Promo from Reckless Night Music for Basta Music's new release of Raymond Scott electronic music:Three Willow Park--Electronic Music from Inner Space 1961-1971
"Three Willow Park: Electronic Music from Inner Space, 1961–1971, now available from Basta, represents the second anthology of pioneering electronica by Raymond Scott. The album contains 61 previously unissued gems, many featuring hypnotic rhythm tracks played by Scott’s Electronium — an invention which composed and performed using programmed intelligence. Three Willow Park reveals that Scott was producing beat-oriented proto-techno before the 1970s explosion of electronic music and rhythms on the pop charts, a significant achievement that should not be overlooked."
"I recently did a gig with Barbara Harris of the Toys and still have this little melody on the mind. The 1965 hit song is based on a Minuet by Christian Petzold, and found in the Anna Magdalena Bach Book. Omni does the trumpet, and Prophet, with its mellower timbre, adds the complimentary trombone.The ARP Omni (made in about 1977) is a recent acquisition. The ARP's j-wires keep breaking, so a few notes don't work. That will be fixed shortly. In the meantime, the key of E major remains available, so that's why the piece is transposed."
Update: part LXXIX added above. From the same session as below (Improvisation LXXVIII for Poly Evolver Keyboard).
"The pipe organ is deservedly called the 'king of instruments'. I was a working Church organist for twenty years, and I treasure every minute of it. My main musical influence, then, is the magnificent tone of the king of instruments, with its principals, couplers, reeds, mixtures, and 32' posaune in the pedals. When I returned to synthesizer a number of years ago, the love for this sort of massive musical sound was simply transferred to another instrument; which I would call the 'queen of instruments'.
It would be an interesting study to explore the reasons behind a person's need to musically express themselves to such dramatic forms levels, but I'll leave that to the shrinks and my wife.
Regardless, I have found that Dave Smith's synthesizers provide a similar musical potency in their ability to create a large, full, and dignified tone that definitely resembles a pipe organ, or even an orchestra. This is the sound I'm always after when I improvise or compose.
This piece of music is Evolver from top to bottom. A four-voice Poly Evolver Keyboard provides a reed-type sound for an occasional soft but bright melody. A second eight-voice Poly Evolver Keyboard offers the main patch with an envelope modulated filter and a slow VCA attack. The modulation wheel is set to open the cut off frequency, which reaches such a level at the top as to make it sound like a bright string patch, but it's far more. This provides for the fuller dynamics, which are further supported by an equally full bass pedal setting on the Evolver Desktop. As I play, the pedal programs have to be adjusted to suit the musical moment. In this piece, I used three different bass programs.
Why am I making one Evolver recording after another, and what happened to the Prophet '08's? Since all the excitement these days is over the just released DSI Prophet Rev2, I thought I'd back away and focus instead on the now forgotten Evolvers. They, too, are magnificent musical instruments. When the commercial hype settles down, then I'll return to the other instruments.
"Using the 'Age' equation in o_C's Viznutcracker, sweet! mode to sequence the STO. Sounded gnarly for a single oscillator so I whipped out my iPhone and recorded a bit. The numerous equations can really be put to use, not only as drones but strange LFOs and wilder modulators. Each one has its own 'personality.'"
"This a Folktek OM-4. This is really hard to get rid of! but need to get more gear. Its in mint working condition and pretty close if not in mint cosmetically. Explaining the OM-84 is hard. Folktek has video on the website that are pretty good but doesnt give everything it can do. make ur own loop,sounds,bass.crazy chord patterns and much more. Every time I take it out of the case I record everything!!! It rocks!!!"
"Here is one perfectly working little Yamaha CS-01 Mark I in the rare black / gold / red colour scheme.
The CS-01 is an excellent analogue monosynth for leads and basslines, with all the filter, envelope, and modulation controls you would expect on a subtractive synth. It is a great tool for learning and explaining analogue subtractive synthesis too! I have even used it to make drum sounds, which I then recorded into a sampler.
It is in excellent condition, with no missing faders or buttons, just a few marks. See pictures. The only fault is a missing battery cover. I bought the synth this way, and I have gigged with it and the batteries have never fallen out, so I have not replaced it!
I do not have a mains power supply for this synth, because it's battery life is stellar. Over a year of regular use. Being analogue, low battery life will not make it suddenly switch off, it will just gradually get quieter and introduce a bit of distortion."
