Door #7: Vorfreude, schönste Freude (Anticipation is half the pleasure) - Synthmas '21

video upload by Synthfluencer

"Ho-Ho-Ho! This is Synthmas '21, the virtual calendar presenting a Christmas carol played by synthesizers - every day from 1st to 24th of December.

The song:
In 1970 the non spiritual carol was recorded for the GDR's most popular Christmas album "Bald nun ist Weihnachtszeit" (Soon it's Christmas Time) by the Rundfunk Kinderchor Leipzig (childrens choir). Each of the four verses is about lighting one advent candle until Christmas eve.

The gear:
I play this song on my Vermona Piano-Strings. The instrument was built from 1978 by "VEB Klingenthaler Harmonikawerke" and is one of the very few string machines produced in the late Eastern Bloc. It's appearance might resemble famous string machines like ARP Solina, however the features of the Piano-Strings are quite limited. There is a piano part and a strings part, but they can't be played together. Each section has 3 tone faders changing its character. I feel oddly bonded to that instrument: in my youth I was playing the piano in our music school band. At a rehearsel I failed playing my part because I was too lazy to learn my sheet. So I was degraded to playing some simple string chords - on a Vermona Piano-Strings! I was very happy to get one of these after all those years. Most prominent Vermona player was Moby before his one was sold on Reverb.com [Moby Reverb posts]

Since the Vermona Piano-Strings neither got MIDI nor CV/Gate control I play by hand.

Trailer material: Pexels.com (image @seurafrancis99, video @cottonbro)"

Door #9: Kling, Glöckchen, klingelingeling (Ring, Little Bell) - Synthmas '21

video upload by Synthfluencer

"Ho-Ho-Ho! This is Synthmas '21, the virtual calendar presenting a Christmas carol played by synthesizers - every day from 1st to 24th of December.

The song:
Together with the melody presumably originating from an traditional german folk song, the carol was published first in 1862. The text relates to the "Christkind" - a German Christmas variant of Baby Jesus often characterized as a girl - wishes to let into the homes bringing gifts in return.

The gear:
Bell-like sounds always have been somewhat problematic to generate by subtractive synthesis as most analog synthesizers utilize. FM, LA and wavetable synthesis do a much better job. So the three tracks of this song are played by the Yamaha MODX (acting as a DX-Synthesizer), Waldorf Blofeld for wavetable sound and Roland JV-1010 to add LA-synthesis.

Trailer material: Pexels.com (image @seurafrancis99, video @cottonbro)"

Lucia - Marinero [80s italo disco pop synth cover]

video upload by Synthfluencer

"I first listened to that song on a mixtape I copied from my grandparents in mid 80s. After decades I remembered that song when listening to that mix tape again (yes, it still exist!) and med this quick cover using my Vermona Synthesizer and other gear."

Reminds me of Alphaville, Big In Japan at times.

Muzio Clementi: Sonatina C major, op. 36 No. 1 "Spiritoso" (Synthsunday 24-10-21)

video upload by Synthfluencer

"I play the Clementi sonatina in C major on my Vermona Piano Strings using the so called 'Piano' section. Audio output goes through Vermona Phaser 80 and TC Flashback."

Vermona Piano-Strings (1978) - How does it sound?

video upload by Synthfluencer

"I play around with my Vermona Piano-Strings and some effect units. The Vermona Piano-Strings was produced in the GDR by 'VEB Klingenthaler Harmonikawerke' and one of the very few string machines produced in the late Eastern Bloc. Sound manipulation is sort of limited. There is a string and a "piano" section but you can use only one section at a time. For the string section you can mix three kinds of string instruments (Cello, Viola, Violine) and add two different choruses. Decay can be changed but no other envelope control. I pass the signal through a Vermona Phaser 80, a legendary effects unit built with discrete circuitry and compare it to some Small Stone phaser simulation by using the ingenious Zoom MS70 CDR multi effect unit. You may find some 'Jarrism' in this video ;-)"

Door #10: Leise rieselt der Schnee (Let it snow) - Synthmas '21

video upload by Synthfluencer

"Ho-Ho-Ho! This is Synthmas '21, the virtual calendar presenting a Christmas carol played by synthesizers - every day from 1st to 24th of December.

The song:
One of the best known German carols was written in 1895 by parson Eduard Ebel. The melody is most likely a traditional folk song.

The gear:
The lead melody is played by the Vermona Synthesizer from 1983. This two oscillator mono synth got nicknamed "Zonen-Moog" while "Zone" refers to the eastern zone of Germany where this synth was produced. Because of the import embargo for electronic parts produced in capitalist countries all circuitry had to be designed from scratch. However, these mostly discrete designed oscillator and filter ciruits give the synth a warm analog and unique sound.

In this stoned song's version Vermona synth is accompanied by Blofeld bringing a deep bass and Deepmind adding some dazed background harmonies.

Trailer material: Pexels.com (image @seurafrancis99, video @cottonbro)"

Door #8: The Little Drummer Boy - Synthmas '21

video upload by Synthfluencer

"Ho-Ho-Ho! This is Synthmas '21, the virtual calendar presenting a Christmas carol played by synthesizers - every day from 1st to 24th of December.

The song:
The American Christmas carol was composed by Katherine K. Davis in 1941 titled 'The Carol of the Drum'. It might trace to a czech carol 'Hajej, nynjej'. Countless cover versions were done by famous artists, including Ray Charles, Neil Diamond, Jimi Hendrix and Joan Baez. The song tells the story of a poor boy giving his drum play as a gift to the new born Jesus.

The gear:
The song is played by the Electron Model:Samples. Groove box might be the best description for this sample-based instrument. Samples can be arranged in 6 tracks. The pattern based sequencer can contain up to 4.096 steps (per "project" or song). I divided the songs into 10 different patterns that I switch by hand. Bass drum is a factory sample, snare drum is a sample from a 909. For the bass and lead voice/s I used factory samples of square and sawtooth waves with some filter modulation. On Model:Samples there are some neat sound manipulation features: the drum roll is created with a retrig function. The pitch of a sample can variate trig (= step) -wise, thus melodies can be formed on one and the same track.

Trailer material: Pexels.com (image @seurafrancis99, video @cottonbro)"

Instant 80s Jam

video upload by Synthfluencer

"Put some FM bass, LinnDrums, chorus'd Clavinet and a good old analog Brass together - boom: instant 80s groove!"


Casio CZ-5000