Evaton Technologies Announces the "RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition" 5U Synth Module

via Evaton Technologies:

"About a year ago, Atomic Shadow (Rod Mitchell) contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in doing a 5U version of the RF Nomad voltage-controlled shortwave receiver module. He then pointed me to his music, and I was blown away. The RF Nomad would be a perfect fit, and so a single one-off prototype of the RF Nomad was hand-made into a 5U format, and christened "RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition."

That module now resides in the Command Center, and is part of Atomic Shadow's secret lair.

( RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition, operated by its namesake, in the Command Center. )

The RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition (RFN:ASE) is going to be made into a short production run, the number of which is to be determined by interest expressed on the Evaton Technologies 5U signup form. If you are interested in purchasing the RFN:ASE when it becomes available, or you know someone who might be interested, please have them sign up. http://www.evatontechnologies.com/5u-signup

Current Status
At present, several things are under development - An adapter board is being designed to allow a Eurorack version of the RF Nomad printed circuit board to be used in 5U format. This will be a high quality PCB with both Dot Com and MOTM power connectors available, and circuitry to correct the voltage levels as required by the Eurorack circuit. (This is how the original prototype was made, and has been in service at Atomic Shadow's Command Center for the past year.)

Also, a mechanical dimensioned drawing of the faceplate is underway, to be fabricated using the popular Metalphoto™ process. Artwork will be very similar to that shown in the attached photo of the prototype, and will include the "Atomic Shadow Edition" logo at the top of the panel!

The original prototype RFN:ASE used genuine vintage 1970's knobs. While I have located a possible source for those exact knobs, the lead times are horrible. I have found some similar knobs which are readily available and are also quite attractive.

Here is that similar knob, shown installed on a Synthesizers.com Q109, for scale:

A test bench is needed in order to perform final QA testing on the RFN:ASE, and so this little beauty was constructed this weekend. Note the empty slot, reserved for the RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition!

Availability and Pricing
The RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow is expected to be available this winter. Pricing is yet TBD, but as a ballpark, probably around $250-275, depending on final costs.

In addition to the module, a length of antenna coax cable will be included, and a small, but high quality receiving antenna. The antenna connection will be made via a standard SO-239 socket on the front of the module, which means that the RFN:ASE will be compatible with commerically-available shortwave / ham radio receiving antennas and accessories.

http://www.evatontechnologies.com/5u-signup"

Update: RF Nomad Testing 1,2,3... by Atomic Shadow:


"This track was composed entirely from sounds generated by the RF Nomad module from Evaton Technologies. EQ, reverb and delay were added during mixing. The RF Nomad is a voltage controlled shortwave radio module. The tuning frequency can be swept with an LFO or other voltage sources to produce unique textures. Many thanks to Russ Hoffman for agreeing to produce this (so far), one of a kind, MU sized version."
previously posted here.

Hollow Sun Promotes Bob Moog Foundation with Atomic Shadow

via Hollow Sun Records

"Atomic Shadow shares the same birth date (May 23rd) as the late, great Dr Robert Moog. inventor of the Moog synthesiser.

In recognition of this coincidence, for a limited time, we've decided to make The Shadow's first two albums, 'Project Berna' and 'Creatures From Beyond', available for just £3 each with all proceeds to be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation.

The Bob Moog Foundation ignites the innovator in us all through exposure to interactive educational experiences that draw from Dr. Bob Moog's legacy of groundbreaking work at the intersection of music, science, and imagination.

Maverick electronic explorer, Atomic Shadow, is at the forefront of modern abstract electronica using as he does true retro equipment from the 50s and 60s ... test oscillators, reel-to-reel tape machines for feeding in tape loops or tape delays, etc., and a hint of modernity with MoogerFooger pedals. His music invokes influences from the likes of Tod Dockstader, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and others. Atomic Shadow's electronica is moody and dark, sometimes chilling, sometimes challenging, sometimes whimsical, always intriguing.

