I Dream of Wires

[GuyaGuy]

Looks like this documentary on modular synthesis is set to be released June 2013. Interviews with Vince Clark, Lichens, Doepfer, et al.



The older trailer:

[griffin avid]

Looks insane and will probably spark a lot of interest and rekindle it in others.
I'm aboard and can't wait to check it out.

[pflosi]

Already ordered the 4 hours 2DVD Hardcore Edition looking very much forward to an ultra geeky evening

[Alex E]

Yeah but will Deadmau5 be in it?

[pflosi]

Yes he is... Bruce Duncan is seen in the new trailer with him, dragging around his massive Modcan...

Not that I would care though

[madtheory]

Ya looks great! But brings out the consumerism- now I need to buy a Blu Ray player, and I'm gassing for an A-100...

[Walter Ego]

Also two of my heroes are interviewed on this:

Jason Amm of Solvent

http://www.solventcity.com/

and

Jon Sonnenberg of Travelogue/House of Wires/Pivot Clowj

http://artoftravelogue.blogspot.com/

[griffin avid]

It's funny how many reasons to be into Modulars are the exact reason so many artists/musicians/people are into synths overall. They tapped just about every aspect of the attraction. And I'm glad they approached it from the angle of almost being an irrational passion. I always roll my eyes when people focus solely on the musicality.

I always think "No, that aint it...aint always the Sound- sometimes it's HOW the sound is arrived at."
And once you admit that, you can gently remove yourself from the hardware software debate.

[Automatic Gainsay]

The first trailer for this that I saw showed not a single Moog modular, and had no mention of Bob Moog. I have to admit that it tarnished my view of the project. I'm glad to see that now they're including some Moog modulars and mention of Bob Moog. Although I gotta say I think it's retarded when that guy says "Bob Moog did the best he could with what he had." Absolutely stunningly ridiculous. What Bob Moog created was an incredibly powerful tool for generating timbres and their articulation. With enough oscillators, envelopes, etc. any sound could be made with what he created.
This goes to the heart of why I am irritated with this documentary and the current modular trend: it is largely based in the Buchla philsophy... which is quite different from the Moog philosophy. The Buchla philosophy is much more embraced in the modern era because it's about performance. It's about a device that allows realtime composition in a performance setting of electronic music. And that's fine- but the Moog philosophy was about skilled authorship of sound. You don't need a modular to produce a song. You do, however, need a modular to author original timbres.

I don't need to tell you that my viewpoint was not appealing to Morton Subotnick.

[griffin avid]

I was also hoping for subtitles so I knew who was saying what in what context.
I saw a playful Wendy Carlos jab, but lost the context and didn't bother to rewind.

I did see some posturing and subtle advertising, but I think those must be from companies that acted more like sponsors than subjects.

[GuyaGuy]

The first trailer for this that I saw showed not a single Moog modular, and had no mention of Bob Moog. I have to admit that it tarnished my view of the project. I'm glad to see that now they're including some Moog modulars and mention of Bob Moog. Although I gotta say I think it's retarded when that guy says "Bob Moog did the best he could with what he had." Absolutely stunningly ridiculous. What Bob Moog created was an incredibly powerful tool for generating timbres and their articulation. With enough oscillators, envelopes, etc. any sound could be made with what he created.
This goes to the heart of why I am irritated with this documentary and the current modular trend: it is largely based in the Buchla philsophy... which is quite different from the Moog philosophy. The Buchla philosophy is much more embraced in the modern era because it's about performance. It's about a device that allows realtime composition in a performance setting of electronic music. And that's fine- but the Moog philosophy was about skilled authorship of sound. You don't need a modular to produce a song. You do, however, need a modular to author original timbres.

I don't need to tell you that my viewpoint was not appealing to Morton Subotnick.

The film's focus is on the current scene though, and Moog Music really isn't much of a player in that modular revival.

[Automatic Gainsay]

The film's focus is on the current scene though, and Moog Music really isn't much of a player in that modular revival.

Moog Music has nothing to do with it. Bob Moog does.

[Stab Frenzy]

This goes to the heart of why I am irritated with this documentary and the current modular trend: it is largely based in the Buchla philsophy... which is quite different from the Moog philosophy.

The film's focus is on the current scene though, and Moog Music really isn't much of a player in that modular revival.

Moog Music has nothing to do with it. Bob Moog does.

This film is about the current modular resurgence, you know, the one you said is based more on the Buchla philosophy than the Moog one.

Aside from that, Bob Moog doesn't have to be the focus of every synth/modular film ever made. There's already the Moog film and he's received a great deal of recognition for all the fantastic work he's done, it's not unfair that Don and other pioneers get their time in the sun too.

[GuyaGuy]

The film's focus is on the current scene though, and Moog Music really isn't much of a player in that modular revival.

Moog Music has nothing to do with it. Bob Moog does.

It only has to do with Moog Music. It's a film about the contemporary modular world and Bob is not in that world. I'm sure it will touch on the history, including Bob and the other old cats. But it's mostly about the young kittens. I don't know about the film but the trailers don't even have archival footage or photos.

[Automatic Gainsay]

This goes to the heart of why I am irritated with this documentary and the current modular trend: it is largely based in the Buchla philsophy... which is quite different from the Moog philosophy.

The film's focus is on the current scene though, and Moog Music really isn't much of a player in that modular revival.

Moog Music has nothing to do with it. Bob Moog does.

This film is about the current modular resurgence, you know, the one you said is based more on the Buchla philosophy than the Moog one.

Aside from that, Bob Moog doesn't have to be the focus of every synth/modular film ever made. There's already the Moog film and he's received a great deal of recognition for all the work he's done, it's not unfair that Don and other pioneers get their time in the sun too.

Hey, genius... if you're going to decry me for wanting Bob to be involved, don't quote my quote about Buchla. While he is involved in modern production of modular devices, the video FEATURES HIS ORIGINAL WORK. Jesus Christ.

But as I pointed out when the first trailer was released... there are ALL KINDS of historical modulars in the movie. In fact, they featured historical artists talking about historical modulars. It may very well be about the "resurgence," but if it's ONLY about the resurgence, it would ONLY include modern modulars... which is not the case at all. And you undoubtedly know it.

Also, as is PLAINLY apparent, I'm not suggesting it has to be ABOUT Bob Moog. But to (at least initially) not mention Bob Moog at all is absolutely ridiculous.

If you'd like to learn about the history of modular synthesis, I can help you. While Don Buchla independently applied control voltage in ways that suited his intent, the portrayal associated with his application is not accurate. Bob Moog created the current modular paradigm, even if the sequencer wasn't a part of his and Herb's vision.

If you're going to complain about the prevalence of Bob Moog, you should really go back to who essentially invented control voltage-based modular synthesis... and wasn't Bob or Don. But you'd rather argue other things, I suspect.

The Moog movie wasn't about synthesizers or history. It was about the man. There is SO MUCH historically that isn't in that movie.

Should "I dream of wires" be about Bob? h**l no. It is, as you b***h, about the modern resurgence. But should Bob be mentioned, described, and credited if they're going to talk about history or feature vintage devices and artists? Well, f**k obviously.