"Set of 2 rare documentations dealing with the EMS system of analysis and voice transmission 'Vocom' and the compiler 'Musys' written by Peter Zinovieff & Peter Grogono
"Happy birthday to synthesizer pioneer PETER ZINOVIEFF. Here's a quick look at some of his innovations within our EMS here at the Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project (EMEAPP). This includes the VCS3 (The Putney), the Synthi AKS, the Synthetical Engine, and our Synthi 100 system, including the Compu-Synthi and the Vocoder 5000. Please follow us, there's lots of good stuff on the way!"
"Synth icons Dave Rossum, Roger Linn, and Tom Oberheim have all signed select copies of our "Synth Pioneers" 2022-2023 18-month calendar!
Our epic Synthesizer Pioneers 18-month calendar honors 20 innovators from over the past 60 years, and keeps time through June 2023.
It's the first calendar celebrating the achievements of synthesizer pioneers from all over the world. Each one of these iconic creators is mentioned in our calendar: Harry Olson Herbert Belar Raymond Scott Harald Bode Bob Moog Don Buchla Peter Zinovieff (EMS) Alan R. Pearlman (ARP) Ikutaro Kakahashi (Roland) Felix Visser (Synton) Fumio Mieda (KORG) Dave Smith Wolfgang Palm (PPG) Kim Ryrie and Peter Vogel (Fairlight) Ray Kurzweil Makoto Fukuda (Casio)
Many of the pioneers contributed photos (some of which are suitable for framing) from their private archives for this collector's item. Also included are dates of historic importance from the timeline of synthesis, many of them provided by the pioneers themselves.
As of publication, there are just 14 signed copies left.
Tom Oberheim signs a Synth Pioneers calendar at NAMM 2022
All sale proceeds from Synth Pioneers benefit our work!
"Girts showed us the rather lovely Syntrx 2, and showed us round the refined and expanded features.
Building on their experience from the original Syntrx, this incarnation now has more accurate oscillators with octave switches and manual or CV controlled wave shaping, which allows for PWM. There is also a newly designed dual high-pass and low-pass filter allowing for enhanced filtering flexibility. There are digital FX developed in collaboration with Dutch Company 112 Decibel, and the joystick motion is now recordable.
Peter Zinovieff himself approved our re-imagination of his legendary Synthi AKS
in the form of the SYNTRX which was produced in a limited run of 1056 units.
Based on lessons learned from the SYNTRX, we decided to create an instrument
which would integrate even deeper into contemporary electronic and experimental
music setups and cover sonic territory from daunting drones to powerful
basslines and glitched noisescapes. The SYNTRX II is the culmination of our
analogue sound design circuits – two perfectly stable main oscillators with
waveshapers, a versatile multimode filter, supercharged external instrument
inputs with an envelope follower, a unique, great sounding ringmodulator, a
recordable joystick and built in piano roll sequencer, all arranged around our
signature matrix mixer and topped off with powerful FX on our new DSP platform.
Introducing The SYNTRX II - a new dark horse for experimental sonic rides.
Features: Two perfectly stable main oscillators with CV controlled
waveforms Modulation oscillator with variable waveforms Highpass and
Lowpass filters in series Free running or gate synced sample and hold
circuit Multi-colour noise generator DC coupled instrument inputs with
signal inversion and envelope follower Ringmodulator of unique design Looping
trapezoid envelope generator and VCA Two output VCAs Signal meter with
a dedicated audio/CV output FX section with great sounding Delay and
Reverb Recordable Joystick Analogue patch matrix with 3 attenuation levels
in each patch point 254 patch memory Piano roll sequencer Two CV
inputs Gate input DIN5 MIDI Input (CV and Gate) and MIDI Thru Two
assignable outputs Headphone output
The Bob Moog Fondation is a charitable organisation, based in Anaheim, North Carolina, just a few streets away from the current Moog factory. It acts both as a archive for Bob's work over the years, a museum to show the timeline of his inventions (and more general synth developement) and an educational resource for schools providing hands on experience for children and adults.
