T.I.M. - Look Mum No Computer -

video upload by LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER

"Sam Battle, AKA LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER, returns with his latest and most personal single, T.I.M. The emotional track was inspired by Battle’s own experience with loss and grieving experiences that don’t work out as expected:

“Tim is a song about things not always going to plan, and not knowing how to express your feelings. It’s a song about an experience my wife and I had earlier in the year when her pregnancy didn’t go completely to plan.”

The track’s melody was initially devised at a show in Copenhagen, where Sam was improvising.

“The song was recorded on my analog synth, the melody I had for a while from the chorus. I kept playing it in livestreams and people picked it out as a melody they liked, I liked it too! It was all recorded live from the modular synth then I wrote the song over.”

LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER will headline London’s Oslo on the 22nd of November, and has recently announced an EU tour for 2024."

"Stream/Listen/Buy here :-
https://linktr.ee/lookmumnocomputer
INSTRUMENTAL version WAV DOWNLOAD available here :-
https://www.patreon.com/posts/9320702...
--------
My wife's mum made the knitted sam, thought it would make a funny cover! she makes em of anyone btw! she made this one for my wife but i stole it to take the photo for the song cover ha her instagram :-
https://instagram.com/angelaadaking?i...
--------
empty words are not what you deserve
half the man you’ve lost and half you’ve earned
is it a mistake a wretched curse
it crawls inside your skin, turns off your nerves
well how does it feel to be done wrong
how does it feel your underdone
how does it feel to not grow old
how does it feel to not have it all
its a shame you came and gone
didnt even stay a while
too old to be a clot
too young to even be a child
put past this sweet mistake
make tracks for the future
but dont forget about the way
it was so still and so perculiar
well how does it feel to be done wrong
how does it feel your underdone
how does it feel to not grow old
how does it feel to not have it all
cus like you ill be golden
like ill be golden till i die
like you i’ll be frozen
like you i’ll be frozen in my time
like you i’ll be still and laid out on a table
passing by
then like you ill be forgotten
making way for newer times
how does it feel to be let go
--------

CLICK FOR MORE »

WWWS live with Folktek Mescaline & LepLoop Multicassa SPLITTING THE ATOM LXI

video upload by While We Were Sleeping

"I have taken two of my favourite experimental instruments the Folktek Mescaline & LepLoop Multicassa to play at the long-running event Splitting the Atom a Lost Property and Club Zygotic’s bi-monthly showcase of aural oddities, held in the strange gloom of The Green Door Store in Brighton UK.

Setup Detail
===========
Sound sources:
* Folktek Mescaline V1 - Used for otherworldly sound textures, noise ,cosmic growls & glitchy vibes
* LepLoop Multicassa - Hartbeat and hypnotic organic rhythms
* DIY Soup tin microphone - Don’t trust any words that go through it.

Audio processing:
* Strymon Volante Magnetic Echo Machine - In looper mode. I love this pedal
* Empress Reverb - The world's greatest reverb (at least in my opinion the best I ever played)
* Chase Bliss Generation Loss MKII VHS Duplicator - a small task for a mighty pedal. It set before the reverb to create movement in the sound. Each time a kick from the Multicassa hit the reverb it caused a different reaction of the reverb.

I did not have much video footage of my set so used other acts that played on the day and from the previous event as those were both a pleasure to the ears and the eyes."

Sequential Take 5 - Vertigo

video upload by Lost For Words

"Sequential Take 5 custom patch. Playing over a short sequence on the highest time division. Tweaking the envelopes, filter and reverb to create movement. Using overdrive, vintage rotary speaker and reverb on-board effects. Recorded direct with no external processing."

ARPchives LIVE Special Birthday Edition "In His Words"

video upload by Alan R. Pearlman Foundation

Features the ARP 2600 assembly line. Note the Blue Marvin / Blue Meanie.

"(NOTE: These videos are for historical preservation and EDUCATIONAL purposes only. )

We are very excited to release 'The Lost ARP Tapes,' recently discovered footage that had been buried in decades worth of television. Join us Tuesday, June 7th on our YouTube channel to watch them live and celebrate Alan Pearlman’s birthday.

We will be having several releases. featuring footage from the 1970s of demos, two different ARP factories, Alan R. Pearlman, Phil Dodds, David Friend, David Frederick, and Tom Piggot! Not seen in 45+ years!

