NAMM: BOLERO ELECTRONICA (clips) WITH TEXT GUIDE

YouTube via interstellarcrew.

If you are at NAMM, DO NOT MISS THIS!!! (scroll for the special event posts)
"Thanks for asking about the synths used Amin Bhatia in Bolero Electronica. Yes, seventy-five years of technology represented in over 100 pieces of gear - that's a lot of tweaking!

Here's a two-minute video reduction of the full length version with music accompanied by text to give you an idea of what you're hearing. For a closer look you should refer to the 'Virtuality' CD booklet which contains a full chart for Bolero Electronica as well a stanza by stanza guide written by synth historian Mark Vail.

If you don't have the booklet yet, you can get more info from aminbhatia.com."

Bob Moog Foundation Spreads The Moog Word At Winter NAMM 2009

YouTube via gearwire.

Note this is from the last Winter, not Summer NAMM.

"If you haven't yet heard about the Bob Moog Foundation and its aims, take a look at this quick video from the Foundation, and catch a sneak peak at what they've got in the works for the quiet town of Asheville, NC."

You can find prior posts on Amin Bhatia including the album "Virtuality" that he refers to here.

MOK Miniraze Arrives

video upload by MOK

MOK Miniraze has arrived. Above is the final Countdown video in the set posted here. "Countdown to Miniraze launch! 01…

1 Bob Moog Foundation 15th Anniversary Miniraze Sound Bank.

Including patches from a stellar team of artists and sound designers, all proceeds from this special sound bank will be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation to support programs like Dr. Bob's SoundSchool, the Bob Moog Foundation Archives, and the Moogseum, located in Asheville, NC.

The Bob Moog Foundation 15th Anniversary Miniraze Sound Bank includes over 200 sounds from some of music's most sought after composers, sound designers, producers, synthesists, and artists, including a signature sound from Mark Mothersbaugh, composer and co-founder of DEVO.

Contributors include Michael Boddicker, Amin Bhatia, Erik Norlander, Drew Neumann, John Enroth, John Skippy Lehmkuhl, Anthony Baldino, Peter Dyer, Chrissy Tignor, Jerry Kovarsky, Casey Baldwin, Klaus-Peter Rausch, Alessandro Cardinale, Kelly Marie and Taiho Yamada.

MOK's Miniraze synthesizer virtual instrument is coming on November 9th, 2021. Visit MOK.com for more details, and sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on all the latest Miniraze developments.

MOK Miniraze
Wave-Slicing Synth with Analog-Style Control

VOYAGE TO NEW SONIC FRONTIERS"

Details via MOK:

VOYAGE TO NEW SONIC FRONTIERS

Miniraze is a powerful yet approachable wave-slicing virtual synth that offers you sounds for the future, inspired by the past. Featuring MOK's patented wave-slicing engine, Miniraze gives you the ability to splice waveforms into utterly unique sounds you won't hear anywhere else, while the straightforward East Coast-style layout makes it easy to craft complex tones quickly. Create anything from warm, retro analog vibes to aggressive, futuristic sounds that have literally never been heard before.

SLICE AND DICE YOUR SOUND

Under the hood, Miniraze uses a streamlined version of the patented wave-slicing oscillator technology pioneered by MOK's Waverazor virtual synth and Waverazor Dual Oscillator Eurorack module. Combine more than 100 classic, modern and random waveforms to create brand-new sounds that you literally won't hear anywhere else.

EASY TO PROGRAM

A straightforward layout inspired by legendary East Coast analog synths makes it fast and fun to program complex sounds. Dedicated oscillator, mixer and modulation sections make Miniraze easy to navigate, so you can find any parameter you need at a glance and focus on making sounds.

MODULATE AWAY

Miniraze provides multiple modulation matrices for unlimited versatility. Each of the four LFOs can be routed to eight parameters, each envelope can be routed to four, and an additional matrix lets you link four more sources and destinations. Add adjustable scaling for velocity, mod wheel, aftertouch and more, and you've got a universe of possibilities at your fingertips.

