OMD ~ Documentary
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ~ Souvenir…
A British new wave group formed in 1978, whose founding members, Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphrey’s (keyboards, vocals), are originally from Wirral, England.
While steadily eschewing pop star status, the band cultivated a fan base in the United Kingdom from 1978–1980. They gained popularity throughout Europe with the hugely successful 1980 single “Enola Gay”, and achieved broader recognition via seminal album Architecture & Morality (1981)[a] and its singles. OMD also garnered acclaim for their experimental recordings, consistently producing music of greater intellectual depth than that of their peers.
Although retrospectively lauded, the sonically challenging Dazzle Ships (1983) eroded European consumer interest during the mid 1980’s; Junk Culture (1984) marked a shift toward more pop-oriented song-writing. Concurrently, OMD reached their peak in the United States and had a major hit with 1986’s “If You Leave”, written for the film Pretty in Pink. Humphrey’s departed in 1989 with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Malcolm Holmes (drums) to form The Listening Pool, leaving McCluskey to lead the outfit;
Sugar Tax (1991) and its initial singles were sizeable hits in Europe. By the mid 1990’s, however, synthpop had become unfashionable amid the guitar oriented musical climate, and McCluskey dissolved the band in 1996, months after their last successful single, “Walking on the Milky Way”. He founded pop group Atomic Kitten in 1998.
The band reformed in 2006 and began releasing new material in 2009. Their European fan base remained steadfast: History of Modern (2010) became the group’s biggest hit on the German chart; English Electric (2013) their largest in the UK since Sugar Tax.
The group have sold over 40 million records. Despite limited mainstream support for their unconventional works, OMD have carved a unique legacy within popular music, being regarded by critics as the synthpop counterpart of The Beatles, and a pioneering and highly influential act.
The Quietus magazine editor John Doran once remarked: “Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are not one of the best synth bands ever: they are one of the best bands ever.
Waldorf Nave – Analysing Audio File
Korg ARP Odyssey Introduction With David Friend
At the 2015 NAMM Show, Korg introduced their new version of the ARP Odyssey.
As part of this presentation, ARP’s David Friend shared his memories of creating the ARP Odyssey.
Moon 569 Polyrhythm Demo
Quick demonstration of how to create a simple polyrhythm pattern using a Moon Modular 569 step sequencer (and other similarly capable step sequencers too)
CS15D – multi-sample Live Pack based on the vintage Yamaha CS-15D
Cluster Sound has released CS15D, a multi-sample Live Pack based on the vintage Yamaha CS-15D.
CS15D is an extensive multi-sample Live Pack reproducing the sound of the vintage Yamaha CS-15D, a great sounding monophonic analog synthesizer released in 1979.
Details:
- THE SOURCE The CS-15D is a monophonic analog synth with loads of character, one of the most solid and warm single-VCO machine ever. The synth features 29 preset voices divided in two mixable channels, plus a manual section comprising a variable pulse-saw oscillator, a PW modulator, a noise generator and a 12db filter with a dedicated ADSR envelope.
- BRILLIANT SOUNDS Despite referred to an array of realistic instrument names (Tuba, Oboe, Horn, Harpsi, Xilophone..) the 29 presets give a variety of synthetic sounds ranging from fat basses to solid percussive organs and warm brass strings. These sounds can be altered by the Brilliance slider which acts in several interesting ways depending on the selected preset.
- THE PACK CS15D is based on 74 multi-sample recordings reproducing all the presets with different brilliance amounts, several variations of the VCF envelope and various manual oscillator settings (including a tuned noise). The Live Pack features 90 Instrument Racks with useful macro controls, including special Mixed Racks for easy drag ’n drop customization.
CS15D is available for 24.00 € at the Cluster Sound site.
New Modor NF-1 Hardware Synth in the Works
The Modor NF-1 synth is a digital DSP synth very comparable to the classic Virtual Analog synths, but Modor is moving further on from this point. We use the classic structure of VA-synths, with oscillators, filters and effects, with parameters that can be modulated using LFO’s and envelopes. But every element has been retought and reinvented. In a digital way. The NF-1 has a classic 12dB/oct resonant filter, but we are also giving it a versatile formant filter, never seen in hardware before! It does make classic sawtooth waves, but we’re also including a lot of other brand new modulatable noisy waveforms! It has a classic delay effect, but we make every parameter editable to give way to special unexpected effect types! And so on …
Yes, it’s digital and we’re proud of it! We are making a very hands-on, laborious new synth having plenty of knobs and switches right on top of it to shape any sound parameter thats in it. Nothing to look up in menus!”
