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Episode 173 Chapter 32, Other 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 32, Other Analog Synthesizers from my book Electronic and Experimental music.   Playlist: OTHER EARLY SYNTHESIZER RECORDINGS (PRE-MIDI AND NOT MOOG)   Time Track Time Start Introduction –Thom Holmes 01:36 00:00 1.     Raymond Scott, “Space Mystery” (1963). Used Scott's Electronium, a custom-made analog synthesizer/sequencer. 05:08 01:42 2.     Pauline Oliveros, “Alien Bog” (1967). Used a prototype Buchla 100 modular synthesizer at Mills College. 33:13 06:53 3.     John Eaton, “Soliloquy For Syn-Ket” (1973) from Electro-Vibrations (The Music Of John Eaton). Used the Synket, an Italian-made modular synthesizer of which only six were ever made. 06:38 40:06 4.     John Keating, “Earthshine” (1975) from Space Experience 2. Featured the ARP 2600 and Pro- Soloist. 04:09 46:46 5.     Patrick Gleeson, “Saturn, The Bringer Of Old Age” (1976) from Beyond The Sun: An Electronic Portrait Of Holst's The Planets. Used Eµ Systems Polyphonic synthesizer. 09:31 51:02 6.     Jean Michel Jarre, “Oxygene, Part IV” (1976) from Oxygene. Used the ARP Odyssey, EMS Synthi AKS, EMS Synthi VCS3, and RMI Harmonic Synthesizer and Keyboard Computer. 03:07 01:00:34 7.     Bennie Maupin, “Crystals” (1978) from Moonscapes. Featured the E-mu Modular Synthesizer programmed by Patrick Gleeson, who owned Different Fur Studios in the San Francisco area and owned E-mu synthesizers (see previous track for an example of the E-mu Systems Polyphonic synthesizer). Here, we have a different treatment of the same instrument by jazz woodwind player Maupin, who played Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute, Marimba, Glockenspiel, E-mu Synthesizer, and Computone Synthesizer Winddriver on this album. I picked this track because this is most stripped-down arrangement featuring only Maupin playing the E-mu synthesizer and other instruments. 01:18 01:03:44 8.     Pere Ubu, “On the Surface” (1978) from Dub Housing. Allen Ravenstein used the EML Electrocomp 101 modular synthesizer as a member of this band. 02:37 01:05:02 9.     Sylvester, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” (1978) from Step II. One of the few albums to feature EML (Electronic Music Laboratories) Modular Synthesizer plus String synthesizer, Electro-comp 101 synthesizer and 200 expander unit, Oberheim DS-2 Sequencer, Effects, Pat Cowley; organ, Electric piano, Clavinet, Michael C. Finden; Percussion, David Frazier; Producer, Lead Vocals, Piano, Sylvester. EML was a Connecticut-based synth maker that was around from about 1970 to 1984. They were best-known for their Electro-comp modular synths. The 101 was a duophonic semi-modular 44-note synth and the model 200 was an expander unit that added ring modulation, spring reverb, and high and low filters to the setup. It was interesting to hear this Moroder-like pulsating synth sound coming from something other than a Moog. 06:34 01:07:40 10.   Isao Tomita, “The Sea Named Solaris” (1978) from Kosmos. Used the Roland System 700, Roland Strings RS- 202, Roland Revo 30, in addition to Moog Modular III, Moog System 55, and Polymoog synthesizers. 12:28 01:14:11 11.   Moebius, “Song For Lya” (1979) from Moebius. Serge, Oberheim, and Minimoog synthesizers, vocals, Bryce Robbley; Serge, Oberheim synthesizers, Doug Lynner; Violin, John Stubbs. Listen closely to tune-out the parts by the Odyssey and Minimoog and you will experience a lovely bed laid down by the Serge. Moebius had three members, one a violinist, heard in this tune blending with the Serge. Although the group used a Sennheiser vocoder on another track, the vocal distortion on this track may have actually been the voice processed with the Serge. 03:15 01:26:42 12.   Pascal Languirand, “O Nos Omnes” (1980) from De Harmonia Universalia. Features the Farfisa Synthorchestra, the famous Italian's company entry into the string synthesizer fray. The Syntorchestra was split into two keyboard sections, strings (polyphonic), and mono synth voices. It was a hybrid organ and synthesizer and used much by Klaus Schulze and other German electronic musicians for the short time that it was available from 1975 to 1978. Nine slider controls were positioned next to a 3-octave keyboard and provided some “chaotic” control episodes for this much beloved and rare keyboard. 07:15 01:29:56 13.   Henry Kucharzyk, “Play Dot Sam” (1981) from Walk The Line - Three New Works By Henry Kucharzyk. This work is performed at the Samson Box at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. This track is an escapee from the 1970s but nonetheless fills a void in that period when commercial synthesizers were moving to digital technology and were quite expensive. The Samson Box was a computer-based digital synthesizer created in 1977 by Peter Samson, who worked at the university. “Samson” was formally known as the “Systems Concepts Digital Synthesizer. It was a one-off special-purpose dedicated audio computer designed for use by student composers at Center for Computer Research in Musical and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University. 03:05 01:37:08 14.   Terry Riley, “The Ethereal Time Shadow” (1981-82) from Music from Mills. Used two Prophet V synthesizers, tuned to just intonation and employing sequencing. 08:51 01:40:12   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.  

