The Holmes Archive of Electronic Music

• Chapter 30, EMS Analog Synthesizers

  Episode 171 Chapter 30, EMS Analog Synthesizers. Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music  Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes. This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text. The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings. There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast. Let’s get started with the listening guide to Chapter 30, EMS Analog Synthesizers from my book Electronic and Experimental music.   Playlist: MUSIC MADE WITH EMS ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS   Time Track Time Start Introduction –Thom Holmes 01:34 00:00 1.     Delia Derbyshire, “Dance From ‘Noah’ " (1970). Composed for a television program. Used the EMS VCS3. 00:55 01:44 2.     Selections from the demonstration disc, EMS Synthi And The Composer (1971). Excerpts from Harrison Birtwistle, “Medusa,” Peter Zinovieff, “January Tensions,” and Tristram Cary, “Continuum.” 06:15 02:34 3.     Peter Zinovieff and Harrison Birtwistle, “Chronometer” (1971–2). Featured both the EMS Synthi VCS3 and modified sound recordings of the ticking of Big Ben and the chimes of Wells Cathedral clock. 24:23 08:48 4.     Mike Hankinson, “Toccata And Fugue In D Minor” (Bach) (1972) from The Classical Synthesizer. South African record realized using the Putney (EMS) VCS3. 07:04 33:06 5.     Electrophon, “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” (1973) from In a Covent Garden (1973).  Electrophon Music was described as the studio where the electronics were recorded and produced in the UK by Radiophonic musicians Brian Hodgson, Dudley Simpson. A variety of synthesizers were used including the obscure EMS Synthi Range, a multi-effect instrument. 03:04 40:10 6.     The Eden Electronic Ensemble, “Elite Syncopations” (Joplin) (1974) from The Eden Electronic Ensemble Plays Joplin. Realized using the EMS VCS3 and Minimoog synthesizers. 04:53 43:12 7.     Peter Zinovieff, “A Lollipop For Papa” (1974).  Realized with the EMS Synthi AKS. 06:26 48:04 8.     Peter Zinovieff and Hans Werner Henze, “Tristan” (Long Section) (1975). Tape accompaniment realized with the EMS Synthi AKS. 07:40 54:40 9.     J.D. Robb, “Poem of Summer” (1976) from Rhythmania And Other Electronic Musical Compositions. Realized using the EMS Synthi AKS. 02:04 01:02:18 10.   J.D. Robb, “Synthi Waltz” (1976) from Rhythmania And Other Electronic Musical Compositions. Realized using the EMS Synthi AKS and Synthi Sequencer 256 (digital sequencer). 01:52 01:04:24 11.   Bruno Spoerri, “Hymn Of Taurus (Taurus Is Calling You!)” (1978) from Voice Of Taurus. Realized using a host of equipment, including a few EMS instruments: EMS Synthi 100, EMS VCS3, EMS AKS, EMS Vocoder 2000, Alto Saxophone with EMS Pitch-to-voltage Converter & Random Generator, plus the Lyricon, Prophet-5 Polyphonic Synthesizer, ARP Omni & Odyssey, Minimoog, Moog Taurus Bass Pedal, RMI Keyboard Computer, Ondes Martenot , Vako Polyphonic Orchestron, Bode Frequency Shifter, AMS Tape Phase Simulator, Echoplex, Roland Echo, Roland Rhythm Box, Bruno Spoerri. 02:48 01:06:16 12.   Henry Sweitzer, “Open Windows” (1979) from Te Deum.  Realized with the EMS Synthi AKS. 11:11 01:09:02 13.   Eduard Artemyev, Yuri Bogdanov, Vladimir Martynov, “Le Vent Dans La Plaine,” “Io Mi Son Giovinetta,” and “Why Ask You?” (1980) from Metamorphoses. Composed and realized using the EMS Synthi 100, a large synthesizer unit combining several EMS3 models and connecting circuitry. 08:38 01:20:14 14.   Jean-Michel Jarre, “Les Chants Magnétiques,” (side 1) (1981) from Les Chants Magnétiques. Portions realized with the EMS Synthi AKS, EMS Synthi VCS3, and EMS Vocoder 1000. 17:58 01:28:52 15.   Alessandro Cortini and Merzbow, “AAMC” (2017) from Alessandro Cortini And Merzbow. Recent recording with all sounds realized using a vintage EMS Synthi AKS. 04:49 01:46:40   Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes. My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022. See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation. For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations. Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.  

