Groove Is In The Heart/Deee-Lite (Circuit Tracks Version)

video upload by Guinan

"I watched ‪@smallplatesmusic‬ excellent video detailing the story behind the samples used in the very excellent 1990 track 'Groove Is In The Heart' by Deee-Lite and thought it warranted a Circuit Tracks version.

I cleared the decks this afternoon and got to work!

(Check out the highly recommended original video below)

James recreates many of his tracks using Koala software and I've taken some of his edits, sprinkled a few extra ones from the original sources and have shoehorned them into a Circuit Tracks arrangement.

Everything you hear was programmed into and played on a single Circuit Tracks with no additional effects or synths. Hopefully it shows what a great sample player/drum machine it can be! (probably not quite how Novation thought this machine would be used - but it kinda works!)

The only non-original sources are a couple of Linn drum samples to beef up the rhythm, some General MIDI 'scratching' samples and some finger clicking and verbal gymnastics from the man himself, ‪@smallplatesmusic‬

More details for synths nerds
BPM=122
No synths on this mate! Only samples!!
No 'butter' notes either..."

"Groove Is in the Heart": Sample Breakdown, stories, recreating Deee-Lite track in Koala Sampler

video upload by small plates music

"Built on Herbie Hancock’s "Bring Down the Birds" and Vernon Burch’s 'Get Up' but including some very unexpected, sound effects, sitcom snippets, and belly‑dancing records, Groove Is In The Heart has big hidden depths.

I'll dig into the samples and tell you the stories behind each one:

Miles Davis’s 'butter notes,'
How an innocent sounding sample is hiding one of the dirtiest of house divas
A tenuous link with Donald Trump
Is belly dancing Greek? And why do we care?

In the end I will drop the samples into Koala Sampler (on my iPhone) and try to recreate the track. Because yes, we have Deee Lite at home.

Perfect for fans of sample culture, music history, and anyone curious about how one of the most joyful dance tracks ever was crafted.

0:00 - Introduction Overview of 'Groove Is in the Heart'

0:42 - Herbie Hancock 'Bring Down The Birds'
Origins of the melodic bassline and guitar and the Blow-Up soundtrack. Why Miles Davis did (not) tell Herbie to lay off the butter

2:17 - Vernon Burch 'Get Up'.
Burch’s career and gospel recordings, with surprising Stevie Wonder cameo.

3:08 - Combining the Hancock and Burch samples using the Koala sampler.

3:39 - Imagine my surprise when this “Trumpet” is actually supposed to be a woman’s scream?

4:30 - Hateful Head Helen / Sweet Pssy Pauline, HIDDEN FILTH. This is the original sample btw- • Hateful head helen ACAPELLA

5:35 - Sitcom Sample (Green Acres) The “I-I-I-I” vocal clip comes from a 1960s sitcom theme tune. Watch Donald Trump at the 2005 Emmys performing the same theme tune.

7:33 – Belly Dance Record Sample Intro chant “We’re going to dance and have some fun” from Tomee and the Grecian Knights. Discussion of belly dancing trend and what the hell a Bosonk is meant to be.

9:22 – Latin Percussion by Ray Barretto, plus studio-made finger clicks.

9:49 – Rebuilding the Track in Koala- Live attempt.

11:07 – Closing Performance Final recreation of the track showing how the samples are layered together.'

The Florian Schneider Collection to Be Auctioned at JULIEN*S November 19

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

via JULIEN*S

"THE FLORIAN SCHNEIDER COLLECTION

Auction to be held at Musician's Hall of Fame & Museum, Nashville, on November 19

An incredible collection of more than 450 artifacts from the life and career of Florian Schneider, co-founder of the pioneer electronic band Kraftwerk."

Pics and videos featuring some of the gear below, and his Lederhosen for good measure (thanks greg!).

Update: the post has been fully updated with all the synth related gear. This may just well be the longest post to be featured on the site. I wanted to capture all the pics for all of the details including notes, scuffs, and of course serial numbers. It's an interesting look into what he used, the condition he keped his gear, in some cases, how he actually used his gear. Note the phonetics on the keys of the Casio CZ-101 and DX-100. Note the Midi Switch Box with a built-in speaker? What's that about? Note the camouflage key strap on the Korg RK-100 Remote Keyboard. Did he pick it out himself or did the keytar just come with it? Note the repeat midi controllers and the MIDI saxaphones. Wind was his primary instrument. You'll find a ton of the acoustic gear he used in the other listings. This is a fascinating insight into both what and how he used his gear.

Side note: there is no affiliate compensation for this post. The note at the top automatically shows for all posts with the Auction label.


Rack Mount Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder

Starting Bid $5,000

Estimate $20,000 - $40,000 USD

A late 1970s Sennheiser VSM 201 Vocoder with no serial number from the personal studio and collection of Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk (see images). While it’s said that only a few dozen of these Vocoders were produced, a few examples made it into the hands of forward-thinking musical artists including Herbie Hancock, Daft Punk, and of course, Kraftwerk, who used a VSM-201 like this on their albums Man Machine (1978) and Computerworld (1981). The VSM-201 has an intelligible sound that has not yet been bested by modern gear. Includes power cable. This VSM-201 has been removed from its wooden enclosure (which bears the serial number plate) and modified with a metal rack mount casing, presumably for live use. Requires 240v, IEC power cable not included.

