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.

This is part 2 of Mitchell Sigman’s interview with analog synthesis legend Tom Oberheim about the new Oberheim SEM (Synthesizer Expander Module) analog synth module.

See this previous post for part 1 of the Tom Oberheim interview.

The new SEM is available via audioMIDI.com.

Synth music pioneer Klaus Schulze discusses and demonstrates his first synth, an EMS Synthi A analog synthesizer.

via Synthasy2000:

Klaus talks about, and demonstrates, his first synth.

In this AudioMIDI.com interview, electronic music pioneer Tom Oberheim discusses his new Oberheim SEM synthesizer.

This interview with electronic music pioneer Don Buchla is part of a series created by the Red Bull Music Academy.

Don Buchla
Buchla & Associates, San Francisco, USA

Description:

You all know about the Moog. But what about Don Buchla, the Californian synthesizer designer who’s Buchla Series 100 was released mere months after Dr. Moog’s first synth?

His electronic music equipment company, Buchla & Associates, were commissioned by avant garde composers Morton Subotnik and Ramon Sender to create something they could use in live performance – and since then he’s been creating and designing a whole range of unusual electro-acoustic instruments and deeply desirable modular synths. That includes the intriguing Marimba Lumina, the classic 1970 200 Series Electric Music Box or indeed the hot little analogue cutie, 1972s Music Easel. Buchla’s sonic toys combine a colorful aesthetic with supernatural sonic abilities. Genius alert!

Ralph Lundsten’s Andromeda Galaxy may be just about the juiciest slice of quirky retronica goodness that we’ve ever served up at Synthtopia.

This VBS.tv Motherboard video profiles Ralph Lundsten, a Swedish composer of electronic music, film director, artist and author:

Raised in a tiny town north of the arctic circle, Ralph was composing quasi-religious ambient space jams on his homemade analog synths back when Kraftwerk’s ancestors were still banging on bongos. These days he lives in a castle outside of Stockholm that houses all the experimental instruments he’s invented over the years (including the DIMI-S, or “Sexaphone,” which produces tones based on how you feel) as well as Andromeda, his space-age recording studio which looks like the control room for planet earth. It’s also its very own micro-nation, which is like a regular nation but cuter! (And less internationally recognized!)

In this edition of Motherboard, VBS get our passports stamped at the Andromeda Galaxy Embassy and are welcomed into Ralph’s little personal country.

Don’t miss parts 2 & 3 of this trip to Ralph Lundsten’s Andromeda Galaxy, below, or you’ll miss out on the Sexophone!

Ralph Lundsten’s Andromeda Galaxy Part 2

Ralph Lundsten’s Andromeda Galaxy Part 2

Leave a comment with your thoughts on Ralph Lundsten & the Andromeda Galaxy!

According to The Foundation, “attendees will be immersed in an interactive experience guiding them through the work and life of synthesizer pioneer and innovator Bob Moog.”

All proceeds from the evening will benefit the Foundation’s hallmark project, the Moogseum, to be located in Asheville, NC.

Interactive instrument-based exhibits will be set up to connect attendees to the unique sounds and interfaces that helped make the Moog name a legacy in the worlds of science, music and innovation.

Highlights include a “Theremin Tour”, where visitors will be guided by Bob Moog Foundation volunteers to play the early electronic musical instrument in various audio configurations as well as see it used as a video mixing tool, the “Synthesizer Lounge”, comprised of a bay of synthesizers available for attendees to explore and the Moogerfooger Remix Station which will highlight the power of the the Moog signal processing tools. Attendees are encouraged to bring their iPods or other playback devices to remix original music through Moog equipment.

The Interactive Timeline will guide the viewer through specific eras of Moog’s career and document the evolution of the Bob Moog Foundation. The Bob Moog Foundation will unveil a Mini-Moogseum installation to be featured permanently at the Orange Peel. The Mini-Moogseum, a beautiful showcase crafted by Chris Perryman of Domus Aurea Woodworking, will house a small exhibit of the pioneer’s archives, tell the story of his impact on the world of music, highlight his connection to the Asheville community and feature a custom built theremin, designed by Bob’s former student and protege, Steve Dunnington.