Included in these sessions will be other rare footage of Alan R. Pearlman speaking in later years (not in any other documentary) as well as contemporary interviews with ARP employees"

And via Dina Pearlman in the ARP Foundation mailing list:

Today is my father's birthday

Alan R. Pearlman would have been 97 today! Because he was born in 1925, he remembered the George Washington Bridge being built, the Great Depression, was a World War II vet.. he worked on the early NASA projects, saw the first person on the moon. And he built one of the most famous synthesizers in the world.

With celebrating my father's birthday we also recognize our future—the kids who love their STEM classes, the musicians who have aspirations to make music, or the filmmakers who wish to make soundtracks.

This summer we are trying to raise a minimum of $15,000 for the following projects:

ARPs for ALL - insurance, restoration and repair of instruments

ARPchives including scanning, digitizing and licensing rights to rare photos. See also: Google's Music Makers and Machines!

Our first residency at ARPs for ALL (estimated $10,000 for housing, transportation and engineering assistance) Grantwriter(s)

We will also be holding our Fall Synthposium and Fundraiser 2022: A Fifty Year ARP Odyssey!

READ the Synthposium Press Release

We hope you will consider making a tax deductible donation to The Alan R Pearlman Foundation

My father was a mentor. In his tradition, The Alan R. Pearlman Foundation is dedicated to preserving his legacy to inspire others, and to provide them with the tools to do so with our ARPs for ALL projects as well as our ARPchives that include Hot off the Press!

This year we have located some lost ARP tapes premiering on YouTube later today [above] (more coming later this summer) We have also located some rare photographs, but we have to purchase them, so this is part of our goals for this latest fundraiser.

Read the 'Lost ARP Tapes' Press Release

Arturia Microfreak, Landscape HC-TT, Cocoquantus and Strymon Nigthsky

video upload by Luca Longobardi

"A Failure for Civilization: a maditation for retrograde words

I have quite confused ideas about what could be the right behavior in a situation like the one we are living today: one can stop petrified by horror to reason, to try to understand; we can take refuge in unconsciousness and pretend that that same horror is far away, that it does not touch us closely. What is the right thing to do in order not to wobble that glimmer of lightness that was glimpsed on the horizon after these two hard years?
Today I am lost like this."

Yamaha CS-50 w/ Custom Mods

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

via this auction

"4-voice polyphonic little brother/ forerunner of the legendary CS-80

Recently refurbished, tuned/calibrated, and customized. Everything works, ready to plug-and-play!

Inspiring to play and built like a tank. No joke, this behemoth weighs nearly 100 pounds. Built to last for generations.

Designed for North America standard 117Vac power with grounded (3-prong) plug.

Run it through your favorite effects and blast off into outer analog space!

Special features:
- There is a custom polyphonic CHORUS switch mounted on the lower left console panel. (See detail photo.) This mode sounds a second voice for each key pressed. In other words, polyphony goes from 4 to 2, but those 2 voices have DOUBLE THE FATNESS. It sounds nice, and you can turn it on and off whenever you want to, even while actively playing.

- On the rear connections panel, there is a custom SUSTAIN PEDAL jack. (See detail photo.) Perhaps surprisingly (it was to me anyway), a stock CS-50 does not have a SUSTAIN PEDAL input. This particular unit DOES. Simple and just plain useful. (but no pedals included)

The synth comes with the original lid, which also serves as a built-in road case with carry handle (more about that handle later) and 4 chrome legs, that's all. There are no other accessories included. Unfortunately, the two cross-brace rods have been lost to the sands of time and are not included in this sale. Fortunately, the synth is plenty stable enough without them to stand on a rug in your home or studio. Or you can always leave the legs off and lay it on a table or a heavy-duty keyboard stand if you have one.

Full disclosure:
The synth has some chipping of wood veneer trim, scratches and chips in the paint, and marks and scuffs on the case exterior. It's a reasonable amount of general wear-and-tear for a fully working instrument that is 45 years old. The little EXTERNAL IN LEVEL knob on the rear connections panel has a slight bend in the shaft, but the knob itself is intact, and the control works absolutely fine.