Dimensions: 19 x 9 x 9 inches

Category: Kraftwerk, Equipment

Provenance: PROVENANCE From the Estate of Florian Schneider

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland TR-1000 - first pattern

video upload by studio snippets

Bernd-Michael Land - Subtle Noise Maker -Spikebox

video upload by Bernd-Michael Land

"Studio Snippets
Subtle Noise Maker -Spikebox
Copyright: Bernd-Michael Land

Die Spikebox von Subtle Noise Maker ist ein Noise- & Drone Synthesizer, der über spezielle Sensortasten gespielt wird, die als Nägel ausgebildet sind.
Die Firma hat leider 2014 die Produktion eingestellt.

Der Sound in der ersten Hälfte im Video ist trocken, später wurden ein Strymon Big Sky und ein Roland RE-20 mit eingesetzt. Die Spikebox hat zwei Ausgangskanäle, was den Sound noch deutlich verbessert, hier im Demo wurde allerdings nur ein Kanal verwendet."

► Aliens-Project / Newsblog (Studio&more): http://aliens-project.de/blog/

The Spikebox goes back to 2012. It also gets a mention in 2014 here.

steam pipe / Artemis

video upload by studio snippets

Tanzbar 2 / RE-201

video upload by studio snippets

fieldtone weaver / digitone II

video upload by studio snippets

SH-101

video upload by studio snippets

SynthTemple - Melbourne, Australia

video upload by studio snippets

via https://www.synthtemple.com:

"Set in a heritage-listed Art Deco former Motor Works and Bus Depot, the SynthTemple complex is an exciting new music facility containing 2 Dolby Atmos studios (Studio 1 – Synth Hall and Studio 2), Solo Room (which doubles as a third studio), Tech Workshop, a spectacular and growing Gear List, including one of the largest working collections of vintage synthesizers in the world.

The versatile studios can be used separately for writing, recording and production, or can be used in a traditional live room+vocal booth+control room format for recording larger scale projects, such as bands and ensembles.

SynthTemple’s size and stunning aesthetic also makes it ideal for live events, livestreams and product launches."

dreadbox murmux + double knot 3

video upload by studio snippets

PPG 300 Modular / Sequence & Pad (Test)

video upload by Bernd-Michael Land

"Studio Snippets
Sequence & Pad (Test)
Recorded @ SynxsS-Studio am 25.06.2009
Copyright: Bernd-Michael Land

PPG 300 Modular Synthesizer (1978)
Module:
10x PPG # 301 Voltage Controllen Oscillator / VCO
2x PPG # 303 Voltage Controlled Modifier
1x PPG # 305 Low Frequency Oscillator / LFO
2x PPG # 307 Dual Envelope Generator / ADSR
2x PPG # 308 Dual Envelope Generator / DADSR
3x PPG # 309 4-Channel Mixer & Multiples
1x PPG # 310 Random Generator
2x PPG # 311 Power Unit
3x PPG # 313 Sequential Switch
3x PPG # 314 Clocked Sequential Control
1x PPG # 315 Four Quadrant Modulator / RM
1x PPG # 317 Voltage Controlled Filter / VCF"

moog labyrinth / echofix ef-x2

video upload by studio snippets

gr-1

video upload by studio snippets

super 6 / arp 2600m

video upload by studio snippets

double knot v 3 - patching fun

video upload by studio snippets

Roland S-1

video upload by studio snippets

pulsar 23 - karplus self patch

video upload by studio snippets

box of uncertainty

video upload by studio snippets

"A new unit from a brilliant new designer – exclusive to Soundgas – we absolutely love this wild and unpredictable box which can create stunning sounds and rhythms from pretty much anything.

The BOU is a characterful and unpredictable audio sampler, designed for experimentation and improvisation. please feed it a wide variety of sound sources including but not limited to field recordings and household objects, acoustic instruments, synthesizers and electronic equipment, songs by your favourite recording artist (or your least favourite…).

There are no menus, sub-patches, presets or save functions. The BOU is immediate and imperfect.

Please note that these are handbuilt and hand-finished units; some imperfections to the finish and knobs is to be expected.

The user manual can be found here

Record

The capture button records for the length that it’s pressed for (maximum 3 seconds), recording from the built-in microphone, unless a line input is connected on the back in which case that source is captured. the looped sample begins to play back immediately.

Mix

There is no overall volume control for the BOU. both of the playback samplers have their own level control, as does the fragment space and occult emanation parameters which are routed as pre-fade effects.

Play

There are two sample players which behave differently: particle and fragment. each has a control for length, speed and level.

There is additional control for pitch and direction of particle, whilst fragment can be sent to space.

Occult emanation should be used liberally with caution.

Power supply:

Requires a 9v centre positive supply (not included).

External measurements (including knobs):
24 x 18 x 8 cm"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Official Alesis Andromeda A6 Introduction Video (Synth Demo Promotional Reel) - VHS Source Copy

video upload by OldManZero

"I came across this old VHS that had an "introduction video" for the Alesis Andromeda synthesizer. The quality is OK, but there may be better sources out there as my copy was re-used. Under the labels for the promotional video, you can see that the tape was originally an Alesis Masterlink demo video. They just copied over it and added new labels.

The full video had this segment repeated over and over again for about an hour. I guess this was to play on screens at trade shows or music stores to drum up interest.

The demo sounds don't really hold up to today's standards or to what the A6 can actually do, but Alesis seemed to want to cater to the more upscale client that could actually afford the $3K price tag when it was released. (Think studio or session players.). So the sounds shown seem to cater to them. You do seem to hear a few snippets of actual crazy Andromeda sounds here and there though. What you see and hear here is peak late '90's/early 00's through and through."

tanzbar / dominion 1

video upload by studio snippets