In May of 1983, the world of synthesizers and electronic music as we knew it would change forever with the launch of the Yamaha DX7. To celebrate 40 years since its launch, Rob Puricelli spoke to Dr John Chowning, the developer of FM synthesis, Dave Bristow and Gary Leuenberger, sound designers for the original DX7 and Manny Fernandez, who has worked on all Yamaha's FM projects from the Mk.II DX7 through to today's Montage M series.See the Show Notes for further details.Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:55 - First Experiences Of The DX712:49 - Did The DX7 Meet Expectations?16:57 - The Feedback Loop17:51 - Creating And Sharing Sounds22:47 - A Career From Creating Patches27:55 - Sound Design Using FM31:36 - Hearing Your Own Sounds34:26 - Working With Don Lewis44:26 - Demonstrating The DX757:00 - FM Synthesis 40 Years On01:07:12 - Formant Shaping And The Future Of FMDr John Chowning BiogBorn in Salem, New Jersey in 1934, John Chowning spent his school years in Wilmington, Delaware. Following military service and four years at Wittenberg University in Ohio, he studied composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He received a doctorate in composition (DMA) from Stanford University in 1966, where he studied with Leland Smith. Chowning discovered the frequency modulation synthesis (FM) algorithm in 1967. This breakthrough in the synthesis of timbres allowed a very simple yet elegant way of creating and controlling time-varying spectra. In 1973 Stanford University licensed the FM synthesis patent to Yamaha in Japan, leading to the most successful synthesis engine in the history of electronic musical instruments.He taught computer sound synthesis and composition at Stanford University's Department of Music. In 1974, with John Grey, James (Andy) Moorer, Loren Rush and Leland Smith, he founded the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), which remains one of the leading centres for computer music and related research. Although he retired in 1996, he has remained in contact with CCRMA activities.Chowning was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1988 and awarded the Honorary Doctor of Music by Wittenberg University in 1990. The French Ministre de la Culture awarded him the Diplôme d'Officier dans l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1995. He was given the Doctorat Honoris Causa in 2002 by the Université de la Méditerranée, by Queen's University in 2010, Hamburg University in 2016, and Laureate of the Giga-Hertz-Award in 2013.Dave Bristow BiogDave was born in London and worked as a professional keyboard player recording and touring internationally with a variety of artists including Polyphony, Slender Loris, June Tabor, Tallis and 2nd Vision. Active in synthesizer development, he played a central role in voicing the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and is internationally recognized as one of the important contributors to the development and voicing of FM synthesis, co-authoring a textbook on the subject with Dr John Chowning.He spent three years at IRCAM in Paris, running a MIDI and synthesis studio working with contemporary music composers and artists, then moving to the United States in the 1990's to work for Emu Systems, Inc. on sampling and filter-based synthesizers. In 2002, he began working again with Yamaha developing ringtones and system alert sounds for the SMAF audio chip series used in cell phones and mobile devices.He has been an instructor at Shoreline Community College teaching electronic music production and synthesis for ten years, but still finds plenty of time for composing and playing piano with RedShift jazz quartet and developing his interest in computer arts.Gary Leuenberger BiogGary started in music at a young age and, in 1975, founded G. Leuenberger & Co. in San Francisco. It soon became one of the world's largest retailers of pianos, synthesizers and electronic keyboards. In 1980 he started working with Yamaha as part of their product development team. It was through this that he was recruited, along with the likes of Dave Bristow and Don Lewis, to create the factory presets for the DX7. Gary's most famous, or infamous, patch was the legendary E.Piano 1 which became equally one of the most popular and despised sounds ever! Nevertheless, his association with Yamaha continued until 2000, at which point Gary went back into education, gaining his Bachelors of Music and Masters in Classical Piano Performance from San Francisco State University in 2007.Since then, he has taught electronic music at SFSU and gives private tutoring to budding musicians of all ages. Manny Fernandez BiogDr. Manny Fernandez has been involved in synthesizer programming and development with many manufacturers for over 35 years. Initially self-taught prior to traditional university study of analogue synthesis, in the late 1970's - early 1980's the emerging digital synthesis techniques caught his attention with their expanded timbral possibilities.He acquired