ARPEGGIATION STATION

A built-in arpeggiator with 52 settings instantly creates hypnotizing rhythmic patterns from your chords. Set the tempo internally or sync it to your session, select the beat division, then choose from Up, Down, Up+Down, Forward, Reverse, Forward+Reverse and Random patterns to add motion to your patches.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR VIBE

We want everyone to feel at home using Miniraze. Translate the UI into one of 34 languages, including Klingon, Old Norse and Egyptian hieroglyphs. Choose between 18 themes, from striking high-contrast colors to subdued hues that are easy on the eyes and even special color schemes that provide accessibility for users with color blindness.

Leslie van Berkel Colorization Video for the Classic Bob Moog Image Poster

video upload by moogfoundation

Follow-up to this post.

Update: for those that missed it, the video is back.

"Dutch visual artist Leslie van Berkel reached out to the Bob Moog Foundation, offering to colorize an iconic black-and-white photo of Bob as a tribute. We were happy to accept.

In observance of the 17th anniversary of Bob's passing on August 21, 2005, and in honor of the creation of the Bob Moog Foundation one year later, we share this time lapse video of Leslie's painstaking work colorizing this iconic, mid-'70s photo of Bob striking a pose among several of the synthesizers he helped create.

Read more about Leslie's process here: https://bit.ly/BobMoogInColor

You can purchase an art poster of the image here: https://bit.ly/BobMoogColorizedArtPoster

Music: Lisa Bella Donna from the album 'Moogmentum,' available on Bandcamp
Audio production and editing: Amin Bhatia and Dave Gross"

Synth CDs

See the Synth CDs label for more.

Vintage MOOG Albums - Free downloads. Check this one out. This is not an ad.


Amin Bhatia Virtuality
Post on MATRIXSYNTH


Switched on Bach (MOOG)

CLICK FOR MORE »

Toronto Sound Festival Set for November 24 - 26

Full details at https://www.torontosoundfestival.com

"Synthesizers. Drum machines. Workshops. Talks. Concerts. Prizes.

Toronto Sound Festival is a two-day festival celebrating synthesized sound, electronic music, and the people who make it. Unlock your creative potential through workshops, talks, and review sessions.

For our fifth year anniversary, we are holding our biggest and best festival yet at Beverley Halls in downtown Toronto on November 24-25, 2018.

Our talks and workshops take your skills to the next level, including topics from music production to live performance techniques by Canadian industry leaders. Past years have included speakers such a Amin Bhatia, Douglas Romanow, and Christina Sealey.

We also hold community events for all levels of participation:

Synthesizer Petting Zoo
Gear Swap
Dron:Klub"

RIP John Leimseider

Update: "A memorial and celebration of life will be held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, this Sunday, September 30 at 5:00 pm in Studio Bell’s Performance Hall (850 4 Street SE).

More info can be found here.

Pictured: John Leimseider on the right with Malcom Cecil from this recent post on the upcoming event, TONTO Week.

It has come to my attention that John Leimseider has passed away. John was the head synth technician at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Canada, and previously the Cantos Music Foundation. He was recently scheduled to give a presentation on TONTO with Malcom Cecil on Nov 17 as part of TONTO Week. Please note, that talk is still scheduled to go on with Malcom Cecil. According to NMC, "TONTO was one of the last major projects of JL’s, so this event has much more significance now that he’s gone. But there will be an enormous void without him."

John Leimseider's influence spread far beyond the museum. Many of you visiting MATRIXSYNTH likely know him. I unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet him in person, however I remember seeing him engage on both the Rhodes Chroma and Yamaha CS80 lists. I still have some of those threads. I was hoping to one day make it out to the National Music Centre and meet him in person.

Below is a short playlist featuring John including his work at the NMC, an introductory video on the Roland System-8 from Roland, a video for The Moog Legacy featuring John, and a fun video featuring Neil Diamond's band paying a visit to the NMC, invited by none other than John Leimseider. He will be sorely missed by the synth community.



Playlist:
National Music Center Mini Doc [be sure to listen in stereo - you can only hear John on the left channel to start]
First Impressions of the Roland SYSTEM-8 with John Leimseider
Virtuality: The Moog Legacy, by Amin Bhatia [John Leimseider comes in at 1:58]
Quarter Note Video Tweet: Neil Diamond's band visits the NMC collection [keep an eye out for John]

You can find a handful of posts mentioning John Leimseider in the archives here. He worked on quite a few synths sold by individuals over the years. It's neat to think each one of those synths were touched by him at some point, and the work he did on them will live on.

MOTU Releases The Bob Moog Foundation Encore Soundbank

via The Bob Moog Foundation:

"Cambridge, MA - May 19, 2015...

