Exploring the 1st Buchla 100 Modular Synthesizer

video upload by Sarah Belle Reid

"This video is a historical, technical, and musical deep dive into the Buchla 100 Series Modular System at the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music. This instrument was the first voltage controllable modular synthesizer built by Don Buchla—it was delivered to the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the mid-1960s.

In this video we’ll start with a brief historical overview of the Buchla 100 Series Modular System and the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Then, we’ll unpack everything that’s inside the instrument module by module. Finally, I’ll share some of the quirks of this particular instrument, and lots of patch examples to illustrate its unique voice and character.

As I was getting to know this instrument, I tried to keep in mind the circumstances surrounding its development—the people who contributed to it, the time in which it emerged, and the state of electronic music at the time of its invention. These thoughts greatly inspired my approach to working with the instrument and are present throughout this video.

It’s a rare opportunity to be able to work with a historical instrument like this one. I have always been super inspired by Buchla’s work in general, but like many people have had few opportunities to work with his original instruments. Instead, much of my experience has been through newer instruments inspired by his designs. Being able to work closely with this instrument was an incredibly inspiring and clarifying experience that allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of Buchla’s own creative and technical development, as well as the multitude of music, modern modules, and instruments that have been inspired by his work.

Special thank you to Mills College for letting us spend a week in the electronic music studio working with the Buchla 100; to The Buchla Archives and Ryan Gaston for helping to put this video together; and also to all of the amazing folks in my Patreon community for your support in helping to bring educational projects like this one to life!

Learn more / join the waitlist for Learning Sound and Synthesis, my online modular synthesis and sound design class: https://www.soundandsynthesis.com

Join my Patreon community for behind-the-scenes content, unreleased music, and extended tutorials: sarahbellereid

Thank you to:
Mills College Center for Contemporary Music https://www.performingarts.mills.edu
The Buchla Archives https://www.buchlaarchives.com
Ryan Gaston (co-producing + filming) https://gastonsounds.com
Hainbach (tape slicing footage)

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Historical Overview: Buchla 100 + the San Francisco Tape Music Center
7:38 Mills Buchla 100 System Overview
14:27 Timbre in the Mills Buchla 100
18:29 Chaos in the Mills Buchla 100
21:52 Voltage Control Quirks
25:00 Sequencing Tactics: Triggered Segments
30:40 Sequencing Tactics: Extended Sequences
32:06 More Patches + Sounds
32:36 Ring Modulated Reverb Patch
34:40 Keyboard Chaos Patch
36:55 Gated Voice Patch
38:29 Wonky Drum Machine Patch
38:57 Triggered Gestures Patch
39:14 Transposed FM Sequence Patch
39:48 Bell Tones Patch
40:27 Touch Controlled Ratchet Patch
41:00 Sequenced Melodic Patch

Sarah Belle Reid is a performer-composer, active in the fields of electroacoustic trumpet performance, intermedia arts, music technology, and improvisation.

www.sarahbellereid.com"



"In the Spring of 2024, Reid spent a week at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College, where she worked closely with their original Buchla 100 modular synthesizer system. This specific instrument’s historical significance can’t be overstated. It was the very first voltage controllable modular synthesizer that the now-famous artist, inventor, and electronic musical instrument designer Donald Buchla built in the mid 1960s—indeed, one of the very first modular synthesizers altogether. In its time, this specific system has been used by countless inspiring and influential musicians, such as Pauline Oliveros, Morton Subotnick, Suzanne Ciani, Warner Jepson, and others.

The video begins with a brief historical overview of the Buchla 100 Series Modular System and the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Then, Reid unpacks everything that’s inside the instrument module by module, with sound demos and examples. Finally, she shares some of the unique quirks of the Mills Buchla 100 instrument, and patch examples of how the instrument can be used to create a wide range of music and sounds."

SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS

SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS from Monoduo Films on Vimeo.

VIRTUAL THEATRICAL - ONE WEEK ONLY!

SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS is the remarkable untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers, composers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to utterly transform how we produce and listen to music today. Theremins, synthesizers and feedback machines abound in this glorious ode to the women who helped shape, not just electronic music but the contemporary soundscape as we know it.

Avant-garde composer Laurie Anderson narration accompanies fascinating archival footage to trace the history of the technological experimentation of sound, the deconstruction of its parts and the manipulation into something altogether other. While traversing a range of musical approaches and personalities, from academia to outsider art to television commercials, we meet Clara Rockmore, Bebe Barron, Suzanne Ciani, Laurie Spiegel, Daphne Oram, Pauline Oliveros, Delia Derbyshire and Eliane Radigue, fascinating and enigmatic musical geniuses and their peculiar way of hearing the world.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sisterswithtransistors/534043397

https://sisterswithtransistors.com

The Noise Floor of the Universe

MAKEN0ISE

"I love to make noise, and I am also keen to learn about the many ways in which noise makes me.

The observations in this video are not really anything new. If they strike any chord with you, here is some recommended further reading:

Pauline Oliveros, “Some Sound Observations” - perhaps the piece that kick-started my interest in the removal of boundaries between music and sound, sound and silence, listening and playing.

John Cage, Silence - among much other material this includes the famous story of a visit to an anechoic chamber where Cage was unable to hear “silence” because he could always hear the sounds of his own body.

Joe Allen, “Academic Archive Vol XII: The Soul of Hank Shocklee” - Shocklee discusses the unfound sounds and rhythms that emerge, consciously and otherwise, when multiple recordings are sampled and mixed together.

