inner nerd » Vocoder

Robot Rock du Jour: Neil Young – Trans LP (1982)

beaker — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:55:17 +0000

In 1982, Neil Young was abducted by robot aliens who grafted an organic neural-net processor onto his existing human brain and sent him back to Earth to make vocoder-infused, heavily distorted guitar rock. Five of the nine tracks on Trans were recorded by this Neil Young Beta Unit, who also remixed Mr. Soul as the b-side on the Sample and Hold 12″ single.

SCHEMATIC: Other Neil Young Beta Unit videos and cover art…

So, the actual story here, according to Wikipedia, is that Neil Young’s son was born with cerebral palsy. Somewhere along the line, Mr. Young found that he was able to elicit a better response from his son when using the Moog vocoder. Pretty awesome. Not sure if this album is a result of Mr. Young pushing the creative envelope or just ruminations on technology and communication. Either way, this album was a really, really pleasant surprise.

Sample and Hold (LP Version)

We R In Control

Computer Age

Transformer Man

Computer Cowboy

Mr. Soul (Dance Remix)

Trans LP Cover Art

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Real Genius: Giorgio Moroder – From Here to Eternity (1977)

beaker — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:18:40 +0000

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…

Moroder’s discography is longer than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among other massive hits, Moroder was behind Donna Summer’s 1977 smash, I Feel Love.

He also did the theme song for the crazy-ass movie Midnight Express in 1978. Below is a classic German TV show (check out those mics!) introducing Moroder and his oscar-winning track, The Chase, which is 13 minutes of mind-warping synthesizer amazingness. In this all-too-brief clip, Moroder goes from laying it down in German to working a Minimoog in an ultra-rare LIVE performance.

Here is the original 8-minute 45RPM version of the track. I can’t seem to find the 12″ version, so will upload mine.

Here is the Casablanca Records promo where Moroder demonstrates his vocoder skills.

Moroder produced everyone and everything in the 1980s. Beyond rescoring the 1920s Fritz Lang film Metropolis, he was responsible for Top Gun (along with German protégé Harold Faltermeyer), Blondie’s Call Me, Irene Cara’s What a Feelin’ LP which included Romance ’83 (and Flashdance), The Neverending Story and so forth.

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Snort: Shotgun Start – City Boy (2009)

beaker — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:51:56 +0000

Hot damn!! Check out Wormser at 0:54 and 1:16!!!

Between the acid synth lines and vocoders, this cut coulda been a contender. Unfortunately, the right hook is just a bit weak. The video, however, is GENIUS!

Found this one on MATRIXSYNTH-C.

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Robot Rock du Jour: Kraftwerk – Autobahn (1974)

beaker — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:54:01 +0000

An 11-minute face-melting video edit of Kraftwerk’s 23-minute opus. The real cybernetic acid trip is the five-minute breakdown that beings around 3:06. Animation by Roger Mainwood and John Halas in 1979. The video was posted in two parts, so load the rest of the post to view the second half…

SCHEMATIC: Video part two, Mainwood interview and high res vinyl rip…

The title track off Kraftwerk’s 1974 LP Autobahn was a genesis moment in nerd music, marking the completion of Kraftwerk’s robotic transformation. Without this band or track, electronic music would probably not be what it is today. It represents the seemless merging of musical genius with avant-garde technology. The entire album is available on iTunes for only $3.49!!

Mainwood discussing the history of the film:

No, I never made contact with Kraftwerk, and they had no input into the film images themselves. John Halas got the commission from Kraftwerk’s record company, and it was deliberately experimental in nature and designed to be released on one of the first ever laser discs. Unfortunately the laser disc technology never took off. The film was entered into various film festivals around the world and won a few prizes, but it never got a commercial release in cinemas but was shown on the TV a bit in the UK and I presume in Germany too. I have no idea what Kraftwerk think about it or whether they have even ever seen it.

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Party Time: Saturday Robot Party @ The Idle Hour (Baltimore, MD)

beaker — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:52:53 +0000

VIGR is in the house. 4+ hour rare vinyl set. Need I say more? Hope to see you there! I’ll try to keep track of the setlist…

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Keyser Söze Alert: Trophy – Slow Flight (1982)

beaker — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:24:30 +0000

This unstoppable Italo electro-disco jam from 1982 spawned the fabled Fuzz Dance label. Italo master Maurizio Dami (aka Alexander Robotnick) was heavily involved with this label as both a producer and remixer. Does anyone out there know if he produced this track, too?

Here’s the spacey instrumental version ripped from my vinyl copy.

SCHEMATIC: Record scans and Alexander Robotnick dropping some disco knowledge…

This video spurred me to go on a one-year rare disco vinyl collecting rampage and start this blog. Consider yourself warned!

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Vintage Vocoders Youtube Playlist is Live!!

beaker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:18:07 +0000

Warm up the robot! Any one of these vintage machines presented in our youtube playlist will transform you (or a loved one) into a Cylon. To start it off, let Giorgio Moroder magically transport you to the wonderful world of vocoders in this Casablanca Records promo video…

SCHEMATIC: Want more? Check out the entire playlist…

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Robot Rock du Jour: La Bionda – I Wanna Be Your Lover (1980)

beaker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:26:14 +0000

Back in 1980, these Italian brothers gave Daft Punk a blueprint for combining vocoder-laden electronic music, cosmic story lines and robot animé. Be kind, please rewind.

SCHEMATIC: Candid photos, original cover art and record scans…

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Robot Rock du Jour: Doris Norton – Personal Computer (1984)

beaker — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:31:32 +0000

OK. Check this out:

Super hot italian chick doubles as an electronic music pioneer, gets sponsored by Apple and Roland in the 1980s and eventually becomes a consultant to IBM. **sigh**

All video clips taken from the 1984 LP Personal Computer on Durium.

SCHEMATIC: Two more videos and high res studio photo…

Doris Norton – Binary Love

Doris Norton – Norton Apple Software

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Keyser Söze Alert: Gay Cat Park – I’m a Vocoder (1982)

beaker — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:18:57 +0000

Wait…Who? Don’t let the peculiar name distract you from the raw genius of this track. This masterpiece marked the genesis of Italo thoroughbred label Il Discotto Productions in 1982. By the way, you can learn a ton about vintage vocoders by watching our vocoder youtube playlist or checking out our friends over at Matrixsynth.

SCHEMATIC: More vocoder intel…

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