Imgaine you had to do all those things? It's pretty certain you'd quickly lose track of what day it is, what week it is or even what month it is (signs of recognition and enthusiastic ndoding from fellow COVID brain fog peepz at the back of the crowd)?
What you would need in that case is.....a calendar! Obviously you can get calendars with amazing inspritation quotes, beautifull sunsets and cute animals but what if you could get an unbelievalbe nerdy synth related calander featuring 18 of the world's most influential synth designers? That would be pretty freakin' cool, no?
"We are proud to announce the release of our epic 2022 Synthesizer Pioneers 18-month calendar, which honors 18 innovators in the field of synthesis from the past 60 years. This is the fifth calendar released by the Foundation focusing on the rich history of Bob Moog’s legacy and the web of innovation in synthesis to which he was connected.
This calendar is the first to bring to the fore the historic achievements of synthesizer pioneers from all over the world. It features:
Harry Olsen and Herbert Belar (RCA) Harald Bode Raymond Scott Bob Moog Don Buchla Peter Zinovieff (EMS) Alan R. Pearlman (ARP) Ikutaro Kakehashi (Roland) Fumio Mieda (KORG) Tom Oberheim Dave Smith Roger Linn Wolfgang Palm (PPG) Dave Rossum Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie (Fairlight) Ray Kurzweil Felix Visser (Synton) Makoto Fukuda (Casio) Many of the pioneers have contributed historic photos of themselves, with their hallmark inventions from their private archives. Also included within the calendar are scores of dates of particular historic importance provided by the pioneers. A brief narrative is included with each photo.
The 18-month calendar also weaves together connections between Bob Moog and many of the featured pioneers. His relationships with them ranged from inspiration to friends to colleagues to business associates. Secondary photos on many of the pages highlight that connection, showing Bob with his fellow pioneers.
The 18-month calendar is printed on #80 stock paper, making the images suitable for framing after the year is over!
This is the first time any of the Moog Foundation's products have been availabe outside of the USA so we're pretty happy to be able to bring it to you, and a portion of the profits are re-invested in the Bob Moog Foundation so it's a win/win situation.
The calander runs from Jan 2022 until May 2023 (and before you ask, we have no idea why it's an 18 month calendar...maybe they're just relaly indecisive and couldn't cut the list of synth pioneers down from 18 to 12?) and is available right now, right here.
"We look back at the life and work of Peter Zinovieff, who passed away last week at the age of 88. His work at Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was a major influence on musicians of the 1970s and beyond. At EMS, he co-created the well-known and coveted VCS3 and Synthi series. But he was also a composer in his own right, working on pioneering electronic music in the 1960s and returning to active composition in the 2010s with several collaborations with artists in other media and exploring massive sound spatialization.
Additional background music provided via the Arturia Synthi V as a tribute."
"Circa 1975: A photo from the Frankfurt Music Fair
Peter Zinovieff in the EMS synthesizer booth.
They are featuring the rare SYNTHI P model, just announced on the left side and stand. Underneath the board listing EMS musical artists is a SYNTHI HI-FLI effects unit is barely seen. Another unusual/prototype model is next to the Hi-Fli."
Peter Zinovieff and Electronic Music Studios video upload by JeffreyPlaide
Peter Zinovieff: Synth Pioneer video upload by Sound On Sound magazine Jul 21, 2016
Peter Zinovieff talks about modern musical interfaces video upload by Expressive E Jan 6, 2016
Peter Zinovieff feature uploaded by Erica Synths on Nov 23, 2020. This was the latest video to feature Peter Zinovieff that I am aware of.
Peter Zinovieff interview 2015 video upload by 香港電子音樂社 Hong Kong Electronic Music Society Jun 30, 2015
Dr Peter Zinovieff intro & performance excerpt - Deliaphonic 2017 video upload by Deliaphonic Aug 29, 2018
And a few perspectives from others:
Bright Sparks Behind The Scenes - The Brits video by GForce Software published Feb 16, 2021
Cosmic Tape Music Club Podcast hosted by The Galaxy Electric - E1 Peter Zinovieff
video by The Galaxy Electric published Jan 27, 2021
"Peter Zinovieff, a hugely influential figure in British music whose early synthesisers helped to change the sound of pop, has died aged 88. He had suffered a fall at home earlier this month.