a DX7 in the fall of 1983 and using Dr. Chowning's original academic articles as a guide began exploring FM synthesis in depth. In 1987 he began his relationship with Yamaha, programming for a wide range of their synthesizers through the years to the current Montage M. Acknowledged as one of the world's foremost FM synthesists and having extensive experience with physical modelling synthesis as well, his programming approach is to create unique and dynamic timbres with interesting yet useful real-time controller implementations.Rob Puricelli BiogRob 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 Sound On Sound, his website Failed Muso, and other music-related publications, as well as hosting a weekly livestream on YouTube for the Pro Synth Network and guesting on numerous music technology podcasts and shows. He also works alongside a number of manufacturers, demonstrating their products and lecturing at various educational and vocational establishments about music technology.www.failedmuso.comTwitter: @failedmusoInstagram: @failedmusoFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/failedmuso/ 

My guests this week are Mike Dickey and Russ Gavin, of JackTrip Labs. The JackTrip Foundation is a non-profit collaboration between Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) and Silicon Valley software entrepreneurs. JackTrip Labs provides a low-latency collaboration tool that makes it easy for musicians to perform together online. Mike Dickey, who's the CEO of JackTrip Labs, founded his first company in high school, and dropped out of Carnegie Mellon to become a full-time entrepreneur. Since then, Mike has built and sold three startup companies. His latest venture was Cloudmeter, which Splunk acquired in 2013. Prior to co-founding JackTrip, Mike held various leadership roles at Splunk focusing on Engineering, Architecture, Infrastructure and Product Management. Besides being the co-founder and COO of JackTrip Labs, Dr. Russ Gavin is also the Director of Bands at Stanford University. A lifelong advocate for accessible music education, Russ has taught music in K-12 and collegiate environments, continuously seeking and creating opportunities to utilize technology in the music classroom. His research publications have appeared in the Journal of Research in Music Education, the International Journal of Music Education, Psychology of Music, the Journal of Music Teacher Education, and the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. During the interview we spoke about how JackTrip Labs  started, the things that contribute to latency in online collaboration, the musicians who are the most sensitive to latency, why zero latency can actually be disconcerting to some players, why conference calling apps won't cut it for music, and much more. I spoke with Russ and Mike via zoom. On the intro I'll take a look at what TikTok's decreasing revenue target means, and Facebook's new audio data compression codec. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 84118014, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Episode 78 Strange Synths Little Heard Sounds from Unique Synthesizers Playlist David Behrman, “Pools Of Phase Locked Loops,” from My Dear Siegfried (2005 XI Records). Synthesizers (homemade), David Behrman, Katharine Morton Austin. Recorded live at Radio Bremen in May 1972 and commissioned by Hans Otte. At a time when commercial models of analog synths were widely available, Behrman and other musicians such as Gordon Mumma and David Tudor insisted on creating purpose-built instruments using the same principles. Behrman explains, “The homemade synthesizers had 32 voltage-controlled triangle-wave generators built around a chip utilizing a circuit design called the Phase Locked Loop. The chip made smooth glides possible from one pitch to another. The homemade synthesizers also had voltage-controlled amplifiers, rows of small knobs and frequency counters with the aid of which the performers could retune individual oscillators during a performance.” 14:00 John Ridges, “Fugue In G” (Bach) from Computer Controlled Synthesizer Performances (1977 Tesseract Records). This work was made using a computer-controlled music synthesizer which its makers dubbed Mesmerelda. It was comprised on 200 integrated circuits that could create 96 different pitches assigned to six separate channels. Only one waveform was used, a square wave, and there was no envelope control. Hence, the simple organ-like tone of the piece. 4:49 John Ridges, “Ruffles” (Ridges) from Computer Controlled Synthesizer Performances (1977 Tesseract Records). From the same album comes “Ruffles” performed by composer John Ridges. This track featured a slightly more advanced computer music synthesizer they called the AD8. It featured up to eight synthesis boards each one relating to a single channel. So, eight pitches could be played at a time and there was filtering, waveform generation other than square waves, and simple envelope generation to provide a slightly more advanced sound. As Ridges wrote in the liner notes, with pride, “these pieces are generally free of the bizarre noises usually found on electronic synthesizer albums.” The pieces were recorded in real time without overdubs. 