Throughout the evening, four Bob Moog Foundation House Bands (comprised of four all-star bands of local artists) will be recording a four song album live on stage. These songs will be recorded as if in a studio with each musician layering their part individually over one another. At the end of the recording process, we will have an EP album ready to be mixed. The songs will then be performed live by each band that recorded them.The original songs composed for the occasion pull from four different genres: acoustic, funk, indie rock and pop.

Jay Sanders will lead the acoustic selection of the evening, with each acoustic instrument being treated to some special Moog electronic processing. Jeff Knorr will use Moog equipment in the creation of a funk song; the drumming, Moog synthesizer as the bass and electric piano will all be processed through Moogerfoogers. Josh Phillips – will feature Josh’s vocals layered on top of Mooged-Out drums, bass and guitar. Joey Szabo will lead a song featuring the Theremin as the lead instrument accompanied by drums, bass, guitar, and vocals.

A silent auction will include such items as a Moog Little Phatty Synthesizer and a full day of recording at Echo Mountain Studios.

Finally, in celebration of the pioneer’s 75th birthday, there will be a display of 10-12 birthday cakes designed and donated by area artisan bakeries. The cakes will be judged by a panel of judges for their originality of design and concept. At the end of the evening, we will be sharing these cakes with all attendees.

For more information on the Moogseum, visit www.moogseum.com

Jean Michel Jarre kicks off his world tour, via a vlog post on his way to Debrecen, Hungary.

Tour info below:

Box office info

04/05/09 – Debrecen, Hungary – F?nix Csarnok (Phoenix Hall)
Venue Capacity: 8,500 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: HUF
Tickets On Sale – http://www.ticketpro.hu/events.php?event=233

05/05/09 – Ostrava, Czech Republic – CEZ Arena
Venue Capacity: 12,000 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: CZK
Tickets On Sale http://www.ticketpro.cz/jnp/

06/05/09 – Wroclaw, Poland – Hala Stulecia (Centennial Hall)
Venue Capacity: 6,000 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: Zloty 175/195
Tickets On Sale – www.livenation.pl

08/05/09 – Aarhus, Denmark – Atletion – NRGi Arena
Venue Capacity: 4,740 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: Kr 595/695/795
Tickets On Sale – www.billetnet.dk

09/05/09 – Herning, Denmark – MCH Messecenter Herning
Venue Capacity: 5,200 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: Kr 550/750/775/975
Tickets On Sale – www.billetnet.dk

11/05/09 – Malmo, Sweden – Malmo Arena
Venue Capacity: 15,000 – Time: 19:30 – Tickets: SEK 470/570
Tickets On Sale – www.ticnet.se

12/05/09 – Goteborg, Sweden – Scandinavium
Venue Capacity: 14,000 – Time: 19:30 – Tickets: SEK 470/570
Tickets On Sale – www.ticnet.se

13/05/09 – Oslo, Norway – Oslo Spektrum
Venue Capacity: 9,700 – Time: 19:30 – Tickets: NOK 450/550
Tickets On Sale – www.billettservice.no

14/05/09 – Stockholm, Sweden – Hovet (The Court)
Venue Capacity: 9,800 – Time: 19:30 – Tickets: SEK 570/670
Tickets On Sale – www.ticnet.se

16/05/09 – Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Areena (Helsinki Arena)
Venue Capacity: 12,000 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: € 68.70/73.70/78.70
Tickets On Sale – www.lippupalvelu.fi

20/05/09 – Glasgow, Scotland – SECC – Clyde Auditorium
Venue Capacity: 3,000 – Time: 19:00 – Tickets: £40/£50
Tickets On Sale – www.secctickets.com & www.seetickets.com

22/05/09 – London, England – Wembley Arena
Venue Capacity: 12,500 – Time: 19:00 – Tickets: £45
Tickets On Sale – www.ticketmaster.co.uk & www.seetickets.com

23/05/09 – Manchester, England – Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena
Venue Capacity: 22,000 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: £43.50
Tickets On Sale – www.ticketmaster.co.uk