He was recently runner up in the London Science Museum's 'Oramix' remix competition judged by Brian Eno, DJ Spooky and The Wire.

He also recently won the 'I Dream Of Wires' modular synth award with exemptions and exceptions that although his wall of retro gear isn't exactly a 'modular synth' per se and pre-dates Dr Moog's classic designs, it represents instead the kind of music laboratories of the early pioneers which Bob Moog rationalised into the synthesisers we know today


The Shadow says of his contribution...

'The futuristic sounds of the early pioneers of electronic music captured my imagination as a child and continues to influence my work to this day. Dr. Bob was one of these pioneers. From his early love of the Theremin to his ground breaking modular instruments, through the innovative keyboards that have appeared on countless classic and modern recordings. This legacy must be preserved for our children and I am happy to give the Bob Moog Foundation my support. Through their efforts, the next generation of music and engineering pioneers may be inspired to dream, innovate and create the sounds for an entirely new world of tomorrow...'" Catch the full post and the releases at Hollow Sun Records. And of course, Happy Birthday Bob Moog and Atomic Shadow!


The following is a composite sampler of Atomic Shadow's "Berna Suite".




"Compilation/remix of Atomic Shadow's 'Project Berna' album which, along with his 'Creatures From Beyond', is being sold for a limited time with all proceeds going to the Bob Moog Foundation.

The Shadow shares the same birth date as the late, great Dr Bob so what better way to mark that coincidence.

@AtomicShadow

Please buy these albums (a mere £3.00 (approx $4.5) each) to not only contribute to a great cause but to also have two fantastic albums of abstract electronica in your collection."

http://www.hollowsunrecords.co.uk/bmf/
http://www.facebook.com/BobMoogFoundation

Hippopotamus Suitcase by Atomic Shadow

You can also find the album available for purchase on Gumtree here. It's less there and Atomic Shadow gets more. Be sure to check out Atomic Shadow's music page for more. And of course you can find his contributions here on MATRIXSYNTH.

via Atomic Shadow

"Well now. I thought the last album was hard!

Hippopotamus Suitcase is likely the final Atomic Shadow album. This is a refinement of previous Musique Concrete experimentation that blends field recordings, modular synthesis, dusty old lab gear and software processing.

The album was completed in just a little over two years. When I looked at the size of the folder that had been complied, it came to a little over 12 GB of edit sessions, Cubase projects and bounces. This is the first album that has been compiled, mixed and processed in Cubase. I have to say that I am enjoying it a good deal more than Logic.

Kelly Ricks returns to do the cover art, as she has since the 12 Full Moons album. It's my favorite.

​As always, the album eddownload is deliver as full fidelity WAV files, including cover art and a 'making of the album' PDF."

RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition 5U Synth Module Status Update

Evaton Technologies RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition Faceplate Teaser

Published on Dec 6, 2015 Russ Hoffman

http://www.evatontechnologies.com/

"The first major step in the progress on the production version of the RFN:ASE synth module is complete -- mechanical design of the faceplate and PCB carrier mechanical outline.

The PCB carrier will house a PCB from a Eurorack version of the RF Nomad, and provide power connector conversion to allow the Eurorack board to be plugged into 5U power.

I've posted up this quick video animation of the 3D CAD model as it stands today.

Consulting Artist, Atomic Shadow, (www.atomicshadow.com) helped to transform the popular RF Nomad Eurorack module into 5U format. Hundreds of Eurorack customers already enjoy the eerie sounds of the RF Nomad Shortwave Receiver module; soon 5U musicians will, too!

The RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition (RFN:ASE) is going to be made in a short production run, the number of which is to be determined by interest expressed on the Evaton Technologies 5U signup form.

Also, please watch for Atomic Shadow's new album, "Shortwave Robot Pants," which features the prototype RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition module."

IDOW & MATRIXSYNTH Modular Pic of the Week - Week 26 Contest Winner!

