Storytime with Gordon Raphael

video upload by Patchwerks

"In this video esteemed record producer and musician Gordon Raphael shares stories from his music career, his love for synthesizers, and his new book: The World Is Going To Love This: Up From The Basement With The Strokes. Filmed live at Patchwerks in Seattle, WA.

Gordon Raphael is an American record producer and musician from Seattle, Washington, and New York, currently living in Hebden Bridge, after a few years in Berlin. Raphael is most widely known for his work with The Strokes, whom he met while attending an early show at Luna Lounge on Ludlow Street, New York -Wikipedia

https://patchwerks.com/
Video by: Matthew Piecora ( EZBOT), Steven Ly (Project 32)
https://www.ezbot.live"

Update: and an impage of Red Martian's (Stephen Jones) Mattson Mini Modular system:

RETRAILING (live improvisation)

video upload by Red Martian

"jupiter-6, prophet-T8 and two hands. this will b-side for the UNDER ORBIT 7"."

Prophet-T8 minus keys in custom wood case.

Red Martian at Bear Creek Studio with Mattson Mini Modular System - Cowboy to Be Officially Released

via Red Martian [bandcamp]

"Working with Scott Jackman and Gordon Raphael at Bear Creek Studio processing drums and other instruments using a guitar has a controller."

And for fans of Cowboy (featuring the Mattson Mini Modular), the single will finally be officially released after sevent years of making it's debut.

via @distillerpromo:

"Hey Radio folks, this retro lookin' synth-tastic record by @sdf_pubnix (Red Martian) goes for RPM ADDs on 7/12!"

via @somnambulist:

"Great music, THX @distillerpromo ! 5" floppy disc promo feat. Mattson Mini Modular synthesiser by Red Martian. #MMM"

Floppy disk pick below. See this video for what they look like when opening.

Details coming: http://www.sanfordco.com

RED MARTIAN ETT VYKORT EDISON PHONOGRAPH RECORD

Published on Dec 25, 2015

"2M Edison phonograph record"

RED MARTIAN ひょろりEDISON PHONOGRAPH WAX CYLINDER RECORD

Published on Dec 22, 2015

"Limited run of 20 Edison Phonograph wax cylinder records.
BUGHLT KL-27B"

RED MARTIAN GHOST INTO THE FOG EDISON PHONOGRAPH WAX CYLINDER

Published on Dec 22, 2015 Redmartian

"Limited run of 20 Edison Phonograph wax cylinder records
BUGHLT KL-27A"

Red Martian - någonting 2M Edison phonograph record synth music

Published on Dec 7, 2015 Redmartian

Here's something you don't hear (or see) every day.

"2M of new synth music on an Edison phonograph cylinder record (cut by Benjamin thevictrolaguy) Very limited run of 10 cylinders.

Phonograph is a Model D 2/4 combination with an S reproducer and Cygnet horn mic'ed with an SM57

Music performed live using a Roland TR-808, Jupiter-4, Jupiter-6 and Yamaha CS-15"

https://redmartian.bandcamp.com

CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES Cover by Red Martian

Follow-up to this post. Red Martian's cover of The Cure's Charlotte Sometimes is now available as a free download on Bandcamp. Every synth sound you hear on the track is the Rev 1 Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 which featured SSM based filters vs. the CEM filters found in the later Rev 3. All drums are the Roland TR-626. For guitar and bass the track features a Rickenbacker bass and Fender Jazzmaster, which was Robert Smith's guitar of choice throughout his early career.

via @sdf_pubnix

"Red Martian - Charlotte Sometimes free download #indie #music #musicmonday"

gear used: Rickenbacker bass, Fender Jazzmaster, Prophet-5 rev 1 and TR-626.

CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES / IF ONLY I COULD LIE - limited 7" grey vinyl record

Published on Oct 31, 2015 Redmartian

"red martian / math genius collab on charlotte sometimes / if only i could lie. released on BUGHLT records limited 7" grey vinyl / December 2015."

All Rev 1 Prophet-5 (3 passes in unison) & TR-626 on Charlotte Sometimes.

http://redmartian.com

TOM ELLARD MEETS THE PDP-12 AT THE LIVING COMPUTER MUSEUM

Published on Sep 24, 2015 Redmartian

"Tom was introduced to the PDP-12 while Stephen Jones was working through the restoration effort in the summer of 2013. Stephen sent videos to Tom and it made an appearance in the interactive fiction game [H.H.] Here Tom is experiencing the PDP-12 for the first time running a program called Kaleidoscope in which the user manipulates two dials (X and Y) which are then sampled and used in producing the image on the screen. The -12 has a speaker and every time accumulator 0 is used a flip flop generates a pulse or square wave. Based on how quickly this occurs you will usually hear this square wave in the audio range. The speaker has been amplified for this video."

I asked Red Martian when the PDP-12 came out and how it produced audio:

"1971, though it goes back to the LINC and LINC-8 computers starting in 1960. It has an analog to digital converter which can sample from 8 multi-turn pots and 8 1/4" jacks as well as a bank of 6 relays for switching things. The tone you hear is a flip flop producing a square wave at a frequencing in the audio range everytime accumlator 0 is used. So depending on how busy the system is doing the calculations for plotting points on the X/Y display in kaleidoscope you get a different frequency, sometimes FMish sounding.