With its marketing slogan 'think of a sound – now make it', his company Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was one of the first to bring synthesisers out of studios and to the public. With products such as the portable VCS3 and Synthi A, EMS customers – including David Bowie, Kraftwerk, the Who, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd – were often taught to use the instruments by Zinovieff.
In 1967 he collaborated with Paul McCartney on Carnival of Light, a performance of a 14-minute avant garde composition created between Beatles sessions for Penny Lane that has never been released.
He was also a respected composer of his own work, including early experiments with AI composition and sampling – he claimed to have invented the latter technique." You can read the full post here.
"Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021) was a British engineer and composer, whose EMS company made the VCS3 synthesizer in the late 1960s. The synthesizer was used by many early progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd[3] and White Noise, and Krautrock groups[4] as well as more pop-oriented artists, including Todd Rundgren and David Bowie. In later life he worked primarily as a composer of electronic music.
Zinovieff was born on 26 January 1933;[5] his parents, Leo Zinovieff and Sofka, née Princess Sophia Dolgorouky, were both Russian aristocrats, who met in London after their families had emigrated to escape the Russian Revolution and soon divorced.[6] During World War II he and his brother Ian lived with their grandparents in Guildford and then with their father in Sussex. He attended Guildford Royal Grammar School, Gordonstoun School and Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate in geology.[7][8]
Zinovieff's work followed research at Bell Labs by Max Mathews and Jean-Claude Risset, and an MIT thesis (1963) by David Alan Luce.[9] In 1966–67, Zinovieff, Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson ran Unit Delta Plus, an organisation to create and promote electronic music. It was based in the studio Zinovieff had built, in a shed at his house in Putney. (The house is near the Thames, and the studio was later partially destroyed by a flood).[10][11] EMS grew out of MUSYS, which was a performance controller operating as an analogue-digital hybrid.[12] It was a synthesiser system which Zinovieff developed with the help of David Cockerell and Peter Grogono, and used two DEC PDP-8 minicomputers and a piano keyboard.[13] Unit Delta Plus ran a concert of electronic music at the Watermill Theatre in 1966, with a light show. In early 1967 they performed in concerts at The Roundhouse, at which the Carnival of Light was also played; they split up later in 1967.[11] Paul McCartney had visited the studio, but Zinovieff had little interest in popular music.[14]
In 1968, part of the studio was recreated at Connaught Hall, for a performance of pieces by Justin Connolly and David Lumsdaine.[15] At the IFIP congress that year, the composition ZASP by Zinovieff with Alan Sutcliffe took second prize in a contest, behind a piece by Iannis Xenakis.[16]
In 1969, Zinovieff sought financing through an ad in The Times but received only one response, £50 on the mistaken premise it was the price of a synthesiser. Instead he formed EMS with Cockerell and Tristram Cary.[17] At the end of the 1960s, EMS Ltd. was one of four companies offering commercial synthesizers, the others being ARP, Buchla, and Moog.[18] In the 1970s Zinovieff became interested in the video synthesizer developed by Robert Monkhouse, and EMS produced it as the Spectron.[19]
Jon Lord of Deep Purple described Zinovieff as "a mad professor type": "I was ushered into his workshop and he was in there talking to a computer, trying to get it to answer back".[20] Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco, in their history of the synthesizer revolution, see him rather as aristocratically averse to "trade".[21]
Zinovieff wrote the libretto for Harrison Birtwistle's opera The Mask of Orpheus,[22] and also the words for Nenia: The Death of Orpheus (1970).[23] The section Tristan's Folly in Tristan (1975) by Hans Werner Henze included a tape by Zinovieff."