"Our twenty-seventh winner of the Modular Pic of the Week contest goes to Atomic Shadow (photo credit Rod Mitchell), for his 'Lab b/w.'

Atomic Shadow uses a variety of vintage and modern electronic equipment to craft unique sonic sculptures and broadcast them directly from yesterday's world of tomorrow.

For more info on Atomic Shadow, check out his record label's website: http://www.hollowsunrecords.co.uk

We'd like to give a big thanks and congratulations to Atomic Shadow for his submission!

This is the 27th week of a 30-week contest, and we are looking forward to many more modular photo submissions, so please keep 'em coming! For details on how to submit and what you can win, see this post.

For more info on the upcoming 'I Dream of Wires' documentary, be sure to see the trailer and IndieGoGo fund raising campaign here.

See the IDOW label for all posts pertaining to the film including the weekly contest winners."

Disclaimer: If you look closely you might notice something. It looks like a modular system, but there isn't a single traditional module or modular in the shot. The rules of the contest state "- Modular synthesizer hardware only. Semi-modular synth hardware is also acceptable as long as there is evidence of some cross-patching." Great shot aside, why did we opt to put this up? This system consists of sound generators that pre-dated the first modular synthesizers. It gives you a glimpse at what a pre-modular modular system might look like with modern gear. When asked why he submitted this shot when there is clearly no modular in it, Atomic Shadow replied: "I just thought I would send it in because I use it like a modular and it consists of oscillators, filters, and effects that allow me to chop and gate the oscillators and process them in various ways. I have 4 tube driven sine oscillators, one of which also makes a square wave and two solid state sine/square oscillators. By patching them together with various effects and guitar pedals I am able to pitch shift, harmonize and modulate things. The tape machines are my sequencers and the JP8080 mostly gets used as a noise generator.

The rig is similar to any electronic music lab from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The proto- modular."

For those not familiar with the history of synthesis, before the advent of synthesizers as we know them today, including vintage modulars, people often used tape and oscillators to produce experimental electronic sounds and compositions. These tools led to the creation of the Buchla system, and to some extent the first Moog modular. There is some debate on the original purpose of each, and you may have heard of the East vs. West Coast paradigms on synthesis. In short, the Buchla on the West Coast was highly influenced by Mortin Subotnick who wanted a system to compliment his other tools for more atonal sound generation and exploration typical of musique concrete, while Moog on the East Coast was highly influenced by Herb Deutsch who lead to the use of the traditional keyboard as the interface into producing more tonal music. I recommend the book Analog Days for the history of some of this. There is some debate on the glamorization of the time and some have claimed factual inaccuracies, but it is well worth reading. For a list of more tonal focused electronic instruments throughout history see http://120years.net/. Regarding Buchla and atonal sound generation equipment prior to traditional synthesizers, here's a snip from Wikepedia: "The original Buchla Music Box was the brainchild of Don Buchla and came from a commission by composers Ramon Sender and Morton Subotnick. First built in 1963, this synthesizer was composed of several 'modules' that generated or modified a music event. Each box served a specific function: oscillator, filter, sample and hold, etc. This would have an effect on the pitch, timbre, amplitude and spatial location of the sound. The idea was to allow musicians and composers to create sounds suited to their own specifications. Previously, one had to utilize either discrete audio generators such as test oscillators or via musique concrète, recorded sounds from natural sources. Although it was a fresh and exciting idea and an excellent way to get new sounds, this was very time-consuming and arduous. The Buchla Box allowed musicians to bend and manipulate sound all in one device. This would lead to the many kinds of electronic instruments available today."

Atomic Shadow's system harkens back to these days and incorporates modern day synthesizers with it, all without traditional modular gear. It's a bit fascinating when you think about it.

RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition Available March 2016

"The wait is nearly over! The finalized aluminum RF Nomad Atomic Shadow Edition faceplates recently arrived from the sheetmetal vendor, and they look fantastic! Only a few more components remain to arrive before the first batch of 5U RF Nomad modules will begin to roll off the assembly line.

Each RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition module will be hand-built and individually calibrated and tested by Evaton Technologies' founder, engineer, and chief bottle-washer: Russ Hoffman.

There is an email list signup sheet at www.evatontechnologies.com/5u-signup for folks interested in purchasing the RF Nomad Atomic Shadow Edition module when it becomes available.

Once modules are available to ship, I will send out another emailing to announce the finalized price and payment options.

The final module will include a length of coax cable with PL-259 connections on each end, and a hand crafted dipole antenna suitable for indoor installation. By using standard RF connectors, third-party outdoor antennas can also be used, for increased reception.

I'm looking forward to shipping a great product, and also to seeing what music all of you will create with it.

Acknowledgements

I'd like to thank Rod Mitchell (Atomic Shadow (www.atomicshadow.com)), Consulting Artist on this project, for all his input, inspiration, and encouragement. Rod's been twisting my arm to make some more modules in 'Man-Sized' 5U format, as he calls it. His efforts on that front may have succeeded; stay tuned!

Cheers,

Russ Hoffman
Evaton Technologies

www.evatontechnologies.com/5u-signup"

2012 Atomic New Year

2012AtomicNewYear from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"A short improvisation featuring HP and BK sine wave generators, prepared ambient recording, ring modulators, tape echo and a dash of reverb."

And an additional note from Atomic Shadow just for us:

"Happy New Year Matrix and everyone in Matrixland!

I have finished the Full Moon album for 2011 and thought it would be nice to do a New Years piece with some of my vintage gear. This piece features a prepared recording of a machine room ambiance with live improve on the B&K and Hewlitt Packard sine wave generators. The generators are running through an Akai MFC42 filter module, Moog Ring Mod, and a Strymon tape echo pedal. The lab coat is for my friend Stephen Howell at Hollow Sun who urged me to have some standards."

Update via Atomic Shadow: "I have two albums for free download at BandCamp and you can find pictures and the latest news at the Atomic Shadow FB page."

Mid Century Electronica

Mid Century Electronica from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"A short piece featuring Hp sine wave generators, tape loops and ring modulators. re-mixed and produced by Steve Howell at Hollow Sun."

via Atomic Shadow:
"Entitled 'Mid Century Electronica' the piece made use of my dusty, tube HP sine wave generators, tape loops and ring modulators. I am very pleased that Stephen Howell of Hollow Sun agreed to produce and re-mix the track. Any day that you can collaborate with a man who has done sound design for Peter Gabriel is an outstanding day.

Here is how Mr. Howell described the piece...
'A short piece featuring vintage, tube HP sine wave generators, tape loops and ring modulators with a photographic homage to the early pioneers of electronica.... Daphne Oram in twin set, the impish Delia Derbyshire of the early BBC Radiophonic Workshop, several tweedy boffins in their music labs, Karlheinz Stockhausen and so many others. A different age when innovation and ingenuity triumphed over the many technical limitations of the age.

Abstract music soundtrack re-mixed and produced by Stephen Howell of Hollow Sun using traditional techniques in a digital age.'

Stephen has made some really unique Kontakt instruments using samples from my vintage equipment. Check the Music Laboratory Machines section at his web site.

http://www.hollowsun.com/

TriOsc, Oscillosine, and Broken all started out as samples from the Atomic Shadow lab."

See http://atomicshadow.bandcamp.com for the latest two releases by Atomic Shadow. A future album titled "Twelve Full Moons" is due shortly after the first of next year.

Atomic Shadow & Hollow Sun Featured on Sonic Talk

As most of you who visit the site know, Atomic Shadow has become known as an experimenter of the more esoteric synthetic noisemakers including vintage oscillators, tape machines and more. He recently came in second place for the Oramix Oramics contest judged by Brian Eno, DJ Spooky, and The Wire. The official post is now up on The Science Museum blog here. His instruments have been featured in Hollow Sun's catalog of experimental instruments and he is one of the first artists to be featured in the new Hollow Sun Records (announced here on MATRIXSYNTH).