I bypassed the speaker and wired in an amplifier for the sake of Severed Head's visit."

PDP stands for Programmed Data Processor. Wikipedia has page on it that goes through the history of the PDP line. On the PDP-12: "Descendant of the LINC-8; with slight redesign, and different livery, officially followed by, and marketed as, the 'Lab-8'."

http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org

RED MARTIAN: RETRAILING (Featuring Ichabod) - Release Event in Seattle Tomorrow!

Published on Sep 18, 2015 Redmartian

Red Martian is having their album release event at the Seattle Living Computer Museum this Saturday. You might remember their recent performance there where they covered Kraftwerk. The track above was composed on Ichabod when Stephen Jones of Red Martian was helping George Mattson test Ichabod during its construction. Note Ichabod will not be at the event as it currently resides with Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, but you are sure to see a great live performance with synths.

Video Description:
"A new album of 13 electronic pieces. The first 100 will be given away as gifts at SRGE: Arcade Armageddon September 19th, 2015 at the Living Computer Museum. Red Martian performs at 8:30pm on the main stage.

Track listing:
[Tracks 09 and 10 were composed on Ichabod, 03 on the Syntar, 04 on the MMM, and 07 on the Solaris.]

01 cowboy and the vocoder [see this post - great track with a sad story]
02 nedan omloppsbana
03 närmar snöblandat regn
04 av död (delorean)
05 retrailing
06 flytta hav av is
07 känner mig så låg
08 風の谷のナウシカ
09 utan hjärta *
10 bedövande en översvämning *
11 ひょろり
12 se io m'accorgo
13 ett vykort

improvised live on the custom Mattson Mini Modular named Ichabod."

Red Martian's Roland TR-808, COMMODORE SX-64 SID Prophet Synth, & 1974 Minimoog Model D

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

Just a heads up. Red Martian (don't miss this post!) wrote in to let me know his Roland TR-808, COMMODORE SX-64 SID Prophet Synth and 1974 Minimoog Model D have been re-listed for sale. Click through the links to get to them. You'll find videos and pics for each at the auctions and previously captured here, here and here respectively.

Red Martian Covers Kraftwerk at the Living Computer Museum Seattle

Uploaded on Aug 15, 2015 matrixsynth

[1st track in the set is actually Isi by NEU]

Red Martian covers Kraftwerk at the Free Play event at the Living Computer Museum in Seattle Washington, Saturday, Aug 15, 2015.
The Seattle Retro Gaming Expo was going on and Red Martian played.

http://redmartian.com
http://www.kraftwerk.com
http://www.seattleretro.org
http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org

Gear:
Realistic Moog MG-1
Roland GAIA
ARP AXXE
Sequential Circuits Prophet-600
acidlab MIAMI
Roland SVC-350
Texas Instruments Language Translator with German & English

BTW, if you do not recognize the name Red Martian, do a quick search for them on the top right here on MATRIXSYNTH.

A few pics before the show:

CLICK FOR MORE »

Pink Floyd's Richard Wright's Prophet-5 Synthesizer

A bit of synth history at the Living Computer Museum in Seattle.  On display today only along with a Red Martian performance.

Red Martian ROLAND SVC-350 VOCODER

via this auction

"Rackmount unit, one of the best sounding vocoders ever made
Controls operate smoothly, unit works great
USA 120v
owned and used by a non-smoker
Free shipping in the USA, $75 to elsewhere
Used on Red Martian - Your Computer (1993) and Cowboy and the Vocoder"


RECORD PLAY LISTENING OF ACETATE DUB COWBOY AND THE ROLAND VOCODER - RED MARTIAN
YouTube Uploaded by redmartian on Mar 5, 2010
Some of you might remember this one.
"Listening to Cowboy and the Vocoder (1 of 10) acetate dubs. b/w MMM demo number four.
The record is a thick aluminum disk with a coat of dub lacquer. It was a heated cut on a modified 1949 Presto cutting lathe using fairchild and ampex equipment for the mastering and RIAA curve."

RED MARTIAN - YOUR COMPUTER [1993] - ROLAND VOCODER

Uploaded by redmartian on Nov 8, 2008

"Recorded at Hot Traxx (Garland, Texas) in 1993. Yes, I brought everything into a heavy metal recording studio in the back of an El Camino (thanks to Brian Rogers). Here is the equipment list:
- Roland SVC-350 Vocoder
- Roland Alpha Juno (bass line)
- Sequential Circuits Prophet T-8 (additional bass and solo)
- Sequential Circuits Six-Trak (lead)
- Sequential Circuits Prophet-600 (lead)
- Ensoniq Performance Sampler (ERROR 144 - REBOOT?)
- SDF-3 running BSDI BSD/386
- Telebit Trailblazer TB+ plus (calling 'adaptex' over UUCP)
- Pascal Blin (Official French Guy)
- Drums sampled from Kraftwerk's Computer World record
- Vietnamese vocal by Hoang Oanh from Hon Vong Phu

The Telebit was sampled live in the studio because I did not have a SCSI interface on the EPS. The song was supposed to be released on an 'Analogue Heaven' compilation that never materialized and sat on DAT until 2004 when I remastered it and added Pascal Blin's vocal to fill in what I felt were empty spots. Pascal did not know what the words meant but was very concerned about pronouncing them correctly."

