Buchla Touché (1980) – Hybrid Analog Keyboard Instrument

The following was sent in by Anastasia Chernysheva, a Ph.D. student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

"In 1979, Donald Buchla invited experimental composer and his friend, David Rosenboom to collaborate on the design of a new, keyboard instrument with digital sound generation and hybrid, computer-controlled, analog outputs. The result was the Touché, released in the spring of 1980.

Among particular traits of the instrument are:
• flexibility in use – highly programmable, (64 programmable function parameters available), Touché offers a library of “instrument” structures that could be stored as “presets”;
• responsiveness – a user of Touché would enjoy a broad ability to program multiple stimuli and response structures in performance;
• non-linear waveshaping – Touché permits to produce an enormous range of sound with efficient means of control, i.e. using a small number of knobs

The guiding idea of the instrument design was to optimize it for live performance. The hybrid, digital-analog nature of Touché assumes the following.
• On the digital side: a sound-generating engine produced a wide range of timbre of sound possibilities with non-linear wave shaping techniques.
• On the analog side: a programmable analog circuit called Multiple Arbitrary Function Generator (MARF) enabled extensive control of all sound synthesis parameters.

Rosenboom’s recordings Future Travel (1981) and Daytime Viewing (1983) offer extensive exposure to some particular sound worlds created with the Touché. Other than being used for these recordings and in the recent release by Richard Smith a.k.a. Shusta Cults, (the current owner of Rosenboom’s Touché), the instrument barely may be heard in any other recording. Only 4 instruments exist today but just one of them is in the functional condition.

To learn more about the history and design of the instrument check out the lecture about Buchla Touché given at University of Illinois (2022). Technical parameters of the instrument may be found in the brochure for the instrument. Download the PDF here."

Circuits and Fingers – Composer-Performer Convergence in Electronic Instrument Designs, Oct 5th
video upload by Illinois Music

"Guest lecture at EMS Forum: Circuits and Fingers – Composer-Performer Convergence in Electronic Instrument Designs, Oct 5th

With the director of Experimental Music Studios – Eli Fieldsteel.

Learn more: https://davidrosenboom.com/miller-res..."

Also see Brainwave Music with Buchla 200 at Western Front.

Brainwave Music with Buchla 200 at Western Front

The following was sent in by Anastasia Chernysheva, a Ph.D. student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

"On February 28, 1977, On Being Invisible (OBI) premiered in Vancouver, at the Western Front. Stills from the black and white video capture David Rosenboom playing a touch-sensitive keyboard of Buchla 200 “Electric Music Box” and improvising in real-time with his brainwaves. The EEG output (electrical activity in the brain) was sonified by a hybrid computer sound synthesis system. Having years of biofeedback practice behind him, in this piece the pioneer of brainwave music continued exploring ways to relate information processing in the human nervous system to aesthetic experience – thus, stretching the definition of music musical performance.

Invited by the Canadian electronic music pioneer Martin Bartlett, Rosenboom gave a concert in two parts. The part presented the live performance application of the EEG system described above. In the second part of the performance, the composer used his voice, finger cymbals, a monkey drum, and a reed instrument to activate the software. A recording of the concert has been released for the first time by Black Truffle Records on the double-vinyl called “Brainwave Music” (1975/2019).
Videos from the concert can be watched on Rosenboom’s YouTube channel (see Part 1 and Part 2). Courtesy of the Western Front.

On Being Invisible was originally planned to premier at the Music Gallery in Toronto in 1976. However, due to an electricity outage that led to computer failure, the concert had to be canceled, while the audience was already gathered at the front door. Since the organizers had prepared beer for attendees, those waiting were invited inside. Once in, people gathered around the nonfunctioning set of equipment, looking at it with sad faces, as if they had come for a funeral. (see the photo below)

After rebuilding the equipment, Rosenboom performed the piece at the Music Gallery in 1977. This performance was published as vinyl by Music Gallery Editions and later re-released on CD by Pogus Productions.

* Technique of intentional modification of physiological parameters, such as heart rate, body temperature, breathing, etc.

Sources:
• Rosenboom, D. (Ed.) (1975) Biofeedback and the Arts: Results of Early Experiments. Aesthetic Research Centre of Canada Publications, Vancouver.
• Rosenboom, D. (1977a). On being invisible. Music Gallery Editions.
• Rosenboom, D. (1984). On Being Invisible. MusicWorks 28 (Summer), p. 10-13."


On Being Invisible, David Rosenboom at Western Front, Vancouver, 1977, Part 1 video upload by David Rosenboom

"David Rosenboom, On Being Invisible (1977), video documentation. Courtesy of Western Front. ID# WFVDN_7702_03-1 & ID# WFVDN_7702_03-2."

