The New Sound of Music is a vintage BBC documentary (1979) that looks at the development of recorded music, from the first barrel organs, pianolas, the phonograph, the magnetic tape recorder on to the concepts of musique concrete and electronic music.
This vintage audio demo (1973) for the Electronic Music Studios Putney VCS 3 features Tony Luisi explaining the features of the analog synth and introducing some great ‘switched on’ era audio demos.
The VCS 3 is a three-oscillator portable matrix synthesizer, originally designed in 1969.
Reader Andre Redert sends word of Cylon Voice – an iOS app that is designed to do one thing – turn your voice into a Cylon’s:
As fans of the 70′s Battlestar Galactica Cylons, we put all our effort into creating the app “Cylon Voice” for iPhone/iPad. It emulates the analog vintage vocoders (EMS) that were used to create Cylon voices, in real-time.
Features:
This isn’t designed to be a full-featured vocoder (and MIDI support is missing in action). But as music toy apps go, Cylon voice looks like fun for anybody of a certain age.
“By your commmand!”
It’s $1.99 in the App Store.
UK’s Electronic Music Studios is shipping new versions of the EMS Synthi A suitcase synthesizer, according to TheSynthi:
The Synthi A’s have started shipping. These are photos were kindly sent to me by someone who has been on the waiting list since 1998. He received it a few days ago..
You’ll notice it still retains the Bulgin AC socket and there is no prestopatch socket. I think keeping the Bulgin socket is good idea on a Synthi A(S) as an IEC socket would look out of place to my eyes.. Pity the prestopatch connector wasn’t kept though..
Anyway the buyer also had Robin add a bunch of mods before shipping it :-
Osc sync on Osc 2
Hi/lo frequency range on all 3 oscillators
Osc 3 stabilisation (this is done as standard for Osc 1 & 2)
VC shape on Osc 2 & 3
Patchable inverter
Switchable filter mode 18/24 dB
Switchable filter unslew
VC filter response
If you’re interested in getting a new Synthi A, make sure you note this buyer’s wait time.
This playlist of videos, via Abstructure, captures The Putney VHS, which was released on FAX +49-69/450464 records in 1995:
Only 500 Copies PAL format and 500 copies in NTSC format were made.
This video was created by using an EMS Videosizer which is fed with musical information in order to produce and treat color, shape, lightness and contrast of the visual information.
Pete Namlook is a purist. He never wanted to release a video with grinning musicians fuzzing around with their instruments or 3D animation which has not the timeless quality. More Important is the direct connection to the music.Visuals not as an explanation of the sound but more an enhancement and intensification of the overall musical experience.
Operator at the machine was Ludwig Rehberg except Video 1 (Pete Namlook).
This set of videos captures Alka’s improvisations on the EMS Synthi AKS Mk 1 analog synthesizer.
The EMS Synthi AKS has been in production, if only with extremely limited availability, since 1972. It’s notable for its suitcase design, matrix synthesizer patching and popularity with synth pioneers, including Brian Eno, Jean Michel Jarre and Pink Floyd.