Sonic State recently featured Atomic Shadow on their March 8 podcast Sonic Talk. The full podcast is 53 minutes and can be found here. For those tight on time, you can find the portion featuring Atomic Shadow and Hollow Sun here. It's a good listen, so do check it out. The following is the recording referenced followed by a link to the video.



Video posted here.

Atomic Shadow Exploration lab

ExplorationLab from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"A short tour of the Atomic Shadow sound lab. Sonic sculpture done with Telex tape machine, sine wave generators, ring modulators and slicer pedal."

Some additional info via Atomic Shadow http://atomicshadow.bandcamp.com

"Here is a video tour of the new gear installed in my Sonic Sculpture laboratory. The backing track was done with the Telex reel to reel, Hewlitt Packard 200 series sine wave oscillators, Boss SL-20 slicer and two ring modulators- Moog and Pigtronix. Other gear shown include Roland JP-8080, E-Mu Morpheus, Akai s-612, Novation Xiosynth, Line 6 HD500, Akai MFC 42, White EQ, Elektron Octotrack, KP2, Strymon El Capistan, Mackie 1402 VLZpro and Lexicon MPX100. Everything else is classified."

Some of these actual instruments were used in Hollow Sun's Oscillosine, TriOSC and Broken.

RF Nomad: Atomic Shadow Edition

via Evaton Technologies

"Getting ready to ship this unit off to Atomic Shadow. This is a hand-made one-off conversion of the Eurorack version of the RF Nomad to work in MU format, for Atomic Shadow.

The knobs are genuine vintage knobs from the 1970's in good condition. The bracket that mounts the perfboard to the faceplate is a custom-machined piece, secured with industrial-grade permanent double-sided tape to the rear of the Bourns 24mm potentiometers. The faceplate is a modified blank panel purchased from Synthesizers.com

CV In and Audio Out jacks are 1/4" Switchcraft units, and the antenna connector is a ham-radio-style SO-239 socket, for connection to a PL-259 RG-8 coax, which will allow installation of an outdoor shortwave receiving antenna.

A special thanks to Atomic Shadow for asking me to do this; it has been a fun project. I'm quite honored to have the RF Nomad become part of yesterday's world of tomorrow!"

Atomic Shadow - Drums Against The Machine

Atomic Shadow - Drums Against The Machine from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"I set up a self playing S/H patch on the EMW-200 and ran the result through the STG Sea Devil and Krisp1 ring mod. All of the raw sound is coming from the EMW-200, the Krisp1 mini LFO was controlling the filter. Part of the signal made it through the Strymon El Capistan echo pedal. The improvised drums were then performed live with the patch on the V-Drums. The film was then finished by Micky Dodds who also made the film for February-Moon Of Ice from the Twelve Full Moons album."

MATRIXSYNTH T-Shirt and MATRIXSYNTH card. Thank you Atomic Shadow!
Added to the MATRIXSYNTH Swag & Hall of Fame.

An Interview with Analog Craftsman's Anthony Norton on Atomic Shadow

via Atomic Shadow where you'll find the full interview.

"3- What inspires your module designs?

Things that don't exist in large format. My first production module was ARCADE [prototype pictured below]. It combined my love for classic arcade video games with controlling modular synthesizers for both euro and 5U formats. We even have a prototype for a banana version for the Serge/Buchla crowd.
Otherwise, I like offering classic circuits in their original design to folks who cant afford the real thing. Arp and Polivoks VCFs and also the mixer from the Polivoks, both with all original Russian ICs sourced from behind the former iron curtain. Also the venerable Chris Carter Gristleizer..."

Catch the full interview with more pics on Atomic Shadow here.
Via Rod Mitchell aka Atomic Shadow on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge.