And the release on bandcamp:

Shasta Cults Self Titled Release Featuring the Buchla Touché

Pre-order on black and clear vinyl at IMPREC, and digital at BandCamp.

"Wonderful to hear such beautiful, billowing sound clouds emanating from the legendary Touché." - David Rosenboom

Shasta Cults is the musical project of Canadian electronics technician Richard Smith. For almost two decades, Smith was the official Buchla & Associates repair tech for studios, collectors, and musicians around the world. Having worked for artists such as Aphex Twin, Suzanne Ciani, Morton Subotnick and institutions such as The Library of Congress and Mills College, Smith has had the unique experience of restoring and interacting with nearly every model of Buchla instrument constructed over the past 50 years.

Recorded over the span of three months in the fall of 2018, this album was programmed using the only fully functional Buchla Touché. Developed in the early 1980s with hardware by Donald Buchla and software programmed by musician David Rosenboom, the Touché features waveforms generated internally by twenty-four digital oscillators and uses frequency modulation along with sophisticated digital and analog signal processing to produce complex timbres.

This LP is a continuation of themes first heard on Configurations, with more consideration given to the generation and recording of the pieces. The album's six tracks – a collection of sonic experiments and hypnotic drones – span almost forty minutes, showcasing not only the incredible fidelity of the Touché but also Smith's evolution as an audio engineer.

Put on some headphones, find a comfortable chair, and let this LP transport you to the mystifying southern cascades of Siskiyou County.

RIYL: ELEH, Sarah Davachi

released November 13, 2019

Programmed, recorded and mastered by Shasta Cults - Fall 2018
Artwork by IMPREC

all rights reserved

Don Buchla Memorial Concert Videos by Encyclotronic22

Published on Apr 24, 2017 Encyclotronic

Electronic Music Archive - http://encyclotronic.com/

First video is from the collection of Alessandro Cortini and Associates w/ music by Keith Fullerton Whitman.

Playlist:
1. Buchla Synthesizers Room - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
2. Peter Blasser - Don Buchla Memorial Concert
3. James Fei - Don Buchla Memorial Concert
4. Loachfillet and Professor Cantaloupe - Don Buchla Memorial Concert in San Francisco
5. Ezra Buchla - Don Buchla Memorial Concert in San Francisco
6. Ezra Buchla - Don Buchla Memorial Concert in San Francisco
7. Laetitia Sonami - Don Buchla Memorial Concert in San Francisco
8. Morton Subotnick and Lillevan - Don Buchla Memorial Concert in San Francisco
9. David Rosenboom - Don Buchla Memorial Concert in San Francisco
10. Circus of Associates: Joel & Claudine - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
11. Circus of Associates: Joel & Amy X Neuberg - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
12. Circus of Associates: Mark Vail & David Battino - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
13. Circus of Associates: Joel & Peter Apfelbaum - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
14. Circus of Associates: Joel & Brian Rice - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
15. Todd Barton and Bruce Bayard - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco.
16. Circus of Associates: Joel & Amy & Peter - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
17. Circus of Associates: Group - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
18. Circus of Associates: Group - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
19. bran(...)pos - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
20. Ami Radunskaya - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
21. Jessica Rylan - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco
22. Susan Ciani - Don Buchla Memorial Concert, San Francisco

Don Buchla Memorial Concerts - April 22 & 23

Line-up /
Morton Subotnick
Alessandro Cortini
Suzanne Ciani
Richard Devine
David Rosenboom
Bob Ostertag
George Lewis
Joel Davel
Laetitia Sonomi plays Elaine Radigue
Ami Radunskaya
Marielle V Jakobsons
Peter Blasser
Ezra Buchla
Yasi

More TBA..

A two night festival in celebration and remembrance of electronic music and design pioneer Don Buchla Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23rd.

Full programming and lineup announced soon..

Advance tickets: $45 Weekend Pass (Available Now!), $25 Presale per night, $30 door, $15 Student per night honored with ID.

Presented by:
Recombinant Media Labs
Buchla & Associates
Gray Area
Obscura Digital

Full details here.

An Interview with Barry Schrader

Hi everyone! As you know Barry Schrader will be giving his farewell concert at CalArts on September 26. The following is the beginning of my interview with him. I opted to post the questions and answers as they come in.  New QAs will get a new post so you do not miss them and they will be added to this post so we have one central post for the full interview. This should make it easier for all of us to consume in our busy lives, and it will allow you to send in any questions that may come to mind during the interview process.  If you have anything you'd like to ask Barry, feel free to send it in to matrixsynth@gmail.com.  This is a rare opportunity for us to get insight on a significant bit of synthesizer history, specifically with early Buchla systems, and I'd like to thank Barry for this opportunity. Thank you Barry!