Update:
Peter Zinovieff: A Tribute by CatSynth TV
video upload by CatSynth TV
"We look back at the life and work of Peter Zinovieff, who passed away last week at the age of 88. His work at Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was a major influence on musicians of the 1970s and beyond. At EMS, he co-created the well-known and coveted VCS3 and Synthi series. But he was also a composer in his own right, working on pioneering electronic music in the 1960s and returning to active composition in the 2010s with several collaborations with artists in other media and exploring massive sound spatialization.
Additional background music provided via the Arturia Synthi V as a tribute."
"In an outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary, ARP founder Alan R Pearlman talks about Philip Dodds and the story behind the use of the ARP 2500 on Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.
'An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music' Vince Clarke
"An outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary where ex-ARP engineer (and the creator of the SEM filter) Dennis Colin talks about how the Ladder Filter was the inspiration for his lauded and obscenely rare Hyperphase pedal.
Sadly, Dennis passed away just after we filmed him at his home in New Hampshire, but his legacy lives on in the ARP 2500, ARP 2600, Aries 300 and the legendary Oberheim SEM filter.
Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.
'An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music' Vince Clarke"
"A fascinating and touching outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary where ex-ARP engineer Dennis Colin recalls two of the most significant events of his life.
Dennis was a joy to film and listen to and even though his health was poor, his mind was super sharp. Sadly Dennis passed away shortly after we recorded this at his home in New Hampshire. However, his work lives on in the ARP2600, Aries 300 Modular and the legendary Oberheim SEM filter.
Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.
'The result is a documentary that isn’t merely well informed, it’s definitive.' Gordon Reid (Sound On Sound Magazine)
"The B Side of the critically acclaimed Bright Sparks Documentary focuses on the British electronic music pioneers, including the original Mellotron makers, Les, Norman and Frank Bradley, EMS's Peter Zinovieff, Electronic Dream Plant's Adrian Wagner & Chris Huggett, and String Ensemble inventor, Ken Freeman.
Includes contributions from I Monster's Dean Honer & Jarrod Gosling, Peter Zinovieff, Chris Cross, Daniel Miller, John Bradley, Karl Hyde, Ken Freeman, Fred Gardner, Will Gregory, Dean Honer & Jarrod Gosling"
"Welcome to our inaugural episode of the Cosmic Tape Music Club monthly Podcast! Join your hosts Jacqueline and Augustus of the experimental pop band The Galaxy Electric as they wax poetic on the topic of Peter Zinovieff, Geologist, Computer and Tape Music Studio Innovator, Electronic Instrument Design Collaborator, Gentleman, and Scholar. We share all sorts of facts starting with his early and family life, buying what he believed to be one of the very first Personal Computers, EMS, the VCS3, Unit Delta Plus, famous folks that rolled through the studio, his obsession with pure randomness, and more.
Timeline: Intro 00:00 Early Life 01:21 Funding EMS 05:45 David Cockerell 08:55 Synchronicity between Synth Designers 11:50 Couldn't be bothered with actually using the Synths 16:08 Is he a tape musician 19:07 Unit Delta Plus 19:53 Carnival of Lights 26:44 EMS Tech Talk 30:23 EMS's Downfall 39:25 Robin Wood and EMS rebirth 42:55 iVCS3 45:03 Spectron Video Synth 46:18 Randomness 50:01 The Implant 53:04 Pete Kember/Electronic Calendar Album 01:01:01"
"Peter Zinovieff shares his memories about developing EMS Synthi and checks out the SYNTRX.
We are grateful to great minds that changed the course of music history and inspired entire generations of musicians and instrument developers."
Looks like two EMS VCS3s in a custom keyboard controller case. There was a smaller VCS4 and XILS made a software emulation that looked just like this one. You can find both in the archives here.
"VCS4 day is a one day event (10–5pm) that pays tribute to the unique early music synthesiser, the EMS VCS4, which has recently been acquired for the Department of Music at Goldsmiths from the musician Simon Desorgher, with the support of the Goldsmiths Alumni and Friends Fund.
