The Casio CZ-3000 "1986" by Justin Robert

YouTube via musicajuro
"I recorded the album "1986" entirely with a Casio CZ-3000. There are no over dubs, no external FX used, and no computer processing to change the sound in any way. 1986 is largely inspired by the classic ambient sounds of the 1980s like Steve Roach, Klaus Schulze, and the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis.

You can get a full length flac version at http://justinrobert.bandcamp.com which is the best way to go. Flacs sound much better than MP3s, however if you want in on MP3, you can get that there for free as well.

Thanks for checking out my video and I hope you like the sounds!"

Steve Roach Setup 1987

flickr by Neil Vance
(super size shot here)

"....'To me, the Xpander is the pinnacle of the digitally-controlled analogue instrument; I can imagine spending a lifetime with it.'"

Charles & Jim - Vintage Synthesizers Explorer Part Three

YouTube via oneamongmany10. follow-up to this post.
"Oberheim Matrix 12 and Sequential Circuits T8 vintage analog synthesizers. We were messing around, trying to come up with some compositions that we could pair up on, in real time, ala late-70s early-80s Tangerine Dream or Steve Roach. The sound is coming through a couple of Martin Logans. We should get better over time as we get the hang of real-time composition on these instruments. But they are fun to play!"

Charles & Jim on Vintage Synths - Explorer Part One

YouTube via oneamongmany10
"Oberheim Matrix 12 and Sequential Circuits T8 vintage analog synthesizers. We were messing around, trying to come up with some compositions that we could pair up on, in real time, ala late-70s early-80s Tangerine Dream or Steve Roach. The sound is coming through a couple of Martin Logans. We should get better over time as we get the hang of real-time composition on these instruments. But they are fun to play!"

Charles & Jim on Vintage Synths - Explorer Part Two

Camp Tape Op - Tucson 2007 Analog Synthesis 5/5

YouTube via horchacha

"from left to right:

alessandro cortini - buchla 200e / ear systems modular
peter grenader - plan b synth
steve roach - surround sound mixing
dave wright - laquarto and perky

we share a clock signal

el conquistador resort - conference room
camp tape op 2007

www.notbreathing.com"

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.

Album Art

Anyone know where this image is from?

"LEM Studios." Via Cynthia on AH:

"The picture appears on the back of the LEM album MACHINES (highly recommended), Wavefront Records 1977. It is Bryce Robbley's chrome mannequin and Serge System next to Doug Lynner's Serge System, and Alex Cima's Steiner Parker SynthaSystem... It was shot in Star Track Studios on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, circa 1977 or so. Danny Sofer of Oberhiem Electronics also played with them and may have contributed the Polyfusion modular on the right side of the picture? They also used an ARP String Ensemble, a Synthi AKS, and an EML PolyBox, a Syndrum, some Oberheim, and a little Buchla 200. These guys were good friends of mine and part of the Synapse/LEM/Triode crowd. They recorded together under the names MOBIUS and LEM (Live Electronic Music). Bryce (RIP) and Doug went to Cal Arts, and Doug's 5-panel Serge was the very first sold as an assembled unit, instead of as a synth kit from the CIA "staircase assembly party" days. Doug went on to use his Serge in the band INVISIBLE ZOO which enjoyed radio airplay of their pop tune "Synthesizer Man" and he performed with it as recently as last October when he and I played live at the the Sacred Elixirs Festival at the San Jose Convention Center."

Update via Loren in the comments: "I use to have that album. You forgot to add Steve Roach as another person who played with these guys. I know Steve played in MOBIUS and I think he made a guest appearance on the LEM album if my memory is correct."

Update: more from Peter Grenader of Plan B:
"A bit more trivia about one part of that photo - the Steiner-Parker
Synthasystem shown in the photo to the left of the robot's ear. - that was
Alex Cima's..

After Alex stopped rep'ing Steiner Parker in Southern California, this
system became the property of John Waddell, who already had one other and
along with a VCS3, were being used for the Electronic Music Studies
department of Birmingham High School in the SF Valley, LA. John was my very
first EM mentor and is wholeheartedly responsible for me being accepted to
CalArts as he pushed me to enter a concert competition that Alex hosted. I
did, I made it, I submitted that to Cal Arts, I made that. Waddell gave me
the best music theory instruction I've ever had, up to and including CIA.

John passed away four years ago, and willed that Steiner-Parker to
me...which I really loved and, although it's recently found a very good home
in Marina Del Ray. It's a great system.

Back about 1977 (?) Alex and I hosted a couple of EM concerts together, one
of which LEM performed live on the seond half. Cima and I also performed
live once with Emmett Chapman, which was one of the highlights of my
performance career. Oddly enough i didn't touch electronics on that one - i
was playing flute and sax, w/Alex on synths, this dreadful percussion player
Alex found and Chapman, who as usual played the stick like no other.

I ended up inheriting Alex's EM concert series, called Electronic
Explorations, after he had had enough. I did three or four of them, one
co-produced by John Waddell, which got that horrible review in Synapse by
Doug Lynner (of LEM) i've spoken about here before. The poster for that
event was done by a very good friend of Cynthia's at the time who used the
name of Sue Dinim (get it?) for her artwork credits.

Ain't it weird how the fabric of the LA electronic music scene was sewn?

Alex Cima is still around, teaching recording and electronic music at
Fullerton College and while he has long departed with his various Steiners,
still owns his Synthi AKS."

Plan B Custom Modules

Title link takes you there.
Currently listed:
Gary Chang's MIlton Sequencer (pictured above)
John Frusciante's triple LPG
Steve Roach's dual Analog Shift Register
Gino Robair's quad LPG
Frac'd Model 15
NIN's Quad LPG
John Duval's custom panel o'fun
Dennis Verschoor's Serge (ish) VCO panel (posted here)
Dan Levey's Sawtooth Animator
Gary Chang's Frac'd Encore Frequency Shifter

Steve Roach

Via Eric:

"Steve Roach performed last night [9/23]in Tucson, Arizona. Steve played material from his recent release "Proof Positive" on guitar, synth and several sizes of didgeridoo while visuals from from his DVD 'Kairos' as well as images from other artists were shown. Here's my best photo from the show. Here's a link to Steve's web page on the concert."

"He's been doing ambient/electronic music for the last 25 years or so. Here's a link to an article about him in Electronic Musician from last year."

Electronic Musician Spotlights

Title link takes you to Electronic Musician's Spotlights page. EM Spotlights are articles on featured people. There's a bit of synth content worth checking out including analog conent on Steve Roach and Wendy Carlos. Via Peter Grenader of Buzzclick Music on AH.


The list includes:

Steve Roach
Wendy Carlos
Negativland
Malcolm Burn (String Cheese Incident)
Yoko Ono
Pierre Shaeffer & Pierre Henry - pioneers in sampling
Toby Marks (Banco de Gaia)
Tim Pagnotta
Roger McGuinn
Laurie Anderson
John Cage
Phillip Glass