Eliane Radigue with Julia Eckhardt, Intermediary Spaces - Radigue discusses how underlying tones are a necessary bed for the harmonic explorations in her music to be heard, or even to exist.

Daphne Oram, An Individual Note - Oram spends the better part of her book using electronic music concepts as a sometimes clunky but always interesting extended metaphor for the human body.

George Lewis, "Improvising Tomorrow's Bodies: The Politics of Transduction" - Lewis argues for improvisation as key to "the foreshortening of distance between art and life."

http://www.makenoisemusic.com"

The Latest From The Galaxy Electric - Buchla, Tape, Pauline Oliveros, and Karlheinz Stockhausen

Buchla Cosmic Drone - Session 15 - Modular Drone Music Performance

Premiered Apr 4, 2020 The Galaxy Electric

New from supporting members, The Galaxy Electric. Also see The Galaxy Electric - Improvised Electroacoustic Music - Daphne Oram Theme

"Thanks for listening! Come on a musical voyage with us where we'll send you a new song every day, a cosmic story, and a chance to earn space treasure:

Relax and tune into our live weekly improvised Drone Sessions. This fifteenth session involves a drone featuring two independent Buchla style complex and modulation oscillators starting in tune a couple octaves apart. As the oscillator frequencies drift apart by way of manual control, beating ensues. Listening to droning oscillators can serve as mindfulness sounds as there is no sudden changes in sound. Just smooth drifts in pitch and the resulting beat frequencies. Drones can also serve as an ambient track to have on while doing tasks that require intense focus. Drones are also great for a Sci-fi film soundtrack. The slow yet progressive nature of a drone performance can help one focus on tasks without distraction. The fact that we are manipulating these oscillators live and in collaboration helps the drone meander ever so smoothly in an evolving fashion as we are always reacting to one another's subtle movements. These movements are improvised so there is an unrehearsed and reactive ebb and flow to the tones generated. Engage in the practice deep listening with us.

The electronic music instruments used in this performance of modular drone music are the Buchla Music Easel, and a small system involving a Buchla clone model 259 Programmable Complex Waveform Generator, Buchla 292h Dual Lowpass Gate, and 281h Dual Function Generator in the Buchla LEM Powered 3 Boat.

The Galaxy Electric - https://www.thegalaxyelectric.com"

Patch and Tell: Tape Loops Sound on Sound tutorial

Published on Apr 29, 2020 The Galaxy Electric

"Get your tape loops at: https://thegalaxyelectricshop.com/col...

Here we show you how to disable your erase head for sound on sound recording using pretty much any cassette recorder.

The horizontal 4 track cassette machines were easy to do this with but the technique can be applied to most.

This tutorial demonstrates the process of using a small piece of tin foil to disable the erase head of your cassette tape recorder to allow gapless Sound on Sound recording of tape loops.

The cassette 4 track pictured is the Tascam Porta02 mkII."

Cosmic Tape Music Club - Exploring Pauline Oliveros

Premiered Apr 6, 2020 The Galaxy Electric

"This week’s conversation centers around the life & work of Pauline Oliveros.

She is best known for coining the term “Deep Listening,” and being a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Her curiosity about sound started at the age of 2 and blossomed at age 21 when she got her first tape machine.

With friends and collaborators like Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Morton Subotnick, she has left an indelible mark in the world of tape music, sonic experimentation, and listening as a spiritual practice."

Cosmic Tape Music Club - Exploring Karlheinz Stockhausen

Premiered Mar 30, 2020 The Galaxy Electric

"For a strict academic German composer, he was one seriously cosmic dude! As he became more prolific in his career, he started telling people he was raised on a distant planet called Sirius…and talking all about music as a cosmic tone that humans were simply interpreting. Oh, and did we mention he was on the cover of Sgt. Peppers? Yeah, the Beatles were super into his out-there ideas!"

Todd Barton - Wavefolding is Like a Rainbow | Knobcon 2019

Published on Sep 11, 2019 Under the Big Tree

"There are no words that can adequately express my esteem for this remarkable man. Composer, thinker, synthesist, communicator, human. Todd Barton plays all of those parts exquisitely. He has taught me so much about synthesis and the art of tiny movements. And I was utterly unsurprised to learn that Pauline Oliveros loomed large in both of our backgrounds, teaching us how to listen.

Here Todd is delivering a lecture at Knobcon 2019, and it was a wonderful opportunity to zoom in close on his hands as he performed on his Buchla Easel. A fascinating talk on listening, synthesis, and life. Just watch this whole video. Right now. See what I'm talking about.

http://www.toddbarton.com

Under the Big Tree is Nick Peck's YouTube channel, focused on music and sound design equipment and techniques, composition, production and performance of music, modular synthesizers and electronic music in general, and tabletop board games.

http://www.underthebigtree.com"

New Documentary: SUBOTNICK - Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer

Published on May 22, 2017 Waveshaper Media

"An upcoming, official bio-doc on electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. Fundraising NOW on IndieGoGo (from May 23 - June 21, 2017): http://igg.me/at/subotnickfilm

Waveshaper Media, the makers of 2014's acclaimed modular synthesizer documentary 'I Dream Of Wires,' is excited to announce that production is now underway for a new, official bio-documentary about revered avant-garde music composer, and electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. Through a series of candid interviews and illuminating conversations with key figures from his past and present, "Subotnick" will provide an overview of this fascinating composer’s rich life and uncompromising career."