Atomic Shadow - City of Chrome and Glass

Killing The World of Tomorrow from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"This piece, from the album City Of Chrome And Glass, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.

The track was produced with processed field recordings, Hewlett Packard and RCA sine wave generators and a variety of effects.

The film portion is by Micky Dodds."

You'll find full details on the release at Atomic Shadow here.

Update:

"Atomic Shadow will be featured on the airwaves this coming Sunday evening for 3 hours. The program is called Altered State and features abstract electronic music broadcast weekly on The LION 90.7 FM out of Penn State University. The Altered State can be streamed live at these links

http://thelion.fm/
or
http://tunein.com/radio/The-LION-907-s30346

The program will air December 1st from 5-8pm EST. Tim Kai will be playing the new album, City Of Chrome And Glass, in it's entirety. There will be a live interview and Q&A session. You may submit questions to Tim via Twitter @djtimkai.

The broadcast will be available as a podcast after the fact."

Early Electronic Music Pioneers via Atomic Shadow

Luciano Berio: Perspectives (1957)

Uploaded on Feb 19, 2011 TheWelleszCompany·2,856 videos

"Luciano Berio (1925-2003): Perspectives, per nastro magnetico (1957).

Cover image: Juinny Mj Yu - Me(n)tal perspectives (2005)."

via @AtomicShadow

"Mid 20th century electronic pioneer Luciano Berio's Perspectives from 1957."

Else Marie Pade - fordømmelse (1962)

Uploaded on Mar 25, 2009 LFORSK·179 videos

from " et glassperlespil "

via Atomic Shadow.

Vladimir Ussachevsky: Piece for tape recorder (1956)

Uploaded on Mar 4, 2011

"Vladimir Ussachevsky: Piece for tape recorder (1956).

Cover image: photo by Eileen Quinlain (part.)"

via Atomic Shadow on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"Learn more about electronic music pioneer Vladimir Ussachevsky."

Before there were synths, there was tape and Musique Concrete.

Three pics via Atomic Shadow.

Self Erecting Structures by Atomic Shadow

via Atomic Shadow
"After I decided to retire the man in the lab coat it dawned on me that I had made quite a few videos featuring that personae. Why not compile an album from those tracks and make them all available to commemorate the end of an era? So here is the result. All of the videos are viewable at my Vimeo site.

Tracks 8 and 9 were demos of Hollow Sun's Cognopshere instrument for Kontakt and Wolfgang Palm's PPG WaveGenerator app for iOS respectively.

Track 13 is one that was done for another project and was lost while backing up to an external drive. It recently resurfaced while I was looking for something else. I took this as a sign and included it here.

This is a 'pay what you want" download and I have several empty spots in the racks of my Command Center that are painfully aggravating my OCD so please consider helping out with a purchase. Or buying some of these raw sounds for your own use at my Pond 5 site.

You can subscribe to my blog at www.atomicshadow.com where I post on the rare occasion that I have anything new or interesting to report.

credits
released 01 November 2012
Thanks to..,
Mrs. Shadow for understanding my condition.
Stephen Howell at Hollow Sun for collaboration and support.
All of the wonderful people who have listened and watched."

Self Erecting Structures

Atomic Shadow - Birthday On Mars

Birthday On Mars from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"This semi-improvised piece is recorded live, in one take, and features the MU format synth and the EMW200/300 cross-patched. The new DotCom S/H module is playing the cello like sound from the DDVCO. The EMW is providing filter filter modulation and some counter melodies from the sequencer and S/H section. I must also point out the new STG Soundlabs mixer and say that Eric's claims about the sound are absolutely true. Everything I feed through it sounds better coming out than going in. Off camera there are some effects units that are being controlled by hand (and foot) to process the sine wave from the small Eico signal generator."

via Rod Mitchell (Atomic Shadow) on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

Update via Rod: "I probably should have mentioned that it's Delia Derbyshire"s birthday today and Mrs. Shadow's birthday tomorrow. That was part of the inspiration for the title."

