First Quest was an all-exclusive campaign for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Released in 1985, the campaign map and other documentation came packaged as the insert to an epic ambient synth soundtrack meant to score the mission through the hobgoblin kingdom (interspersed with bits of narration, of course).

Blogonomicon has more info if you're interested in actually playing along with the campaign. There was apparently a second version on CD that you can find through various sellers on Amazon, too. Read the rest

In this video, Claude Debussy's Clair de Line is presented on a modular synthesizer. The accompanying Haiku says all:

from the modular, a landscape a wee sterile, just a reflection ~

The performer is ann annie, who can be found on Instagram and Bandcamp. There are only a few other recordings on YouTube, but they're all wonderful. Here's "North Wind":

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Akai's MPC One is a beat-making box that fits in a backpack (unlike the MPC X) and costs less than a grand (unlike the MPC Live), has a 7-inch touchscreen display, and offers a full bank of pads, knobs and dials for standalone action, and outputs and ports for hooking it up to other audio gear, synths and computers.

Dani Deahl:

For those unaware of the history of Akai’s MPC, the Japanese electronics company’s signature item first debuted over 30 years ago and changed music-making forever with its intuitive interface and all-in-one approach. It’s been a staple tool for tons of artists like Dr. Dre and Om’Mas Keith (Frank Ocean’s producer), and there’s even one in the Smithsonian. ... Akai says it packed a “remarkably comprehensive feature set” into the MPC One. Along with the standard 16 pads, it sports a seven-inch multitouch display and four touch-sensitive rotaries for manipulating sounds. On the back is a single set of MIDI I/O ports, four CV / Gate jacks (for controlling connected gear), and eight outputs total. There are 2GB of RAM, and USB flash and SD card storage can expand the unit’s 4GB capacity (which could easily top out since it’s preloaded with 2GB of drum samples and loops). The MPC One also ships with several soft synths and Air FX plug-ins for mixing and mastering. Akai tells The Verge that it focused on smaller size, added CV functionality, and a cheaper price to make the MPC One “the center of a ‘DAW-less jam’ style studio.”

In my experience, most people haven't heard of the Rentals — and most of those who have heard of them only really know them as "that other band that Weezer's old bass player was in." Or the band who wrote "Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad."

That is all technically accurate. The group was started by Matt Sharp while he was still Weezer's secret weapon. And Elon Musk does make him sad. Since leaving that other band, Sharp has continued to release orchestral synth-y power-pop with a rotating cast of musicians under the Rentals moniker over the last 20 years. The group has included performers like Maya Rudolph, the Haden Sisters,  Joey Santiago from the Pixies, Patrick Carney from the Black Keys, and many others.

The spaced-out track above is an instrumental mix of a tune from the band's upcoming sci-fi-themed album, Q36. The band has been releasing a new track every 2 weeks, along with a corresponding limited-edition t-shirt and hitRECORD project. And while I liked the regular version of "Invasion Night," I absolutely love this ambient version of it. Sharp cut out all the the vocals, drums, and bass in order to focus on his synthesizer sounds and the guitar work of Nick Zinner (most famously of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), and the result almost makes me feel like I'm in the head of Major Tom as he floats to his death.

The video that goes along with it was actually part of the Rentals' 2009 album Songs About Time, which included 365 photographs, 52 short films, and 3 EPs, all created in real-time over the course of a year. Read the rest

Mario Mathy still lives, but even when he is gone, the jumping dance will live forever. Mathy was recently Keyboard Mag's featured artist.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CRAZY VIDEO WITH KEYBOARDS AND HORSES: The video clip for "Jumping Dance" was actually a joke between my wife and my record company. Of course I also realize that my videos were exaggerated, but that was the only way to stand out in Belgium. My wife who is 23 years younger than me put that clip on YouTube together with my record company. And of course, it became quite popular after 32 years! It featured only Casio instruments like the CZ-3000 and 5000 and the CZ-1, because I was Casio demonstrator.

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The Solton Ketron Programmer 24 is a 1985 sample-based synthesizer described as "The Italo Disco machine". They used to be on eBay, but good luck finding one nowawadays for much less than $2,000.

Hungry Like The Wolf is Duran Duran's breakthrough hit, which reached #3 in the US in 1982.

The above video is a remix of Hungry Like The Wolf performed on a Solton Ketron Programmer 24. Jump to 3:20 if you don't want to watch it being programmed.

