MORTON SUBOTNICK • SIDEWINDER • PERFORMED LIVE FROM TOOL'S STUDIO (4K)

video upload by Peter Grenader

"MORTON SUBOTNICK'S SIDEWINDER:

Part 1 : in four movements (9 minutes 45 seconds)

Part 2: in three movements (6 minutes 45 seconds)

Performed live from Tool's studio Hollywood, CA by Jill Fraser, Shiro Fujioka, Peter Grenader, Thomas Klepper

Filming/Editing: K. David

Recording Engineer: Tim Dawson

Title Graphics: Hyejin Sunwoo

Produced, arranged and mixed by Peter Grenader

Morton Subotnick's seminal 1971 electronic work Sidewinder performed live at Tool's studio in Hollywood CA on March 26th, 2023 by Jill Fraser, Shiro Fujioka, Peter Grenader and Thomas Klepper, at the invitation of Joan LaBarbara, in celebration of his 90th birthday.

The idea of an adaptation of Sidewinder has been on the radar of zZyzx Society's Jill Fraser and Peter Grenader - both CalArts alumni who worked with Subotnick, for years. The process began with an abridged orchestration drafted by Peter Grenader, where the quartet was encouraged to both replicate his soundscapes and develop more interpretative timbres for the individual parts. With that, two general rules applied:

CLICK FOR MORE »

Peter Grenader • POV (live modular electronic music)

Published on Jul 13, 2018 Peter Grenader

Peter Grenader of Plan B, The zZyzx Society, EAR, and Subconscious Communications.

"An abridged version of POV - recorded in stereo and live by Peter Grenader using electronically generated and sampled timbres, one being the trumpeting of a large bull Elephant."

An overview of the system:

Peter Grenader's digital/analog hybrid modular performance system

Published on Jan 1, 2018 Peter Grenader

"This is a module by module tour of my live performance modular synthesizer. enjoy!

11 VCOs (including Model 37 full range LFOs)
7 LFOS (including 4 x $vox)
4 Filters

CLICK FOR MORE »

Plan B Model 27 Prototype

SHort demo of Plan B Digitial Effects Generator prototype affecting delay

Published on Jan 25, 2013 Peter Grenader·8 videos

"Short demo of the Model 27 Prototype being a delay. Enjoy (or not!)"

Model 27 Prototype

CLICK FOR MORE »

An Interview with Peter Grenader

"There are three Peter Grenaders. The first one is a renowned composer, whose works have secured wins at several festivals all over the world and whose artistic friends include some of the greatest names from the field of electronic music: Morton Subotnick, Steve Roach, Barry Schrader and many others. The second one is an instrument designer and Head of Plan B, a company producing modular analogue synthesizers. This Peter Grenader enjoys the immediate interaction between these machines and the performing musician, the way in which they allow a composer to have his instruments really do what he wants them to. Customers of his have included Nine Inch Nails and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers - again among many others. The third and final Peter Grenader is a former student at CalArts, now, retrospectively, probably considered the most important faculty of experimental media in the USA at the time. With stars like Harold Budd and John Cage working closely together with students, this was an exciting era of departure, of fresh beginnings and of discovering new technologies, timbres and tools. As a CD project and a string of new Plan B products are approaching, the first and second Peter Grenader are sure to make headlines soon. But until then, we're sitting down for a chat with the last one, talking about the "good old times" and life as a student at CalArts in the 70s."

click here for the full interview on Tokafu.

SUBOTNICK • SIDEWINDER LIVE AT TOOL'S STUDIO • FINAL TEASER

video upload by Peter Grenader

"LIVE IN 48 HOURS: Morton Subotnick's SIDEIWNDER performed live from Tool's studio Hollywood, CA by Jill Fraser, Shiro Fujioka, Peter Grenader, Thomas Klepper

Morton Subotnick's seminal 1971 electronic work Sidewinder performed live at Tool's studio in Hollywood CA on March 26th, 2023 by Jill Fraser, Shiro Fujioka, Peter Grenader and Thomas Klepper, at the invitation of Joan LaBarbara, in celebration of his 90th birthday.

