Music Machines event 09

Here’s the next video from the Music Machines event featuring a live synth demo from Tom Ludvigson. It was really exciting to have Tom come along and run through a live performance with some of kit.

Kit list:
EML 500
Korg Polysix
Sequential Circuits Pro-One
Sequential Circuits Drumtraks
Phillips D1875 12 band FM . MW . LW . SW receiver*
Roland SDE 3000 digital delay with ‘hold’ footswitch

“The core of the performance is making the music machines work together as a system where all parts contribute to the same groove. This requires that all the machines are synchronised to the same beat – easy with contemporary MIDI technology, but harder to do in the days before MIDI.”

Over the next few weeks i’ll be posting video’s and photo’s from Music Machines 09 and I thought we’d start with a little introduction from myself with a walkround the room just to give you an idea of what the event was all about on the day. This is the first time we’ve put the event on and it was great to achieve our goal of practically filling the venue with kit which people could come along and play with.

I’ve been taking a short break after the amazing Music Machines event and just wanted to thank everyone who came along to help out and check out all the great kit we had on display. Over the next few weeks i’ll be posting photo’s and video from the event plus some information on whats next for Music Machines.

I think the day was a huge success and I’ve decided that we’ll be making this an annual event. This first event was really a chance to see if we could actually put something like this together and achieve some of goals we set for the day. For me Music Machines was about:

• bringing together NZ’s largest collection of classic music machines
• celebrating electronic music in NZ
• building connections between music makers in NZ

I’ve already started working on improving the event for next year and will be working with Kerry Adams from The Proof to put together a short doco on the event which we can use to approach potential sponsors. If you have any suggestions on how we could improve on the event and build for next year then please let me know by leaving a comment.

Tom Ludvigson has put together a great flyer for his performance at the Music Machines event so I just wanted to share it with you. It gives a detailed run through of his kit and what he’ll be doing on the day.

Kit list:
EML 500
Korg Polysix
Sequential Circuits Pro-One
Sequential Circuits Drumtraks
Phillips D1875 12 band FM . MW . LW . SW receiver*
Roland SDE 3000 digital delay with ‘hold’ footswitch

The core of the performance is making the music machines work together as a system where all parts contribute to the same groove. This requires that all the machines are synchronised to the same beat – easy with contemporary MIDI technology, but harder to do in the days before MIDI.

Tom uses two ‘old-school’ techniques to achieve this:

• Analog synchronization – using individual drum machine audio outputs to trigger the arpeggiator features built into the Polysix and the Pro-One synths, and
• Delay synchronisation – using a signal delay set to the same delay duration as one bar of music (in this case 130 BPM /beats per minute means one bar lasts for 1846 ms /milliseconds)

Stages in the performance:
1. EML played
2. EML + D1875 radio ‘sampling’ into SDE
3. Polysix played
4. SDE footswitch used to catch a ‘loop’ 1846 ms duration
5. Polysix with Chord Memory + Arpeggiator on ‘hold’
6. Drumtraks started (> chord starts changing on Polysix)
7. Some drum sounds (rim shot, hi-hats) mixed into the mix
8. Pro-One played
9. Pro-One arpeggiator activated > bass line
10. Polysix changed to 16ths pattern (new Drumtraks pattern)
11. SDE changed to 346 ms
12. Gradual build in intensity > 4-on-the-floor dance groove
13. Breakdown – drums out of the mix
14. 2nd buildup to dance groove
15. outro – gradual removal of instruments from the mix

Tom has worked with synthesizers since he bought his EML 500 in the late seventies. Since then he has contributed synthesizer parts to recordings by many New Zealand artists, such as Paul Ubana Jones, Rick Bryant’s Jive Bombers, Low Profile/Elephunk, Snap/Sidewalk City, Alloy, Big Sideways, Trip to the Moon, Nexus, Dub Asylum and the Inner City Jazz Workshop and others. Tom also regularly produces music for New Zealand television documentaries. He currently teaches Music Technology at MAINZ /the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand.

It was a pleasure to head along to have a chat to Trevor Reekie on National Radio last week and the show is now available on the Radio NZ website. Trevor did a nice little interview with me talking about my interest in electronic music and the inspiration behind the Music Machines event. He also interviewed Tom Ludvigson and recorded Tom going a great live set with some of his prized synths. Tom will be bringing some of his kit to the event on Saturday and taking us through a live demo, really looking forward to seeing a true synth player in action.

Music Machines is this Saturday at Galatos starting at 12 midday and this is your last chance to win a single pass to the event. I’m giving away 2 single passes, all you have to do is post your fav synth/drum/machine video to the Music Machines Facebook page. The best 2 get the passes, it can be your fav’ track, live performance or synth geek out, lets see em all.

I’m pleased to let you know that Nathan Haines will be coming along to Music Machines on Nov 21st to have a chat about his love of synths, his music and his studio setup. He’ll also be bringing along his Roland Jupiter 8 and his ARP Odyssey (white face model) to demo through his Roland RE-501 space echo. Nathan’s also working on a new album at the moment and will be previewing one of the new tracks from the album written entirely on the Jupiter 8.

We’re getting closer to the event now and I’m pleased to let you know that I’ve confirmed a special one off performance by Jed Town and Tom Ludvigson titled “Radioactive Waste”. It’s really exciting to have them come along for the day and I’m really looking forward to this 40 minute all hardware set.

Both Tom and Jed have been heavily involved in the electronic music scene in New Zealand since the early 80’s and are both synth fanatics. I’m always excited to see how different artists create music in a live situation, how they interact with the interfaces of the different machines and how they interact with each other as part of a “machine” based performance. I’ll keep you updated with any further information about the performance and particularly the kit they’ll be using!

It’s been a few weeks since my last update on the event so here’s a little more information on what coming up in November.

The event has now been moved to the main room at Galatos which is really exciting and should provide more options for the kit we can show and the type of performances we can put together for you.

I’ve been working on adding to the kit list and should be able to announce a very large addition from one of NZ’s top drum machine collectors.

We’re adding a whole collection of new synths to the event as well as the vintage gear and we’re very excited to be demoing the Elektron Machinedrum on the day. These are usually only available direct from the manufacturer and I’m really looking forward to having a play.

I’ll also be announcing the artists who will be part of The Analog Allstars who will be putting together a special one off “all analog” performance for the event. This should be something special and is being put together by Kerry Adams from The Proof.

Ok this is the first post on our new blog which I’ve put together for the first New Zealand synth and drum machine event to be held on November 21st in Auckland. I’ll be using the blog to keep you all informed with the latest news on the event and give you a chance to get involved.

“A one day creative event bringing together New Zealand’s largest collection of classic synthesiser’s and drum machines.”

The concept is to have the whole venue full of classic synths and drum machines giving the public a chance to get “hand’s on” and learn some of the history behind the machines and the music they helped create.

These “Music Machines” have been instrumental in helping shape the sound of modern music from jazz, funk, prog, electro, hip hop, techno, house, jungle, drum and bass……..

There will also be live performances and demo’s during the day plus guest speaker’s and competitions.