Fantastic synthesists never mentioned on the VSE Pt.1

masstronaut · Post by **masstronaut** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 9:21 am

While we are on the subject of ARP 2500s - here's a clip of the German group Faust with theirs. I'm still not sure what the name of their synth player(s) are.

Best seen from around 1:30

Recording wise the electronics on the Outside The Dream Syndicate record with Tony Conrad are quite singular.

Sexor · Post by **Sexor** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 9:54 am

masstronaut wrote:Brilliant, thanks for that.

Sexor wrote:Apparently he also wrote the Dutch Eurovision song in 1971.
Not to mention in 1962 and indeed 1968 when his creations received respectively nil and un point from the judges!
But yes, in 1971 this was the entry that reached No.6.

Saskia & Serge perform "Tijd" -

Oh what the heck - here are the earlier efforts too.

1968 -

1962 -

Nil Point! (seems a bit harsh to me). CAUTION: there are no synths involved in the above videos. They are provided for entertainment purposes only and should not be used in mission critical situations.

Nice! I've never heard the original "Tijd" - Only the ARP2500 version :laughing5:

tim gueguen · Post by **tim gueguen** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 4:06 pm

splitpoint wrote:
tim gueguen wrote:I actually asked if anyone knew what was used on the first Planet P record a while back, but no one seemed to know.
I read an interview years ago, I don't remember much but I do remember that Tony used a big pile of Roland gear to make that album. I'll poke around and see if I can find the interview.

That's certainly my guess. The synths on it just don't sound like say Prophets or OBXas to my ears. The Roland drum box is pretty obvious. Pink World on the other hand has a lot of Fairlight CMI on it.

masstronaut · Post by **masstronaut** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:07 am

EDP Wasp?

Post by **Logan 5** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:23 am

Has anyone heard anything by the Frenchman Bernard Szajner?
I first investigated him in the early 80s after reading about him inventing the Laser Harp that JMJ used.I tracked down his album "Some Deaths take Forever" (1980)on vinyl and it was amazing.
Years later I found it re-issued on CD.It has lots of great vocoder work,modular synths and some very un-nerving production techniques.

veer chasm · Post by **veer chasm** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:07 pm

LesDeuxLoveOrchestra wrote:The Blue Nile, especially the "Hats" album, has the most beautiful synths i have heard. heartbreakingly great.

Amen.

chamomileshark · Post by **chamomileshark** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:33 pm

The two people that got me into synths, Tim Blake (Gong, Hawkwind and solo) and Richard Pinhas (Heldon), particularly on the album East/West with the Moog 55, PPG modular (I think) and lots of other stuff.

Phollop Willing PA · Post by **Phollop Willing PA** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:47 am

masstronaut wrote:Early Skinny Puppy is wicked. My favourite stuff of Key's is The Tear Garden project with Edward Ka-Spel and David Ogilvie. 'Ophelia' from their first record is a goodun, and conveniently on the myspace! From 1986.

http://www.myspace.com/teargardenband

We were suppose to open for Skinny Puppy and they paid us not to play. I guess they didn't like our name: Fat Cat.

It's too bad because we never ended up playing live at all. The band broke up and went to Phycus, Nash the Slash, and other projects.

I cobbled a CD out of the rehearsals.

I love that early Skinny Puppy sound - kind of like Daleks meet Tom Waits or something.

lost cause · Post by **lost cause** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:50 am

I've searched for both these guys and neither of them have been mentioned yet:

Ian Boddy. He released a fantastic LP in '83 called 'The Climb'. One of my all time favourite synth LP's. Nice gear list, driving rhythms, cool sequences and some beautiful analogue sounds. Features 303/606 basslines/drums throughout. Well worth checking out. His next LP was 'Spirits' - a marriage of synths and real drums... which I totally hated! After that he got a job working for Akai in the UK and also produced a couple of sample CD's.

Dave Greenslade. Keyboard player from Colisseum. He released a nice LP called 'Pentateuch of the Cosmogany' in the early 80's. This double LP featured several pages of beautiful artwork by Patrick Woodroffe. Some tracks very reminiscent of TD from the same period. Lots of ARP sounds in evidence. Fave tracks: 'Mischief/War' & 'Tiger and the Dove'.

lost cause · Post by **lost cause** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:55 am

Logan 5 wrote:Has anyone heard anything by the Frenchman Bernard Szajner?
I first investigated him in the early 80s after reading about him inventing the Laser Harp that JMJ used.I tracked down his album "Some Deaths take Forever" (1980)on vinyl and it was amazing.
Years later I found it re-issued on CD.It has lots of great vocoder work,modular synths and some very un-nerving production techniques.

Yes, I picked up 'Brute Reason' in the early 80's (just 'cos of the back cover photo - I knew it must be good lol) and bought 'Some Deaths' many years later. Much prefer 'Brute Reason' as I think 'Some Deaths' is very cold and sterile.

masstronaut · Post by **masstronaut** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:15 am

chamomileshark wrote:The two people that got me into synths, Tim Blake (Gong, Hawkwind and solo) and Richard Pinhas (Heldon), particularly on the album East/West with the Moog 55, PPG modular (I think) and lots of other stuff.

Ah, good old d**k Pinhas, there's a name to conjure with. The first couple of Heldon records are brilliant minimal synth and guitar drone workouts. I have Heldon 6 - Interface which rocks pretty hard - basically chunky Moog sequences and drums.

The ever excellent cuneiform have all of these as well: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/pinhas.html

Post by **shaft9000** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:55 pm

Mark White of ABC.

(i presume) his work on the How To Be A Zillionare! record and particularly the Tower of London 12" is about as good as 80's synth work gets.
I may be crediting the wrong guy as half the band were just there for show mostly...but he is credited as playing: Emulator 2, fairlight CMI & Synthesizers. There are a couple other hired hands credited w/ synth work as well.
I suspect it was mostly his work though, since he is credited as producer and arranger as well. Would have to know his stuff to get results like that.

nitkov · Post by **nitkov** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:29 pm

shaft9000 wrote:Mark White of ABC.

then go check VICE VERSA [if you haven't already], the all-electronic pre-ABC band! mark sang, martin played synths - and it sounded even better!

Post by **shaft9000** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:18 pm

nitkov wrote: then go check VICE VERSA [if you haven't already], the all-electronic pre-ABC band! mark sang, martin played synths - and it sounded even better!

i'll keep my eyes open for it, for sure!
thanks

hfinn · Post by **hfinn** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:52 pm

Vice Versa are great. Reminds me of Rational Youth and early Human League