2:36 Patrick Gleeson, “Star Wars Theme (Luke's Theme)” (Williams). (1977 Mercury). Recorded and mixed at Different Fur, San Francisco, July 1977. The piece showcases various beds, rhythms, and sounds made using the E-mu modular synthesizer, also known as an Eµ synthesizer (it's original name). "Selections from the film performed on the world's most advanced synthesizer." Drums, Billy Cobham, Harvey Mason, James Levi, Ronnie Beck; Lyricon, Lenny Picket; Vocals, Sarah Baker; keyboards, performer (Breath Controller), engineered, produced, arranged, and conducted by Patrick Gleeson. 5:36 Bennie Maupin, “Crystals” from Moonscapes (1978 Mercury). Eµ synthesizer (E-mu Modular Synthesizer) programmed by Patrick Gleeson, who owned Different Fur Studios in the San Francisco area and owned an Eµ modular synthesizer (see the earlier Star Wars album which also featured this same synth.) Here, we have a different treatment of the same instrument by jazz woodwind player Maupin, who played Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Eµ Synthesizer, and Computone Synthesizer Winddriver on this album. I picked this track because this is most stripped-down arrangement featuring only Maupin playing the Eµ synthesizer and other instruments. 1:19 Sylvester, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” from Step II (1978 Fantasy). One of the few albums to feature EML (Electronic Music Laboratories) Modular Synthesizers. String synthesizer, Electro-comp 101 synthesizer and 200 expander unit, Oberheim DS-2 Sequencer, Effects , Pat Cowley; organ, Electric piano, Clavinet, Michael C. Finden; Percussion, David Frazier; Producer, Lead Vocals, Piano, Sylvester. EML was a Connecticut-based synth maker that was around from about 1970 to 1984. They were best-known for their Electro-comp modular synths. The 101 was a duophonic semi-modular 44-note synth and the model 200 was an expander unit that added ring modulation, spring reverb, and high and low filters to the setup. It was interesting to hear this Moroder-like pulsating synth sound coming from something other than a Moog. 6:34 Pere Ubu, “I Will Wait” from Dub Housing (1978 Chrysalis). This second album from this Ohio group always figured high on my playlist of favorites. I was mostly fascinated by the synthesizer fills and hijinks by Allen Ravenstine that punctuated much of the group's music with the quirkiest of sounds, all blended and mixed to provide many weird hooks and twists. This is another example of the EML, Electro-comp duphonic modular synthesizer although almost used in a polar opposite way than Sylvester. This is a unique sound from the time. Performers, Allen Ravenstine, David Thomas, Scott Krauss, Tom Herman, Tony Maimone. Engineered by Ken Hamann at SUMA Studios, Painesville, Ohio, 8-9/78. Ravenstine is still active and an electronic musician although he has left the EML for other synthesizer frontiers. He remains very much the experimental improviser. 1:45 Pere Ubu, “Navvy” from Dub Housing (1978 Chrysalis). Performers, Allen Ravenstine, David Thomas, Scott Krauss, Tom Herman, Tony Maimone. Engineered by Ken Hamann at SUMA Studios, Painesville, Ohio, 8-9/78. Features sounds of the EML Electro-comp modular synthesizer by Allen Ravenstine. 2:40 Pere Ubu, “On the Surface” from Dub Housing (1978 Chrysalis). Performers, Allen Ravenstine, David Thomas, Scott Krauss, Tom Herman, Tony Maimone. Engineered by Ken Hamann at SUMA Studios, Painesville, Ohio, 8-9/78. Features sounds of the EML Electro-comp modular synthesizer by Allen Ravenstine. 2:37 Pascal Languirand, “O Nos Omnes” from De Harmonia Universalia (1980 Polydor). I am featuring a track that uses, among other instruments, the Farfisa Synthorchestra, the famous Italian's company entry into the string synthesizer fray. The Syntorchestra was split into two keyboard sections, strings (polyphonic), and mono synth voices. It was a hybrid organ and synthesizer and used much by Klaus Schulze and other German electronic musicians for the short time that it was available from 1975 to 1978. Nine slider controls were positioned next to a 3-octave keyboard and provided some “chaotic” control episodes for this much beloved and rare keyboard. 7:16 Moebius, “Clone Zone” from Moebius (1979 Plastic Poison). Yes, a progressive rock group that utilized the modular synthesizers developed by Serge Tcherepnin, Rich Gold, and Randy Cohen at CalArts in late 1972. By the mid-1970a, Tcherepnin left CalArts and began to manufacture his instruments in Hollywood. Serge modules were designed to bring many elements of the circuits controllable by the performer, patching them in unusual ways beyond what was considered normal for a given module. The model used on this album probably had a 16-stage sequencer introduced by the company, and I think you can hear such patterns in this song. Listen for the bubbling, sequenced sounds that are contrasted to the monophonic solos of the Minimoog and patch sounds of the ARP Odyssey. I think the track opens with the Serge pattern. Drums, Evan Kaplan; Minimoog synthesizer, Bruce Courtois; Roland Sh3a, AP 2600 synthesizers, Steve Roach; Serge modular, Minimoog synthesizer, vocals, written by, Bryce Robbley; Serge modular synthesizer, Doug Lynner. 