Note Waveshaper is still working on the upcoming documentary on Bob Moog, Electronic Voyager. The following are some details on SUBOTNICK captured for the archives.


"2017 is a milestone year for revered avant-garde music composer, and electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. It not only marks the 50th anniversary of his iconic 1967 album “Silver Apples of the Moon,” but also sees the premiere of “Crowds and Power,” a new multi-media tone poem for voice, electronic sound, and live imagery, commissioned by NYC’s Lincoln Center, and premiering there in July.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Morphagene Science: Gain Staging and Input Leveling & Time Lag Accumulation

Published on May 3, 2017 MAKEN0ISE

"This video will cover how to get the best results out of the Morphagene’s input. As with any audio signal path, it is important to pay attention to gain staging and headroom to ensure the best signal-to-noise ratio."

Make Noise Morphagene pt. 5: Time Lag Accumulation

Published on May 3, 2017

"The Time Lag Accumulator was a device used by Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley and others at the San Francisco Tape Music Center for extended overdubs and delays. The Morphagene can record over a Splice continuously for similar effects."

All parts here.

MOOGFEST REVEALS MUSIC LINEUP AND PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Details are in. Via MOOGFEST:

"Over 150 participating artists including Flying Lotus, Animal Collective, Gotye, Suzanne Ciani, Derrick May, 808 State, Jessy Lanza, Simian Mobile Disco, Moor Mother, Syrinx, Visible Cloaks, Princess Nokia, and Function added to growing list of Moogfest 2017 participants

Gotye Presenting a Tribute to Jean-Jacques Perrey, The Center for Deep Listening Honoring Pauline Oliveros, and Peanut Butter Wolf Honoring Bernie Worrell and Other Musicians We’ve Lost

Over forty performing artists also leading workshops and sessions in four-day conference program

The independent, annual, four-day festival will take place in
Durham, North Carolina from May 18-21, 2017. This year marks its 11th iteration honoring the spirit of inventor Bob Moog.

$249 for 3-Day General Admission and $499 for 3-Day VIP

All prices exclusive of applicable fees.

Durham, NC (March 7, 2017): Today, Moogfest reveals its lineup of musical performers, led by Flying Lotus, Animal Collective, Gotye, Suzanne Ciani, Derrick May, 808 State, Simian Mobile Disco, Syrinx, Jessy Lanza, and Function. Building on the experimental format of previous years, Moogfest continues to integrate Future Sound (performances) and Future Thought (conference) programming, with many of these artists also leading sessions during the daytime conference program.

Moogfest’s trademark mix of intimate venues and masterful collaborations creates an unforgettable experience festival-goers will not find anywhere else. Experimental electronic and avant-garde dance music is complemented by thematic programming like Black Quantum Futurism, Protest, and Techno-Shamanism that span day-into-night. This year returns with adventurous formats such as live film scores, an overnight live music sleep concert, prelude to sleep listening parties, long-form durational performances, and presentations by leading Instrument Designers.

Moogfest has also invited artists including Gotye and Peanut Butter Wolf to help honor some of the innovative musicians we lost in 2016, including Jean-Jacques Perrey, Pauline Oliveros, Bernie Worrell and Keith Emerson. This 2017 lineup reinforces Moogfest’s commitment to bold experimentation, with some of the most important musicians and thinkers of our day helping to blur the lines between audience and artist, conversation and collaboration, technology and creativity.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Happy New Year From MATRIXSYNTH! - A Quick Look Back at 2016

Happy New Year Everyone!

This post is a little late going up, but better late than never! :)

I'm going to keep this one a little shorter than usual as I am aware I have a tendency to get a little too wordy at times.

First of all, I want to thank you all for taking a little bit of your day out to visit the site. I want to thank those that contribute to the synthesizer scene and actually give me something to post! Finally, I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to all the individual supporters of the site, and the sponsors you see on the right and above! Your support literally makes the site as it is possible!

---

And a look back at 2016...

Update: I forgot to mention, we had a total of 13,679 posts in 2016!
Update2: also, as always take a look back at the exclusive label for the most interesting bits of synth history.

First a look back at some of the people (and companions) we lost last in 2016.

2016 was rough. On the maker front we lost Don Buchla, who along with Bob Moog, was undoubtably the creator of the synthesizer as we know it today. We lost Ray Wilson of Music From Outer Space, arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, influencers in synth DIY. Many makers out there started with his projects.

On the musician front we lost some of synths' greats including Keith Emerson, Isao Tomita, Bernie Worrell and Jean-Jacques Perrey. We lost a couple of pioneers of electronic music as well, namely Jean-Claude Risset and Pauline Oliveros.

The following is the list:

David Bowie - January 10, 2016
Else Marie Pade - January 18, 2016
Stanley Lunetta - March 3, 2016
Keith Emerson - March 11, 2016
Isao Tomita - May 5, 2016
Bernie Worrell - June 24, 2016
Ray Wilson - July 21, 2016
Don Buchla - September 14, 2016
DJ Spank-Spank - September 21, 2016
Jean-Jacques Perrey - November 4, 2016
Jean-Claude Risset - November 21, 2016
Pauline Oliveros - November 24, 2016

And never to be excluded, a couple of the companions we lost:

nonlinear circuit's Bill - March, 2016
CatSynth's Luna - October 31, 2016

Note the above are only those I could tie in with synths. Two artists you might notice missing are Prince and George Michael. Both deserve a mention. Prince I could have tied in with an Oberheim connection. I still remember lusting after an OB-8 after seeing his videos in the 80s.