24/05/09 – Birmingham, England – National Indoor Arena (NIA)
Venue Capacity: 13,000 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: £43.50
Tickets On Sale – www.seetickets.com

26/05/09 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Heineken Music Hall
Venue Capacity: 5,500 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: € 59/64/69
Tickets On Sale – www.livenation.nl

27/05/09 – Brussels, Belgium – Vorst Nationaal (Forest National)
Venue Capacity: 7,000 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: € 50/55/60/65/75
Tickets On Sale – www.sherpa.be

30/05/09 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion
Venue Capacity: 13,000 – Time: 20:00 – Tickets: CHF 77/88/99/110/130
Tickets On Sale – www.hallenstadion.ch

The theme has been in use in various forms since 1963. The music was composed by Australian Ron Grainer and arranged by vintage synth hottie Delia Derbyshire at the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop. Derbyshire made use of test oscillators, primitive filters and tape manipulation to realize the piece.

For some, the Dr. Who theme is a key piece of electronic music history. For others, it’s a guilty pleasure. No matter what you think, though, it’s one of the most recognizable and memorable themes ever created.

Other themes that came in high in the poll included Star Trek, Thunderbirds, The Twilight Zone, Battlestar Galactica, Quantum Leap and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Gratuitious embed of the original Dr. Who credits below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

AudioLemon found this video which may be the first use of an electronic instrument in a film soundtrack – L’Idee (1932).

It features prominent use of the Ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument, in a score by Arthur Honegger.

Here’s something for the new age fans out there – the video for synth pioneer Suzanne Ciani’s The Velocity Of Love. 

Ciani was one of the first people to explore the world of commercial electronic sound design, and more recently has been creating melodic new age music. 

The video comes from a collection of music videos called Natura Poetica. It is available from Ciani’s online store.

Along with the Raymond Scott brain trust of Irwin Chusid, Jeff Winner and Gert-Jan Blom, I spent last week in Kansas City, MO at the Marr Archives at the University of Missouri Kansas City Miller Nichols Library.  This is the location of thousands of hours of Raymond Scott recordings—he recorded virtually everything  so there are rehearsal recordings, air checks, interviews, phone conversations and of course commercial releases.

Also, in the Special Collections at the Library are thousands of Raymond Scott documents, schematics for the musical inventions and personal and professional still photos.  The whole experience was fascinating!  I shot a lot of material there and am now beginning to integrate it into the rough cut of the film. 

I wonder how these materials made it to Kansas City. If you’ve got any info, let me know in the comments.

Erb’s Reconnaissance, one of the first chamber works for live synthesizer and acoustic instruments, premiered in New York in 1967 with Robert Moog on synthesizer. A more recent work, The Seventh Trumpet, has had more than 200 performances by more than 50 orchestras in the United States and overseas. It incorporates synthesizer, along with non-traditional instruments such as water-filled jugs and wine glasses.

Official Bio:

Donald Erb is Distinguished Professor of Composition, Emeritus, at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He receved his B.S.from Kent State University, his M.M.from The Cleveland Institute of Music, and his D.M.from Indiana University.

One of the most performed American-born composers, he has been featured conductor, composer, and lecturer at over 100 universities and colleges throughout the United States. Erb’s compositions have been presented by the symphony orchestras of Boston, Dallas, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Atlanta, Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Francisco, Denver, Cincinnati, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, New York; New World Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestra (Washington D.C.), as well as many orchestras abroad.

He has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller, Guggenheim, Kulas, Koussevitsky, Fromm, Aaron Copland and Ford Foundations. Erb served as Composer-in-Residence with the Dallas and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, and recently completed a quarter as resident composer at the American Academy in Rome and a term as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Wollongong, Australia.

His works are recorded on Columbia, Nonesuch, CRI, New World, Albany and Vox Turnabout labels. Faculty appointments have included Southern Methodist University and Indiana University.

He was appointed to the CIM faculty in 1952; reappointed as Composer-in-Residence, 1966; Distinguished Visiting Artist, 1986; Distinguished Professor of Composition, 1987.