Some of the sliders travel a little looser or stiffer than others, but every single one of them works."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland SH-32 Shapeshifta Soundset

video by Soundsauca

"Shapeshifta for the Roland SH-32 features 64 luscious synth ambiences and rich analog strings. Trippy leads and sound effects mutate into ear bleeding slabs of weaponised audio.

Open that cupboard and grab that box, blow the dust off and wipe the early naughties from your Roland SH-32’s brain. With Soundsauca’s SH-32 life extension plan you too can inject some new sysex into this unappreciated little fella. Often maligned and misunderstood, the SH-32 is an experimental hybrid of a synthesizer.

Sometimes it feels like a long lost cousin of the JV/XV and JP8k series, other times it spits out D-50 and JD-990 memories. However the SH-32 is it’s own thing and I had a blast getting to know it again. As you might guess, I love the character of the SH-32. It has bags of personality, an enticing blend of lo-fi goodness and tripped out sonic vocabulary.

I hope you enjoy the Shapeshifta, please like and/or subscribe if you do - it sounds cliche, but it really does!

https://www.soundsauca.com/sounds/sha...​

Patch List:

CLICK FOR MORE »

Lost for Words by Audio Illustrator

New track from supporting member, James Newman aka Audio Illustrator of New Man Studios who had the following to say about it:

"As in a barren and deserted forest, we often speak but can not utter the right words that would benefit one another.

I hope you enjoy my newest musical reflection."

The Galaxy Electric - Tomorrow Was Better Yesterday - Album Trailer - Cosmic Tape Music

New album coming from supporting members, The Galaxy Electric [featured here on MATRIXSYNTH].

Pre-Order The Album HERE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

Enjoy this trailer featuring clips of all the songs from our upcoming second full length album "Tomorrow Was Better Yesterday" - these clips are all mixed seamlessly together and set to space age era imagery and Super 8 film footage crafted by Italian video artist, Michelle Pan.

About the Album:

Hop on “The Galaxy Electric” Express for a space age voyage in search of the origins of the Big Bang! It all starts at the 1964 World’s Fair….and ends on the other side of a wormhole...Will our cosmic voyagers find what they seek….or end up just as lost as the original explorers they came to rescue?

This is the first album we have ever recorded that was fully and completely improvised. And we recorded to 1/4" Analog Tape without any digital recording magic (overdubs, edits, tuning etc). We spent a year practicing this new improvisational style before we turned on the tape machine. But once we did, we recorded every day for a month. And when we listened back - we realized we had created a space age fantasy album - like the soundtrack to a time traveling space voyage. From there, we spent time mixing and mastering the raw tape recordings. It was a tedious and worthwhile effort.

We use Buchla style synthesizers, Reel to Reel and Cassette tape machines, a Mellotron, Korg Delta DL50 and various analog effects like Spring Reverb, Tape Delay, and Ring Modulation sprinkled with ethereal vocals to take our listeners on a cosmic journey.

Tracklist:

1. STAGE 1 (EXPOSURE)
2. TOMORROW WAS BETTER YESTERDAY
3. STAGE 2 (RE-ENTRY)
4. TRIPPINGLY WE GO
5. BETTER THAN WORDS
6. S.O.S.
7. LAST NIGHT ON PLANET EARTH
8. TIME SLIPPING
9. TRANSMISSION FINI
10. REALITY IN THEORY
11. GRAVITATIONAL COLLAPSE
12. LIFE ON PLANET ZORB
13. HOW HIGH
14. ENDLESS VOYAGE
15. POWER TRIP
16. SURFING ON SOFT RAYS
17. DESTINATION OMEGA
18. CRYSTALLINE GLOW (BONUS TRACK - Digital Only)
19. MIRRORS OF INFINITY (BONUS TRACK - Digital Only)"

New ENVISION SOUND - Strata Ableton Live Controller

Strata - Prototype Demos


Strata - Quick Start Demos [Beta]

via Isotonik Studios:

"KICKSTARTER LAUNCHES OCTOBER [$500 USD]

Over the past few yerar i've lost count of the number of times people have suggested that Isotonik gets into the controller business. I've always wondered whether the truly perfect controller could ever exist with the amount of times that I change my mind and performance template.

But then maybe i've not been approaching it in the right way, what if there was a controller that focused on the functionality of Ableton Live rather than on my specific performance?

