Electronic Music

Alex Ball has built a reputation as one of the most informative and interesting synth historian’s of the YouTube age. Starting with short videos about specific instruments, his work began to grow into more in-depth and elaborate explorations of the companies behind the instruments and the people who used them.Over the last year or so, Alex has been busy producing one of the most detailed examinations of the ARP company, it’s founder Alan R Pearlman, and the numerous people involved in making the American synthesizer manufacturer one of the most revered brands in the industry. This documentary film was made for, and with the full support of, the Alan R Pearlman Foundation, headed up by Alan’s daughter, Dina Pearlman.Chapters00:00 - Intro and music featuring the ARP family of synths by Alex Ball00:50 - About Alex03:45 - The Terminator 2 Analysis05:40 - Meeting Heroes06:02 - How did the ARP documentary happen?12:49 - How long was the process?15:45 - MUSIC CLIP: ARP family of synths by Alex Ball16:05 - What are your research methods?18:21 - Alternate truths20:24 - Tracking down the gear22:11 - Addendums and the ARP Avatar23:44 - MUSIC CLIP: ’Interlude’ by Drew Schlesinger & David Torn featuring the ARP Avatar24:14 - ARP Centaur 626:21 - Where do you see synth documentaries going?31:06 - What’s next in Alex Ball’s world?33:39 - What would you love to make a documentary about?35:40 - Outro music featuring the ARP Solina by Alex BallLink to the YouTube video. https://youtu.be/l31RXiVSI9sCreditsARP Avatar excerpt: ”Interlude" by Drew Scheslnger & David Torn from the album 'Summer Synthesis 1978’Used by kind permission(C) 2020 Synthetic Productions Music(P) Synthetic Productions Music / BMI(P) Torn Music / BMIAvailable at drewschlesinger-davidtorn.bandcamp.com With thanks to the https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/Alex Ball BiogBy day, Alex Ball is an award-winning media composer, producer and instrumentalist. By night, Alex explores his passion for synthesizers and the history of music technology and has made documentaries covering the stories of the Roland Corporation, ARP Instruments, the Prophet Synthesizers, the Linn LM-1 digital drum machine as well as breakdowns of iconic film scores such as Terminator 2, Escape from New York and Predator. www.alexballmusic.comRob PuricelliRob Puricelli is a Music Technologist and Instructional Designer who has a healthy obsession with classic synthesizers and their history. In conjunction with former Fairlight Studio Manager, Peter Wielk, he fixes and restores Fairlight CMI’s so that they can enjoy prolonged and productive lives with new owners.He also writes reviews and articles for his website, failedmuso.com, and other music-related publications, and has guested on a number of music technology podcasts and shows. He can often be found at various synthesizer shows demonstrating his own collection of vintage music technology.www.failedmuso.comCatch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

David Vorhaus of White Noise chats with Rob Puricelli about his early involvement with the Fairlight CMI and his Kaleidophon ribbon controller and Maniac sequencer inventions.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:31 - Peter Vogel and the Fairlight CMI01:51 - First Fairlight in the UK03:25 - That Fairlight sound05:32 - Stravinsky Firebird Suite, London Philharmonia06:38 - The KPM albums08:25 - Working with Delia Derbyshire11:15 - Early technological limitations13:20 - Sequential Circuits14:56 - 12 bit sampling16:27 - The Kaleidophon18:40 - Interlude19:05 - The Maniac sequencer21:59 - Modern sampling24:35 - Using Reaktor25:50 - Sample libraries vs sound design28:17 - Creating something uniquePhotographs on our website.https://www.soundonsound.com/people/david-vorhaus-podcastDavid Vorhaus BiogAn experimental electronic musician with a background in Physics and Electronic Engineering, David Vorhaus has been a pioneer of electronic music in Britain for over 30 years. In 1968 he formed the band White Noise with Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson of the Radiophonic Workshop. Their debut release, An Electric Storm, has since garnered cult status and is recognised by Island Records as being an important album in its genre. One of his early samples on the Fairlight CMI was of an orchestral stab, taken from a recording of Stravinsky's Firebird by the Philharmonia Orchestra, that has since become the most used sample in music history. As a bassist with no interest in playing keyboards, David developed the Kaleidophon ribbon controller and the Maniac analogue sequencer, something he has since rebuilt in digital form using Reaktor.