eighties

This is the music video for Herbie Hancock’s monster electronic dance classic, Rockit. It was released as a single from his 1983 album Future Shock.

The song was written by Hancock, bass guitarist Bill Laswell and synthesizer/drum machine programmer Michael Beinhorn.

via limahl81:

Constructed and composed during the recording process at various studios, including Martin Bisi’s in Brooklyn NY, “Rockit” was perhaps the first popular single to feature scratching and other turntablist techniques, performed by GrandMixer D.ST – an influential DJ in the early years of turntablism – using turntables as a musical instrument. Later turntablists, such as DJ Qbert and Mix Master Mike, cited Rockit as revelatory in the documentary film Scratch, inspiring their interest in the instrument.

The record GrandMixer D.ST. used for scratching in Rockit was Change The Beat by B-Side, released in 1982 on Celluloid Records.

Simian Mobile Disco’s video for the retronica Audacity of Huge. Read more…

This video demonstrates the Philips PMC 100 Portable Synthesizer – a Dutch microcomposer/walkman made in the year 1988.

Nightwaves describes the Philips PMC 100 Portable Synthesizer like this:

It has some very thin, laughable beats. There are 100 voices, but to my ears they all sound the same. It’s FM synthesis, which I was never a big fan of, and to my ears many of the sounds are the same.

There is a built in tape deck so you can record your compositions. There are no actual keys, just pressure sensitive “pads”. There are different accompaniment styles, much like those offered by many of the Casio home keyboards of the time. You can also do different things to your compositions such as pitch shift. It runs on 9V DC power, either through adapter or AA batteries.

From what I understand, this thing was a flop in terms of sales, and after listening to it I can understand why. Even by mid 80s standards, this thing is comical. However, it is still a great curio to add to the collection if you are the least bit interested in archaic synth technology. Plus, I’ve used it as a “sling on” keyboard at some of my live gigs, which has gotten some very surprised looks.

via fuckingharpsichord

This video looks at the Casio SK-1: Everyman’s Sampling Keyboard.

The SK-1 is a small sampling keyboard that was made by Casio in 1985. It has 32 mini keys, four-note polyphony, with a sampling bit depth of 8 bit PCM and a sample rate of 9.38 kHz, a built-in microphone and line level input for sampling, and an internal speaker. It also features a small number of four-note polyphonic preset analog and digital instrument voices, and a simple additive voice.

In the video, one man band Willis P. Jenkins demos the SK-1 and explains how he uses it in his music.

via gearwire

Ultravox on Beeb schools prog 1983

This has been edited from the Schools program Science Topics, broadcast in 1983. This episode was title Electronics In Action and contains footage of the band performing on the Oxford Road Show in 1982, tinkering with Lament in the studio and Midge demoing an antique synth.

Great stuff – but what’s up with those sweaters?

via lieutenant030