That's where Strata comes in, a brand new Ableton Live Controller that's due to launch on Kickstarter in October. I've seen many controllers launch and fail on the platform but i hope this ones different and thought i'd share it with you at this early stage to give the guys behind it as much as a chance of success as i can and so here's some words of introduction from Galen Farrel the driving force behind the project...

CLICK FOR MORE »

New ASM HydraSynth 8 Voice Digital WaveMorphing Hardware Synthesizers - First Demos & Details

Update: Playlist added above. You can use the player controls to skip around.
Update2: New pics and product description added below.
Update3: Official press release with higher res pics starting with the desktop added below.

Playlist:

1. ASM Hydrasynth Keyboard Preset Sounds - Perfect Circuit - interview here
[Note Supporters of MATRIXSYNTH get %10 off at Perfect Circuit! See the support page for details. Thank you to all who support the site!]
2. ASM HydraSynth Overview Demo arp and Poly Touch Pads - Ken Flux Pierce Fluxwithit
3. HYDRASYNTH FIRST IMPRESSIONS – This is an INTENSE synthesizer - BoBeats (Patreon)
4. New Polysynth - HYDRASYNTH - From ASM - Sonic LAB First Look - sonicstate
5. Hydrasynth: Review, detailed tutorial // Keyboard vs Desktop // Polyphonic Aftertouch - leploop
6. Hydrasynth Review - BBoyTechReport.com
7. Welcome the ASM HydraSynth! Digital Wavemorphing Synthesizer - Ken Flux Pierce Fluxwithit
8. ASM HydraSynth Exploring Oscillators and Mutants - Ken Flux Pierce Fluxwithit
9. ASM Hydrasynth Sounds Demo 🎹 - Sweetwater
10. ASM Hydrasynth Synthesizer Deep Dive 🎹 - Sweetwater

ASM stands for Ashun Sound Machines, not to be mixed with the Elby Designs ASM2 & ASM STRAT 1.

Screen grab of the desktop version.

via Fluxwithit

"Over the past year or so I was fortunate enough to work on this project. Eventually it became one of the most interesting synthesizers I have seen hit the market in ages. What makes the ASM HydraSynth so special? let’s start with a run down of the bullet points first.

Hydrasynth is an 8 voice digital wavemorphing synthesizer.

8 voices3 oscillators: 219 waveforms, custom wavetables with wavelist/wavescan function, ring mod, 3 noise colors.4 custom “mutator” sections each with 7 effects FM-lin,wavestack,PWM,PWM squeeze, PWM-ASM,Sync,Harmonic sweep. oscillators can be stereo panned.

2 Simultaneous filters that can be arranged in parallel or series. Filter 1 has 11 filter models including traditional Moog style 12 and 24db ladder filters, q compensated 12 and 24db ladder filters ala MatrixBrute, 18db slope LP,BP,HP,filters based on the Threeler eurorack filter, MS20 style HP and LP filters,LPG filter and a Vowel filterOscillators can blend into filters at varying amounts, Filter 2 is a SEM style multimode filter with morph control LP-BP-HP.dedicated analog 270 degree pots for cutoff, resonance and Drive/Morph.

5 6-stage DAHDSR envelopes with BPM sync allowing you to sync the slope of each stage to the beat. Looping with definable number of repeats

5 LFO each with 10 waveforms + noise, delay, fade in/out, and phase. multiple trigger modes , step mode with pattern length.

32 point mod matrix with 28 sources and 188 destinations .

8 macros each with scribble strip and up to 8 destinations each. Macro buttons also allow for quick value changes.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Mechanical Birds At Dawn // Eurorack Qu-Bit Chord Morphagene Clouds Plaits

Published on Aug 17, 2019 Lost For Words

"uClouds in looping delay mode is taking the pattern from Plaits #2 and with varied pitch (from Marbles) and intermittent Freezing (from Maths trigger) I got these strange robotic squawks and bleeps which reminded me of a dawn chorus.

The beautiful sounding Chord v2 is playing the chords (duh) using the bank (2nd on factory) where the wave control is a low pass filter. Processed through Magneto delay to give it a thicker sound with additional pitched harmonics.

Morphagene has a pre-recorded glided note from Plaits #1 which comes in with additional noted later on.

