Archive for the ‘Equipment’ Category
Equipment: 3-2-1 Contact with Suzanne Ciani (1980)
Hot damn!
What a wonderful (and sultry) explanation! Geared toward kids, this is a clear and ultimately human view of our relationship with synthesizers.
Embedding was disabled on the higher quality video. Lame.
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Robot Rock du Jour: Starter – Minijupe (1981)
OK. So, pretend for a minute that lead singer Francis Foss DOESN’T look and sound like Dana Carvey taking the piss out of no wave bands.
In that hot minute, you will surely discover how rad this song is because you, after all, love les minijupes (miniskirts) as much as I do. And Korg MS-20s.
SCHEMATIC: Dana Carvey, record label and cover artwork, some band photos…
Robot Rock du Jour: Medio Mutante – Deportes y Sangre (Live) (2010)
My servo-driven heart blew past 180° when I saw/heard this.
So, I’ve been digging Medio Mutante’s dirty, analog, domestic jamón synth vibe for a while now. This live clip features their first performance of Deportes y Sangre at Wierd Records in NYC. Animal.
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Keyser Söze Alert : Oviformia Sci – Fashion Magazines (1982?)
Oh, hell yes.
This is some super-fine minimal jamón synth in the Aviador Dro vein, complete with original, highly conceptual music videos. As far as I can tell, this stuff wasn’t pressed on vinyl. If anyone has a beat on this wax, I’m buying. Peep the Korg MS-20 BTW.
SCHEMATIC: Another outrageously cool video from Oviformia Sci and links to more music…
Robot Rock du Jour: Marcello Giombini – I Adore Commodore (198?)
Italian film composer and experimental synth maestro Giombini put up this track sometime in the early 1980s as a promo for the Commodore 64. I wonder if this video somehow inspired the seminal film, Weird Science?
SCHEMATIC: Cuts from Giombini’s landmark 1981 LP Astromusic Synthesizer…
Equipment: Speak & Spell
Jack Burton once advised: “You never know when you may need to call upon the vocal synthesis wizardry of the Speak & Spell.” Disappointingly limited vocabulary aside, here is a web emulator for use on those occasions where nothing else will quite do the trick.
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Real Genius: Giorgio Moroder – From Here to Eternity (1977)
Moroder is the undisputed progenitor of Italo. The uncanny resemblance to SNL’s Father Guido Sarducci notwithstanding, Moroder is a synth god. More machine than man, Moroder is to Italy as Kraftwerk is to Germany.
Although Moroder made some Taleggio over the years, From Here to Eternity is an early Italo masterpiece. First published as an LP in 1977 on US-based Casablanca Records, near mint copies of this album are still widely available for about $20. Synthspotters love this video…
SCHEMATIC: Some Moroder TV appearances, a Casablanca Records promo video, more details…
Equipment: Syntheridoo
This is far, far out, man.
Kyle Evans’ digeridoo-synthesizer hybrid could single-handedly create sound effects for every sci-fi vehicle and spaceship ever imagined.
SCHEMATIC: A straight up demo video…
Robot Rock du Jour: Medio Mutante – Corre Corre (2008)
There aren’t too many young, contemporary bands that could fool me into thinking their work was good enough to be recorded 30 years ago. Medio Mutante (translation Average Mutant) is one of them. This naughty triad of vintage audio and video synthesizer maestros is putting out really thick analogue music. BTW, they’re using a Fairlight CVI video synth for the visuals. Nerd Approved!
SCHEMATIC: Cover art, release info, more vids and where to buy… Read the rest of this entry »
Documentary: Robert Moog (2004)
“I think it would be egotistical of me to say, ‘I thought of it.’ What happened is, I opened my mind up and the idea came through…and into my head.”
- Robert Moog (which, btw, is pronounced “Mohg”)
This documentary is available for puchase on 
for $9.99.