Following is some more Programmer 24 action and a link to its dry, ripped samples. Musicians in the audience will purchase this sample pack and further reimagine the 1980s as if Giorgio Moroder was personally responsible for all of it.

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From the galleries, the music grows louder and more complex as the slaves, surgically operated upon to sing but one perfect note each, are stimulated to more passionate efforts. Even the young emperor is moved by the sinister harmony of their song which in few ways resembles anything previously uttered by the human voice. Why should their pain produce such marvellous beauty? he wonders. Or is all beauty created through pain? Is that the secret of great art, both human and Melnibonean?

The Emperor Elric closes his eyes.

            — Michael Moorcock, Elric of Melnibone

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Blocks is a tiny synth system that fits in a laptop bag but looks like a ton of fun, with various modules that click together, weird touch- and pressure-sensitive rubbery keys and pads, and various "control" blocks for looping, recording, sequencing, and MIDI/USB connections to other gear.

Roli Blocks [Amazon]

They also sell a range of keyboard controllers using the same design. Even the two-octave models are awfully expensive; I don't even want to know how much the "grand" model is.

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Last time I saw Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Dave Depper, we were at our dear friends' wedding dancing in a huge sweaty group and singing along to 1980s anthems by New Order and Pet Shop Boys. I mention that because Dave just released his stunning first solo album and there's a bit of that vintage synthpop vibe flowing through the record, titled "Emotional Freedom Technique." Not that this is a retro play; it's not. The record is a wholly contemporary affair even as Dave freely allows his influences, from 80s dancefloor jams to Prince's funky rhythms, ebb and flow through his songwriting. Emotional Freedom Technique blends nu-disco ass-shakers with lovely emo mix tape material and afterparty ambience. You'll dig it. Listen below and order here.

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You can get close with modern clones of the TB-303 bassline synthesizer and the TR-909 drum machine, but Roland made the originals, and it's making them again. They're not identical—being smaller, for starters—but they're taking the job seriously and response seems very positive: users say the new models are faithful and improved. The lineup is being sold as "Roland Boutique" and I doubt I'll be able to resist for long.

But here’s where I’ll say something blasphemous:

I think insisting on using the original 303 and 909, at their current used prices, is absurd. And not only that, but it cuts anyone who doesn’t have large chunks of disposal income out of the joy of using these instruments. That’s ironic for instrument whose legacy was built on being essentially undesirable – an unwanted machine that got into the hands artists who abused them in creative ways.

Don’t get me wrong: if you’ve got an original TB-303 or a TR-909, good for you, and enjoy! But with reliability failing and prices continuing to clime, this simply isn’t an option for a lot of people. (Ironically, it’s easier to make a 17th century viola da gamba last than electronic instruments, so we’re always going to have to deal with making new gear.)

What’s special about the TB-303 and TR-909 remakes is that they actually give you what you want. They give you the sound and the design. But they also do the other things you’d wish for – they’re convenient, they’re not expensive, and they have some modern additions that make them more usable and fun to play.

You saw the thumbnail and you came to the post, so here's the cold truth: it's just a rendering. Zont Sound's beautiful little pocket synth will have an AMOLED display, softly-backlit matte-touch controls, wireless and USB-C connections, and 3.5mm out. There's a dock that adds MIDI, writes Sean O'Kane, and at least a year of dreaming ahead of us. [h/t daneel]

Unfortunately, it seems that it will be a long time before anyone gets a chance to play with the Zont synth: the official website says it won’t be available until the fall of 2017. And while the designer behind the project, Pavel Golovkin, claims to have industrial design experience at Nooka (a company known for its wild wristwatches), this appears to be his first attempt at making his own hardware. That’s not always a promising proposition, though Teenage Engineering pulled it off with their own (admittedly low-budget) pocket synthesizers. (In fact, Zont's already drawing comparisons to Teenage Engineering's synth.) Golovkin will start up a crowdfunding campaign for the Zont synth later this year. Here’s hoping he befriends some audio engineers in the meantime.

Orbital talks vintage synths and its new album with Wired's Geeta Dayal. (It's available streaming at NME or as a fancy import CD on Amazon) Read the rest

A modern electronica duo can only dream of being as good as Future World Orchestra. [via Robert Popper] Read the rest