MOTU and the Bob Moog Foundation announce the release of the Bob Moog Foundation Encore Soundbank, a new and exciting collection of instrument and percussion sounds produced in commemoration of Bob Moog's 81st Birthday, coming up on May 23rd. In a charitable effort to raise funds for the foundation, over twenty legendary synthesists and renowned sound designers donated original samples to assist with the creation of the sound library, which offers over 2 GB of material. Now available for purchase from the MOTU website (www.motu.com/moog-encore), the library is fully compatible with any host software on Mac or Windows that supports virtual instruments, including popular DAW software such as Ableton Live, Avid Pro Tools, Cockos Reaper, and MOTU Digital Performer. All proceeds from the sale of the Encore Soundbank will benefit the Bob Moog Foundation.

The library ships in the form of a UVI soundbank that can be loaded into the cross-platform, universally compatible UVI Workstation virtual instrument player, available for free download from uvi.net. The library can also be loaded into MOTU's MachFive 3 sampler for side-by-side integration with other MachFive-compatible soundbanks. Most of the 200+ Encore Soundbank presets are scripted to include vintage Moog-style filter and envelope controls.

MOTU is proud to support the legacy of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog and the Bob Moog Foundation's educational and historic preservation work through the funding generated by the sales of the Encore Soundbank. The following artists generously contributed to this project: Vince Clark, Al Kooper, Jordan Rudess, Suzanne Ciani, Larry Fast, Tangerine Dream (Edgar Froese / Thorsten Quaeschning), Goldfrapp (Will Gregory), Kevin Antunes, Adam Holzman, Erik Norlander, Peter Gorges, Amin Bhatia, CJ Vanston, Drew Neumann, Kevin Lamb, Dave Spiers, Jack Hotop, Jerry Kovarsky, Kent Spong, Klaus Peter Rausch, Taiho Yamada, Michael Koehler, Chris Cox, 'Magic' Dave Roberts, Marty Cutler, Marc Doty and I Monster (Dean Honer / Jerrod Gosling).

The soundbank is released in special remembrance of Edgar Froese, who enthusiastically donated sounds for the project, but passed away suddenly on January 20, 2015. His contribution to the Encore Soundbank was one of his last musical endeavors. We are deeply grateful for his generous contribution to this project. He is greatly missed.

Sounds included in the library were created using classic instruments including various Moog modulars and Minimoogs, Buchla modular, EMS Synthi A and VCS3, Yamaha CS-80, Alesis Andromeda, Sequential Circuits Prophets, Hammond B3 organ, classic Korg synths, rare Russian Polivoks, multiple theremins and effects pedals, a rare and exotic Ondioline, and an extremely rare Moog Apollo, plus much more.*

'Bob Moog's legacy touches each and every one of us every day,' said Jim Cooper, Director of Marketing at MOTU. 'Here at MOTU, we were inspired by the milestone of his 81st birthday, to pay tribute to his lasting effect on music. What better way than with kids, and supporting the work of the Bob Moog Foundation to educate and inspire them through his life's work.'

Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation, notes, 'The Foundation is tremendously grateful to MOTU and the contributing artists who have made the Encore Soundbank an extraordinary resource for musicians across genres. The funding generated from this product will allow us to expand our educational project, Dr. Bob's SoundSchool, and to inspire even more children through the intersection of science, music, and technology.'

The Bob Moog Foundation Encore Soundbank is now available for purchase from the MOTU web site for $99 (www.motu.com/moog-encore). All proceeds will be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation.

MOTU and the Bob Moog Foundation would like to extend special thanks and recognition to Erik Norlander, Arnaud Sicard, and the team at uvi.net for their invaluable assistance in producing this project, as well as to producer Nate Donmoyer who created the audio samples for the product."

Roland Synthesizer Tape Contest

via this auction

"These are very rare Roland Synthesizer Tape Contest tapes. Roland held yearly competitions back in the late 70's and early 80's where people would send in their electronic compositions and these were the winners for 1981 and 1982. Contest #5 was won by Amin Bhatia with a piece that was later redone and used as the main theme for his "Interstellar Suite". He now composes music for TV and movies. He also had an impressive piece called "Desert March of the Military" in contest #6. Approximately 20 pieces on #5 and 16 on #6."