RIP posts are the hardest to write. Not only because you are mourning the loss of someone great, but because you know your post will never be good enough.


As for new gear in 2016, you might have noticed all of the "New in 2016" labels that have gone up in posts throughout the year. I created the labels back in 2015 as a means to keep track of all the new gear coming in. I also thought it would be a quick, easy, and interesting way to get total counts of everything at the end of the year. Here are the numbers (links will take you to posts for each):

New in 2016 (753)
New Cases in 2016 (18)
New Controllers in 2016 (38)
New DIY in 2016 (108)
New Makers in 2016 (101)
New Mobile Apps in 2016 (65)
New Modules in 2016 (299)
New Old in 2016 (21)
New Soft Synths in 2016 (55)
New Sound Machines in 2016 (34)
New Sound Packs in 2016 (24)
New Synth Effects in 2016 (9)
New Synths in 2016 (112)
New Tools in 2016 (51)

Note, as with anything, labels can be a little tricky. Sometimes there will be overlap, sometimes items will be announced one year, but released in another if at all, and of course, if I'm not made aware of an item it gets missed. You'll likely see a few items from 2015 in the 2016 list for that reason. I also found it can be difficult to categorize certain items. Drum machines for example get bucketed under synths, but I think for 2017 I will create a new label for them and just use both.

All that said, if you look at the numbers above we had 753 new products/items appear on the site last year. Always of notable interest were the items from vintage synth history that were never featured on the site before. Last year there were 21. An interesting side note is that matches the 21 we had the year prior in 2015. I won't go into any in detail as you can take a look at the label yourself and as I mentioned above I'm going to try and keep this post short. You can check out any of the categories above.  Also worth noting is there were 101 new makers to the site in 2016!  Check them out via the link above.

I was never one for top 10 lists, as although they can be fun, I'm a firm believer that all gear has something to offer. It's up to us to use the gear and find out. That said I do think it's worth mentioning some of the major synth releases this year. Not only does it gives us a quick look at what the major players released but it also lets us see when they were released in the year.  The following is a quick list:

1. Korg Minilogue - January 8
2. Yamaha Montage AWM2 & FM-X - January 11
3. Clavia Nord Piano 3 - January 18 & January 21
4. Roland A-01 - January 19
5. Korg Limited Edition Kronos Platinum
6. Make Noise 0-Coast - January 20
7. Artuia MatrixBrute - January 21
8. Dave Smith Instruments OB-6 - January 21
9. Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators - January 21
10. MFB Tanzamus & Tanzbar Lite - January 22
11. Mellotron Micro - January 22
12. Modal 008 Rack - January 25
13. Anyware Instruments Modulator - March 23
14. Nord Drum 3/3P - April 4
15. New Minimoog Model D - May 18
16. Moog Brother From Another Mother - May 18
17. Audiothingies Micromonster - May 27
18. Mini GRP A2 - May 28
19. DSI OB-6 Desktop - June 22 & June 23
20. Mode Machines ADX1 - June 28
21. New Black Oberheim TVS - June 28
22. Ninstrument SynthBoy+ July 2
23. Behringer Deepmind 12 - July 7
24. New Red & Blue Korg Electribes v2 - July 20
25. Yamaha FM Synth for iOS - July 21
26. Jomox Alpha Base - July 23
27. Korg Desktop Odysseys - August 28
28. Percussa Remote - August 29
29. KORG MicroKORG-S - August 31
30. Korg Volca Kick - August 31
31. KORG Odyssey Desktop Modules - August 31
32. Roland System-8 - September 3 and September 9
33. Roland TR-09 & TB-03 - September 3
34. Roland VP-03 - September 3
35. Synthstrom Audio Deluge - September 8
36. CMS 2607 - September 23
37. Dreadbox Murmox V2 - September 25
38. Arturia Drumbrute - October 7
39. Bastl Instruments Kastle - October 7
40. Korg Monologue - November 1
41. Full Size Korg Arp Odyssey Keboards - November 4
42. Cyclone Analogic TR-606 Clone - November 16
43. Tangible Waves AE Modular - November 16
44. Modal Electronics CRAFTSynth - November 18
45. Cyclone Analogic TT-78 - November 23
46. The White Schmidt Synthesizer - November 25
47. Plankton Electronics Ants! - December 9
48. Dreadbox NYX - December 15
49. Cyclone Analogic TT-303 MK2 - December 15

Note this is only 49 of the 112 items in the new synths in 2016 category. I'd recommend checking them all out.

What stood out for you in 2016? What are you looking forward to in 2017? Leave a comment or two below.

I want to end this with a humble thank you to everyone that makes this site what it is!

Thank you and Happy New Year!!!  On to 2017!

RIP Pauline Oliveros

Pauline Oliveros: Bye bye butterfly (1967)

Uploaded on Mar 24, 2011 TheWelleszCompany

PAULINE OLIVEROS | REVERBERATIONS: ELECTRONIC & TAPE MUSIC 1961 - 1970 12CD BOX SET TRAILER

Published on Apr 16, 2012 importantrecords

"Pauline Oliveros, composer, performer and humanitarian is an important pioneer in American Music. Acclaimed internationally, for four decades she has explored sound -- forging new ground for herself and others. Through improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation she has created a body of work with such breadth of vision that it profoundly effects those who experience it and eludes many who try to write about it.