And towards the end I send a Maths LFO to the voicing control on the Chord to get an arpeggio until fade out.

For some reason I lost some video at the end of the recording. I liked the take so went with it :)

Sequenced on NerdSeq. Mixed in WMD Performance Mixer and straight to Reaper with just ValhallaRoom reverb added in post."

Lorre-Mill Double Knot & Keyed Mosstone In-depth Overview / Demos

Published on Aug 26, 2018 Allieway Audio

1. Lorre-Mill Double Knot (in-depth overview / demo)

"TO SKIP THE BORING EXPLANATION SKIP TO 17:06

A couple years too late, the first video of the Double Knot on the internet with any explanation of what the heck is going on! Everything here is improvised and mainly didactic but I hope it at least shows you why I love this thing so much. I haven't even touched the surface of the many tricks I have learned so far!

Let me know what you think :)

EDIT: Just rewatched, and I'm now aware that the time signature at 28:15 was 4/4. I think I may have forgotten how to count at that moment :P"

2. Lorre-Mill Double Knot: Exploring Drones!

DISCLAIMER: I do not recommend using touch-jacks as I do in this video without sufficient understanding of the risks involved in touching something metal that's connected to a power outlet. I do not accept liability if you hurt yourself during reckless use of touch-jacks!

My last video was focused on explaining the double knot's different bits and exploring it's rhythmic possibilities, so I figured my next video on it should show off it's amazing capacities for creating sonic textures at audio rate!

I get a little lost in this video, toward the end - playing with this synth tends to put me in a sort of trance that's a bit hard to escape at times - you get tangled up in the knots I suppose :D

A lot of this video's audio is very dry for explanation purposes, but hopefully the end of the video shows how powerful this synth can be with for drones with some fx processing (I'm using the OTO Bam for reverb, by the way). Also, the audio in this vid is mono to prevent you only hearing the synth through one ear at parts of the demonstration, but you can imagine how crazy the stereo image of the knot's two sides can be at if you mix in stereo!

Leave a comment and tell me what you think, I'm hoping to make a lot more videos now that I've got a less shitty tripod, so I appreciate any feedback! Hope you enjoyed ^_^

3. Lorre-Mill Keyed Mosstone (in-depth overview / demo)

"I'm back again with a new in-depth explanation / video manual / rambleathon, this time about Lorre-Mill's newest synth, the Keyed Mosstone!

I originally intended this video to have a longer demo/screwaround session at the end after all the talking, but I realized after finishing my initial overview that I was actually very close to running late for a date I had later that day - one of the problems with shooting hour-long videos in one take! I'll be making a more extensive jam session video very soon, with MUCH less talking :)

Speaking of problems with hour-long vids, my phone's camera is quite nice but has a frustrating limitation - it can only handle vids of 2gb, and anything longer will cause it to stop recording and start up a new vid, leaving a noticable second-long gap. I'll try to record in several parts in the future to try to avoid getting cut off - for this video, I interspersed the cuts (there are two) with a transcript of the few words missed.

By the way, I did realized after finishing up that I forgot to illustrate the sound of the second random's digital noise when applied to various sound parameters (e.g. wavefolding), which is an important aspect of the synth's sound - I'll make sure to cover this first thing in my next video on the Mosstone!

Also, another minor correction - the gate output in the very bottom left of the synth is actually a trigger (spike) output, not a gate: it just does a quick trigger when you press any (circle) key. Handy for triggering the randoms!

Let me know what you think, and if you have any other questions about this synth, or requests for future videos, especially featuring the knot and mosstone, as they are the best of friends!"

One Step Ahead // Novation Peak Elektron Digitone OTO & Strymon

Published on Feb 2, 2019 Lost For Words

In order of appearance :
Novation Peak
Elektron Digitone x 2 tracks simultaneously
Roland TR-8S (707 emulation)
Hardware FX from :
OTO Machines BIM (delay), BAM (reverb) & BOUM (compressiojn/drive) and Strymon Deco (Tape saturation effects)
Toraverb software reverb on the percussion track.

Tone Science Module No​.​2 Elements and Particles (DiN​:​TS02)

"Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.

DiN was initially set up in 1999 by well known UK synthesist Ian Boddy to bridge the gap between the analogue music of his heritage and the emerging digital possibilities of the future. This label has always forged its own independent path and to date has released 56 physical CD albums as well as 21 download only releases.