Performed on March 26th at Tool's studio, with access to Danny Carey's 1975 vintage Buchla 200 and massive E-mu. Filmed by K David.

Produced, arranged and mixed by Peter Grenader"

Peter Grendader - Brief tour, demo and excuses for my live rig

Published on Aug 21, 2016 Peter Grenader

"A short overview of the live analog/digital hybrid modular instrument used by Peter Grenader for live work within the ensemble The zZyzx Society. enjoy, or not!

FOR MORE INFO: http://www.zzyzxsociety.com"

See this post for my interview with Peter Grenader on The zZyzx Society.

Buzzclick Music

Title link takes you to Peter Grenader's website, Buzzclick-Music. If you've been following my posts, you might notice that the last two had Peter Grenader's name on them. Now you know how I end up on a role, one thing really just leads to another. I started with a simple link to a Buchla review with samples on Keyboard Magazine, that Peter sent to AH, I dropped by Sonic State for the NAMM demo of the 200e he did, and I ended up on his site, Buzzclick Music, dropping by the EAR and Big City Music sites on the way.

So, Buzzclick Music...



There is just too much content on Buzzclick-Music to do it justice in a single post. Just go check it out if you haven't been there before. There are music samples, pictures, a bio and a few slices of synth history including Buchla, Serge, Morton Subotnick, John Cage, and much, much more. Peter Grenader is also involved with EAR which I've posted on a few times. He designs the Plan B line of modulars. You can hear it on Secret Life on the Music Samples link of his site. Really amazing stuff.

Also make sure to check out the Son of Frankenstein when you are there. : )

POV album trailer - Miles Richmond/Peter Grenader feat. Steve Roach

Published on Apr 17, 2019 Peter Grenader

"A quick test drive of the upcoming POV album - coming Summer 2019"

Peter Grenader of Plan b.

Secret Life by Peter Grenader

via Peter Grenader on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"It is with humility and pride that I can announce that my CD - Secret Life - is now available from Coda Recordings on CD Baby and iTunes. (note: only CD Baby includes high resolution FLAC file downloads)

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/petergrenader

Expanded notes including a bio and description of the compositional and technical considerations for each piece, booklet/traycard/label art templates and alternate audio samples can be found at:

http://www.secretlifeonline.com/"


Peter Grenader is the man behind Plan b.

Scream 2007: ANALOGLIVE! Performances Now Available

via Peter Grenader:

"It gives me great pleasure - for the first time, ever and with the permission of the composers involved to upload the audio files from the live performance ANALOGLIVE, realized and recorded at the Redcat Theater - downtown Los Angeles November 16th, 2007.

In 2007, in what composer Barry Schrader termed an historic event, the annual SCREAM EAM festival hosted Analoglive!, an ensemble conglomerate of live analog electronic music with film composer Gary Chang, Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini, Richard Devine, composer and instrument designer Chas Smith, Thighpaulsandra (of Coil and Spiritualized), Peter Grenader and video artist Paul Tzanetopoulos. Analoglive exists as the only sold out show of the SCREAM Festival's 36 year run.

1) Gary Chang: Sanctuaries: Faith (2007)
http://www.ear-group.net/faith.mp3

2) Chas Smith: The Ghosts on the Windows (2007)*
http://www.ear-group.net/ghosts.mp3

3) Peter Grenader: The Secret Life of Semiconductors - Part Four (2003-2009)
http://www.ear-group.net/slocscream.mp3
[intermission]

4) Alessandro Cortini: Paris 1 (2006)
http://www.ear-group.net/paris.mp3

5) Thighpaulsandra: The Aborted Ascension Of Angel Assassins (2007)
http://www.ear-group.net/assasins.mp3

6) Richard Devine: Captract (2004)
http://www.ear-group.net/richard.mp3

You can find pics from the event here and all posts on ANALOGLIVE here.

The First Synth to....

Update: The new home for this list is now here. You can add to the list there or comment here and I will update both lists. Note that the complete list however will be there as I do not plan on updating this list with updates made there. That would be too much work and would compete with me being able to put up new posts here. Can't let that happen. : ) Related but separate from that list also see https://120years.net. That said...

