MATRIXSYNTH

MOOG 925 Voltage Controlled Reverb

Title link takes you to the post on this prototype MOOG module on Old Socks and New Toys.

Hiromi Live

Remember Hiromi? Looks like she is playing live tonight and tomorrow night at Jazz Alley in Seattle. Title link takes you to more info. Via Brian in the comments of this post.

Update via Brian in the comments:
"I missed the Tuesday night show, but I caught the Wednesday one...WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel it is my duty as a Matrixsynth frequenter to report on the keyboard aspect of Hiromi's performance.

Gear: Nord Electro 2, microKorg, and a Nord Lead 2. The Korg and the Lead 2 were sitting on top of this truly massive polyphonic analog monster made by...Steinway??? Maybe it was a spin off from Steinberg.... Anyways as far as synthesis is concerned, no envelopes were pushed...mostly square wave leads with LOTS of really good mod wheel and pitch bender action. The Nord Electro 2 electric piano was very expressive, going from soft and sweet sounding to harsh and overdriven like "that"!

Technique: This woman has AMAZING chops! I know in this blog most people are concerned with synthesis parameters, component specs, range of "that knob". But when you hear someone that can really play, it doesn't matter if it's a Casio POS or MIDI'ed CS-80 with the sampling option- they can make ANYTHING sound great!

The rest of the band: Hiromi is no show hog. The bass player and drummer have been with her for about four years and they are the definition of tight. The bass player plays a HUGE 6 string electric bass with about 10 pedals that have lots of blinking LEDs. His playing style reminds me of Les Claypool from Primus...very fast fingering and quirky progressions. The guitarist has only been with the band for TWO WEEKS, but shared the spotlight with Hiromi more than any of the other band members.

I did get her autograph but at the time I couldn't think of any keyboard related questions, so I just said "You were REALLY good!" Duhhhhhh...but at least I saw some kick ass jazz (are those terms ever used together?) by one awesome keyboard player!"

Well, you could have said, "Hey don't you love Matrixsynth!!!" Hah! Just kidding of course. ; )

Dan Deacon

YouTubes via eddie23a. Via the comments of this post. Be sure to watch this through. Gear talk to start followed by the song after the weather forcast.

http://www.dandeacon.com
http://www.myspace.com/dandeacon

Here's the video for just the track if you want to skip straight to it.

Don Preston and Dr. Patrick Gleeson Live at Analogue Haven

"Join us for an evening of sound with Don Preston and Dr. Patrick Gleeson as they perform seven impovised compositions live. Don Preston has had a career spanning almost 5 decades full of some of the most respected artists in modern musical history. Ranging from Nat King Cole & Elvin Jones to John Lennon. Dr. Patrick Gleeson's Arp work with Herbie Hancock as well as his contributions to film scores like Apocalypse Now and Star Wars stand to this day as measurments to aspire to. The show starts at 8:00pm so please come early to check out the store while you wait."

Title link takes you there.

Cotton Pickin Synthesizer Modular

YouTube via synthesizerman.

"The Modular synth doining its thing detail shots of all modules. This synth is made up of synthesizers.com, Cat Girl Synth, MOTM, Blacet, Suit and Tie Guy, Oakley, and Club of the Knobs."

Thomas Dolby - Sole Inhabitant Podcast (#2 One.. Submarines)

YouTube via thomasdolbypodcast. My favorite Thomas Dolby track. Access Virus Ti. Check out the custom MIDI controller (some posted here).

"Alternate version of "One of Our Submarines", including an intro about the song by Thomas from his home shed studio.

Check back every Wednesday for the duration of this series for new episodes. "The Sole Inhabitant" is available NOW. More info: http://www.thomasdolby.com/soleinhabi..."

via =Silent Shrapnel=

Previous posts mentioning Thomas Dolby

Update via james in the comments:

"Hey Matrix, The Sole Inhabitant CD/DVD were actually recorded at two separate times. The DVD footage (and the alternate take) was shot at Berklee College of Music in September 2006. It's nice to watch but definitely doesn't sound as good as the CD.

Which brings me to the point of this already too long comment. TDMR and Johnny Dekam (vj) have pieced together a much more organic performance video shot at Martyr's in Chicago, mixed from the mini cams mounted on Thomas' rig and noggin.

It'll be available later this month (May 2007) for a very reasonable $13.95.

Geez. Thomas! You owe me a beer for the free publicity, mate."

=Silent Shrapnel=

Title link takes you to =Silent Shrapnel= on MySpace. When you get there scroll down to just below the embedded Thomas Dolby vid. You will see a "Sounds Like" label and to the right of that an embedded audio player. The track is untitled. It features and Akai AX80 for bass and the other synths listed below. I ran into dave of =Silent Shrapnel= in the comments of this post. He actually won the AX80 posted and used it for the bass in this track. Obviously check the rest of his music as well. There are a couple more gear shots in the pics section of his space.

Akai AX80 - bass
roland JV880 - strings
ensoniq VFX - echo plucked sound
ensoiniq SQ2 - blues guitar sounding lead part.
yamaha sy77 - fairlightish sounding bits
emu pro/cussion - all drums
digitech tsr6 - reverbs on jv880 and sy77
all fed into 2 motu mixer 7s
with their outputs going ito a alesis 3630
compressor.

About =Silent Shrapnel=
I'm =DÂV€=, A Visalia Calif. based Electronic Musician. Started Playing with Computer sequenced music back in the Late 80's using an Amiga 500 connected to a Roland D5 synthesizer. The sequencing software I used back then was called Music-X. I'm self taught, no formal music training. I love analog and metallic noises. Over the years I have aquired Most of the Music gear I've always wanted. My favorite will always be my beloved VFX because of its Matrix-like modulation routings and wealth of Patch parameter programming.

studio2

flickr by JSRockit.

Raymond Villeges Drum Machine

Title link takes you to shots via this auction.

Details:
"Add a useful member to your band, an interesting piece to your collection or BOTH... is it Art? Is it an instrument? (Well, the debate is still open on whether or not a drum machine is actually an instrument, but I digress) IT'S BOTH! This fully functional artistic drum machine is perfect for the edgey musician or DJ who needs a pal, the collector of one of a kind art, or the lover of cool electronica... Measures 42" tall, 21" at base and 18" at its widest on the top and has 3 cord jacks... don't let this lil mutant guy (guys?!?!?) languish in artistic limbo, he needs to lay down some bomb beats with you today!"

via Mike.

ROAR!!!