Sunday Synth Jam: Synthesist Rod Mitchell, aka Atomic Shadow, works in a mid-century electronica style, using vintage electronics to create ‘a modern take on the early days of electronic music’.
So we were interested when he shared a new track, embedded below, that features the Korg KingKorg synthesizer. It’s an interesting exploration of the KingKorg. But, more importantly, it’s a great example of going beyond the presets and making a synth your own:
Here’s what he has to say about the track:
This track was made using only the KingKorg synthesizer. Two of the patches make use of combinations of inharmonic DWGS waves and X-mod/ring mod waves respectively. Various wave combinations were made on the fly during recording, as were LFO amounts and effect settings. This synthesizer shines at real time control.
Mitchell also shares his thoughts on the KingKorg at his site.
The Kingkorg is a great sounding, feature packed synth. I’m waiting for more of them to hit the used market. I saw one on Craigslist list a few months ago for $850. Unfortunately, I had no extra $$ at the time (and still don’t). I just pretend that I have all the synths that I can’t afford.
“Mid-century electronica style.” I’m sorry, but I’m getting a foreshadowing of creeping duckspeak. Yes, it is interesting, and is somewhat evocative of the feelings I usually associate with the droning of sitar and beat of timblas while remaining distinctly Western industrial in timbre, meaning retaining the ambiance and losing all the friendliness. I will assume the “mid-century” is referring to mid-20th Century, even though numerous classical composers have attempted such stylings since the end of the 19th Century.
Cool synth
It’s like an intro to a cool song that never came to fruition. I like the sounds, but why not make a proper track out of it?
Great track and a great advert for the KingKorg too.
This was inspired by Tangerine Dreams most experimental Album ever: Zeit. (german for time) ?