So I'm listening to Jack Rose right now and wondering, if there are so many people doing beautiful guitar instrumentals there must be at least a few people doing really sweet solo synth stuff right? I'm imagining something along the lines of Boards of Canada. Turquoise Hexagon Sun has one of the most beautiful melodies I've ever heard and that one synth alone carries so much with it.
I feel like a lot of musicians don't put a lot of emphasis on the practice of playing a synthesizer. Synths like the the Korg Prophecy , while being monophonic, have a lot of capabilities and lots of control methods in addition to just the keys which expand on the number of things you can do in performance.
Anyone else think there's some unexplored territory here? Who has taken solo synthesizer performance to the next level?
― Loader, Monday, 19 November 2007 01:38 (eighteen years ago)
titonton duvante played live for my friends and i a couple years back. he had a drummer, a computer with some sequenced beats and stuff, and he rocked my SH-101 live for the whole set. totally awesome.
― pipecock, Monday, 19 November 2007 01:52 (eighteen years ago)
my favorite tracks on SAW2 are like this
― Curt1s Stephens, Monday, 19 November 2007 08:41 (eighteen years ago)
What is required for counting as an electronic track? I mean, "Son Of My Father" contained only one synth sound, but then also several non-synths sounds.
― Geir Hongro, Monday, 19 November 2007 10:04 (eighteen years ago)
Finger on the pulse there as ever, Geir
― Tom D., Monday, 19 November 2007 10:28 (eighteen years ago)
I guess I should make it clear that I'm looking for instrumental work here.
Moroder is a good suggestion though. Although I don't really associate him with electronic music in my head, he did do a lot through synthesizers for pop music.
This is making me think of Rick Wakeman now. Six Wives of Henry VIII is phenomenal stuff! Ah, I had totally forgotten.
― Loader, Monday, 19 November 2007 12:53 (eighteen years ago)
I hadn't thought of SAW2 at all but it's definitely a sort of synth study. I'll have to give it a listen again. Man, Stone in Focus is one of the best things ever.
― Loader, Monday, 19 November 2007 12:55 (eighteen years ago)
Synthetic Socks had instrumentals that sound like they are just done on one cheap casio.
Grandfather of it all, though, I suppose: Terry Riley. All done with farfisa organs, right?
also Laurie Spiegel, Harold Budd (_The Oak of the Golden Dreams_), Richard Maxfield, that weird George Harrison solo record, etc. you ever heard of a group called kraftwerk? saal2. der plan. d.a.f. tons of german stuff. d.a.f. is done entirely on one synth. but I suppose if you are looking for instrumentals, then pyrolator is what you're after.
tons of early his name is alive recordings, probably.
isn't there a metric butt load of groups / composers that worked with pretty much only one synth, and tons of instrumentals done entirely on one synth?
― certain, Monday, 19 November 2007 13:20 (eighteen years ago)
some may say that most Calvin Harris tracks are made with only one synth sound. but that would be cruel.
― mark e, Monday, 19 November 2007 13:23 (eighteen years ago)
TONTO and Stevie Wonder
― Display Name, Monday, 19 November 2007 14:01 (eighteen years ago)
Mort Garson
― Trip Maker, Monday, 19 November 2007 17:14 (eighteen years ago)
delia and gavin
― cutty, Monday, 19 November 2007 17:17 (eighteen years ago)
Mort Garson OTM.
― Display Name, Monday, 19 November 2007 20:13 (eighteen years ago)
Eliane Radigue makes all her work with an ARP.
― Drew Daniel, Monday, 19 November 2007 20:29 (eighteen years ago)
The whole of Yazoo's "Don't Go" was done on a Pro-One.
― snoball, Monday, 19 November 2007 20:35 (eighteen years ago)
other early mute stuff -- eg the normal -- would fit this category, although not much of it is "instrumental", right enough.
― grimly fiendish, Monday, 19 November 2007 20:50 (eighteen years ago)
I have this urge to post "Schlammpeitziger" to this thread without having time to sit down with some of his stuff to see whether any of it actually fits. (OK, I meant to dig some out last night, partly inspired by this thread, but I forgot, and now it's sliding down New Answers.)
― a passing spacecadet, Tuesday, 20 November 2007 10:38 (eighteen years ago)
There's some superb stuff on Stereolab's 'The Groop Played Space Age Batchelor Pad Music' that's one synth.
― Mister Craig, Tuesday, 20 November 2007 19:31 (eighteen years ago)