Even after being involved in music since the late 1970’s Boddy has continued to explore new sonic territories and in 2016 he released what was probably his most experimental album in “Tone Science” (DiN48). This album comprised five long, slowly evolving self playing compositions realised entirely on his vast arsenal of modular synthesisers. Boddy’s love of the analogue sound has been well documented not only through his own releases but many sound and sample libraries. These instruments all but disappeared in the 1990’s but recent years has seen an unprecedented growth in interest in this form of synthesiser with a proliferation of both module manufacturers and performers using these highly flexible and personal systems.

Thus, inspired by his “Tone Science” release, Boddy has set up this sub-label to feature artists and performers working in the field of modular synthesis. The first release “Module No.1 Structure and Forces” was released in March 2018 and has garnered a lot of critical acclaim. This second compilation “Module No.2 Elements and Particles”, like its predecessor, features nine artists from different musical backgrounds with the common thread being that all the tracks were composed entirely with a modular synth system.

The album opens and closes with the ambient soundscapes of two tracks by Todd Barton and
 r beny. Barton is a world renowned exponent of Buchla modular systems as well as the Music Easel employed on this track. Austin Cairns (aka r beny) has a penchant for lo-fi looped synth atmospheres which combined, in this case, with a field recording creates a haunting, evocative piece. The next three pieces by Bluetech, Parallel Worlds and Paul Nagle build up rhythmic and sequenced elements with a fascinating amount of detail that modular systems are so good at. They also all use various methods to produce a poly-rhythmic, fractal feel as patterns shift and change throughout their tracks. The middle of the album then sees a fascinating experimental ambient interlude by Dave Bessell (a member of the synth group Node) using waveguide physical modelling in the analogue domain. The second half of the album has a rawer, more gritty feel with Richard Quirk building up a crescendo of wonderful textures in his track “Radar Hill”. This is followed by Hainbach using the exotic Ciat-Lonbarde series of hand built instruments to produce, in his words, a piece of “pure electronic music”. Nathan Moody then brings proceedings to a climax with a gnarly, muscular track using a Buchla modular system before the blissful ending piece “Marine Layer” closes out the 60 minute sonic journey the listener has just travelled.

Boddy has curated both the artists and tracks on this album to flow in a musical way and not just be a collection of equipment heavy demos. Though fascinating and always cool to look at, it is important not to get lost in the gear for gear’s sake syndrome. Having said that this album features Eurorack, Serge, Buchla & Ciat-Lonbarde modular systems and the nine tracks show how varied and flexible these instruments can be.

“Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles” continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.
credits
releases October 19, 2018

1. Todd Barton Floating World 8:41
This is an exploration of layering various timbres and textures, each having its own
diverse panning structure and speed. Performed on a Buchla Music Easel with a
TC Electronic Ditto x4 looper and TC T2 reverb.
toddbarton.com

2. Bluetech Magnetic Lullaby 6:36
Multitracked sequencers in long takes at different clock speeds to get a fractal layer of shifting melodies evolving at different rates with Strymon modulation at different times for complexity.
bluetechonline.com

3. Parallel Worlds Additive Procedure 5:56
Eurorack, Analogue Systems and Serge modular systems, using harmonics created via waveshaping/wavefolding & the Verbos Harmonic Oscillator & RS370/375 Polyphonic Harmonic Generator.
parallel-worlds-music.com

4. Paul Nagle Euneirophrenia 7:52
The peaceful state of mind after a pleasant dream. In this mellow polymetric excursion, Cirklon's CVIO juggles a Quadnic, NW1, Plonk, Rings and Plaits.
bogusfocus.com/pn/

5. Dave Bessell Overtone 6:37
Between two worlds, the technical and the theatre of the imagination, the apparently real and the obviously synthetic play hide and seek with your perception. Realised with an all analogue signal path, this is a study in waveguide physical modelling.
sites.google.com/site/davebessellmusic/home\

6. Richard Quirk Radar Hill 7:22
This track is taken from an ongoing collection of music based on abandoned radar stations. Created with an AJH Eurorack system along with a Voltage Multistage, Bark filter, Magneto delay, Radiomusic and a tube Echoplex.
richardquirkmusic.bandcamp.com

