Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

I just discovered this and had to share it

not sure I've ever seen anyone shred like this on a synth / drum machine setup before

if you know of similar performances please post them

He shreds like that because he was a jazz pianist for a few decades before that performance. He was one of the early greats in synthesizer performance with the band Weather Report. RIP Joe!

Reminded me of this video, Kuprij is a classical concert pianist who also plays synths in some progrock/metal bands.
He plays the keys so hard the synth almost falls off the stand. He is one of the fastest keyboardists I've heard, and he never seems to miss any notes.



Here he is with his band, Ring of Fire in full crazymode, starting with piano then moving over to pure synth.

Bitexion wrote:Reminded me of this video, Kuprij is a classical concert pianist who also plays synths in some progrock/metal bands.

Jings, it's a keyboard version of Yngwie. He's released the fury!

Glad I got to see the Zawinul Syndicate live, about a year before he passed. What a guy! A total influence on me.

clubbedtodeath wrote:

Bitexion wrote:Reminded me of this video, Kuprij is a classical concert pianist who also plays synths in some progrock/metal bands.

Jings, it's a keyboard version of Yngwie. He's released the fury!

Quite! He has said in interviews that it is much easier for a classically trained pianist to play ultrafast/shred on a synth keyboard because they are more used to heavy hammering action, so moving over to a synth keyboard is like playing feathers in comparison. Like, jump to around 2 minutes in the first clip I posted.

Actually the singer in Ring of Fire, Mark Boals, has sang on several Yngwie albums in the early 90s/00's.

Bitexion wrote:Quite! He has said in interviews that it is much easier for a classically trained pianist to play ultrafast/shred on a synth keyboard because they are more used to heavy hammering action, so moving over to a synth keyboard is like playing feathers in comparison. Like, jump to around 2 minutes in the first clip I posted.

I'd agree with that from past experience (at a lower level). But nonetheless his technical ability is astounding. Although, like Yngwie, he plays more musically when he plays more slowly. The first half of the concert video was far more engrossing than the second; an interesting mish-mash of romantic composers.

Actually the singer in Ring of Fire, Mark Boals, has sang on several Yngwie albums in the early 90s/00's.

Ah. My Malmsteen fetish had waned by then. More of a Marching Out/Rising Force man myself.

'I am a Viking
I'm going out to war
I've got death
Upon my mind...'

You don't get classy lyrics like those nowadays.

Anyone know what the Korg synth is at Joe's left on top? I thought I knew all of Korg's boards, but don't recognize it. The others are Prophet T8, Chroma Polaris, Chroma Rack, Oberheim Matrix12 & Xpander, and a Prophet 5.

Figured it out
DW-6000....never really paid any attention to that one.

clubbedtodeath wrote:

Bitexion wrote:Quite! He has said in interviews that it is much easier for a classically trained pianist to play ultrafast/shred on a synth keyboard because they are more used to heavy hammering action, so moving over to a synth keyboard is like playing feathers in comparison. Like, jump to around 2 minutes in the first clip I posted.

I'd agree with that from past experience (at a lower level). But nonetheless his technical ability is astounding. Although, like Yngwie, he plays more musically when he plays more slowly. The first half of the concert video was far more engrossing than the second; an interesting mish-mash of romantic composers.

Actually the singer in Ring of Fire, Mark Boals, has sang on several Yngwie albums in the early 90s/00's.

Ah. My Malmsteen fetish had waned by then. More of a Marching Out/Rising Force man myself.

'I am a Viking
I'm going out to war
I've got death
Upon my mind...'

You don't get classy lyrics like those nowadays.

I think you'll enjoy this then


Some good keyboard soloing towards the end too.

Whilst I appreciate the speed and technical complexity of their playing, I find a lot of the music produced by those virtuosi very hard to listen to. I respect the likes of Jordan Rudess and Keith Emerson but they just don't do it for me.

I much prefer catchy tuned played with nice synth sounds like this:



Or this sort of virtuosity (you all know the song):



It's all a matter of personal taste, of course.

This type of musical athleticism leaves me cold. It's kind of the difference between a floor exercise and dance. One is mostly a physical pursuit & the other more of an emotional one. It was the type of playing that Zawinul said many times in interviews that he disliked as being one dimensional. But, I do admire the technical agility.

It's a matter of taste, sure. I love Dream Theater, Yes, Rick Wakeman, 70s Genesis, and even some Malmsteen. My mind can make sense of the technical wizardry and still pick out the good melodies even though they're fast.
Ring of Fire is a sort of supergroup with virtuoso members of other bands, so naturally it gets fast and technical.

But it is a matter of "ear training" I suppose, just like how I can listen to some good thrash/death metal aswell and enjoy myself, or even listen to pipe organ music, and you can't get more technical than that really (listen to Vincent Boucher's Tournemire works for instance).

There is no wrong or right when it comes to musical taste I think.

Sorry for hijacking the zavinul thread btw