4:55 Moebius, “Song For Lya,” from Moebius (1979 Plastic Poison). Serge, Oberheim, and Minimoog synthesizers, vocals, written by, Bryce Robbley; Serge, Oberheim synthesizers, written by, Doug Lynner; Violin, John Stubbs. Listen closely to tune-out the parts by the Odyssey and Minimoog and you will experience a lovely bed laid down by the Serge. Moebius had three members, one a violinist, heard in this tune blending with the Serge. Although the group used a Sennheiser vocoder on another track, the vocal distortion on this track may have actually been the voice processed with the Serge. 3:15 Henry Kucharzyk, “Play Dot Sam” from Walk The Line - Three New Works By Henry Kucharzyk (1985 Artifact Music). This work is performed at the Samson Box at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. This track is an escapee from the 1970s but nonetheless fills a void in that period when commercial synthesizers were moving to digital technology and were quite expensive. The Samson Box was a computer-based digital synthesizer created in 1977 by Peter Samson, who worked at the university. Samson stands for the “Systems Concepts Digital Synthesizer. It was a one-off special-purpose dedicated audio computer designed for use by student composers at Center for Computer Research in Musical and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University. 3:06 Salvatore Martirano, “The SalMar: Part One” from The SalMar Construction (2014 Sub Rosa). Another escapee from the 1970s was this performance at IRCAM in Paris in 1983. Salvatore Martirano, an American composer, invented the one-of-a-kind Sal-Mar Construction designed for real-time performance of electronic music. It was created from 1969 to 1972 at the University of Illinois. The analog synthesizer looked like a large drawing table with an array of 291 touch-sensitive connections to enable the sound generating circuits. Behind it all were some computer circuits salvaged from the Illiac II computer music system and they generated random sequences with which the performer could interact while managing four parallel processes governing the 16 oscillators, applying pitch, timbre, amplitude and envelope parameters to the sound. Martirano toured the world with the performing/composing music machine and described his live performances in the following manner: “The composer, in performance, interacts with the machine as it composes, creating spontaneously four melodic lines which move throughout the concert space via a network of 24 overhead speakers.” This performance was by Martirano while in Paris at IRCAM. 18:59 Herbie Hancock, “Rough” from Future Shock (1983 Columbia). Hancock was well known as an experimenter of new synthesizer technology. During the early stages of the home computer revolution, Hancock used an AlphaSyntauri synthesizer as part of his ensemble of instruments. The AlphaSyntauri was an add-in synth for the Apple II computer, with its own sound-generating circuit board. The company was around from about 1980 to 1985. Its claim to fame what that it was much more affordable than the digital synthesizers made by New England Digital and Fairlight, each of which cost in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. The AlphaSyntauri was $1500. At this price you got 16-voice polyphony, 16 digital oscillators, and envelope generator, keyboard, and a sequencer capable of storing up to 7000 notes. It's affordable sequencing was a major attraction. This was before the Apple Macintosh was introduced, and with that the AlphaSyntauri was made immediately obsolete. But not before Hancock was able to work it into some of his electronic jazz tracks. If you listen carefully you can pick-out the sounds of the AlphaSyntauri because of all of the other synths and instruments on this track. Backing Vocals, Bernard Fowler, Grandmixer D.ST., Nicky Skopelitis, Roger Trilling; Bass, Bill Laswell; Drums, Sly Dunbar; Lead Vocals, Lamar Wright; Fairlight CMI Synthesizer, AlphaSyntauri Synthesizer, Emulator Synthesizer, Herbie Hancock; Prophet-5 Synthesizer, Michael Beinhorn; Turntables, Voice, Grandmixer D.ST. 6:55 Opening background music: P.F.M. (Premiata Forneria Marconi), “Storia In "LA"” from Jet Lag (1977 Asylum Records). Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970. Album recorded at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California, January, 1977 and Scorpio Sound Studio, London, February, 1977. Mixed at Scorpio Sound Studio, February 1977. Mastered at RCA Studio, London. Bass, Moog B12 Synthesizer, Patrick Djivas; Drums, Percussion, Franz Di Cioccio; Electric Piano, Organ, Moog Synthesizer, Flavio Premoli. 6:28 Opening and closing sequences voiced by Anne Benkovitz. Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes. For additional notes, please see my blog, Noise and Notations.

