Here we have the story of the song Television Set. It was a song Depeche Mode performed live at the beginning of their career. Interestingly, no one in the band wrote the song which is probably why it never appeared on an album. I love that the song was recorded on the cassette above over a Cure track.
“Probably the most famous un-released Depeche Mode track is ‘Television Set’. Television Set was a song played by the band at virtually every gig during 1981, usually as their opening number in the first 6 months of that year. It was a firm favourite amongst fans at live gigs during that period. At the time many considered it DM’s best song. When asked why it wasn’t being released as an obvious choice for a single, the whispered reply was “Vince didn’t write it”. The origins of this classic song remained shrouded in mystery for years but the songs existence has always been well known to Depeche Mode fans through live bootlegs from this period. ‘Television Set’ was written by Basildon musician Jason Knott. Jason was in a local band called ‘The Neatelllls’ (spelt with 4 L’s) which also included well know Basildon drummer Peter Hobbs. Although they never actually formed a band together, Jason, Peter and Vince Clarke did rehearse together a number of times and this how Vince got to hear the song. Vince took the song through a number of incarnations, firstly a recording with friend Sue Paget ( his bandmate in “No Romance in China”) with Vince on guitar & vocals and Sue on Bass. The second version was a solo demo track made by Vince, sounding completley different, made with a synthesiser, drum machine and Vinces vocals. Finally, Vince introduced the song into his new band Depeche Mode. The photo shows the original cassette by ‘No Romance in China’ that contains their recording of T.V.Set. As you can see its has been recorded over a copy of ‘The Cure’s Three Imaginary Boys’, Vince’s favourite band at the time. Many thank’s to Sue for providing the photo.” – Basildon: New Town – New Life
Different Drummer is an drum machine app for the iPad. It started out as a $300 app. It dropped to $150 and for a limited time you can now grab it for $50. Expensive for an app for sure but watch the videos above. It’s certainly different and it gets some creative ideas going. I will wait for further price drop I think but kinda cool no? The developer has a synth coming soon too.
“Different Drummer is your secret weapon in the quest for innovative beats that make sense yet defy the status quo. Using patent pending Cyclophone Technology, Different Drummer taps into the primal source of all drumming—waves. Wave motion propels almost everything you can imagine and it’s the perfect controller for drumming too. Different Drummer puts out multi-track drum beats and music sequences which are remarkably lifelike or primal at times and out of this world at others. Different Drummer is not a drum synthesizer but uses waves to play the drum samples (or other samples) in amazing ways that vary from electro and dubstep to tribal to classical.” – technemedia.com
Put this video on at about 6:14 in and it sounds like Front 242 during their Front by Front era. It reminds me of the basslines in Until Death or Welcome to Paradise. Sounds so wicked as he pitches the Make Noise DPO sequence using the Flame Tame Machine.
“The DPO is a voltage controlled oscillator designed for generating complex waveforms and implementing FM synthesis within the analog domain. Expanding on the classic arrangement of Primary and Modulator Oscillators, the DPO has both of the VCOs operable as complex signal sources. It is in essence a Dual Primary Oscillator.” – ctrl-mod.com
What we have here is one of Depeche Mode’s earliest recordings. Some say is Vince Clarke on vocals however I’m not certain. YouTube commenters also say Fletch is the one playing the bass. What a great version and it shows right out of the gate these guys had “it”. I love how when the vocal “Resurrect, as a feeling…” comes in the first time it’s off/minor and then they sing it straight right after to show it’s power. That part is just wonderful. It also comes to a great crescendo towards the end.
“Resurrect, as a feeling, on my window, Of a past reunion.Resurrect as a feeling on my window Of a past reunion. Mission of a picture like the city and the air we breathe. The air we breathe. Air we breathe” – Depeche Mode
The record label The Seed is having a remix contest for my song Automatic. The song which is about guns was originally released in 2007 on my album Attack Decay. It’s such a strong dance track I still play it live.
“The Seed is proud to announce that we are doing our first ever remix contest in association with Underground legend, The Horrorist. For your remix to be considered it must be uploaded to our demo dropbox by no later than May 13, 2013. The contest will be judged by The Horrorist and label management. Winners selected will have their remix released as part of the “Automatic; Reloaded” Remix collection out in June on the Seed.” – facebook.com/theseedmusic
The next installment of Raul Pena’s Math’s Minute series shows how to use the Make Noise Maths as an Envelope Follower. This is a great way to add layers of sound to a song in a way that fits rhythmically.
“MATHS builds on the tradition set into motion in the 1960′s when Don Buchla adapted circuits found within analog computers for musical purposes. Buchla’s Algebraic Processor, Model 257 and 281 changed the way music synthesizers utilize control voltages. MATHS continues this great tradition of sculpting the control signals we use to sculpt our sound signals.” – makenoisemusic.com
I have no idea if the Smack Attack steering wheel drum machine is a joke or not. Is this real? Really?
“Put cover on any steering wheel, start the iPhone app, and wirelessly play drums with your iTunes over your car’s existing speakers. Red lights, traffic jams, and tailgates will never be the same again because tapping on your steering wheel just got way more awesome.”
PSP Audioware are one of my favorite plug-in makers. From Poland they create my all time favorite plug-in PSP N2O which used to be called Nitro. They have just released a spring reverb emulation called SpringBox. I have an Ekdahl Moisterizer but I still have my eye on finally getting a spring in plug-in form. Let me know if you tried this and if you think it sounds like hardware. $49 until May 1 then it goes to $69.
“PSP SpringBox is an emulation of a hardware spring reverberator (VST, AAX and RTAS for Windows; AudioUnit, VST, AAX and RTAS for Mac OSX). It recreates several features typical of a spring reverb, such as a convincing “boing” on transients and a repeatable resonating musical character with an adjustable presence. A selection of configurations from two to six springs total is provided, as well as the ability to set stereo spread and pan/balance configured to suit various mix setups – from a typical guitar reverb to a creative uses as a send reverb in the mix. Thanks to PSP SpringBox’s two channel A and B settings setup and range of presets operation is fast and easy.” – pspaudioware.com
Here’s a few synth related Vines for you. Keep on bleeping!
“Vine is the best way to see and share life in motion. Create short, beautiful, looping videos in a simple and fun way for your friends and family to see.” – vine.co
This entry was written by Oliver Chesler, posted on April 19, 2013 at 6:10 am, filed under synthesizer and tagged Vine. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post. This post currently has 2 comments.
As this music video by the Cinnamon Chasers for their song Luv Deluxe show we all have options. Which path will you choose?
“Cinnamon Chasers is the electro/nu-disco moniker of producer Russ Davies (son of Dave Davies from legendary 70’s Rock band The Kinks)” – cinnamonchasers.com
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