Sunday Synth Jam: Sound designer Diego Stocco is always doing something amazing and this short promo piece is no exception.

If you’ve been dreaming about a new synth or new app, see what Stocco does with a bunch of old junk:

A short abstract piece created during one of the sessions I did for an upcoming project.
I used an old dismantled piano, antique zithers collected in the past few months and metallic wind chimes. Played with piano hammers and a dulcimer bow.

See more of Stocco’s videos at his Vimeo site.

This is Paul Shillito’s Tomita-style version of Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring Introduction.

Shillito calls this his classitonic style – influenced by the electronic interpretations of classical music done by Isao Tomita and Wendy Carlos in the late 60’s and 70’s.

He plans a complete version of The Rite Of Spring.

Soft synths used on this included the Arturia Minimoog V2, Arturia Moog Modular, Arturia Jupiter 8V, Arturia Yamaha CS80V and soundtoys effects.

via paulshillitomusic:

Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring – Introduction.

Done in my Classitronic style, Classitronic is what I call electronic classical music with my style being heavily influenced by Isao Tomita.

This is the first part of the classic Stravinsky ballet The Rite of Spring which caused a near riot when it was premiered in Paris on May 29th 1913.

The rest of this work is to follow, so watch this space

The guru of symphonic electronica, Vangelis, demonstrates his approach to virtual orchestration in this video, Vangelis and the Journey to Ithaca.

If anyone has more information on this video, leave a comment!

Imaginary Landscapes is a profile of visionary composer, artist and producer Brian Eno. It brings into focus Eno’s seemingly disparate work in sound, vision and light, and explores his music in visual terms, based on landscapes and images that have shaped his life as an artist.

John Cage is the subject of a new museum exhibition in Barcelona. The exhibit looks at Cage’s works in various media and his impact on all forms of contemporary art.

The New Yorker’s Alex Ross shares his thoughts on the highlights of the exhibit – but also raises this conundrum:

The great oddity of twentieth-century art history is that while Rauschenberg, Jackson Pollock, and other radical postwar painters are almost universally hailed as masters, their works drawing huge crowds in museums, Cage is still often treated as a freak or a charlatan.

The distinction makes no intellectual sense, but there it is.

It is striking that someone as influential as Cage – as a composer, author, electronic music pioneer and artist – hasn’t found an audience that reflects his influence.

Ross is right. Many people that might appreciate Rauschenberg or Pollock would cringe at the idea of sitting through a concert of Cage’s works.

Maybe the answer to Ross’s conundrum is as simple as this: you can’t close your ears.

If you see a painting that’s confrontational, ugly or incomprehensible, you can close your eyes or walk away. You are in control of the experience.

At a concert of music by an artist like Cage, you can’t close your ears or move on to the next thing. You aren’t in control of your experience – you can just react to it.

This seems to be a fundamental challenge of electronic music (and to a certain degree, music in general); when anything is possible, how do you create music that is original, yet still has the power to seduce someone’s ear?

via disquiet; Image: fallwithme

What The Future Sounded Like is a documentary about the the people of EMS (Electronic Music Studios) a radical group of avant-garde electronic musicians who utilized technology and experimentation to compose a futuristic electronic sound-scape for the New Britain.

Comprising of pioneering electronic musicians Peter Zinovieff and Tristram Cary (famed for his work on the Dr Who series) and genius engineer David Cockerell, EMS studio was one of the most advanced computer-music facilities in the world.

EMS’s great legacy is the VCS3, Britain’s first synthesizer and rival of the American Moog. The VCS3 changed the sounds of some of the most popular artists of this period including Brian Eno, Hawkwind and Pink Floyd.

via bananimalistic:

Current.tv’s interview with Thievery Corporation goes from Washington, DC’s monuments and into the DJ duo’s custom studio, nightclub and restaurant.

Thievery Corporation’s Rob Garza and Eric Hilton show off the school tour version of DC – the White House, the Treasury Department, and the Washington Monument – calling it a “Disneyworld set for people to feel good about.” They also flash back to Operation Ceasefire, an event they DJ’d on the National Mall at the beginning of the Iraq War, which was quickly followed by an IRS audit of the band. But still, they’ve stuck close to home instead of moving to more traditional centers for music and entertainment.

via Current

It’s hard to imagine how different the world of electronic music would be without Wendy Carlos, who switched on the world with her Switched On Bach, scored Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, created the sound of the digital world Tron and explored alternate tunings in several influential albums.

Before Brian Eno brought ambient music to a mass audience in the mid to late 70s, Carlos released 1972’s Sonic Seasonings, which combined ambient environmental sounds with synthesized ones.

Carlos has created some of the most influential electronic works of the last 40 years.

If you haven’t heard much of the work of Wendy Carlos, some good places to start are her Switched-On Brandenburgs, Switched On Bach 2000 and her soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange.

via Sabine

Inventor, author and futurist Ray Kurzweil appeared on I’ve Got a Secret in 1965, when he was 17 years old, demonstrating his music-composing computer.

Here are some impressions of the September Tour 2009 that Klaus Schulze did together with Lisa Gerrard.

via KlausSchulzeMusic:

Filmed by James L. Frachon – MyGale Films.Klaus will return live on the 20th and 21st of March 2010. Klaus will perform two nights Solo in Tokyo, Japan.

This excellent documentary looks at how a radical generation of musicians created a new German musical identity out of the cultural ruins of war.

Featured musicians include Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze and Faust.

You can view the first part above. See the rest on YouTube – while you can.