'On some level, music, sound consciousness and religion are all one, and she would seem to be very close to that level.'
John Rockwell"

We lost another pioneer of electronic music and the world of synthesizers today.

In via @moogmusicinc:

"2016, the year we lost our heroes. RIP #PaulineOliveros, the mother of #deeplistening."

via wikipedia:

"Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 25, 2016) was an American composer and accordionist who was a central figure in the development of experimental and post-war electronic art music.

She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the 1960s, and served as its director. She has taught music at Mills College, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Oliveros has written books, formulated new music theories and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of "Deep Listening" and "sonic awareness".[1] She was an Eyebeam resident."

You will find Pauline Oliveros referenced throughout numerous posts here on MATRIXSYNTH. Her groundbreaking "Reverberations: Tape + Electronic Music 1961-1970" was funded on Kickstarter in 2014, and made available by Important Records. She presented her work at The Kitchen in New York, and she provided input to the San Francisco Tape Music Center during the days of Don Buchla.

The difference between hearing and listening | Pauline Oliveros | TEDxIndianapolis

Published on Nov 12, 2015 TEDx Talks

Pauline Oliveros Lecture (Montréal 2016) | Red Bull Music Academy

Published on Nov 22, 2016 Red Bull Music Academy

"Composer, author and educator Pauline Oliveros has dedicated her life to sound and to listening. One of electronic music’s most important early figures, she was an original member of the pioneering San Francisco Tape Music Center and its first director. A founder of the Deep Listening Institute, she now conveys the message that sound and its effects are powerful equalizers. Her works are meditations on the ocean of sound that listeners can find themselves in, embracing the rapture of audible sensation. A recipient of many awards and a participant in the 2014 Whitney Biennial, her engagement with sound continues to influence generations. Sitting on the couch at the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy, Oliveros recalled how she created her own instruments and how listening can help change how you hear.

TOPICS:
9:29 - Origins of the San Francisco Tape Music Center
17:52 - Building instruments
37:47 - Expanded Instrument System and delays
41:08 - Deep Listening
52:19 - Using every sound you hear
1:19:36 - Deep Listening and engineers

MUSIC:
12:43 - Pauline Oliveros – “Time Perspectives” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amU2M...
20:17 - Pauline Oliveros – “Bye Bye Butterfly” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wrNL...
27:52 - Pauline Oliveros – “I of IV” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLSFR...
34:05 - Pauline Oliveros – Tuning Meditation live at The Kitchen NYC
40:24 - Pauline Oliveors, Stuart Dempster, Panaiotis – “Lear” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0at5D..."

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Lichens) Uses MIDI Sprout

Published on May 8, 2016 MIDI Sprout

"Excerpt of an interview and performance with Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe from his residency at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California"

"DATA GARDEN RELEASES 60 MIDI Sprouts FOR SALE ON MAY 22nd AT NOON EST

The arts collective Data Garden is announcing another sale of their highly anticipated MIDI Sprout device that allows people to generate electronic music from their houseplants. Two years after their successful Kickstarter campaign, the collective is making 60 of these rare devices available for purchase to the general public on May 22nd at Noon EST.

'We’ve received a steady flow of interest from people who missed our Kickstarter and want to buy a MIDI Sprout,' says Joe Patitucci, artist and founder of Data Garden. 'While we are open to partnering with hardware manufacturers to make more, we currently have no plans to do so. With only 60 units available and more than 900 people on our waiting list, this is an important time to act in order to buy one as soon as the sale goes live.'

Interested people can go to www.MIDISprout.com to signup for email updates as the sale approaches. The collective will launch an internet pop-up shop at the end of the month during Moogfest in North Carolina, where they will be leading plant music meditation and composition workshops.

'This is a really exciting time for us,' muses Jon Shapiro, Data Garden performer and practitioner. 'I’ve met such wonderful people performing and doing installations with MIDI Sprout over the past two years. We would connect deeply on how this device can change people’s personal and artistic lives. I always felt a twinge of remorse when they would ask how to buy one and I didn’t have a concrete answer. Though the amount we can offer is disproportionate to the large demand, this is a wonderful step forward.'

The musical collaborations that Shapiro is referring to have included musicians like Laraaji, Greg Fox, Lichens, King Britt and Bryce Hackford. Meanwhile, Patitucci continues to exhibit his sound sculptures while leading group meditations and furthering his listening practice under guidance from Pauline Oliveros. Sam Cusumano, the engineering mind behind the MIDI Sprout is working on an upcoming collaboration with John Zorn.

About Data Garden
Data Garden creates experiences through music and technology. We seek to connect people and nature in new ways.

Begun as a record label releasing downloadable album codes printed on plantable seed paper, Data Garden has become a worldwide public art project building community and connection to living plants through art."

Update via Samuel Cusumano in the comments: "Get detailed information about the MIDI Sprout, code, schematics, board designs, and instruction at support.midisprout.com! I'm always happy to discuss the technology. Understand how your tools work!"