Guest Rob Hamilton, Dartmouth '96, was already a musician before entering college and knew he wanted to major in music. But he also wanted to go deeper, understanding how and why sound affects us as humans. So double-majored with cognitive science. He also found his way to the Bregman Electronic Music Studio—not widely known outside of the electronic music scene, but considered a powerhouse by students of the genre due to its development of the Synclavier the first commercially available portable digital synthesizer.Even though Rob loved writing and playing electronic music it didn't seem that there was much of a commercial future in that, so he turned to consulting and eventually leaped into the dot-com start-up world, where he was able to pick up coding by doing (despite being a bad computer science student in school). When the boom became a bust, he was actually happy to leave the corporate world and turned back to music.He jumped into the world of academia to pursue electronic music but it wasn't the easiest of roads. And in the middle, he got pulled back to the start-up world just as smart phones came on the market and the app scene was blowing up. Developing sound-based apps, he was tapping into the creativity of both his technical and musical sides, but the market-driven lifestyle just didn't seem to fit.//In this episode, find out from Rob how interweaving interests and playing by your own rules often leads to the sweetest music…on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley. About This Episode's GuestRob Hamilton is Associate Professor of Music and Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he's been since 2015, composing, performing, researching, and designing software for interactive soundscapes. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer-based Music Theory and Acoustics and an M.A. in Music, Science and Technology from Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) in the Department of Music, as well as a M.M. in Computer Music Composition from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings RowleyMusic: Brian Burrows Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.comEmail the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com 

Outside their Airbnb in Cheyenne, Wyoming, three Morehead-Cains shared about their adventures thus far in road tripping across the country with a U-Haul-turned-mobile-recording-unit. Eric Lee ’18, Nicholas Byrne ’19, and Sam Lowe ’20 had spent the last six months or so with seven other Tar Heels on a historic farm in Colbert, Georgia. The unincorporated community called Smithonia is about 20 minutes outside of Athens. Following Nicholas’s graduation in December 2019, the musician moved to the farm belonging to his grandparents, converted a former commissary into his own production studio, and invited his friends and fellow creatives to stay indefinitely. After collaborating throughout the spring and summer on music and other entrepreneurial and artistic pursuits to make the most of anxiety-ridden times in quarantine, the “Smithonia 10” have since scattered—all but the current trio, that is. Their mission for this trip is to get Eric back to his home base in San Francisco after taking the hiatus off work to recharge in rural Georgia.As a student at Carolina, Eric co-founded a microfinance initiative for entrepreneurs in the Triangle area called Build The Hill. He earned a degree from UNC-Chapel Hill in economics and minors in entrepreneurship and philosophy, politics, and economics. Prior to Covid, the alumnus was working as a business operations analyst in the Bay Area. Eric worked remotely half-way through the summer before deciding to take full advantage of time with friends during extraordinary circumstances. Sam will also be joining the West Coast community of Tar Heels to pursue a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University beginning in January 2021. The alumnus was a computer science major with minors in cognitive science and music. As a scholar, he applied for and was awarded a Morehead-Cain Discovery Fund grant to visit Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). As for Nicholas, he plans to continue focusing on his solo digital music project Arts + Crafts and on freelance video assignments. Throughout this year, he has worked on a number of digital advertising and social media campaigns for major Nashville-based artists including Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, and Keith Urban. Nicholas and Sam also released an EP the day after recording this interview. Listen to “Slowe Byrne.”U-Haul sponsorshipDuring Sam’s junior year, he applied for and was awarded another Discovery Fund grant to rent a 15-foot U-Haul to use as a