synth music

Sunday Synth Jams: A faithful cover of Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygene 13, played by GroovBird.

Three things to note about this video:

• GroovBird proves you don’t have to have awesome vintage gear to play classic synth music, if you’ve got some good gear and, more importantly, a good ear.
• Oxygen 13 was released in 1997, 20 years after Jarre’s original Oxygène, yet it matches the original album seamlessly.
  
• Jarre is one of the few artists that explicitly authorizes and encouragse fans to make covers and cover videos of his music for non-commercial use. Kudos to Jarre for a classy call on that.

Gear details below. Read more…

It’s Sunday! That means we take a slight break from the non-stop electronic music news coverage and break out the Sunday Synth Jams – new and classic examples of musicians making interesting music with synths and electronic music gear.

You may have seen this one before, because it’s a vintage synth jam from 1977. But it’s Klaus Schulze at his Moogtacular prime…..

If you ever need a definition of Berlin School electronica, this is it!

Tune in, turn on and space out as Klaus Schulze plays live, WDR Köln 1977.

For Schulze fans only: Leave a comment and let me know what your favorite Schulze album is! Read more…

Want to get into electronic music, but you’re not sure where to start?

Well – you could do worse than reading the archives of Synthtopia and checking out Computer Music magazine’s Make Synth Music special.

I haven’t seen a copy of this yet, but it looks like it should be a good intro to synth music.

All the software you need is on the included disc, along with ten video tutorials .

Features:

• The history of synth music
• Synthesis fundamentals
• How to create classic riffs and cutting-edge sounds, step-by-step
• Free start-up synth kit – everything you need to create your own sounds with your PC or Mac
• Ten exclusive CM video tutorials on disc

This is a teaser video for Retrotech, an electronic music concert composed and performed live by keyboardists Carlos Trilha and André Dessandes.

Retrotech recalls the “belle epoque” of electronic music.

Details:

On stage, Trilha and Dessandes use synthesizers, analogue sequencers and drum machines from the 70’s and early 80’s. These historical instruments evoke the origin of characteristic electronic sounds that are now widely used in many types of pop and electronic music.

A unique detail of this production is that they do not use loops or sound libraries. All the sounds are created from real instruments and are first generation, allowing Retrotech to make a striking reinterpretation of the classic sound of electronic music.

In addition, Retrotech also uses a special set of projection images from generative code (created in real time), synchronized by software written with MAX/MSP/JITTER by ALESSANDRA MARFISA specially for each performance.

Sunday Synth Jam: Here’s an ambient/space music jam, with a side of Berlin School sequencing, via Tom Bedlam:

Dark Equinox

Live performance 24.09.09.
Tom on all synths,Mellotron and programming.
Visuals by the Invisible Collage

Bedlam says that he’ s alive and reasonably sentient, and likes people who like to collaborate on musical projects. See his Vimeo page for more info and music videos.