An Interview with Barry Schrader

Hi everyone! As you know Barry Schrader will be giving his farewell concert at CalArts on September 26. The following is the beginning of my interview with him. I opted to post the questions and answers as they come in.  New QAs will get a new post so you do not miss them and they will be added to this post so we have one central post for the full interview. This should make it easier for all of us to consume in our busy lives, and it will allow you to send in any questions that may come to mind during the interview process.  If you have anything you'd like to ask Barry, feel free to send it in to matrixsynth@gmail.com.  This is a rare opportunity for us to get insight on a significant bit of synthesizer history, specifically with early Buchla systems, and I'd like to thank Barry for this opportunity. Thank you Barry!

CLICK FOR MORE »

"In C" Performer for iPad & 50th Anniversary of "In C" - sfSoundOrchestra Event

iTunes: "In C" Performer for iPad - sonomatics

"Fifty years ago, Terry Riley essentially launched the Minimalism movement with the premiere of 'In C', influencing iconic composers like Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and John Adams.

Now, you are able to recreate history in the comfort of your own home.

'In C' Performer for iPad allows a single person to play 'In C', normally an ensemble work, as a solo performer. You can play the piece using the Built-In sounds, or via MIDI (through a USB camera connector or WiFi MIDI).

Double-tapping on a sliders will 'group' them together so you can adjust the volume of multiple instruments at once."

"sfSoundSummerSeries

Tuesday, July 8 2014
uptown nightclub
1928 telegraph :: oakland
donation :: 9p
active music series
presents

sfSoundOrchestra
commemorating the 50th anniversary of
Terry Riley's In C


On November 2, 1964 at The San Francisco Tape Music Center, 321 Divisidero, Terry Riley essentially launched Minimalism with the premiere of In C. Performers included Jeannie Brecken, Steve Reich, Jon Gibson, Terry Riley, Warner Jepson, Stan Schaap, Sonny Lewis, Ramon Sender, James Lowe, Morton Subotnick, Tony Martin, Mel Weitzman, Pauline Oliveros, and Phil Winsor. Although this classic work is often cited for its influence on composers like Glass, Reich, and Adams, its use of open instrumentation and dynamic form determined individually during the performance is perhaps more radical, and certainly more relevant to today’s Bay Area experimental music scene.

This performance is also the “App Release Party” of a new iPad app created by sfSound’s Matt Ingalls and Henry Warwick from Ryerson University (Toronto). Prof. Warwick will be present performing on the app as part of the orchestra. This extraordinary piece of software allows one person to play "In C", which is normally an ensemble work, as a solo performer. In this this way, and in a first-of-its-kind performance, he will be performing as an ensemble, with an ensemble.

M U S I C I A N S
Cory Wright, saxophone
Richard Worn, bass
Henry Warwick, ipad
Christina Stanley violin
Meerenai Shim, flute
Aram Shelton, saxophone
Monica Scott, cello
Larry Polansky, electric guitar
Stacey Pelinka, flute
Crystal Pascucci, cello
Theodore Padouvas, trumpet
Aaron Novik, clarinet
Lisa Mezzacapa, bass
Dominique Leone, keyboard
Benjamin Kreith, violin
John Ingle, saxophone
Matt Ingalls, clarinet
Diane Grubbe, flute
Phillip Greenlief, saxophone
Giacomo Fiore, guitar
Mark Clifford, vibraphone
MaryClare Brzytwa, flute
Kyle Bruckmann, oboe/english horn
Jacob Abela, melodica


O P E N I N G S E T S
Gosling
Malocculsion

Malocculsion is the solo recording/performance moniker of Oakland based sound/visual artist malocculsion proto of Ratskin Records. Proto uses voice, tapes, loops, homemade electronics, and field recordings to create a dark mirror of the unknown through audio and visual trap door psychosis and high tension performances. Proto also runs and co-curates the Ratskin Records and Lewcid Joosebox imprints and often can be seen as the lead roadie for the Styrofoam Sanchez project. proto has solo recorded works planned for release on Tusco/Embassy and Ratskin Records.https://soundcloud.com/malocculsion-proto/malocculsion-occams-razor-2013

Danishta Rivero (Voicehandler,Blood Wedding) and Sarah Elena Palmer (EFFT, Lutra Lutra) are Gosling: an electro-acoustic soundscape project that uses analog machines and acapella effects. The Gosling code of conduct is that each improvisation adhere to the journey of the sound, without rush, fear, or assumption."

This one in via Brian Comnes.

Pauline Oliveros' Groundbreaking "Reverberations: Tape + Electronic Music 1961-1970" Kickstarter

via Kickstarter where you'll find full details.

"Pauline Oliveros' groundbreaking "Reverberations: Tape + Electronic Music 1961-1970" box set is in need of a re-press.

Pauline Oliveros' Reverberations: Tape + Electronic Music 1961-1970 12CD box set has been out of print for almost two years and is in need of a re-press. For less than the price of a used copy on Discogs or Ebay you can get a signed box set delivered to your door. (Currently you can get a sealed box on Discogs for $410.00)

As soon as the goal is met we'll order the re-press which will, hopefully, be in-hand for the Deep Listening Conference at EMPAC July 10-13."

Women's Synth Workshop Coming to The Kitchen on May 10th New York

Facebook Event Page
And via The Kitchen:

"Organized by Molly Smith in collaboration with The Kitchen, Women's Synth Workshop is the first event in a continuing series focused on inspiring women to learn about the technical aspects and ideas behind modular synthesis and experimental electronic music. Led by various prominent women in the field—including Alice Cohen, Rose Kallal, Delia Gonzalez, Lori Napoleon, Abby Echiverri, Liz Wendelbo, and Xeno and Oaklander—the event will feature daytime discussions, lectures, and interactive demonstrations before transitioning to performances. Floor model synthesizers will be provided by the Williamsburg synth shop Control. All visitors welcome regardless of gender.