The VCS4 was produced by the world-renowned Electronic Music Studios Ltd (EMS) company in London in the late 1960s, run by pioneering composer Dr Peter Zinovieff. It was one of a number of early EMS synthesisers used by pioneers of electronic music in Britain, and was created initially for the composer Harrison Birtwhistle for use in his piece Chronometer (1971–72). The instrument, which is the only one in existence in the world, combines two VCS3 synthesisers to create a custom and highly versatile performance instrument. VCS3 synthesisers have been used by such luminaries as Delia Derbyshire, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd and Robert Fripp. For many years the VCS4 had been thought lost, until the advent of the Hugh Davies Collection arriving at Goldsmiths in 2019, when Desorgher approached the music department with a proposal for the VCS4 to be maintained and made available to students and researchers at Goldsmiths Electronic Music studios.
Shortly after Goldsmiths Electronic Music Studios opened in 1968 (one of the first electronic music studios at a university in the UK), the studio obtained two other EMS VCS3 synthesisers. It is fitting therefore that the VCS4 is now housed in Goldsmiths Electronic Music Studios, affording opportunities for it to be used by undergraduate and postgraduate students in both their compositions and performances.
VCS4 day represents an opportunity to gain detailed insight into this extraordinary instrument, through a series of talks from its inventors, protagonists and leading experts on the history of analog synthesisers and their cultural impact. A programme of performances on the VCS4 will take place throughout the day."
"Thanks to all the labels and distributors - Space Age Recordings, Finders Keepers, Roundtable Distribution, State of Matter, Lakeshore and Universal/Virgin"
"Episode two in our 5-MINUTES-WITH series, and this time its the EMS/Putney VCS-3. An unusual synthesizer from the late 1960's with a truly scientific vibe to it. Peter Zinovieff started building these instruments to fund his burgeoning obsession with electronic music. It went on to become a quirky classic.
Yes the VCS-3 is a rare beast, rumour has it that there is a waiting list for modern builds of this directly from EMS, but the timescale appears to be rather variable."
"‘Electronic Calendar: The EMS Tapes’ is a lavish double CD set featuring more than 20 pieces by EMS founder Peter Zinovieff. The package includes a 64-page booklet containing extensive liner notes and exclusive photos, plus extracts from Zinovieff’s own diaries and writings.
The work was produced by Zinovieff at his studio in Putney in the 1960s and early 1970s and is an essential addition to every early electronic music fan’s archive. The first CD consists of collaborations with British composer Harrison Birtwistle and the German composer and Marxist Hans Werner Henze, while the second disc mainly features solo compositions.
As a record of the pioneering days of electronic music and computer control, ‘Electronic Calendar’ is captivating, strange and evocative of a period of intense experimentation and boundless possibilities.
The full track listing is:
Disc 1
01. ‘CHRONOMETER ’71’ (WITH HARRISON BIRTWISTLE)
02. ‘BIRTHDAY SONG’ (WITH HARRISON BIRTWISTLE)
03. ‘FOUR INTERLUDES FROM A TRAGEDY’ (WITH HARRISON BIRTWISTLE)
04. GLASS MUSIC (WITH HANS WERNER HENZE)
05. ‘TRISTAN (SHORT SECTION)’ (WITH HANS WERNER HENZE)
06. ‘CHINA MUSIC’ (WITH HANS WERNER HENZE)
07. ‘TRISTAN (LONG SECTION)’ (WITH HANS WERNER HENZE)
Disc 2
01. ‘AGNUS DEI’
02. ‘ZASP PARTS 1 TO 3’ (WITH ALAN SUTCLIFFE)
03. ‘UN KNOWN 1’
04. ‘TARANTELLA’
05. ‘UN NAMED 1’
06. ‘JANUARY TENSIONS’
07. ‘JUNE ROSE’
08. ‘UN NAMED 2’
09. ‘A LOLLIPOP FOR PAPA’
10. ‘M PIRIFORM’ (WITH JUSTIN CONNOLLY)
11. ‘MARCH PROBABALISTIC’
12. ‘UN NAMED 3’
13. ‘RAASAY DIGITISED’
14. ‘NOW’S THE TIME TO SAY GOODBYE’"
"Batch of EMS brochures, technical documentation, photographs and advertisements + chrome sticker