7. Hainbach Your Strange Glitter 5:02
Aiming for purity I focused entirely on the Ciat-Lonbarde Plumbutter, Sidrax and Cocoquantus. I wanted this piece to feel like “synthesizer music”, clear and shimmering, yet alien, not rooted in a real acoustic space.
hainbachmusik.com

8. Nathan Moody Prophet And Loss 5:02
This piece was created using a Buchla modular synthesizer (200 & 100 series modules) as a meditation on the false piety of tyrannical populists in the early 21st Century.
nathanmoody.bandcamp.com

9. r beny Marine Layer 7:02
Fog conjuring with Mutable Instruments Rings loops being processed by Orthogonal Devices ER-301, Mannequins Three Sisters, and Strymon Magneto.
rbeny.bandcamp.com


Total Time 60:24
license
all rights reserved"

Follow-up to:
Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles Demo Mix
Todd Barton Autumn Tour & New Release

Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles Demo Mix

Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles, set to be released on Oct 19, features the following supporters of MATRIXSYNTH: Todd Barton, Parallel Worlds, and Dave Bessel.

Details:

"Various Artists Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles DiN:TS02

Release date 19th October 2018

Limited to 500 copies. Digipak CD format.

Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.

This second compilation “Module No.2 Elements and Particles”, like its predecessor, features nine artists from different musical backgrounds with the common thread being that all the tracks were composed entirely with a modular synth system.

The album opens and closes with the ambient soundscapes of two tracks by Todd Barton and
 r beny. Barton is a world renowned exponent of Buchla modular systems as well as the Music Easel employed on this track. Austin Cairns (aka r beny) has a penchant for lo-fi looped synth atmospheres which combined, in this case, with a field recording creates a haunting, evocative piece. The next three pieces by Bluetech, Parallel Worlds and Paul Nagle build up rhythmic and sequenced elements with a fascinating amount of detail that modular systems are so good at. They also all use various methods to produce a poly-rhythmic, fractal feel as patterns shift and change throughout their tracks. The middle of the album then sees a fascinating experimental ambient interlude by Dave Bessell (a member of the synth group Node) using waveguide physical modelling in the analogue domain. The second half of the album has a rawer, more gritty feel with Richard Quirk building up a crescendo of wonderful textures in his track “Radar Hill”. This is followed by Hainbach using the exotic Ciat-Lonbarde series of hand built instruments to produce, in his words, a piece of “pure electronic music”. Nathan Moody then brings proceedings to a climax with a gnarly, muscular track using a Buchla modular system before the blissful ending piece “Marine Layer” closes out the 60 minute sonic journey the listener has just travelled.

Boddy has curated both the artists and tracks on this album to flow in a musical way and not just be a collection of equipment heavy demos. Though fascinating and always cool to look at, it is important not to get lost in the gear for gear’s sake syndrome. Having said that this album features Eurorack, Serge, Buchla & Ciat-Lonbarde modular systems and the nine tracks show how varied and flexible these instruments can be.

'Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles' continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

01 Floating World by Todd Barton 8:41
02 Magnetic Lullaby by Bluetech 6:36
03 Additive Procedure by Parallel Worlds 5:56
04 Euneirophrenia by Paul Nagle 7:52
05 Overtone by Dave Bessell 6:37
06 Radar Hill by Richard Quirk 7:22
07 Your Strange Glitter by Hainbach 5:02
08 Prophet & Loss by Nathan Moody 5:02
09 Marine Layer by r beny 7:02

Total Time: 60:24

Released by: DiN

Release date:
19 October 2018"

xCity Picture // Ambient Eurorack Rings Pluck Plaits Rubicon Bermuda Magneto

Published on Aug 31, 2018 Lost For Words

"Sound was recorded directly with no external effects.

Main modules used :
Rings (plinks)
Pluck (more plinks)
Plaits (warbled and filtered)
Rubicon 2 (through-zero siren)
Bermuda (bass drone)
Magneto (echo delay)
2hp Verb (reverb)
Ornament & Crime (main sequence - analog shift register)
Hermod (sequencer - mainly clocks and the plaits notes)

1973 footage of Manhattan New York City. Remember 9/11 this month."