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Noise_(band)Rob PuricelliRob Puricelli is a Music Technologist and Instructional Designer who has a healthy obsession with classic synthesizers and their history. In conjunction with former Fairlight Studio Manager, Peter Wielk, he fixes and restores Fairlight CMI’s so that they can enjoy prolonged and productive lives with new owners.He also writes reviews and articles for his website, failedmuso.com, and other music-related publications, and has guested on a number of music technology podcasts and shows. He can often be found at various synthesizer shows demonstrating his own collection of vintage music technology.www.failedmuso.comCatch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this first episode, join composer and electronic musician Caro C in conversation with Suzanne Ciani, a synthesizer and electronic music legend who has been active since the 1960's.Suzanne provided futuristic sound design for advertising in the 1970’s such as that iconic Coca-Cola bottle opening sound that many of us will be familiar with. She’s also composed the soundtrack for a Hollywood movie and is a Grammy nominated artist. Suzanne’s career is very much still flourishing as she tours around the world and releases music on Andy Votel’s Finders Keepers label. In this interview, Suzanne talks about her path into electronic music, her deep relationship with the Buchla synthesiser and how quadrophonic sound is the natural home for electronic music.Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:00 - Interlude01:55 - Greetings02:17 - Path into Electronic Music04:11 - Working for Buchla05:03 - From Pianist to electronics05:52 - Adding a keyboard06:14 - Connecting to analogue06:38 - Career revival07:37 - The Theremin08:53 - Ongoing relationship with the Buchla10:04 - Learning an instrument over time11:48 - Travelling with electronic instruments12:11 - Other instruments - Prophet V, Moog One, Moog Subharmonicon14:28 - Interlude14:35 - Natural world sound palette15:44 - Synthesizing natural sounds16:48 - Andy Votel, Finders Keepers, Denali17:45 - Trawling the vault18:56 - Unearthing past recordings19:47 - Electronic music lineage, Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram21:01 - Role of females in Electronic Music creation23:45 - Freedom and control24:19 - Quadrophonic sound27:46 - Interactive music30:17 - EndingSee the SOS website page for photos https://www.soundonsound.com/people/suzanne-ciani-podcastSuzanne Ciani BiogSuzanne is a five-time Grammy award nominated composer, electronic music pioneer, and neo-classical recording artist whose work has been featured in countless commercials, video games, and feature films. Over the course of her 40+ year career, she's released 16 solo albums, including "Seven Waves," "The Velocity of Love," and most recently, her comeback quadraphonic Buchla modular synth performance recording “LIVE Quadraphonic.” She’s provided the voice and sounds for Bally's groundbreaking "Xenon" pinball machine, created Coca-Cola’s pop-and-pour sound, designed Atari’s sound logo, played concerts all over the globe, and carved out a niche as one of the most creatively successful female composers in the world. A Life in Waves, a documentary about Ciani’s life and work, debuted at SXSW in 2017 and is available to watch on all digital platforms. https://www.sevwave.comhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Cianihttps://www.finderskeepersrecords.com/Caro C BiogCaro C is an artist, engineer and teacher specialising in electronic music. She started making music thanks to being laid up whilst living in a double decker bus and listening to Warp Records in the late 1990's. This "sonic enchantress" (BBC Radio 3) has now played in most of the cultural hotspots of her current hometown of Manchester, UK. Caro is also the instigator and project manager of electronic music charity Delia Derbyshire Day.URL: http://carocsound.com/Twitter: @carocsoundInst: @carocsoundFB: https://www.facebook.com/carocsound/Delia Derbyshire Day Charity: https://deliaderbyshireday.comCatch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Introducing the Sound On Sound Podcasts. Yes, that’s podcasts, because we’re launching three dedicated channels each with their own series of episodes to keep you entertained throughout each month.You’ll hear interviews, features, discussion, opinion and occasional demos of the gear we’re reviewing from many of the SOS magazine staff and our expert Freelance team.The Electronic Music channel is for everyone interested in synths, samplers and the world of electronic music.You should also hop over to our other channels and subscribe there for even more shows.The Recording & Mixing channel takes the practical approach and will keep you inspired with expert hints and tips.The People & Music Industry channel will feature the great and good in engineering, production and manufacturing.We launch our first two shows on May 21st so subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.All shows are mastered to the highest quality the podcast channel will support and are in stereo.Check out our website page for further details www.soundonsound.com/podcasts