korg

CatSynth Pic, and an Update on Luna

Luna, Casio SK-1 and Korg Volca Beats

Luna poses near her beanbag chair in the studio and stacked Casio SK-1 and Korg Volca BEATS. More importantly, she is now collar-free! She got the all clear at her post-surgery follow-up on Friday, as the incision is healing well. We will soon be in contact with the oncologist about a next round of chemo and hopefully we will knock out the cancer for real.

Luna has been much happier without the collar, and he mood has brightened a lot. She is playful and affectionate, but she does sleep a lot – she is a cat after all. But her sleeping once again looks very peaceful.

Luna sleeping in a circle

I am always impressed with her ability to curl up into a nearly perfect circle.

NAMM: Korg minilogue and Volca FM

Among the traditional big manufacturers of electronic instruments, Korg has stood out has having some of the strongest and most interesting offerings. This year, they introduced the minilogue which was perhaps the most discussed and hyped synthesizer in the lead-up to this show. It seems everyone is talking about the minilogue. So here it is.

Korg minilogue

It’s a four-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer with an estimated street price of $499. That alone would get a huge amount of attention! It is also a completely new instrument rather than a remake or model of an existing one, like Korg did with the MS-20 mini and ARP Odyssey. It’s filters and oscillators have their own sound, though it did remind me a bit of the Arturia Minibrute. It is quite approachable and playable, sleek and light. The little waveform display is a really nice touch as well. A few of the controls were a little tricky to get at first, including the preset selector and some of the controller options. Like many other friends, colleagues, and fellow synth nerds, I may find myself getting one considering the price. Though that $499 could go part way to a Prophet 6 instead.

Another new release, the Volca FM was more a surprise.

Korg Volca FM

It combines the Volca keyboard and sequencer with a 6-operator FM synth, much like the Yamaha DX7 and others. Indeed it supports existing DX7 sounds (presumably that includes TX802 and other instruments from the DX7 series). In addition to being more portable and playable than my 1980s Yamaha FM modules, it has some new real-time features that like, including the ability to change the algorithm while playing via a knob or automation. If one wants to experiment with FM synthesis again in the context of modular synths, as I do, this seems like good choice.

Analog Ladies at Robotspeak

Today we look back at the recent Analog Ladies edition of the Church of the Superserge that took place in late June at Robotspeak in San Francisco.

The Analog Ladies show featured solo performances by five women on analog synthesizers (along with some additional items). It was a diverse cross-section of musical and performance styles, with each artist being different focus to her set. First up was series regular Elise Gargalikis performing on a Serge Modular synthesizer with along with vocal samples and loops.

Elise Gargalikis

Gargalikis, who often performs as part of the duo, Slope114, has a mellifluous voice that rises above some of the noise sounds from the modular synth, while blending as a high note in longer drones.

Next up was Miss Moist, an Oakland-based electronic musician who describes her music as “electro candy pop // tropical kitsch”. She combined analog electronics with a Korg Electribe and Mini-Kaoss Pad.

Miss Moist
[Photo by Tom Djll.]

The result was a blend of rhythms and sweet tones that did indeed match the description, but also moments of harsh glitching and moderate noise hits before returning back to the main patterns.

The next set featured Jill Fraser performing on her vintage Serge modular synthesizer.

Jill Fraser

Jill Fraser’s set featured fully formed compositions ranging over different parts of her career all the way to very recent. Some were very abstract, but with intricately detailed sound design on the Serge. I’ve always been impressed with the woodwind-like sounds that some musicians have been able to get from this instrument. There were also some melodic and rhythmic pieces as well, reflective of her career in film and TV.

Next up was Mint Park, who performed with an analog modular synthesizer made composed primarily of TipTop Audio modules along with a laptop running Ableton Live!

Mint Park

Her performance was intense. A strong set of beats with punctuated breaks was feed through the modular with hard grating noise that worked well in context. She kept up the energy for the entire duration of the set.

Then it was time to take the stage as the final act of show.

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[Photo by Dmitri SFC]

For this set, I brought the full analog modular system, including some recent acquisitions such as the Hexinverter.net Mutant-Hijats – I opened the set with the Hihats controlled by the Make Noise Rene and the Moog Theremini. The Theremini, used exclusively as a CV controller for the modular synth, was the centerpiece of the set as it enabled full embodied performance. I also brought along the Garrahand drum, which works well fed into the Make Noise Echophon.

Amanda Chaudhary synthesizer setup

You can here my full performance in this video.

Amanda Chaudhary at Analog Ladies, Robotspeak, San Francisco from CatSynth on Vimeo.

I always try to make sure there is a variety of textures and energy-levels and weave together a narrative structure even within improvisation. Overall, I was very pleased with this set and the response from the large crowd.

ac platforms
[Photo by Tom Djll.]

Indeed, all the artists were well received by the overflowing crowd at Robotspeak – it’s not a large place, but it was filled with synth enthusiasts and those who enjoy more adventurous music. This was the first Analog Ladies edition of the Church of the Super Serge, but I certainly hope it won’t be the last.

analog ladies robot patch cords
[Photo courtesy of Robotspeak.]