Vangelis Sound from the Little Phatty, via mik300z of YouTube

Like Vangelis?  So do I.  Recently YouTube user mik300z put up an excellent video showcasing a Little Phatty emulating the classic Vangelis sound made on the Yamaha CS80.  If you're a Blade Runner fan, you'll love this.  Since he go so many replies, he even recreates the patch so you can make your own at home.  Check it out!  And while you're at it, why not head over to his YouTube page or one of the video pages and thank him?

that girl with dark eyes-- Edgy 80s Sounds from a One-Woman Operation

that girl with dark eyes, AKA Tiffany Sotomayor, is a great synthy singer-songwriter out of San Francisco/ Barcelona.  I received an email about her a week ago and am finally getting this post I wanted up now.  A couple of my favorites of her tracks from her SoundCloud include "Hey Baby" and "Balloon".  "Hey Baby" features some great Chromeo-esque leads and crisp beats.  "Balloon" features some 80s styling, pad stabs, and a warm grumbly bass.  Great stuff.

Check out all the tracks from her recent digital release below.  I'm really excited to hear what she comes up with next, so keep an eye out for more in the new year.

I'm not dead... here's some music!

Hey readers,
I know it's been a while.  I haven't even checked the stats page in some time, I'm sure alot of you guys stopped checking in daily after that fall off of posts... just letting you know, I am really busy with schoolwork right now, and in addition to that there isn't a ton of new synth news... mostly some companies sitting on their asses about new great products, and some actually putting some together... unfortunately, the synth world is a bit split nowadays.  Tons of money gets put into researching making the best workstations and digital synths.  Nothing's wrong with digital, but it needs to be balanced with analog-- a bit like pie and ice cream.  A warm part and a colder part.  It's silly, but it's the truth.  For every great Moog or DSI product, we also see a ton of whack digital crap.  Analog's a bit like vinyl-- it's coming back, but not many companies realize it, or if they do, they're trying to ignore it.  So don't give up on this site-- I haven't.  I've just been busy, and there hasn't been groundbreaking news to me, although there is a ton of new music swirling around... much of it I'm unaware of.

Keep in mind I always want to keep the posts on this site of a certain quality.  I don't want to bog you down with eBay listings (if you wanted eBay, you'd be there, not here).  I don't cover the page with silly YouTube videos of huge modular systems where one can't make sense of it.  I try to keep it pure here-- pure entertainment, little advertising (almost none at this point!), and nothing but good music.

Here's a few tracks to fill the void of absence...

KITES - The Disappearance of Becky Sharp - The Sanfernando Sound REMIX by The Sanfernando Sound

Silenx - Long Lost Love by Silenx

Edwin van Cleef - November Mix by Edwin van Cleef

Breaking: Daft Punk's website changes, speculation begins

Exciting news that Daft Punk's website has updated it's look-- which only means one thing-- a big announcement is around the corner!  Sure, it's complete speculation, but I wouldn't doubt that Thomas and Guy-Manuel are up to going to announce a new record soon.  We're coming up on about a year anniversary of the release of the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack, but it's been a full 6 years since Human After All came out.  The French duo HAD to have done more in that time-- there were reports a couple years ago that they were recording again, so it's unclear if it was the Tron soundtrack or a new record, but this site update is promising.  Expect some sort of announcement soon, and cross your fingers for a new record!

Korg announce 2 new Monotrons

What a nice little treat for Friday!  Korg has announced two new additions to the analog "mono" family, the Monotron Duo and the Monotron Delay.  These are the siblings to the original Monotron, sharing the same MS-20 filter and oscillators, but each has replaced a function of the original.  The Delay features, obviously, a Delay, but omits the pitch knob and the resonance.  It now features a wide-range ribbon for sounds across multiple octaves.  This delay is really exciting because it can process external sounds-- that's the true value of this item.  The Duo features a ribbon that can lock to major, minor, or chromatic scaling, and features two oscillators that can be used to cross modulate one another.  It also omits the original Monotron's LFO.  Check out the videos above and below for some compact analog goodness.

Dear Korg, while you're at it making these great little analog treats, why not combine them to make a new analog classic?  You're halfway there.  Adding some envelopes, a keyboard, and a little bit more size to the unit for this low of a price would make it a musician's dream.  Everyone would want one.  Pretty please, Korg?

Chromeo treat the Electric Factory to Halloween Funk

Chromeo were in Philadelphia this Monday for Halloween.  While the Electric Factory is not my favorite of the Philly venues, I could tell something special was in the air when I arrived.  Perhaps it was the mutual high blood sugar shared by all the guests at the Factory.  Tons of kids were dressed in costumes, some of which were hilarious-- definitely a few unique choices thrown in, too.  I haven't even been a Chromeo fan for long, but I was really anticipating their show, and they sure as hell delivered.

Dave Smith Interview: We talk Tempest with a synth legend

As some of you may have noticed, I recently changed the header of the site to a certain familiar font-- that of Dave Smith Instrument's logo.  It's commemorating the release of the new Tempest, DSI's brand new analog/digital hybrid drum machine.  I'd been trying to score an interview with Dave for a couple months now, but he's been quite busy at work on his newest classic.  Finally, that interview is up today.

To call Dave an audio electronic engineer who owns is own company just doesn't quite cut it.  He's very much a legend in the world of synthesizers.  If you don't know why, you'd have to try hard to not find his influence.  Dave started Sequential Circuits back in the mid-70s, a music company.  They created the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer, the Prophet-5, in 1977.  Prophet-5s are still highly sought after today and is arguably the greatest synthesizer ever made.  In addition to that and other great products made by SCI, Dave helped create MIDI, the universal music standard we all use for our keyboards-- he even coined the term.  Sequential Circuits was eventually bought out and Dave had stints at other companies making digital products, only to return to his roots more recently with Dave Smith Instruments, who've also remade his classic Prophet-5 as the Prophet '08, in addition to other new classics like the Evolver and Mopho.

I can't help but feel lucky to get a chance to chat with such a legendary name in electronic music.  I sit here with my Mopho Keyboard and my Tetra just within reach, two of DSI's recent creations, which I love to play.  The Tempest marks a huge moment for many synthusiasts as it's a truly rare breed-- drum machines aren't as popular, let alone an analog and digital hybrid.  While I haven't tried a Tempest yet and there aren't many (if any) reviews out yet, early impressions say Dave has once again set the bar incredibly high for competitors with a new classic.  Check out what Dave has to say on Roger Linn and the Tempest below.