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• Chapter 29, Buchla Analog Synthesizers

  Episode 170 Chapter 29, Buchla Analog Synthesizers. Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music  Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes. This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text. The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings. There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast. Let’s get started with the listening guide to Chapter 29, Buchla Analog Synthesizers from my book Electronic and Experimental music.   Playlist: MUSIC MADE WITH BUCHLA ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS   Time Track Time Start Introduction –Thom Holmes 01:38 00:00 1.     Morton Subotnick, “Prelude No. 4” (1966). Early work for piano and electronic tape using sounds created on the Buchla 100. Pianist, Richard Bunger, recorded in 1973 (Buchla tape from 1966). 05:15 01:40 2.     Morton Subotnick, “Silver Apples of the Moon” (Part 1) (1966). First commissioned work of electronic music from Nonesuch Records. 04:23 08:32 3.     Gerry Olds, “4/3 + 1” (1967). Jazz mixed with electronics created on the Buchla 100 at a San Francisco Tape Music Center Concert. 11:19 12:58 4.     Buffy Sainte- Marie, “Better To Find Out For Yourself” and “The Vampire” (1969). Electronic “settings,” processing of Sainte-Marie’s voice and guitar done on Buchla 100 modular systems (3 units) used by Michael Czajkowski at the electronic music studio of NYU. 04:39 24:16 5.     Douglas Leedy, “Entropical Paradise” (1970). Sonic environments created by the Moog and Buchla modular synthesizers. 20:09 28:52 6.     George Marsh, “Wind Borne” (1973). Prepared Buchla 200 Synthesizer with sequencing, George Marsh. 08:28 49:06 7.     David Rosenboom and Donald Buchla, “How Much Better If Plymouth Rock Had Landed On The Pilgrims, Section V” (1978). Buchla modular synthesizers by composer Rosenboom and the inventor himself, Donald Buchla. 22:47 57:34 8.     Morton Subotnick, “The Last Dream of the Beast” (1978, 1982, 1984). Featured the Buchla 400. 14:47 01:20:20 9.     Mel Powell, “Three Synthesizer Settings” (1981). Moog and Buchla synthesizers. 08:47 01:35:06 10.   Morton Subotnick, “A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur, Opening” (1980). Buchla 200 and Subotnick’s “ghost shadow electronics.” 11:15 01:43:51   Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes. My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022. See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation. For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations. Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.

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• Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 2

  Episode 169 Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 2. Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music  Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes. This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text. The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings. There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast. Let’s get started with the listening guide to Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 2 from my book Electronic and Experimental music.   Playlist: CLASSIC SYNTHESIZER ROCK— FROM TAPE COMPOSITION TO SYNTHESIZERS   Time Track Time Start Introduction –Thom Holmes 01:34 00:00 1.     The Beatles, “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966). Tape loops and Lennon’s voice fed through the rotating Leslie speaker of a Hammond organ. 02:57 01:42 2.     Spooky Tooth and Pierre Henry, “Have Mercy” (1969). Featured tape composition by the French composer of musique concrète as part of a collaborative rock opera. 07:55 04:40 3.     Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, “Lucky Man” (1971). Featured the Moog Modular played by Keith Emerson; one of the first rock hits in which a Moog was the featured solo instrument. 04:39 12:34 4.     Yes, “Roundabout” (1971). Featured the Minimoog, Mellotron, Hammond Organ and other electronic keyboards played by Rick Wakeman. 08:33 17:10 5.     Elton John, “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” (1973). Featured the ARP 2600 played by Dave Henschel. 11:10 25:42 6.     David Bowie, “Speed of Light” (1977). Produced by Brian Eno. Used an EMS AKS synthesizer and Eventide H910 harmonizer for the electronic effects and sounds. 02:47 36:46 7.     Gary Wright, “Touch and Gone” (1977).  Used Polymoog, Clavinet, Oberheim, and Fender-Rhodes electronic keyboards. 03:58 39:32 8.     Gary Numan, “Cars” (1979).  Early synth-rock success using electronic keyboards without guitar. Multiple Polymoog synthesizers. 03:52 43:28 9.     The Art of Noise, “(Who’s Afraid Of?) The Art of Noise” (1984). Art rock devised by Anne Dudley and Trevor Horn exploring the sampling capabilities of the Fairlight CMI. 04:23 47:20 10.   Grace Jones, “Slave to the Rhythm” (1985). Featured the Synclavier programmed and played by Trevor Horn. 09:39 51:43   Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes. My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022. See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation. For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations. Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.