The Syntar Turns 32

Today marks the 32 year anniversary of George Mattson's Performance Music Systems Syntar. You might recognize the name Mattson. George is the man behind Mattson Mini Modular. The Syntar, conceived in 1978, was the first all-enclosed keytar synthesizer. Before then keytars were just controllers. You can read all about the history of The Syntar on Carbon111.com here (you'll find a pic of Bob Moog playing Syntar prototype #1), and of course check out the Syntar label for posts that have gone up here. Below are two videos of Red Martian with the Syntar at the PNW 2009 synth gathering.



Pacific Northwest Synth 2009 - Red Martian
YouTube via matrixsynth | November 03, 2009


YouTube via matrixsynth.

Overview of the Syntar comes in around 1:55.

RECORD PLAY LISTENING OF ACETATE DUB COWBOY AND THE ROLAND VOCODER - RED MARTIAN

YouTube via redmartian.

http://redmartian.com/ via this auction

"Listening to Cowboy and the Vocoder (1 or 10) acetate dubs. b/w MMM demo number four.
The record is a thick aluminum disk with a coat of dub lacquer. It was a heated cut on a modified 1949 Presto cutting lathe using fairchild and ampex equipment for the mastering and RIAA curve."

Red Martian at the New Wave Modular Synthesizer PNW AES Meeting

YouTube via matrixsynth.

Note his comment on orchestrating it. The laptop plays the sequence while Stephen edits the four voices in real time - listen for the subtle tweaks. The laptop only plays MIDI notes. The patches and editing are done by Stephen. In later videos he plays the Syntar. Be sure to see this post for more classical pieces featuring the MMM by Stephen and of course try a search here on MATRIXSYNTH on Red Martian or redmartian for more.

http://redmartian.com
http://synthwood.com
http://mattsonminimodular.com
http://www.myspace.com/bluelightcurtain
http://www.facebook.com/bluelightcurtain

"Stephen Jones of Red Martian, Blue Light Curtain, and Synthwood performs the PMS Syntar and Mattson Mini Modular at the New Wave Modular Synthesizer PNW AES Meeting at MS Studios."
Be sure to click on the PNWAES label below for all posts covering the event.


Don't miss the Syntar demo in the video set above.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Division-6 at the New Wave Modular Synthesizer PNW AES Meeting

YouTube via matrixsynth

http://division-6.com/
"Scott Rise of Division-6 goes over Midify and new Division-6 Filtare SEIII VCF and Multiplicity XV Eurorack modules at the New Wave Modular Synthesizer PNW AES Meeting at MS Studios."

Some of my favorite videos featuring Midify (click here for all posts):

Cooking with MIDI

YouTube via Modd3d (previously posted)
"I installed a MIDI port in my microwave and now I use it to cook corn dogs.

Mostly I was testing out my new Midify board and wanted to see if you could use it to control home appliances. It turns out you can.

If you want to find out how to Midify stuff go to http://www.division-6.com."

Pumpkin & Skull Choir

YouTube via Modd3d aka Division 6, maker of Midify. Midify'ed pumpkins. (previously posted)
"This is from my Halloween 2008 display. I'm testing out some new show control software."


MIDI-Controlled Skull Sings A Tune

YouTube via Division6Labs (previously posted)
"MIDI-Controlled skull will sing or say anything. Find out how at http://www.division-6.com/p..."

Pacific Northwest Synth 2009 - Red Martian

YouTube via matrixsynth. (previously posted) animated skulls come in at 1:21
http://redmartian.com http://division-6.com/

New Wave Modular Synthesizer PNW AES Meeting Pics

flickr set by matrixsynth
(click for more)

New Wave Modular Synthesizer Meeting at the PNW division of the AES, at MS Studios in Redmond WA. Manufacturers represented:

http://www.theharvestman.org/
http://flightofharmony.com/
http://mattsonminimodular.com/
http://synthwerks.com/
http://division-6.com/

Modular cases by:
http://monorocket.com/
http://synthwood.com/
http://doepfer.com/

Performances by http://redmartian.com/"

The PMS Syntar and acidlab Miami also made an appearance.

Also see the Syntar and MMM pages on Carbon111.com.

More vids will be coming. See the PNWAES label for all posts on the event.

Update: Left to right in the top shot: Scott Jaeger of The Harvestman, Stephen Jones of Red Martian and Synthwood, Scott Rise of Division-6, flight of flight of harmony, George Mattson of Mattson Mini Modular, James Husted of Synthwerks, and Steve Turnidge of Synthwerks and chair of the PNW AES section.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Stephen Jones @ the PNW AES Meeting

YouTube via acidchild

"Small performance by Stephan Jones of Synthwood/Red Martian. Basically just showing off the awesomeness that is the Syntar."