Demos at Modor Music
Specs for the archives:
Memory
256 patches, all factory presets overwritable
Connections
9V, 600mA adapter connection, positive voltage on center pin
MIDI IN/THRU/OUT connections, 3x 5-pin DIN connection
Audio Left and Right outputs, 6.35mm mono jack
Sustain switch, 6.35mm mono jack
Volume/modulation pedal, 6.35mm stereo jack
Front panel controls
42 rotary knobs
20 switches
1 rotary encoder control
1 Power switch/volume knob
Display
16×2 green backlit LCD display
Osc section
3 identical fully independant oscillators
10 waveforms:
SAW: pulse width modulation sawtooth wave
SQU: pulse width modulation square/pulse wave
TRI: pulse width modulation triangle wave
SYNC: sounding like a oscillator-synced wave
ADD: additive harmonics
SONAR: resonant bandpass filtered noise
WIND: wind instrument noise
ARC: arcade game style noise
FM: sinus FM pair
FBFM: feedback sinus FM pair
Filter section
12dB/oct resonant filter switchable as lowpass, hipass, bandpass or bandstop (notch)
Formant filter with 3 morphing vowels, 10 vowel presets and user controllable formant frequencies
Effects section
“Comb filter” effect section to create chorus, flanger, … effects
Delay effect section to create echo effects
Modulation section
4 3-stage envelopes, 3 level settings and 4 time settings
2 switchable LFO’s with TRI/SAW/SQU/SIN waveforms, 1 TRI-LFO connected to modwheel, 1 random S&H with lowpass option
7 user-defineable modulation lines, 16 source signals, 59 destination parameters
MIDI
Full realtime MIDI control of all sound parameters
Pitch Bend, Modwheel (CTRL#1), Expression pedal (CTRL#7), Velocity and Aftertouch can be used as modulation sources
Measurements
Width: 440mm without rack ears, 480mm with rack ears (19″)
Height: 267mm (10.5″/ 6U)
Depth: 40mm (front) – 80mm (back)
Rackmountable
Height: 6 rackunits
Rack mounting ears included
Recessed backside connections to ease rack mounting (no lost rackspace above)
Accesoires
Manual
230V AC power adapter
Wooden side panels
Rack mounting ears
Clone – Micro Tutorial
This is a micro tutorial of Clone by Sonic Faction, a new synth for Ableton Live and Max for Live. For more Clone audio demos and instrument features visit: http://sonicfaction.com/products/able…
-or-
check out our entire arsenal of Ableton/Max for Live instruments at: http://www.SonicFaction.com
Sonic Faction’s Taylor Martyr says, “Max for Live allows us to create custom-designed interfaces and intuitive controls that haven’t been possible in Ableton until now. Among its other features, Clone has a unique section called the ‘Delta Triangulator’ which allows users to rhythmically modulate their sound with ease. It’s great for when you want to achieve driving, 80’s-sounding bass lines”
SUPER-7 : New free supersaw synthesizer plug-in for Windows
CFA-Sound is celebrating its 7th anniversary with the release of SUPER-7, a free supersaw synthesizer plug-in for Windows.
Everyone who produces electronic music knows the infamous Supersaw of the Roland JP8000/8080, and even it`s a relatively old synthesizer this specific waveform or better sayed oscillator mode is still heavy in use and wanted. Also for myself, but more in terms of discovering how it works and how to emulate it.
During the last year, i worked on a small emulation of it as little side project for fun & learning primary, and well here it is, the final result. Surely in some specific areas not 100% like original but very close based on the comparision to the real one and the specs. All packed into a slim synthesizer shell with an easy-to-use interface, decent on CPU usage and most of all – it`s for free.
SUPER-7 features
- Polyphonic virtual-analog modelled synthesizer.
- 32 voices polyphony.
- One emulated supersaw oscillator.
- 4-pole lowpass filter.
- Shape-able envelopes.
- 20 presets included.
The plug-in is available to download for Windows (VST).
deadbeat: Bisarr
From the upcoming album ‘En länk till det förflutna (A link to the past ). Release in late April, 2015.
https://soundcloud.com/deadbeatexhibit
Experimental: Microtonal Wall at Interaccess – Walkthrough
Tristan Perich: Microtonal Wall
1,500 speakers, each playing a single microtonal frequency, collectively spanning 4 octaves. Commissioned in part by Rhizome, with additional support from the Addison Gallery.
Video walkthrough from the exhibition “Microtonal Array” (with work by Tristan Perich and Sarah Rara)
InterAccess
Toronto, Canada
DATAMASKIN