If you are going to add to the list in the comments, use the same format.

Year - Manufacturer - Model - First at
1837 - C.G. Page (Salem. Mass) - first to produce electronically generated sound (not necessarily associated with a musical instrument). After inventing the Volta in 1800 (an early battery), in 1837 Page was doing experiments with coils and realized when certain coils were attached to a batter they omitted a ringing sound. While he initially thought the ring came from the electrical current was interrupted (battery disconnected), what was actually taking place was the induction through the coils was causing them to vibrate. via Peter Grenader
1885 - Person and Ernst Lorenz -'Elektrisches Musikinstrument' - the first musical instrument designed to produce electrically generated sound. It used electronic vibrations to drive an electromagnet that were connected to resonating boards, which translated these vibrations to sound. via Peter Grenader
1897 - Taddaeus Cahills - Telharmonium - electromechanical instrument.
1936 - Oskar Sala - Mixturtrautonium - first synth using Subharmonic synthesis
1939 - Homer Dudley invents the Parallel Bandpass Vocoder (VODER) - A manually key operated speech synthesizer
1940 - Homer Dudley invents the The Voder speech synthesizer - A device which used the human voice and an artificial voice to produce a composite
Both were researched as a way to transmit speech over copper wires (id est, telephone lines)
1948 - Hugh LeCaine - Electronic Sackbut - First voltage-controlled synthesizer
1948 - Dr. Raymond Scott - Wall of Sound - First polyphonic Sequencing Worstation (electromechanical) and the Electronum - first sequencer.
1950 - CSIR - Mk 1 - The first known use of a digital computer for the purpose playing music
1956 - Louie and Bebe Barron - Produced the first all-electronic musical score for a major motion picture - MGM's 'Forbidden Planet'
1957 - Max V. Mathews at Bell Labs - MUSIC - the first digital synthesizer. Technically, it was a computer program, though it set the stage for every digital synthesizer that proceeded it. See Laurie Spiegel with one here.
1963/64 - Buchla - model 100 modular - 1st "modern" modular synth
1967 - Moog - Moog modular synthesizer I, II & III - 1st commercial modular synth.
1969 - EMS - Synthi VCS-3 - first non-modular mini-synth
1970 - MOOG - Minimoog - 1st Mono Synth with keys (non-modular)
1971 - Tonus/Arp - Soloist - 1st preset mono synth
1971 - John Chowning - developed FM synthesis using the MUSIC-IV language (source), a direct descendent of Mathew's MUSIC program. FM synthesis was later licensed by Yamaha, and used in popular synths such as the DX-7.
1972 - Triadex Muse - first digital synth
""is the first digital musical instrument and was produced in 1972. It was
designed by Edward Fredkin and Marvin Minsky at MIT. It is an algorithmic
music generator: it uses digital logic circuits to produce a sequence of
notes based on the settings of various parameters. It has four small sliders
in that control Volume, Tempo, Pitch, and Fine Pitch. It is not known how
many were made, but they are considered extremely rare.
The Muse is the subject of U. S. Patent 3610801"
1973 - Coupland Digital Music Synthesizer - First Digital (Triadex beat it?) Update via Peter Grenader: "No time to read through all these posts to see if it's come up yet, but the Coupland was vaporwear...it never existed. I met Mark Vail, who's now a friend, by writing him a letter informing him that his story about the Coupland in his Vintage Synthesizers book (GREAT book) which mentioned it's only recorded showing was at the AES show in LA in 1978 was a farce. I was there - at their booth and their suite in the Hilton where the instrument was said to be. I was there on the first day, I was there on the last day. The only thing they had was a small model - about six inches across, sitting on a table. The booth was amazing - this radial orb multiple people could sit in, with a cover that came over each person which played what I remembered was a very impressive demo which swirled around four speakers inside the box. I, and everyone else, were blown away. They kept saying...'it will be here tomorrow, it'll be here tomorrow'...so I showed up the last day just to see it, figuring by the then it would have arrived...it didn't. I did see the frst Synthclavier at that show however. Their suite was across the hall from the Coupland folk. That completely kicked the crap out of everything else shown that year."
1973 - Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer - NED - Synclavier prototype - first digital synth
1974 - Roland - SH-3A - first commercial additive synth
1974 - RMI - Harmonic Synthesizer - first commercial additive synth
1975 - Buchla 502 - six voice polyphonic with minicomputer and ability to save patches to tape drive. Development on the 500 series began in 1969.
1975 - Oberheim FVS - four voice polyphonic with Polyphonic Synthesizer Programmer. Not sure if the Buchla 502 or FVS was released first.
1976 - PPG - PPG 1003 sonic carrier - 1st programmable mono/duo synth with patch memory (this, along with the model 1020, might have been the 1st synths to use DCO's as well)
1977 - Yamaha - CS50/CS60/CS80 - first single enclosure polyphonic keyboard synthesizers with the CS80 to be the first synth with poly aftertouch
1977 (late) - Oberheim - OB-1 - 1st commercial programmable mono synth with patch memory
1978 (late) - PPG - Wavecomputer 360 - 1st wavetable synth
1978 - Sequential Circuits - microprocessor control the SCI prophet 10 (briefly) and the P-5 --- again based on existing E-mu tech stuff
1979 - NED - Synclavier - First FM
1979 - Fairlight CMI - First Sampler, First Workstation
1980 - Performance Music Systems - Syntar - First self contained keytar
1982 - Sequential Circuits - Prophet 600 / First Midi Synthesizer (though some argue the Prophet 5 rev 3.2 is pre-MIDI MIDI)
1983 - Yamaha - DX7 - Digital takes over, FM goes mainstream
1983 - OSC - OSCar - First real-time additive with analog filters
1984 - Sequential Circuits - SixTrak - first multitimbral
1985 - Casio - CZ-101 - First battery-powered all digital mini-synth
1987 - Kawai K5 and Technos Axcel - first additive synths
1989 - E-Mu Systems - Proteus - First dedicated ROMpler
1992 - Seer Systems - first host-based software synthesizer in 1992
1994 - Yamaha - VL1 - first physical modelling synth
1995 - Clavia - Nord Lead - 1st Virtual Analog
1996 - Rubberduck - still not the first softsynth but came before Seer Systems Reality.
1996 - Steinberg - VST - Ok not a synth but enabled a lot to be written as plug-ins and used simultaneously
1997 - Seer Systems - Reality - First Modular Soft Synth
2002 - Hartmann Neuron - first neuronal synth
2912 - KalQuestoTron - the first genetically engineered synth. Each cell is an oscillator, filter, and neural sequencer. Can be delivered via injection to always play 'hold music' in your head.