A Celebration of Life
In The Memory Of John Allen Strange

4:00 pm Saturday, September 13th 2008
Mexican Heritage Plaza
1700 Alum Rock Ave
San Jose, Ca 95116 map

The Strange family would like to invite you to a celebration of life in the memory of Allen Strange. We will be gathering at the San Jose Mexican Heritage Plaza. This facility seems to provide the perfect atmosphere for Allen’s remembrance.

Formal events were not a favorite of Allen’s so this will be casual.
Tie-dyed shirts, shorts and sandals are perfectly acceptable!

There will be an open mic for people to speak, sing or play a tune in Allen’s memory. Appetizers will be available, Mexican of course, as well as beer and wine. This is an open event for anyone who wishes to join us. If you know someone that may be interested, please feel free to pass along the information.

Please RSVP at Allen’s blog.

If anybody wishes to help with this event it would be greatly appreciated.
Please feel free to email Pat at: patstrange1 at gmail.com

via Matrix

Barry Schrader sent me the news, along with this brief bio:

Bebe Barron was born Charlotte Wind in Minneapolis, on June 16, 1925. She received an MA in political science from the University of Minnesota, where she studied composition with Roque Cordero, and she also spent a year studying composition and ethnomusicology at the University of Mexico.

In 1947 she moved to New York and, while working as a researcher for Time-Life, studied composition with Wallingford Reigger and Henry Cowell. That same year, she met and married Louis Barron (1920 – 1989).

Shortly thereafter, the Barrons began their experiments with the recording and manipulation of sound material by means of a tape recorder that they received as a wedding gift. They created a private studio in New York and, in 1955, composed the first electronic music score for a commercial film, Forbidden Planet.

In 1962 the Barrons moved to Los Angeles; they divorced in 1970. In 1973, Bebe married Leonard Neubauer, a screen writer. Bebe became the first Secretary of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) in 1985, and also served on the Board of Directors. In 1997 Bebe was presented the SEAMUS Award for the Barrons life work in the field of electro-acoustic music. She is survived by her husband, Leonard, and her son, Adam.

Bebe’s last public appearance was on January 12, 2008, at an event held at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, celebrating the work of her good friend, Anais Nin. Bebe was too ill to speak in public at this point, but she agreed to be interviewed for a video piece that was shown at the event (below).

Here’s a scene from Forbidden Planet that showcases their score:

How many musicians got their first interest in electronic music from scenes like this?

Schrader also had this to say about the Barron’s approach to music:

They built their own circuits, which they viewed as cybernetic organisms, having been influenced by Norbert Weiner’s work on cybernetics (Cybernetics: Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine).

The circuits, built with vacuum tubes, would exhibit characteristic qualities of pitch, timbre, and rhythm, and had a sort of life cycle from their beginnings until they burned out. The Barrons recorded the sounds from the amplification of these circuits and this formed the basis of their working library.

They also employed tape manipulation techniques as part of their compositional procedures. The sound qualities of these various amplified tube circuits and the tape manipulations that they underwent formed the musical language that the Barrons created in their studio. Unlike some of the work being done elsewhere, the Barrons’ music reveals long phrases, often stated in tape-delayed rhythms, with the stark finesse of the tube circuit timbres. They created a style that was uniquely their own yet married to the technology they were using.

In 1949, the Barrons recorded a full version of Nin’s House of Incest and four stories from Under a Glass Bell. These recordings were pressed on red vinyl and released on the Barrons’ Contemporary Classics record label under the Sound Portraits series.

In this video, her last public speech, Bebe Barron talks about her friend and mentor Anais Nin:

Major works:

• Heavenly Menagerie (1951-52) Tape
• Bells of Atlantis (1952) Film score
• For an Electronic Nervous System (1954) Tape
• Miramagic (1954) Film score
• Forbidden Planet (1956) Videotape or Laserdisc MGM/UA Home Video, 1991
• Jazz of Lights (1956) Film score
• Bridges-Go-Round (1958) one of two alternative soundtracks, the other composed by Teo Macero
• Crystal Growing (1959) Film score
• Music of Tomorrow (1960) Tape
• The Computer Age (1968) Film score
• Time Machine (1970) on Music from the Soundtrack of ‘Destination Moon’ and Other Themes, Cinema Records LP-8005
• Space Boy (1971) Tape; revised and used for film of same name, 1973
• More Than Human (1974) Film score
• Cannabis (1975) Film score
• The Circe Circuit (1982) Tape
• Elegy for a Dying Planet (1982) Tape
• New Age Synthesis II on Totally Wired (1986) Pennsylvania Public Radio Associates Cassette Series
• What’s the Big Hurry? (date unknown) from Sid Davis Productions
• “Mixed Emotions” by Bebe Barron (2000) CD

If you’re interested in finding out more about Bebe & Louis Barron, here are some recommended resources:

• NPR did a profile of the Barrons -The Barrons: Forgotten Pioneers of Electronic Music
• Biography at Dartmouth Music
• Profile at SEAMUS
• The score to Forbidden Planet is their most famous work

Circuit bending is the process of creatively short-circuiting cheap electronic devices such as guitar effects, children’s toys and synthesizers to create new musical instruments and sound generators.

If you’re not familiar with it, you might want to check out this short preview for the circuit bending documentary by Derek Sajbel. The video features Q.R. Ghazala, Nebula Girl, The Shinths, Daedelus, Dave Wright, Cynthia and music by Venetian Snares. It was compiled of footage shot during 2003 (4 years and shooting) of answers to the question “What is Circuit Bending?”

It’s geektacular, it’s DIY and, sometimes, it’s even musical.

TONTO’s Expanding Head Band, made up of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, was an influential electronic music duo from the 1970’s. They only released a few albums, but these recordings, along with their collaborations with musicians such as Stevie Wonder, helped make synths a standard element of modern popular music.

TONTO was a huge multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil. It featured Moog modules, but also modules from other manufacturers and some of Cecil’s own design.

Tonto’s Expanding Head Band’s Zero Time was released in 1971 and, though its sales were relatively small, it was an influential album, foreshadowing the later work of Tangerine Dream and other artists.

Zero Time brough Cecil & Margouleff to the attention of Stevie Wonder, who ended up working with Tonto on Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale and Jungle Fever. It would be hard to overestimate the importance of these collaborations, because they introduced synths to rhythm and blues music, where they have been an important part of the urban sound ever since.

TONTO featured prominently on albums from Quincy Jones, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron and Weather Report, as well as releases from Steve Stills, The Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, Little Feat and Joan Baez.

Amazingly, TONTO and the Expanding Head Band are still active. The band has a web site and even a MySpace page. And the group’s influential 70’s recordings have garnered growing respect.

“How great it is at a time when technology and the science of music is at its highest point of evolution, to have the reintroduction of two of the most prominent forefathers in this music be heard again,” said Stevie Wonder. “It can be said of this work that it parallels with good wine. As it ages it only gets better with time. A toast to greatness… a toast to Zero Time… forever”
Tonto Image via MM

The DVD features a new 2 hour, 3 camera interview; two complete lectures from the Tryptych and Transmediale festivals (also featuring the late Bob Moog) and Transmediale concert with Dana Countryman in high definition widescreen, rare photo gallery and more.

“In the course of reviewing the preliminary interview tapes for our upcoming Dave Smith documentary, we found the depth and breadth of the interview to be of significant worth to music and synth enthusiasts and musicians,” says Lars Sunderflyrr, Product Development VP at No Island Media.

“The Dave Smith documentary was originally set to be released in May 2006, but due to a change in the creative team behind the project there was a significant delay while we waited for an appropriate motion picture director to become available and committed to the project.

The (combined) 90-minute interview, entitled “An Afternoon with Dave Smith,” is being sold through the No Island Media website.

With a new Director and Producer on the project, final production for the Dave Smith documentary is scheduled for late October 2006, with a scheduled release date of November 15, 2006, worldwide. All customers who have pre-ordered, or order, the DVD “An Afternoon with Dave Smith” through the No Island website before October 10, 2006 will receive both versions of the production on DVD—the former being produced and shipped on-demand; the latter to ship on November 15, 2006.