Created in 1971, The Kitchen is among the oldest non-profits in the country, whose legacy in electronic and experimental music is especially strong. Among composers and performers who presented some of their earliest and seminal works here early are Maryanne Amacher, Laurie Anderson, David Behrman, Harold Budd, Philip Glass, Pauline Oliveros, and Steve Reich. Today the organization’s board features such composers as Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly.

12:00 – 12:15: Introduction
12:15 – 1:00: Abby Echiverri
1:00 – 1:45: Lori Napoleon
1:45 – 2:15: Open Synth Play
2:15 – 3:00: Liz Wendelbo
3:00 – 4:00: Delia Gonzalez, Alice Cohen, Rose Kalal, Camilla Padgitt
4:15 – 5:00: Open Synth Play

May 10, 12–5pm

This Woman’s Synth Workshop is presented by The Kitchen as part of the 2014 Vulture Festival sponsored by New York Magazine. Music programs are made possible with support from The Amphion Foundation, Inc., Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, and by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Floor model synthesizers from Make Noise and littleBits are generously provided by the Williamsburg synth shop Control."

Don Buchla Interview on San Fransisco Classical Voice

"Buchla began infusing new ideas into music not long after he graduated with a degree in physics from UC Berkeley in 1960. He found like minds close by at the San Francisco Tape Music Center, founded in the early 1960s by composers Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender, with input from Pauline Oliveros. “I was borrowing the Center’s three-track tape recorder,” Buchla recalls. “I only had a one-track Wollensak, and I wanted to do mixes. They were working with electronic music, but they weren’t using any instruments. And I proposed making an instrument for music, specifically, and not just an adaptation of a laboratory instrument. I talked with Mort, he liked the idea, and they helped me design a system.”

Photo by Peter B Kaars
The result, dubbed the Buchla 100 series, began selling in 1966, and Subotnick made use of it on his Silver Apples of the Moon in 1967, the first electronic work commissioned by a record company (Nonesuch). Buchla found himself in competition, of sorts, with Robert Moog, a New York-based Ph.D. who’d hooked a synthesizer up to a keyboard in 1964, and had attracted major attention after his invention was showcased on Wendy/Walter Carlos’s popular Switched-On Bach LP (Columbia, 1968)."

Read the full interview on the San Fransisco Classical Voice here.

via I Dream of Wires on Facebook

All Connected - Modular Event in Brussels, Belgium Starting in October

"‘All Connected’ is a new series in Huis23 that will feature concerts, films, readings and instrument presentations with and about artists who play with the language of ‘voltage control’. Artists who use the ‘modular’ as creative thinking process and who explore musical boundaries in doing so. Artists who work in the spirit of the San Francisco Tape Music Centre, a collective that came into being when pioneers like Terry Riley, Morton Subotnick, Steve Reich, Ramon Sender, Pauline Oliveros, and many others connected their oscillators and tape recorders together to produce the most progressive music of the period.

The title 'All Connected' is inspired by the idea of Dick Raaijmakers. He destabilised his studio and created unpredictable noises for pieces like Plumes and Flux, by connecting everything to everything and turning up the voltage as high as it would go - See more at: [link]"

You'll find full details on the event here: http://www.abconcerts.be/en/projects/p/detail/all-connected

Some additional details in via Mich:

"First day of the series [October 22] is with Daniël De Wereldvermaarde Botanicus with his collection of Korg MS synths, W. Ravenveer with a Eurorack modular system, a screening of a short Eliane Radigue documentary and Makino Takeshi will screen his movie Recorder with music from Jim O’Rourke.

On the second date, December 6, we will have Kassel Jaeger of GRM coming over with an all night event on the Coupigny synth and the INA-GRM.

Other dates will be announced soon."

Also:

In early 2014 there will also be specials on IPEM and on the San Francisco Tape Music Center.  You'll find the ‘general’ project page for that here:

http://www.abconcerts.be/en/projects/p/detail/all-connected

IMPREC Podcast #3- "The Synthcast" with Alessandro Cortini & More

"May 10th 2013
Good afternoon friends,

We are pleased to announce the newest podcast from Important Records:


Summary:

IMPREC podcast #3- "The Synthcast"

This weeks show will focus on the role of the analog synthesizer as a creative tool in the production of electronic music, modern composition, and sound art. This podcast highlights artists in the Important Records catalog that have made a connection with specific systems or instruments in the analog domain. Some artists have made momentary, inspired connections and managed to capture those results while others have spent decades exploring and mastering their given voltage-controlled instrument.

Each track represented in the podcast brings something unique and challenging to the table. This is not an attempt to fetishize or promote analog synthesis hardware; it is a snapshot of the results that are yielded by careful study, improvisation, and creative approaches to the technology available to artists at a given point in time. Although some may consider analog synthesis an archaic mode of expression, the tracks here attest to the opposite. There are three tracks featuring the EMS Synthi on this podcast but if you expect to hear something akin to "On The Run", well…you're in for a wild ride.

Track Listing:

Alessandro Cortini makes his Important Records debut with the track "Gloria" from the upcoming Forse 1 album. Alessandro created the Forse series of recordings using an original Buchla Music Easel. 2012

Pauline Oliveros- 'A little Noise in the system' (excerpt) from Reverberations (2012) was created on the Moog III modular system at UCSD in 1968.