Description:

Between 1968 and 1977 bands like Neu!, Can, Faust and Kraftwerk would look beyond western rock and roll to create some of the most original and uncompromising music ever heard. They shared one common goal – a forward-looking desire to transcend Germany’s gruesome past – but that didn’t stop the music press in war-obsessed Britain from calling them Krautrock.

Motherboard meets up with Ramble John Krohn, better known as the musician/producer RJD2 and the guy who helped write the theme song to Mad Men.

While RJD2 bakes an apple-raspberry cobbler a la mode, he gives a tour of his home studio, shows off his insane collection of gear, including a Yamaha CS-80, his Hammond Organ, modular processors, amplifiers, filters, compressors, and all sorts of vintage goodies.

Synthmeister Dieter Doepfer demonstrates his little friend – the tiny, but mighty, Doepfer Dark Energy analog synthesizer.

via Synthiefrau

Synth Britannia is a BBC documentary about synth music in the UK.

VideodromeDisco posted this to YouTube – so you might want to watch it right now.

OT: Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh has created a line of art rugs that features his designs.

I’ve got an uncontrollable urge to get one of these for the Synthtopia studio…..

Devo has also announced plans for a series of live shows and some deluxe box set reissues.

via wired

Thomas P Heckmann’s studio is more than just a working studio – it’s a synthesizer museum with a fantastic collection of some of the hottest synths ever made.

This video, in German with subtitles, features Heckmann talking about his music, his amazing synthesizer museum and why he prefers making music with vintage synthesizers.

via robotstv, rebellen

In this short interview, prior to a performance with Ferry Corsten, BT explains why he’s not a DJ, discusses his influences and talks about some of the crazy stuff he did with electronics when he was a kid.

via ferrycorstenofficial

Armin Van Buuren again reigns supreme, with Tiësto and David Guetta following in the #2 & #3 positions.

Here are the Top 10 DJs:

1. Armin van Buuren
2. Tiesto
3. David Guetta
4. Above & Beyond
5. Paul van Dyk
6. Deadmau5
7. Ferry Corsten
8. Markus Schulz
9. Gareth Emery
10. Sander van Doorn

Check out the full list below, and then leave a comment with your thoughts!

The Top 100 DJs For 2009

1. Armin van Buuren
2. Tiesto
3. David Guetta
4. Above & Beyond
5. Paul van Dyk
6. Deadmau5
7. Ferry Corsten
8. Markus Schulz
9. Gareth Emery
10. Sander van Doorn
11. ATB (
12. Infected Mushroom
13. Sasha
14. Axwell
15. Andy Moor
16. Bobina
17. John Digweed
18. Carl Cox
19. Cosmic Gate
20. Steve Angello
21. Roger Shah
22. Aly & Fila
23. Paul Oakenfold
24. John O’Callaghan
25. Sebastian Ingrosso
26. Benny Benassi
27. Laidback Luke
28. Richie Hawtin
29. Fedde Le Grand
30. DJ Feel
31. Lange
32. Hernan Cattaneo
33. Daft Punk
34. Eric Prydz
35. Bob Sinclar
36. Joachim Garraud
37. Kyau & Albert
38. James Zabiela
39. Umek
40. Christopher Lawrence
41. Eddie Halliwell
42. Simon Patterson
43. Offer Nissim
44. Judge Jules
45. Sean Tyas
46. Dubfire
47. Martin Solveig
48. Sven Vath
49. Richard Durand
50. Marco V
51. Kaskade
52. Tydi
53. Erick Morillo
54. Matt Darey
55. Astrix
56. Menno de Jong
57. The Thillseekers
58. Nick Warren
59. Dirty South
60. Roger Sanchez
61. Mark Knight
62. Wally Lopez
63. Leon Bolier
64. Blank & Jones
65. Justice
66. Laurent Wolf
67. Astral Projection
68. Boys Noize
69. Ronski Speed
70. Sander Kleinenberg
71. Ricardo Villalobos
72. Chuckie
73. Sharam
74. Marcel Woods
75. Lisa Lashes
76. Moonbeam
77. Rank 1
78. Sebastien Leger
79. Marcus Schossow
80. Steve Lawler
81. Skazi
82. Super8 & Tab
83. Pete Tong
84. Tocadisco
85. Sied van Riel
86. Tiga
87. Daniel Kandi
88. Mike Koglin
89. Luciano
90. Yahel
91. Myon & Shane 54
92. John B
93. Simon Posford
94. Fatboy Slim
95. Robbie Rivera
96. Antoine Clamaran
97. Nic Fanciulli
98. Gui Boratto
99. Alex M.O.R.P.H.
100. Andy C

Image: BryanSereny

DJMag via InTheMix

Dreamscapes, for shofar, rainstick, mbira, Peruvia ocarina, didgeridoo and computer-generated sounds.

Composed & Performed by Herbert Deutsch. Deutsch is an American composer and professor emeritus of electronic music and composition at Hofstra University.

In the 1960’s Deutsch collaborated with Bob Moog in the invention of the Moog modular synthesizer.

via scootermccrae:

Composed in 1995 and dedicated to Albert Tepper.

Sunday Synth Jam: Dubit’s Ableton Live IDM jam.

Video a fine Promozionale per Performance Live Set
Genere: IDM|Experimental|Minimalist

Software:

• Ableton Live

Instruments:

• PC|Portable Toshiba
• M-Audio
• EMU X-Board 49
• BCF2000

via Dubit