I thought it might be fun to have a "first synth to..." post. There's been a lot of buzz over Sonic State's Top 20 Synths of All Time with good reason. What exactly is a "top synth?" Is it it's influence on the music scene? It's rarity and lust appeal? The number of synths sold? According to Sonic State their list was the result of Sonic State reader's voting for their favorite synths. Blame the voters if you don't like what you see. Based on what has come up on the list so far, the E-Mu Proteus and Roland JV-1080 for example as well as the Roland Jupiter 8 not even making the top ten, I'm guessing a bit of it has to do with the vote and... possibly the most influential/ground breaking synths for their time. The JV1080 and Proteus? Not super sexy in this day and age, but what they offered in their time? Who knows. It's obviously subjective. But there is something that isn't. The most influential synths of all time not because they were super sexy or utilitarian, but because they offered something that was not previously available.

I thought what might be interesting to create a list of the first synths to feature a particular technology or feature. For example what was the fist synth to bring FM to the table? Was it the DX7 or a predecessor? What was the first digital synth and when? The first additive synth? I have a good idea and could probably look it all up, but that wouldn't be any fun, so.... You tell me. I am going to make this an open post that will live over time. You get to participate by putting an entry in the comments. I will update the list and when I do I will change the time stamp of the post to keep it current. That said, for the archives, this post went up with a time stamp of 4/11/07 7:20 PM PST. I'll start the list (btw, do correct me on the MOOG, what model should we be talking about here? The A, B, C or D or all of them?).

