I am going to document here the development of my Electronic Music Box DIY performance synthesizer inspired by Buchla’s Music Easel. Everything is going to be under a 6U rack format engine bonnet. The density of controls is something between Doepfer and MOTM. Color-coding is little from Buchla (blue and red) and I am using nice NKK-switches and Alpha-sliders with LED’s inside (take a look at Henrik Nydells Modulator: http://nyd.cc/projects/modulator).

The heart’s of this design are my two Oakley VCO’s that I am going to take apart and give a new life as complex VCO’s. Jörgen Bergfors has designed a beautiful Complex VCO here http://hem.bredband.net/bersyn/VCO/vco_complex.htm. The core of my Complex VCO is Oakley VCO. Waveshaping is by Bergfors and Ian Fritz (http://home.comcast.net/~ijfritz/sy_cir5.htm). Two waveshapes can be selected by voltage and mixed to MIX-OUT.The second VCO is simpler with just basic waveforms and Buchla’s timbre generator from Music Easel. Timbre can be modulated by voltage.

8-step VCP sequencer is from Fonitronik http://www.modular.fonik.de/Page47.html#Link384. It is an interesting design where you can select Gray code patterns (256 patterns) with voltage.There are three options for every step; normal 8-step sequence, skipped, ADC-controlled gray code. I am going to integrate Electric Druids TAP-tempo clock to this sequencer so that you can choose the tempos on fly.

There are two LFO’s that use the same PIC-chip as in the sequencers TAP-tempo clock. This is a very versatile digital LFO-chip with TAP-tempo/external clock, six waveforms, wave distort and tempo multiplier. More information is here http://www.electricdruid.com/index.php?page=projects.taplfo.

To save time I decided to order Doepfer-modules that I am going to adapt in my own design. A-149-1 and A-149-2 generate random quantized and stored voltages as in Buchla’s Source of Uncertainty. Two A-101-2 LPG’s as Buchla’s Low Pass Gates. A-134 PAN can do voltage controlled panning or two signal morphing.

First stage of this project was to design the front plate and to decide what functions to implement in this limited 6U rack space. Here is a picture of the prototypes front plate that I am going to do by my self:

 When I am sure that this is how I want it then I am going to order the final plate from Schaeffer AG (it is designed by Schaeffers Front Panel Designer).

You will hear me soon more...

/Manu

Greener Grass is an art and documentary project by artist Mari Keski-Korsu. Greener Grass discusses Finnish immigration history in United States and how this history could reflect on today’s challenges of immigration. Mari traveled by a freighter from Liverpool (UK) to Chester (PA, US) following the Finnish immigration routes of the past. In US, she interviewed people with Finnish descent about their family history, immigration background’s affect on their own identity and what they think about the contemporary immigration. The end result of the project is a video installation in Helsinki Taidehalli from 19.3.-17.4. Sigma composed about 20min soundscape for video. Here is the link to Taidehalli and Greener Grass blog:

http://www.taidehalli.fi/finnish/tulevat/mari-keski-korsu-fi/

http://www.greenergrass.info/

/Manu

Better later than never. Moebius and Roedelius performed 3. and 4.12. in Finland and I was there !

Finnish  weekly radio show presenting electronic and experimental music has been online for 20 years! Spacecommander Jukka Mikkola celebrates this event by offering before unpublished music from several finnish artist on MP3 format in Space Junks web-pages. This offering is valid until 4th of july 2010 !!

http://www.yle.fi/radio1/musiikki/avaruusromua/

The artists are: Pekka Airaksinen, Corporate 09, Dystopia, E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr, Hepa Halme, Koneveljet, Esa Kotilainen, Petri Kuljuntausta, Lackluster, Jussi Lehtisalo, Mac Mavis, Nemesis, Anton Nikkilä, Ozone Player, Pharaoh Overlord, Rihmasto, Tapani Rinne, Rinneradio, Esa Ruoho, Jarmo Saari, Sigma, Siniaalto, Niko Skorpio, Mika Vainio, Verde, Winterplanet, Jari Ylämäki, Zoät-Aon

/Manu

Photo-pages has all new design. Added photos from Echigoya Music that is a small musical instrument store in Tokyo Japan. I have never seen so many synthesizers in so small room. Check the photos here:

http://www.studiomanus.com/Assets/Pictures/tokyo/index.html

and here is the link to Echigoya (japanes pages):

http://www.echigoyamusic.com/used/search3.cgi?CATE=Vintage

/Manu