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  58:53
• Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 1

  Episode 168 Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 1. Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music  Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes. This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text. The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings. There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast. Let’s get started with the listening guide to Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 1 from my book Electronic and Experimental music.   Playlist: EARLY MOOG RECORDINGS (BEFORE 1970)   Time Track Time Start Introduction –Thom Holmes 01:32 00:00 1.     Emil Richards and the New Sound Element, “Sapphire (September)” from Stones (1967). Paul Beaver played Moog and Clavinet on this album by jazz-pop mallet player Richards, who also contributed some synthesizer sounds. 02:21 01:44 2.     Mort Garson, “Scorpio” (1967) from Zodiac Cosmic Sounds (1967). Mort Garson and Paul Beaver. Incorporated Moog sounds among it menagerie of instruments. Garson went on to produce many solo Moog projects. 02:53 04:04 3.     Hal Blaine, “Kaleidoscope (March)” from Psychedelic Percussion(1967). Hal Blaine and Paul Beaver. Beaver provided Moog and other electronic treatments for this jazzy percussion album by drummer Blaine. 02:20 06:58 4.     The Electric Flag, “Flash, Bam, Pow” from The Trip soundtrack (1967). Rock group The Electric Flag. Moog by Paul Beaver. 01:27 09:18 5.     The Byrds, “Space Odyssey” (1968) from The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968).  Produced by Gary Usher who was acknowledged for having included the Moog on this rock album, with tracks such as, “Goin’ Back” (played by Paul Beaver), “Natural Harmony,” and unreleased track “Moog Raga.” 03:47 10:48 6.     The Monkees, “Daily Nightly” from Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones Ltd. (1967). Moog effects provided by Micky Dolenz of the Monkees and Paul Beaver. 02:29 14:40 7.     Jean Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley, “The Savers,” a single taken from Kaleidoscopic Vibrations (1967). The first Moog album by this duo known for their electro-pop songs. 01:48 17:08 8.     Wendy Carlos, “Chorale Prelude "Wachet Auf" from Switched-On Bach (1968). The most celebrated Moog album of all time and still the gold standard for Moog Modular performances. 03:34 18:54 9.     Mike Melvoin, “Born to be Wild” from The Plastic Cow Goes Moooooog (1969). Moog programming by Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause. 03:03 22:28 10.   Sagittarius, “Lend Me a Smile” from The Blue Marble (1969). This was a studio group headed by Gary Usher, producer of The Byrds, who used the Moog extensively on this rock album. 03:09 25:30 11.   The Zeet Band, “Moogie Woogie” from the album Moogie Woogie(1969). Electronic boogie and blues by an ensemble including Paul Beaver, Erwin Helfer, Mark Naftalin, “Fastfingers” Finkelstein, and Norman Dayron. 02:43 28:40   Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes. My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022. See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation. For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations. Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.

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  32:19
• Chapter 27, Computer Music (1971–2014)

  Episode 167 Chapter 27, Computer Music (1971–2014). Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music  Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes. This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text. The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings. There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast. Let’s get started with the listening guide to Chapter 27, Computer Music (1971–2014) from my book Electronic and Experimental music.   Playlist: EARLY MUSIC FROM MICROPROCESSORS   Time Track Time Start Introduction –Thom Holmes 01:36 00:00 1.     David Behrman, “Figure in a Clearing” (1977). KIM- 1 computer- controlled harmonic changes for 33 electronic generators and accompanying cello. 19:10 01:40 2.     Dorothy Siegel, “Rondo from Sonata in B flat for Clarinet and Piano” (by Wanhal) (1979). Realized using an Altair S- 100 microcomputer. 03:53 20:52 3.     Larry Fast, “Artificial Intelligence” (1980). Music generated by a microcomputer self- composing program. 10:46 24:44 4.     Laurie Spiegel, “A Harmonic Algorithm” (1981). Created on an Apple II computer with Mountain Hardware oscillator boards. 03:05 35:30 5.     Nicolas Collins, “Little Spiders” (1982). For two microcomputers equipped with gestural sensing programs, that generated sounds based on analysis of keystrokes. 04:46 38:30 6.     Gordon Mumma, “Than Particle” (1985). For computer percussion and a percussionist. 10:16 43:30 7.     Morton Subotnick, “And the Butterflies Begin to Sing” (1988). For string quartet, bass, MIDI keyboard, and microcomputer. 06:38 53:50 8.     John Bischoff, Mark Trayle, Tim Perkis, “Dovetail” (1989). Three microcomputer programs interact and respond to each other in real time. 05:04 01:00:30 9.     Tim Perkis, “Wax Lips” (1992). Performed by The Hub, an electronic music ensemble networked by a Microcomputer. 04:37 01:05:32 10.   Jin Hi Kim, “Digital Buddha” (2014), recorded live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Electric komungo, Jin Hi Kim; percussion, Gerry Hemingway; MAX/MSP programming, Alex Noyes. The world’s first electric komungo that his equipped with MIDI and controlled using MAX. The komungo is a traditional 6-string instrument from Korea. 12:33 01:10:08   Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes. My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022. See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation. For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations. Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.

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