mobile recording studio. The recent graduate and Cameron Champion ’20 collaborated with musicians throughout the trip, eventually arriving in New Orleans, Louisiana. Before embarking on this fall’s road trip, Sam contacted U-Haul to pitch a partnership in documenting their journey to the West Coast. The company agreed to sponsor based on their previous success and content. You can follow along their road trip to California on Instagram:Follow “Haulin’ Sessions”Follow Nicholas @art.sandcraftsFollow Sam @sacra.monetFollow Eric @eric_zoneThe music for this episode, entitled “The Softest ‘Yo’ Ever Spoken,” is by Nicholas Byrne (Arts + Crafts) and Sam Lowe (Sacra Monet). On your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at communications@moreheadcain.org.

The Hagia Sophia has featured in thousands of books and treatises throughout the centuries, many of which have praised the awe-inspiring spaces of this architectural feat. Yet recently, the building has made headlines for very different reasons, as politics and heritage become entangled. In this week’s podcast, Professor Bissera Pentcheva helps us to navigate the complex story of the Hagia Sophia, and brings to the fore the beauty and magnificence of a building that, through the use of sound and light, was meant to replicate Heaven on Earth.This episode was recorded prior to the effective conversion of the building into a mosque on 17 July 2020.The podcast features music from the interdisciplinary project Icons of Sound (2008–present), codirected by Bissera Pentcheva (Department of Art and Art History) and Jonathan Abel (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics [CCRMA]) at Stanford University and performed by Capella Romana. We are very grateful for their collaboration.This podcast is part of Asia House Arts in Isolation Series and Converging Paths, an initiative organised in partnership with the Barakat Trust that promotes the arts and cultures of the Islamic World.

What a great way to kick off this podcast. In our debut episode, Sarah Belle Reid talks about her new album, Underneath and Sonder, how she interfaces her trumpet with electronics, her visceral performance style, using restraint in improvisation and so much more. This is part 1 in a two part interview. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/e/e089de38-368c-448b-8254-b01278e56695/KQFgBAP7.jpg Order Sarah's new album, Underneath and Sonder (https://www.sarahbellereid.com/store/underneath-and-sonder) https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/e/e089de38-368c-448b-8254-b01278e56695/wVW3Ed0v.jpg Minimally Invasive Gesture Sensing Interface (MIGSI) for trumpet was developed by Sarah Reid and Ryan Gaston at California Institute of the Arts. (https://www.sarahbellereid.com/projects#/migsi/) www.sarahbellereid.com (https://www.sarahbellereid.com) Find Sarah Belle Reid on Social Media: Instagram (http://instagram.com/sarahbellereid), Facebook (http://facebook.com/sarahbellereidofficial), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/channel/sarahbellereid), Twitter (http://twitter.com/sarahbellereid) Sarah Belle Reid is a Canadian performer-composer, specializing in trumpet and electronics, modular synthesis, and alternate forms of graphical notation for composition and improvisation. She is a co-developer of the Minimally Invasive Gesture Sensing Interface (MIGSI) for trumpet: an open-source, wireless interface that captures performance data and provides real-time extended sonic and visual control for improvisation. Reid has presented and performed with MIGSI at institutions and festivals around the world including Moogfest, Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), the International Conference of New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2015: Brisbane, Australia), New Media Art & Sound Summit (NMASS 2017: Austin, TX), University of Oregon, UT Austin, and UC Irvine's Women in Music Technology Symposium (2016), among others. As a composer, Reid’s work explores themes of time and memory imprints both in sound and physical performance—a fascination inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s writings on infrathin—as well as the integration of electronics, hybrid/new instruments, and found objects. Her compositions have been performed by renowned musicians around the world, most recently pianist Vicki Ray, Caution Tape Sound Collective (supported by Association of Canadian Women Composers and SOCAN), Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, and Vinny Golia. In 2017 her composition “Flux” for amplified percussion quartet won the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Percussion Quartet’s Next Wave Composer Initiative. As a performer dedicated to new and experimental music, Reid has premiered over 40 works for solo trumpet, as well as multiple chamber and performance art pieces. She is a founding member of the trumpet/modular synthesizer duo Burnt Dot, dedicated to exploring open forms of spontaneous creation and