Eleh- "Indictiva" from the Return LP. Eleh uses a custom Serge Modular. 2009

Jessica Rylan- 'Phantasia' (excerpt) from Interior Designs. Serge Modular feedback patch with home made electronics. 2006

Space Machine (Yamazaki Maso)- "Track D" from Space Machine 3. Maso uses multiple sound sources including the EMS VCS3, Arp Odyssey, Roland System 100M with various echo/tape delays. 2003

Christina Kubisch- 'Ocigam Trazom' from the Intorno al Flauto Magio exhibition, an interpretation of Mozart's opera 'The Magic Flute'. Performed on the EMS Synthi with processed field recordings. 1985

Astro (Hiroshi Hasegawa)- 'Artificial Lake' realized on an EMS Synthi with Tape Delay. From the album 'The Echo From Purple Dawn'. 2008

Eliane Radigue- 'Triptych Pt. 3' created on the ARP 2500 in 1978. From the album 'Triptych'.


We hope you enjoy the podcast and thank you for you continued support."

Morton Subotnick And Joan La Barbara On Q2 Music's 'Spaces'

"April 17, 2013The pioneering electronic composer responsible for Silver Apples of the Moon turned 80 years old this week. Q2 Music visited with Subotnick and his wife, vocalist Joan La Barbara, in the couple's Greenwich Village apartment for this installment of their web series Spaces."

via NPR:

"by HANNIS BROWN

It's difficult to overstate Morton Subotnick and Joan La Barbara's contributions to contemporary music.

Subotnick's pioneering work in electronic music includes such game-changing pieces as Silver Apples of the Moon and A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur. The composer, who turned 80 this past Sunday, also helped to develop the California Institute of the Arts's groundbreaking curriculum. He also co-founded the highly influential San Francisco Tape Music Center, where Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros and Steve Reich would cut their teeth writing tape music.

Joan La Barbara is one of today's most iconic vocalists — John Cage and Morton Feldman both wrote music for her. Her own music, which often stretches the possibility of the human voice, has been honored with a slew of awards including a 2004 Guggenheim fellowship in music composition.

For the second installment of Q2 Spaces, we visited the couple's Greenwich Village apartment, where they've resided for the past 17 years. The walls are lined with the artwork of friends and collaborators, and the kitchen cupboard doubles as La Barbara's vocal booth. A shelf in Subotnick's studio houses a piece of the first Buchla analog synthesizer — the instrument used to create Silver Apples. The bustling sounds of the city streets sift through their kitchen window.

Soundtrack
Morton Subotnick, And the Butterflies Begin to Sing (New World)
Morton Subotnick, The Key to Songs (New Albion)
Morton Subotnick, Silver Apples of the Moon (Wergo)
Joan La Barbara, ROTHKO (New World Records)
Joan La Barbara, Shaman Song (New World Records)
Credits
Video: Kim Nowacki and Hannis Brown"

Morton Subotnick & Tony Martin / Floris Vanhoof / Köhn @ BOZAR

YouTube Uploaded by bozarbrussel on Oct 19, 2011

"MORTON SUBOTNICK (US) & TONY MARTIN (US)
Floris Vanhoof (BE) / Köhn (BE)
on Monday Oct 17, 2011 (20:00) at BOZAR, Brussels!
Centre for Fine Arts / Terarken room
co-produced by Bozar Cinema and Kraak

Morton Subotnick is one of the grand pioneers of electronic music. In the late sixties he worked along peers as Steve Reich, Terry Riley and Pauline Oliveros. He also helped developing the legendary Buchla synthesizer, with which he composed his first and most important work Silver Apples of the Moon. This work, that was released through the Nonesuch label in 1967, has gathered the reputation of a classic electronic avant-garde piece. Subotnick devoted much of his career to multimedia work and technologic innovations. On Oct 17 he brings his Silver Apples of the Moon again together with visual work of Tony Martin, who stands as the inventor of light show. Martin is a visual artist from the same generation who worked with Oliveros and David Tudor. His work, that in the early days focused mainly on light and interaction, originates in the same period of Subotnick's first pieces. Back in those days he worked closely with the San Francisco Tape Music Centre, where Subotnick was active as well.

Basically everything Floris Vanhoof put his hands on in 2010 turned into a highlight. Not only his debut album 'Slime Time' on Ultra Eczema, or his self released cd-r Nozem / Mutant, but also the many small concerts. In his live shows Vanhoof links new visual ideas to his idiosyncratic musical performances in which homemade synthesizers, modified 16mm projectors, exceptional internet acquisitions and a personal framework are forged into an impressive whole. One of the most versatile and creatively liberated artists in Belgium!

Köhn (born Jürgen De Blonde) is a self-taught musician and composer. He's been an active musician since the age of 12 when he started playing around with a small casio keyboard. From that time onward he's been fascinated by electronic music and creating his own sounds and music. Not having an academic background, De Blonde's interest in music has always been eclectic, allowing influences from a wide range of styles and sounds. Early influences were Jean-Michel Jarre, Jan Hammer, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden and mainstream Pop Music. Recently he has been focusing on the kosmische synth pioneers and minimalists such as Terry Riley and Steve Reich, reaching new heights in his discography and live performances.

www.bozar.be
www.kraak.net"