Basic Electricity - Concert Today!

A reminder about tonight's gig with Derek Holzer, Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez and JenaMu6. The venue is the Kino on Kastanienallee 77, 10435 Berlin Prenzlauer Berg. Doors at 21:00, music at 22:00 sharp.



I won't be playing, but had some fun with this patch last night:



Inspired by the sound of Japan's Gentlemen Take Polaroids, it features a Plan B M15 VCO FM'd by Doepfer's A-143-9 QLFO. The gated sound was fed to an A-199 spring reverb with the feedback routed through Cwejman's FSH-1 frequency shifter. I added a touch of Logic's Ensemble, but 90% of the effect is the shifting reverb. Lovely.

Look forward to seeing you tonight at BE#6!

Basic Electricity #6 -Reminder

BE#6 with Derek Holzer, Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez & JenaMu6 is just 10 days away! Look forward to handmade electronics, microscope-visuals and modular soundscapes on Friday, 28th September. The venue is the cinema on Kastanienallee 77, 10435 Berlin Prenzlauer Berg. Doors open at 21:00, music at 22:00 sharp.

To get you in the mood, we've just released be-ep3. It's a document of Franz Schuier, Anthony Bisset & Lu Katavist's excellent live sets at BE#5 and is a 'name your price' download:



Franz, Anthony & Lu played on two stages. Their different musical styles and approaches made BE#5 one of our best nights yet. Here are some pictures from the evening:



Thanks to everyone who came to make it such a special night. Look forward to seeing you Friday week for BE#6!

The Shape of Things That Were Pt2

An interesting aspect of Lu Katavist's performance at BE#5 last week was his use of an Analogue Systems RS-35 External Processor to control his Euro rig. The musical results were great, so I checked to see whether I could get my hands on one.



I was surprised to see that the usually paltry list of Analogue Systems modules available at Schneidersbuero had grown to include the full range. I asked Andreas who told me that he was very happy to have recently secured a direct line to Bob William's modules.

Seems like the perfect cue to present some more scans from my recently trashed collection of magazines. Below you'll find Bob Williams discussing the price of second-hand synths in 1993 and Gordon Reid's 1998 review of the RS Integrator.

Music Technology, May 1993, Bob Williams Interview
The Mix, August 1998, Gordon Reid on the RS Integrator

I've updated the original post with a scan of Peter Forrest's second Doepfer review from 1997 as well as an interview with the author, auctioneer and collector himself.

For future scan updates, click on the media tag.

The Shape of Things That Were

I've just binned over two decades worth of magazines. It broke my heart, but I don't have the space for the paper mountain it had become. Among the disposed were Electronics & Music Maker, Music Technology, The Mix, Future Music and Sound on Sound.



I went through as many issues as I could, looking for interesting articles, keepers. The above question from a bewildered Mathew in Camberley warmed my heart. Peter Forrest's scoop on the Doepfer A-100 in December 1995's The Mix is presented below as a historical document. Dieter's system, which then sought to provide a modern alternative to vintage Moogs and Rolands, is now itself almost 20 years old and still growing.

A few observations from my purge: the death of small ads due to the internet, musicians should leave video and graphic art to the experts, computers today might be faster and software better but the rate of genuine change seems to have slowed in the last ten years, DJs have a lot to answer for, Paul Farrer's 'Notes from the Deadline' is the first thing I jump to when I get my copy of SOS, Future Music is throw-away and the writing is shit.

Peter Forrest's review of the A-100 in The Mix 12/95
The Mix, Feb. 1997, Doepfer A-100 Review 2
Future Music, Feb. 2002, Peter Forrest Interview

For future scan updates, click on the media tag.

On the subject of clear-outs, I notice Schneidersbuero are having an end of summer sale. Might be something there to fill my now empty shelves. And, of course, there is one last question: did Mathew from Camberley ever figure out how to use his modular?

Mystery Module

Spotted at Basic Electricity #5 ...



... kan you guess what it is?



Thanks to Franz, Luka, Anthony and everyone who came to make BE#5 such a fantastic evening! Pictures, music and maybe some video to follow.