electroacoustic collaboration. Additionally, Reid has worked with a wide range of musicians and ensembles in a broad range of musical genres and settings. Highlights include Charlie Haden, Wadada Leo Smith, David Rosenboom, Todd Barton, Liberation Music Orchestra, KREation Ensemble, Orchestre de la Francophonie, and the Montreal Symphony Pops Orchestra, Julia Holter, Adele, Avey Tare (Animal Collective), and Estrella TV. As a scholar, Reid has studied with music technology leaders Dr. Ajay Kapur and Dr. Perry Cook, and published technical and theoretical papers on the subjects of interdisciplinary process and collaboration, musical interface design, and alternate methods of musical notation. Reid has been an invited speaker and guest artist at Stanford University, Hendrix University, University of Oregon, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Southern California, UC Irvine’s Women in Music Technology symposium, the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, and the international conference of New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME). Reid received a Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music and a Master of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts, where she is currently on faculty teaching music technology (Music Technology: Interaction, Intelligence, and Design), and music theory. Episode Sponsor: Boutique Pedal NYC (http://www.boutiquepedalnyc.us/)

With its establishment in 1947, the Department of Music began a steady expansion of academic courses that had initially been offered as part of the curriculum in Education. In keeping with Stanford's tradition of combining theory and practice, knowledge and invention, community service and individual discovery, the Department has always sought to connect its programs to a broad range of scholarly and creative activities, which today embrace performance, composition, electroacoustic music, musicology and ethnomusicology. The patent established after Professor John Chowning’s discovery of FM synthesis in 1967 became the principal source for endowing the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), whose groundbreaking research has contributed significantly to the Department's international profile. In 2013, with the opening of the state-of-the-art Bing Concert Hall, the Department is positioned to take all of its programs to new levels of excellence.

In film, sound is the partner to the image. The ultimate compliment to sound designers, mixers, and editors is when no one actually notices the work. Sound designer Ren Klyce brings a professional's view to cinematic sound as a subtle, supporting character to the image, and the reasons why it is so often misunderstood and underappreciated. Our work is not just about the aesthetics of understanding how sound and dialogue enhance a film creatively, but it requires an understanding of human audiology, the behavior of sound waves, and the use of a great deal of technology. In this talk, I will play some excerpts from some well-known films, such as The Social Network or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and deconstruct how film sound tracks are made in collaboration with the director. Born in Kyoto Japan, Ren Klyce grew up in Mill Valley, California. He studied Electronic Music at UC Santa Cruz with Gordon Mumma, David Cope, and Peter Elsea and was trained in the traditional tape-based techniques of Musique Concrete. After meeting John Chowning at a lecture series in 1983, Klyce enrolled in the summer workshop at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) and composed three pieces on the original SAM Box. Because of his experiences in the Electronic Music course at UCSC, Klyce became increasingly interested in computer music and the use of multiple speakers for playback. He went on to design sound for films such as Se7en, Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, and Where The Wild Things Are. He has been nominated for five Academy Awards — most recently for the films The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He is currently working on the hit web series House of Cards and on the upcoming film Oblivion.

SF MusicTech Summit XII on February 19, 2013 www.sfmusictech.com "DIY Musical Devices, Using Arduino & Other Prototyping Platforms" Sasha Leitman, Projects Manager & Wendy Ju, Lecturer/Researcher Stanford University, Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) https://ccrma.stanford.edu

SF MusicTech Summit IX on September 12, 2011 in San Francisco. Panel Discussion. Moderator: Dave Wessel, UC Berkeley, Center for New Music and Audio Technologies CNMAT, (Co-Director); Tim Thompson, Artful Codger (Software Engineer, Musician, and Installation Artist); Sasha Leitman, Stanford University, Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics CCRMA, (Projects Manager); Moldover, Multi-instrumentalist, Controllerist, and Custom Instrument Builder; Bart Hopkin, Windworld (Experimental Musical Instruments);