Book Launch report - 23rd Nov 2023

My book launch took place on 23rd November, to celebrate the launch of my two new zines - ‘Vintage Synths’ and ‘Drum Machines & Samplers’. Check Velocity Press for online ordering details - or your local book / record shop!

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DJ Tom F

DJ Tom F kicked the evening off with a selection of cool electronic synth vibes covering synth based tracks from 90s classics of Underworld and Hardfloor to … modern stuff I didn’t recognise, but liked a great deal!

Oli Freke - Synth Talk

Then I gave a great talk* covering the entire history of synthesizers, samplers and drum machines, with over 70 audio samples in only 40 minutes. *this could come under the category of ‘in my opinion! :-)

Quite a challenge to cover everything I wanted to, and in reality couldn’t cover it all. But was pleased with the reception it got and was great to highlight some of the key moments in synth evolution with the corresponding audio. This is something you can’t do on posters or even in a book!

DJ Rob Vanden

Rob played great sets in between my bits and later in the evening covering some great tunes in the Autonomic and Drum’n’Bass genres.

Next time he promises us a Live Modular set! :-)

Oli Freke - Live Set

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Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos or live footage from my actual gig that I played later that evening. I really must remember to ask someone to do that for me next time! But not to worry - the above video is that live performance, one take, with live SH-101 and Moog Prodigy, and plenty of live Ableton loop manipulations.

Is always nice to get the rig out there and playing live, doesn’t happen often enough. (Book me now!)

The visuals I’d prepared, but completely forgot to show on the night; few too many other things to organise and worry about!

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It was a great evening and I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone who came down that night and bought books, talked synth and generally hung out with me and fellow synth fans!

Synth Evolution on BBC National Radio!

A quick humble brag from me to say that I was on BBC 5Live Drive Time last week, as part of their ‘Synthpop September’ celebrations (Synthtember?). I was asked to give a brief history of the synth o

Click the image below to listen!

It’s a very brief interview of only a couple of minutes, but was great to be asked - I do know a thing or two about the synth, after all!

And yes, it was a classic case of I needed to be somewhere that night, so it was done from the back of a cab en route. So very glamorous! (Except I made us late for our destination as we had to pull over for the duration of the interview and a good few minutes beforehand, so both travelling companion and cab driver were pretty cross with me! All worth it in the name of Synth Fact Dissemination!

Me on da radio!

Click to hear me covering synth history in brief!

Chat-GPT because of course...

Well, of course I had to ask Chat GPT to tell me the history of synthesizers from the early hardware machines to the latest digital instruments to see how good and/or accurate it would be.. This is what it said:

“The history of the synthesizer dates back to the early 20th century, when inventors such as Thaddeus Cahill and Leon Theremin developed early electronic instruments. However, it was not until the 1960s that the modern synthesizer began to take shape.

The first true synthesizer was the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, which was built in 1957. It was a massive, room-sized machine that used vacuum tubes to generate sound. However, it was not until the development of the first modular synthesizers in the 1960s that the technology became widely available.

The first modular synthesizers were built by pioneers such as Robert Moog, Don Buchla, and Serge Tcherepnin. These early systems consisted of separate modules that could be connected together to create a custom sound synthesis system. They were typically controlled with patch cords, which were used to route signals between the various modules.

The 1970s saw the rise of polyphonic synthesizers, which were capable of producing multiple notes at once. These instruments used digital technology to store and recall patches, making them much easier to use than the early modular systems. The most famous example of a polyphonic synthesizer from this era is probably the Prophet-5, which was introduced by Sequential Circuits in 1978.

The 1980s saw the introduction of digital synthesizers, which used digital signal processing (DSP) to generate sounds. These instruments were capable of producing a wider range of sounds than their analog counterparts, and they were often more affordable as well. The most famous example of a digital synthesizer from this era is probably the Yamaha DX7, which was introduced in 1983.

In the 1990s and 2000s, synthesizers became increasingly integrated with computer technology. Software synthesizers became popular, allowing musicians to create and manipulate sounds entirely within their computer. However, hardware synthesizers have remained popular as well, with companies such as Roland, Korg, and Mo”

— ChatGPT

And there it ended, mid-’Moog’. The thing seemed to have crashed or frozen, so I’m not sure how much further it would have got.

But, you know, it’s pretty amazing. Nothing there is ‘wrong’ as such. It is indeed a reasonable overview of the history of the synthesizer. If you were a non-expert and wanted a quick ‘Wiki’ style summary, I think you’d have got the gist.

Of course, as synthesizer enthusiasts, we could note that some people consider the Hammond Novachord (1948) the first true synthesizer (but it’s also true the RCA gave us the word synthesizer). And we could point out the synopsis misses the the analogue monosynths of the early 70s, how they were so much more compact and affordable than the great modular beasts of the 1960s.

And very possibly it would have gone on to note the rise of the Eurorack modular scene of the last twenty years as well.

For the full and detailed story I tell in my book, (‘Synthesizer Evolution’, (Velocity Press, 2021)), I’m not so sure it would be possible; or you’d have to ask it so many prompt questions (and fact checking) you may as well write it yourself in the first place.

But as a brief dabble - I’m suitably impressed!