Year - Manufacturer - Model - First at
1970 - MOOG - Minimoog - 1st Mono Synth with keys (non-modular)
1978 - Sequential Circuits - Prophet 5 - 1st Programmable Polyphonic Analog
... List continues above.

Update 3/34/12: Also see the first synthesizers to offer patch storage here.

NAMM: NAMM 2009 w/ AnalogSuicide.com! Plan B Synthesizers with Peter Grenader Pt. 1.

YouTube via tarabusch
"Here's more from AnalogSuicide.com's at NAMM 2009! Here, Tara Busch gets the latest on all the new Plan B goods from Plan B's founder, Peter Grenader.

http://analogsuicide.com
http://tarabusch.com
http://www.ear-group.net"

NAMM 2009 w/ AnalogSuicide.com! Plan B Synthesizers with Peter Grenader Pt. 2

MAKING A MODULAR SYNTH FOR TOOL • DANNY CAREY

video upload by Peter Grenader

"I am Peter Grenader - the designer, curator and sometimes sound designer for Danny Carey's Toolbox, the modular system used live with Tool (Chocolate Chip Trip).

I recently did a huge overhaul and expansion of that system and this video details that journey.

For a recent interview detailing this system and my involvement with Tool, check out Kris West's Spiral Out podcast:

https://spiraloutpod.podbean.com/e/pe...

For an article on how this synth came into being check out The Fortheye:

https://www.fourtheye.net/2013/11/pet...

EAR/Plan B Synthesizer official website:

https://www.ear-synth.com

Peter Grenader's POV website:

https://www.pov-music.com/

zZyzx Society:

https://www.zzyzxsociety.com/"

The ZZYZX Society Featuring Jill Fraser, Peter Grenader, and Chas Smith Live in Joshua Tree May 28

"We are pleased to announced the premier performance of The zZyzx Society electro-acoustic ensemble - live at Bobby Furst's FURSTWURLD in Joshua Tree, CA May 28th: 7PM.

Join Jill Fraser (electronics), Peter Grenader (electronics) and Chas Smith (tuned percussion) for a night of peace in the desert in person, or via web simulcast."

http://www.zzyzxsociety.com

Peter Grenader is the man behind Plan b and EAR synths.

Peter Grenader • Je Suis Anonyme

Published on Feb 17, 2014 Peter Grenader·23 videos

"From the album Secret Life, available on iTunes or CD Baby through Coda Recordings (link below).

Je Suis Anonyme (I Am Anonymous) is an A-B-Aprime-Coda arranged as a canon in both a micro and macro sense, meaning the construction of each gesture and the relation of one gesture to another. The process parallels elasticity and soft focus - stretching phrases to maximum duration while keeping elements loosely synced. The entry phrase was recorded in the late Summer of 2009. The work was completed during a three week period in September of 2010. It is distantly familiar to a work I did many years ago entitled "The St. Mathew's Passion, Part 2" (a lot of nerve there)!.

I approached Je Suis Anonyme with a rather empty conceptual pallet. This was by intention. Instead I relied more on noesis, something I became aware of while an art director where the distinct impression was that much of the creation was coming from the unconscious. Allow the piece uncover itself, continue until it tells you it's completed. In print art this manifests as carving an image out of a blank white page. In sound art that relates to silence and attested to synesthesia [1] - the visualization of colors, in this instance cobalt blue hues. Eastern culture defines this as Svadhisthana or The Sacral Chakra. There are other accounts of this phenomena in relation to music by Bela Bartok, Pierre Henry, Oliver Messiaen, Hanspeter Kyburz, Judy Collins and Robert Fripp [2].

JSA didn't begin as a dedication though through it's process it became evident it was a release of sorts to my mother, Harriet Avra Grenader. A final goodbye - something that's been long brewing. By sheer coincidence it was completed in the late evening on September 12th, the eve of her birthday.

