at Connaught Hall, for a performance of pieces by Justin Connolly and David Lumsdaine.[15] At the IFIP congress that year, the composition ZASP by Zinovieff with Alan Sutcliffe took second prize in a contest, behind a piece by Iannis Xenakis.[16]

In 1969, Zinovieff sought financing through an ad in The Times but received only one response, £50 on the mistaken premise it was the price of a synthesiser. Instead he formed EMS with Cockerell and Tristram Cary.[17] At the end of the 1960s, EMS Ltd. was one of four companies offering commercial synthesizers, the others being ARP, Buchla, and Moog.[18] In the 1970s Zinovieff became interested in the video synthesizer developed by Robert Monkhouse, and EMS produced it as the Spectron.[19]

Jon Lord of Deep Purple described Zinovieff as "a mad professor type": "I was ushered into his workshop and he was in there talking to a computer, trying to get it to answer back".[20] Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco, in their history of the synthesizer revolution, see him rather as aristocratically averse to "trade".[21]

Zinovieff wrote the libretto for Harrison Birtwistle's opera The Mask of Orpheus,[22] and also the words for Nenia: The Death of Orpheus (1970).[23] The section Tristan's Folly in Tristan (1975) by Hans Werner Henze included a tape by Zinovieff."

Update:

Peter Zinovieff: A Tribute by CatSynth TV

video upload by CatSynth TV

"We look back at the life and work of Peter Zinovieff, who passed away last week at the age of 88. His work at Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was a major influence on musicians of the 1970s and beyond. At EMS, he co-created the well-known and coveted VCS3 and Synthi series. But he was also a composer in his own right, working on pioneering electronic music in the 1960s and returning to active composition in the 2010s with several collaborations with artists in other media and exploring massive sound spatialization.

Additional background music provided via the Arturia Synthi V as a tribute."

You can find additional posts featuring Peter Zinovieff here.

Diatomaceous Earth

video upload by CatSynth TV

"Everything you wanted to know about diatomaceous earth, but didn't even know you wanted to ask!

Diatomaceous earth is a pulverized sedimentary rock formed from the fossilized silica shells of diatoms, single-celled organisms found in watery environments throughout the earth. It has many practical applications, including in filtration and as an insecticide - one can find diatomaceous earth for this purpose at home and garden stores.

Cameo by Big Merp.

Original music by Amanda Chaudhary using:
Arturia Buchla Easel V, Piano V, CMI V
EastWest sound libraries

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

EP346 Arturia Phaser BI-TRON - Demo and Tutorial

video by CatSynth TV

"We preset a detailed demo and tutorial of Arturia's Phaser BI-TRON, a recreation of the classic Mu-Tron Bi-Phaser effect unit.

00:30 Background info on phasers and the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase
01:19 The main interface of the BI-TRON
01:56 Minimoog example
02:35 Detailed walk-through of features (with Arturia CS-80 V as source)
05:57 MicroFreak example (and envelope follower)
07:00 Vocoder and and BI-TRON with envelope-follower
08:44 Retro sci-fi example with Sequential Prophet 12
09:33 Funky jam with three BI-TRONs!"

"Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer+audio tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Part 1:

Arturia FX Collection: Bus Effects (Bus FORCE, EQ SITRAL-295, Comp DIODE-609)
video by CatSynth TV

"In the first of several videos exploring the updated FX Collection from Arturia, we look at the brand new bus effects: EQ SITRAL-295, Comp DIODE-609 and Bus Force. We demonstrate individual parameters and factory presets of these plug-ins and show how to use them on mixes.

00:47 EQ SITRAL-295
03:49 Comp DIODE-609
10:38 Bus FORCE"

California Highway 4 (John Muir Parkway) with original music

video by CatSynth TV

"We drive along a section California Highway 4, the John Muir Parkway, between the I-80 in Hercules and I-680 in Concord. It winds through picturesque hills in northern Contra Costa County before taking on a more suburban character around Concord. It is a major commuter route, but quite nice during off-peak hours.

Original music by Amanda Chaudhary using:

RMI Electra Piano (sample instrument in Kontakt)
Arturia Mellotron V, Stage 73 V2, Pigments 3, CS-80 V
EastWest Fab Four bass
Percussion in Ableton Live.


Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth​
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Arturia Introduces Pigments 3 - Polychrome Software Synthesizer

video by Arturia

Update: Tuturial videos added below.

CLICK FOR MORE »

3-3-3: 27 edo scales, Arturia Pigments, Metasonix R-54, and Sam Sam

video by CatSynth TV

"An experimental music video based on powers of 3. The melody is played using Arturia Pigments with a 27edo tuning and run through the Metasonix R-54 supermodule for processing. It is set against a 9/4 rhythm.

Triangle = 3
Rhythm = 3 x 3
Tuning = 3 x 3 x 3

Sam Sam makes several appearances.