Atomic Shadow - The World Of Tomorrow

The World Of Tomorrow from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"This piece features EMW-200, DotCom, STG, Krisp 1 modules along with sine wave oscillators, Moog ring mod, and various effects. Michael Dodds assembled this film from footage that was shot while recording the piece on 11/23/12. I think he captured the spirit of the piece beautifully.

At the very end of the piece you get a very brief glimpse of the new look for Atomic Shadow. Very brief."

http://www.atomicshadow.com
http://atomicshadow.bandcamp.com

RIP Stephen Howell of Hollow Sun

We lost another. Some sad news in via Atomic Shadow:

"I learned this morning of the passing of my best friend, Stephen Howell. Many of you know of his work as Hollow Sun. He was a well respected sound designer who had worked for Peter Gabriel and many others. He was a long time fixture at Akai Professional where he designed the UI for many of their top products as well as producing the sample content.

Stephen was my mentor and gave me the nudge to take my music in to a totally abstract direction. Without him there would have been no Atomic Shadow project. I plan to write a bit more about him when I can think more clearly. I am closing down yesterday's world of tomorrow, at least for now.

We only produced one piece of music together. I always tried to get him to do more of his own music, but he said that making music did not pay the bills. He was correct of course. I cut together a video to go with it at the time. Please enjoy it and share it with anyone that you know who may have known Stephen, or had their musical experience made more alive by using one of his instruments."


Mid Century Electronica from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"A short piece featuring my vintage, tube HP sine wave generators, tape loops and ring modulators with a photographic homage to the early pioneers of electronica.... Daphne Oram in twin set, the impish Delia Derbyshire of the early BBC Radiophonic Workshop, several tweedy boffins in their music labs, Karlheinz Stockhausen and so many others. A different age when innovation and ingenuity triumphed over the many technical limitations of the age.

Abstract music soundtrack re-mixed and produced by Stephen Howell of Hollow Sun using traditional techniques in a digital age."

You can find an interview with Stephen Howell on SoundBytes here.

"I was always huge fan of early electronica and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Dr Who, Delia Derbyshire and all that as a six-year-old), Louis and Bebe Barron (who did the ‘electronic tonalities’ for the classic sci-fi movie ‘Forbidden Planet’) and loved the weird old gear they used to make/use, so Mario and I were able to design and create, using Kontakt, weird and wonderful things that flew in the face of, shall we say, more ‘conventional’ modern synths and sampler instruments..."

Indeed. Click here for all posts featuring Hollow Sun on MATRIXSYNTH. Each post is a tribute to his spirit. He will be sorely missed.

Update: Failed Muso has set up a condolence page here.

And on KVR here.

Update2:


Stephen Howell and the Subharchord from Ina Pillat on Vimeo.

"December 2011 at the Museum of Technology (Deutsches Technikmuseum) in Berlin. Stephen Howell takes recordings of the instrument. Per Platou, founder and leader of www.pnek.org, has invited him to create a sound library and helps him with the recordings. Inventor Gerd Steinke in conversation with Stephen Howell.

Photography: Jenny Barth
Sound: Johannes Schmelzer-Ziringer
Director: Ina Pillat
Production: Norwegian Arts Council // Per Platou, Ina Pillat"

Atomic Shadow Lab

YouTube via MyAtomicShadow | July 11, 2010
Some synth spotting via Atomic Shadow: "Here is a quick look around the lab. The mic on my camera is having a spasm so no narration. Yes, I do wear the lab coat sometimes.

I have a new collection of recordings coming up. Please find Atomic Shadow on Facebook for links to free downloads. Thanks!"

Regarding the xylophone controller and double manual organ: "It is a Wernick Xylosynth, which despite the synth in the name is really just a midi controller. The organ is a Philips Philicorda GM-760."