TECHNICAL NOTES:

Most of the timbres in JSA were built utilizing source material recorded from the Plan B Model 30 Digital VCO Subsystem prototype in the Spring of 2009. Additional base reinforcement was added using a standard Plan B Model 15 VCO.

While the motifs in JSA may appear to have been generated in a single pass, they are actually the result of many layers of soundfiles. While the melodic progressions were scored utilizing a polyphonic instrument as a reference, governed by the monophonic attributes of the Model 30 the translation of this information involved multitracking. In instances where the required tonal information was not available in the original source material, Amazing Slow Downer was incorporated to generate those frequencies.


REFERENCE:

[2] Robert Fripp - 'Creativity: Finding The Source' (quote used through permission of the author): "Most musicians have experienced those moments of inspiration when magic seems to flow, when every note seems effortlessly right - but such moments are rare and their fleeting existence seems governed by capricious forces beyond our control. Is there any way to bring us into more consistent and productive contact with our Muse?

[1] Color Synesthesia: a phenomena in which voice, music, or assorted environmental sounds can trigger color manifestations which fade when the sound stimulus ends [3]. Until recently, synesthesia was believed to be rather uncommon, effecting only 1 out of 2000 individuals. Later studies indicate this percentage more towards 100 out of 2000 individuals and in some cases paralled to psychic perception in those tested. Although perception is often personalized (composers Liszt and Rimsky-Korsakov famously disagreed on the colors of music keys) sonic variation often affect the perceived hue, brightness, scintillation, and directional movement. In relation to amplitude: loud tones appear brighter than softer tones; in relation to frequency: lower tones are darker than higher tones; in relaiton to timbre: complex timbres appear brighter than purer tones. For some, the stimulus type is limited (music only, or even just a specific musical key); for others, a wide variety of sounds triggers synesthesia.

[3] Cytowic, Richard E; Eagelman, David M (2009). Wednesday is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia (with an afterword by Dmitri Nabokov). Cambridge: MIT Press. pp. 309. ISBN 0-262-01279-9.

PERFORMANCE NOTES:

Je Suis Anonyme received its world premier at the Los Angeles Sonic Odyssey in Pasadena CA in November 2013

Available as a high resolution FLAC download on CD Baby at:

https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/petergrenader"

Third Ear at Tom's Place with Peter Grenader, Doug Lynner, and Shiro Fujioka

Published on Mar 21, 2018 Fourdimensionalsound

"Modular synthesizer supergroup (Peter Grenader, Doug Lynner, Shiro Fujioka) performing in Berkeley, CA. Check out Doug's setup of classic and modern Serge synths (left side), Shiro's mix of modern Eurorack (with a lot of Wiard modules), and Peter's massive Plan B system (designed by Peter, including some modules which are one-off creations) mixed with modern Eurorack."

Plan B at NAMM - Update

follow-up to this post. More detail via Peter Grenader, the man behind Plan B, on the Plan B mailing list.

"Both Plan B and Buchla will be at the Noisebug booth 6108 which is on the main hall this year in the vicinity of Moog and Motu.

Sometime this week I will be posting further details on what we'll be showing on the Plan B Analog Blog (go to www.ear-group.net to sign up. On the module end will be the models 21C Mini Milton VC Sequencer, the Model 32 Vector Plotter and the M30 and 30A - two components of the mighty Triple Digital VCO Subsystem. There are four other products being introduced which are part of the big move into cases and systems.: The he Ringer, a single row rack frame offering a low-cost solution to a previously expensive expansion requirement, and the Model Zero, which is the same three row Zero Halibuton case used by NIN with some significant improvements, including power saving modes, top/bottom strip modules and the option of expanding to six rows. A photo has been posted in the PB Analog Blog.

The Performance System, which has it's own case not unlike the Doepfer portable although two rows of 102 HP and eight inches deep is our fist venture into the systems arena and will also be on display and operational.

To support the Ringer, the Zero and the PS we're introducing an external power system which utilizes two high-grade second party switching supplies as it's engine. The supplies are audio grade and protected to the point that key'd power connectors on the bus will not be required...the PSU will shut itself off instantly if a module is installed incorrectly.