Please consider supporting us:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth​
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth​"

Arturia Matrix 12 V: Demo & Tutorial

video by CatSynth TV

"A detailed demo and tutorial of the Matrix 12 V from Arturia, a recreation of the legendary Oberheim Matrix 12. We cover the history of the original instruments, the main pain functionality, some of the advanced features, and demos of factory presets.

00:32​ History of the Oberheim Xpander and Matrix 12
01:10​ Overview of the Matrix 12 V interface
01:40​ Oscillator Section
03:23​ Modulation
09:53​ VCF section
13:36​ VCAs
14:15​ Linear FM
16:02​ Effects Section
17:23​ Modulation Page and "Page 2"
20:11​ Voice Page
23:04​ Factory Presets

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth​
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Update: also check out Steve Porcaro's Xpander tutorials here.

Interplanetary Revolution (Межпланетная революция) - Synthesizer soundtrack for Soviet animated film

video by CatSynth TV

"Original retro-style synthesizer soundtrack on a segment of "Interplanetary Revolution" a surreal Soviet animated short released in 1924. Specifically, we use the segment from about 3:30​ to the end of the film.

Original film can be found at https://archive.org/details/silent-in...​
Interplanetary Revolution was a short animated film created in the Soviet Union in 1924 by Nikolai Khodataev, Zenon Komissarenko, Youry Merkulov. It mixes cel animation and collage, and it notable for its trippy and surreal style.

Music by Amanda Chaudhary. All sound sources are fed through Wires, a plugin by AudioThing that recreates a 1970s Soviet-era wire recorder. You can see our demo/tutorial of Wires at https://youtu.be/H4iG8QkBnCc​

Software synthesizers used:
Arturia CS-80 V
Arturia Buchla Easel V
Arturia Mini V3
Arturia Wurli V
MOK Waverazor
Additional sounds from BOOM Library Mechanicals and Cinematic Metals

Please subscribe to this channel for music and cultural content coming out regularly, and please consider supporting us:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth​
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

AudioThing Wires (Soviet Era Wire Recorder) - Demo and Tutorial

video by CatSynth TV

"We explore Wires from AudioThing, a recreation of a 1970s Soviet-era wire recorder. Specifically, it is based on the East German version of the MN 61 wire recorder.

For more information, please visit https://www.audiothing.net/effects/wi...

0:25​ History of wire recorders and the MN 61
1:08​ Exploring the features of Wires
3:42​ Short musical examples

All musical samples performed by Amanda Chaudhary using:
Arturia Stage 73 V2
Arturia Mini V
Big Fish Audio Grindhouse

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"


Note, I'm creating a new Synth Effects label for these moving forward. I used to just bucket them under Soft Synths and used the "New Synth Effects" label for new effects. That said you can find older posts featuring synth effets by clicking on the New Synth Effects label below.

Buchla Red Panel 158 and 156M: Demo and Tutorial

video by CatSynth TV

"We take a detailed look at two of the modules in the Buchla Red Panel Series: the 158 dual channel oscillator and 156M dual channel CV processor. The 158 oscillator is close to the original design from the 100 series by Don Buchla and uses discrete analog components. The Red Panel series also reproduces the original 156 control-voltage processor, but we opt for the "modern" 156M. While it also uses discrete analog components, it is optimized to play well with other Eurorack modules.

0:17​ A brief history of the Buchla 100 series
0:53​ 158 Dual Channel Oscillator
4:00​ 156M Dual Channel CV Processor
6:53​ Putting it all together (Arturia MiniBrute 2 keyboard + sequencer, Noise Engineering Sinc Bucina envelope + LPG)

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Arturia MicroFreak v3 update: Noise Engineering Oscillators and Unison Mode

video by CatSynth TV

"A look at the new features in new v3 firmware update for Arturia's MicroFreak synthesizer. The update includes three new digital oscillator types from Noise Engineering: Bass, SawX, and HARM; along with Unison Mode for stacking oscillators on a single note with controllable detune.

We explore the parameters of each oscillator in detail (including wave folding and harmonic spread), and show how to modulate them while playing or using the arpeggiator/sequencer. We do the same for unison mode, including showing how to modulate the unison detune in performance.

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Arturia Jup-8 V4: Demo and Tutorial by CatSynth TV

video by CatSynth TV

"A detailed look at the new Jup-8 V4 from Arturia. It is a newly designed version of their recreation of the legendary Roland Jupiter 8, with a new interface and voice features. We cover all the features on the main panel as well as the advanced section, showing how you can use them to recreate your own sounds. We also go through a few of the factory presets.

00:26​ Brief history of the Jupiter 8
01:00​ Main panel functions of the Jup-8 V
01:53​ VCOs, filters and modulation
10:39​ Bottom section (Voice modes, apreggiator, dispersion modes, pitch/mod wheels)
16:00​ Advanced panel functions
22:00​ Factory presets

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

And one I missed from CatSynth TV on the Arturia Chorus JUN 6:

Arturia Chorus JUN 6: Quick Review and Demo
"We take a quick look at the new Chorus JUN-6 effects plugin from Arturia (Free through December 29, 2020). It is emulation of the chorus effect from the Juno 6/60 synthesizer, and also part of the Jun-6 V virtual instrument.