CLICK FOR MORE »

Genesis of an Instrument: The Pioneering Work of Donald Buchla at New Form's Festival

via the New Forms Festival website:

"Genesis of an Instrument: The Pioneering Work of Donald Buchla

VIVO Media Arts Centre, 1965 Main

Instrument Exhibition open:
Thursday, September 12, 7-10 pm
Friday, September 13, 12-7 pm
Saturday, September 14, 12-7pm

Donald Buchla Performance / Q&A:
Friday September 13, 7-10
with: Sarah Davachi and Richard Smith

In 1963, Berkeley-based designer and instrument builder Donald Buchla began constructing his first electronic musical instruments. This year celebrates the 50thanniversary of his pioneering and highly innovative contributions to the field of electronic music, and New Forms Festival is very excited to welcome Mr. Buchla to Vancouver for what is sure to be a highly-anticipated performance at VIVO Media Arts Centre. This historic event will also feature an extensive exhibition of the most complete collection of Buchla instruments in existence, offering the public a unique and extremely rare opportunity to experience the union of the maker and his creations.

Reflecting a background in music, physics, and physiology, Buchla’s approaches to instrument design and sonic experimentation are known for being multi-faceted and highly inventive, particularly in relation to his interest in interfaces that bridge the communicative gap between man and machine. His work includes early voltage-controlled systems such as the 100 and 200 modular series, the Music Easel performance system, digital-analog hybrids such as the Touché, gesture-controlled instruments such as the Lightning, Thunder, and Marimba Lumina, and his most recent project, the 200e Electric Music Box. He has worked with storied institutions and organizations such as the California Institute of the Arts, the San Francisco Tape Music Center, and New York’s Electric Circus, and has collaborated with a number of prominent experimental musicians including David Rosenboom, Suzanne Ciani, Morton Subotnick, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, and David Wessel."

Follow-up to this post.

sfSoundRadio: Live Broadcast of Alvin Lucier's "Music on a Long Thin Wire"

This one in via Brian Comnes:

"APRIL 8-12 2011
sfSoundRadio presents a continuous broadcast of

Alvin Lucier's "Music on a Long Thin Wire" (1977)

duplicating the historic 5-day radio broadcast from a shopping center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1979.

Realization by Tom Duff, from his backyard in Berkeley, CA.


http://200.35.148.107:8000/listen.pls (to listen iTunes, etc)
http://sfsound.org/radio.html (to listen in web browser - or follow instructions to listen on IPhone)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Lucier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_On_A_Long_Thin_Wire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Duff"

via wikipedia:

"Music On A Long Thin Wire is a musical piece by Alvin Lucier conceived in 1977.

In his own words (1992): 'Music on a Long Thin Wire is constructed as follows: the wire is extended across a large room, clamped to tables at both ends. The ends of the wire are connected to the loudspeaker terminals of a power amplifier placed under one of the tables. A sine wave oscillator is connected to the amplifier. A magnet straddles the wire at one end. Wooden bridges are inserted under the wire at both ends to which contact microphones are imbedded, routed to the stereo sound system. The microphones pick up the vibrations that the wire imparts to the bridges and are sent through the playback system. By varying the frequency and loudness of the oscillator, a rich variety of slides, frequency shifts, audible beats and other sonic phenomena may be produced.'

However, Lucier admits a long thin wire is only used to impress, a short thin wire would have worked as well if not better, and he discovered that the best way to produce variation in the sonic phenomena was to pick a setting and leave the setup alone. He praised David Rosenboom for his ability to pick interesting settings.

It has been exhibited:

1979, Winrock Shopping Center, Albuquerque, and broadcast uninterrupted on KUNM-FM for five days and nights
1980, Landmark Center, Saint Paul
1988, Gallery of the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan, Middletown, CT"

Sal Mar Performances

YouTubes via ZanterM

"I took this video in April of 2004 at "New Directions in the Study of Musical Improvsation: An Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Conference" hosted by the UIUC Musicology division. It features David Rosenboom, dean CAL Arts [Music School], playing the SAL MAR for the first time in 20 years ; the culmination of the efforts to revive this amazing instrument! Viva la Sal! Viva la SAL MAR! MZ"


picture of David Rosenboom with the Sal-Mar Construction as restored by engineer Greg Danner, University of Illinois, April, 2004. via AudioLemon.

You can find additional posts featuring the Sal-Mar here.