Along with Noisebug's, Plan B goods will be on display at a couple of other booths as well - keep a sharp eye out!

Again, when my schedule allows I will be posting more details on all this, including photos to the PBAB. Please grant me patience with this and in getting back with anyone who may need to contact me as I'm deep into Namm hell at present and time away to post is minimal.

Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you all at the show!

- Peter Grenader"

Update: see the comments of this post for some notes from Peter.

LE CYBERSONGOSSE

I recently saw this on sequencer.de. I wasn't sure if I put up a post on this before, however I was pretty sure I saw it on Music Thing and/or CDM. Sure enough I did. I sent an email to Tom and Peter and Peter was kind enough to reply with links to the posts. Here are the links to the posts on Music Thing and CDM.

Peter Kirn also sent the following:

"Check out these links for some amazing photos:
modeles
pedagogie.html

What I can't find -- and you'd probably need someone who has connections to IMEB for this -- is what happened to the public software release that was supposed to happen. There's nothing on the site, and the documentation of the project appears to be abandonware. (Hopefully that's just the site itself.) That'd be nice, as they redeveloped the software in Max/MSP."

If you know anything, please comment.

Update via Peter Grenader in the comments:

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a big midi controller designed to control patch parameters within software synthesis progrmas such as Csound and MaxP. This is what was explained to be a year or so.

Also, I believe Max was developed by Cycling 74, not the IMEB. Barry Vercoe I know developed Csound with IRCAM."

Update via the comments: "Actually, Max was developed by Opcode, who later added MSP. Then Cycling '74 bought it in 1999, and have been developing it ever since. What the post was actually saying is that the IMEB developed their own program using Max/MSP, not Max/MSP itself."

Update via Peter Kirn in the comments:

"Some historical corrections:

Csound was developed by Barry Vercoe while he was at MIT, not IRCAM. Csound is in turn indebted to Max Mathews' Music4 (and variants), as developed at Bell Labs from the late 50s through the 60s. Csound has grown a lot since its original version, however, through contributions by Dr. Vercoe and many others.

Max was not originally developed by Opcode; Max and the audio environment Max/FTS were the creation of Miller Puckette while he was at IRCAM (and I think IRCAM still holds some of the copyrights to that version of Max and its descendents). Max/MSP as we now know it did result from the Opcode variant of Max, that's true, though it has had an ongoing, bi-directional relationship with Max/FTS and later Pure Data, as developed by Miller Puckette, and has evolved through contributions of many people. Max Mathews is the namesake for the software Max, but supposedly specifically for an archaic reason having to do with scheduling (as well as, I'm sure, his admiration for Max Mathews' contributions to digital synthesis).

Back to the original question, I think people are right in that this is a hardware controller for a Max/MSP-based software patch. The modularity, having previously been in hardware, is now apparently in the software. The patch is promised to have been publicly released in the PDF docs for the instrument. So it's out there somewhere -- I just don't know where!"

Update: also see The Gmebaphone Concept and the Cybernéphone Instrument

TapeOp Convention Modular Synth Class Featuring Peter Grenader, Alessandro Cortini and Dave Wright

Published on Aug 15, 2016 david wright

"live improv modular performance by Peter Grenader, Alessandro Cortini and Dave Wright. Mixed and processed live by Steve Roach. TapeOp Con @ El Conquistador Resort Tucson, AZ 2007"

AnalogLive! Audio - The Secret Life of Semiconductors

"The Analoglive performance of The Secret Life of Semiconductors starts with Chas Smith fading in a high E maj triad his steel guitar using a small piece of glass to bow the strings in a sustinuto coloratura style which builds in intensity through the three massive E maj chords that follow. These first events give way to the start of the rhythmic stanza, which consists of the slow build of seven live voices from my synth (four of which were midi controlled and begin immediatly, and three others which fade in shortly afterward)."

Click here for the rest of Peter Grenader's (of Plan B and Buzzclick-Music) notes as well as a link to the recording.

Pictured: "Peter Grenader during performance of The Secret Life of Semiconductors"