To find out more and to download, please visit https://www.arturia.com/freegift-chor...​

0:20​ Background and Introduction
1:11​ Electric piano demo (Arturia Stage 73 V2)
1:56​ Minimoog
2:51​ Metasonix R53/R54/RK5 through the Chorus JUN-6

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Arturia Vocoder V: Demo and Tutorial by CatSynth TV

CatSynth TV

Arturia V Demo and Tutorial posts by CatSynth TV

"A detailed look at the new Vocoder V from Arturia! It reimagines a classic 16 channel analog vocoder, along with a built-in two oscillator synthesizer for the carrier wave. We explore the main panel functionality, both voice and sample modes, and some of the advanced features. We also give a brief overview of vocoder concepts and history.

00:24 History of vocoders
01:33 Basic features of the Vocoder V
02:55 Synthesizer section
04:38 Vocoder section
06:25 Voice/sample selection panel
09:30 Other advanced panels (modulation, effects)
12:44 Factory Presets

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Arturia Emulator II V: Demo and Tutorial

CatSynth TV

"A detailed look at the Emulator II V from Arturia! It recreates the legendary E-MU Emulator II sampling synthesizer. We go over the main panel, the advanced screen for editing individual voices, and create our own 8-voice sound. We also demo a few of the factory presets.

00:24 History of the Emulator II (and the E-MU Emulator line 1980-2000s)
01:16 Basic features of the Emulator II V
03:15 Advanced editing screen
09:26 Creating our own sounds (including importing samples)
14:00 Factory Presets


Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Arturia Jun-6 V Demo and Tutorial

CatSynth TV

"A detailed look at the newly released Jun-6 V from Arturia! It is a recreation of the famous Roland Juno 6 and Juno 60 synthesizers from the 1980s. We go over the basic functions, create a typical "fat Juno pad", and explore some of the additional advanced features. We also demo a few of the factory presets.

00:23 History of the Juno 6 and Juno 60
01:17 Basic features of the Jun-6 V
10:41 Creating that quintessential "fat Juno pad" from scratch
12:37 A quick look at unison mode
13:14 Advanced panel features
19:00 Factory Presets"

Sensel Morph and MOK Waverazor (via Expert Sleepers FH-2)

CatSynth TV

"The MOK Waverazor exposes a large array of CV points to control its wave-slicing oscillators. This provides an opportunity to connect a Sensel Morph with Buchla Thunder overlay for expressive timbral control. We experiment with this setup, using an Expert Sleepers FH-2 and FHX-8CV to connect them, along with our Arturia MiniBrute 2 for keyboard and amplitude envelope.

If you have not already seen our detailed MOK Waverazor demo and tutorial, please check that out [posted here].

0:23 Control opportunities on MOK Waverazor
0:58 Connecting and configuring the Sensel Morph and Expert Sleepers FH-2
2:00 Preset demos with Waverazor and Morph

For more information
MOK Waverazor: mok.com
Sensel Morph: sensel.com
Expert Sleepers FH-2 and FHX-8CV: expert-sleepers.uk

Please consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth



Fezzes are cool"

Arturia Synthi V Demo and Tutorial (Part 2, Advanced Features)

CatSynth TV

"In Part 2 of our detailed looking at the Arturia Synthi V, we explore the legacy sequencer as well as the advanced features that Arturia has added to the instrument.

If you have not yet seen Part 1, we recommend that you check that out first. [posted here]

00:24 The Sequencer (from the EMS Synthi AKS sequencer)
01:40 The advanced editing page
08:24 Factory preset demos"

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth

Arturia Synthi V Demo and Tutorial (Part 1)

CatSynth TV

"We present a the first of a two-part demo and tutorial on the Arturia Synthi V, a recreation of the infamous EMS Synthi A. We discuss the history of the original, present the basic functionality of the Synthi V, explore some of the factory presents, and look at how to create your own sounds with the main interface.

00:30 History of the EMS Synthi
01:12 Presenting the Arturia Synthi V
02:28 Factory preset demos
04:36 Creating your own sounds
10:58 More factory preset demos

In part 2 we will be covering more advanced editing, including Arturia's extended features.

Please also consider supporting this channel to help us bring you more synthesizer tutorials and other content.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/catsynth
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/catsynth"

Schoolhouse: a photography and synthesizer exploration

CatSynth TV

"Experiments in photography and sound based on a single photograph of the Tassajara One-Room Schoolhouse in Tassajara, California.

Original photograph shot with a Canon EOS 60D and EF28-135mm lens. 87 variations created using Hipstamatic lenses, films, and flashes (iOS).

Sounds based on BOOM Mechanicals and Cinematic Metals imported into Arturia CMI V.
Addition modular synthesizer sounds from Metasonix RK5, Rossum Electro-Music Morpheus, Qu-Bit Prism, Mutable Instruments Plaits, Malekko Noisering, and Circuit Abbey ADSRjr."