Cavern // Elektron Digitone + Make Noise 0-Coast + Neunaber Immerse Reverberator

Published on Jun 23, 2018 Lost For Words

"Polyrhythmic drips.

(Headphones recommended)

3 Elektron Digitone tracks and one MIDI track out to the Make Noise 0-Coast, the audio from which is fed back into the Digitone for applied delay effect and everything goes out through the Neunaber Immerse reverb pedal."

Is it Time to Ban Behringer on the Site?

Last night I received an email from Nan Tang, the founder & CEO of Chinese computer music portal Midifan and co-founder of plugin vendor 2nd Sense Audio. He wrote in to let me know that Behringer apparently sent him a letter threatening legal action for defamation in some posts critical of them. Peter Kirn of Create Digital Music has a write-up on the situation here, and Synthtopia just published a humorous report here.

So, most of us know that there are essentially two camps when it comes to Behringer:

1. Those that love that they are reproducing vintage analog synths and offering them at super affordable prices.

2. Those that perceive them as ripping off others.

Midifan falls into the second category, and Behringer has a problem with how they are communicating that. I have no problem with either of them. What I do have a problem with is when a company threatens legal action to shut someone up.

So... what do we do...

Considerations on my end as a publisher:

1. As a site dedicated to capturing what is happening in the synth community on a daily basis, should I continue to post new Behringer product announcements at a minimum?

2. I don't want to ban content my readers create. If readers submit content featuring Behringer products, I will post them. Not for Behringer, but for my readers.

3. I usually do my best to remain neutral.

That said, I can definitely scale back on Behringer content that doesn't meet 1 and 2 above. I don't want to get sued, and if Behringer threatens publishers that voice their opinions, then why bother supporting them?

If you have an opinion feel free to leave a comment below.

Update: I asked Nan of Midifan what he planned to do regarding Behringer coverage on his site. He replied with the following:

"I will continue reporting all the news and new products from Behringer as usual, give them applause for the good products, give them a shit for the bad products. As an online media, we have to report everything for our reader, whatever someone sued us or not."

Update2: MUSIC GROUP COMMERCIAL BM LTD (Behringer's parent company) sued TONY KARAVIDAS, ET AL, including Dave Smith Instruments, for defamation, and lost. Tony is an engineer for DSI. He is also the man behind Encore Electronics, and he has an extensive history in the synthesizer industry, including work on the original Oberheim OB-Xa. The case is covered in detail by Create Digital Music here.

What surprised me was the following:

"The twist here is that in addition to Dave Smith Instruments, the manufacturer, and employee Anthony Karavidas (an engineer at DSI), the lawsuit added as defendants an additional twenty individuals posting in the same forum thread. Since the identity of those individuals is unknown, they’re named as 'DOES 1-20.' In the words of the lawsuit, 'the true names and capacities, whether individual, corporate, associate or otherwise … are unknown to Plaintiff.'"

Did Behringer go after individuals as well, or were they trying to discover if the 20 individual accounts were actually the same person or persons?

Update3: worth a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation
And discussion on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/8sb3a0/behringer_sues_dave_smith_instruments_and/

You can read the original filing of the lawsuit here, the judgement here.

Lyra8-1 // Soma Lyra-8 Organismic Synthesizer

Published on Jun 11, 2018 Lost For Words

"Warning: harsh tones and heavy distortion ... and hopefully you like that kind of thing!

I've had the Lyra 8 for 4 days now and have spent a few moments with it. It's a crazy, crazy synth unit but there are moments of design genius and beauty that dispel any doubts I've had about buying it!

Here I'm playing it without touching the sensors and I've created a kind of 3 track piece. Bringing up the Hold and Sharp knobs to fade in the parts. No external CV input.

Voices 7&8 come in first and they have LFO modulation engaged. The complex LFOs are set to OR have sync off - creating a pitchy pattern fed to those two voices

Voices 3&4 are FM cross-modulated by 1&2 and so you see me playing the Mod knob above 1&2 in order to change the pitch back and forth.

Voices 5&6 are set to a higher pitch drone to bring in some suspense towards the end, along with heavier distortion. I've added a little reverb to smudge the hard edges.

Subtle feedback modulation and some slower LFO settings create some wonderful sounds from the Lyra. Whenever I turn this thing on I get lost in it for hours... 6 or 7 hours!"