Monday, August 24, 2015

The Mostly Official Blackball Kids' Page.

Guess what "Praise You" is now eight bars longer than it used to be! Hooray!

Here's the link to the updated demo.


The call-and-response section used to be seven bars. Now it's 15.

In other news, see if you can get your parents to drive you to Emeryville, California next summer. Why Emeryville, California? Here's why.

It's where American synthesizer whiz Lance Hill has created The Vintage Synthesizer Museum. It's a vast working collection of the original models of the very same synths that we use virtually, including the ARP 2600 and the truly awesome Oberheim SEM.

Check out the Performer site to see pictures of the classics.

For those of you who are made keen to sample and edit found sounds, dunk your whiskers in the Collector, a futuristic machine that intelligently records ambient sounds and converts them into playable samples.

There's more.

If you have internet access, you can practice with this nifty "online" synthesizer. A Japanese synthesizer designer known as g200kg has posted an online-operable synthesizer called the CoWebModular.

Here's the link: http://www.g200kg.com/en/docs/webmodular/



The Webmodular is fully functional and the oscillators have a nice, warm sound. And it's got two Voltage Controlled Filters, for gosh sakes.

I love this baby, because you can operate the musical keyboard from your QUERTY keys. That leaves your mouse hand free to twist knobs and slide sliders!






At the bottom of the page is a list of classic electronic tracks from Blackball SS i. Some of it you'll know. Some if it will be new and exciting. But it's awesome because it's electronic music.

Google at will.
Tight is right.
Kill the people.



Day OneGuiseppe Domenico Scarlatti, Sonata in G Major, L 209/K. 455, from "The Well-Tempered Synthesizer." Columbia Records, 1969, performed by Wendy Carlos and produced by Rachel Elkind.

Day TwoDa Funk by Daft Punk. Composed by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Produced by Daft Punk. Virgin Records, 1995.

Day ThreeSirens by Satellite Stories. 2012. XYZ Berlin/Soliti.

Day FourArmy of Me by Bjork. Composed by Bjork and Graham Massey and produced by Bjork, Graham Massey and Nellee Hooper. One Little Indian, 1995.

Day FiveShock The Monkey by Peter Gabriel. Produced by Peter Gabriel and David Lord. 1981, Geffen Records.

Day SixClose To The Edit by Art of Noise. Composed by Anne Dudley, Gary Langan, J.J. Jeczalik, Paul Morley and Trevor Horn. Produced by Art Of Noise. 1984, ZTT Records.

Day SevenCrazy by Seal. Words by Seal. Music by Guy Sigsworth. Produced by Trevor Horn. 1990, ZTT/Sire.

Day EightAutobahn, We Are The Robots, and Tour De France by Kraftwerk.
"Autobahn": composed by Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider and Emil Schult. Produced by Kraftwerk and Conny Planck. 1975, Philips/Vertigo. "We Are The Robots": composed by Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider and Karl Bartos. Produced by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider. 1978, Kling Klang/Capitol. "Tour De France": composed by Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider and Karl Bartos. Produced by Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider. 1983, Kling Klang/EMI/Warners.

Day Nine: Funeral March For Queen Mary. Composed by William Purcell and performed by Wendy Carlos. Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun. Performed by Claude Debussy and performed by Isao Tomita.

Day Ten: Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde. Composed by Ella Yelich-O'Connor and Joel Little. Produced by Paul Epworth and Joel Little. 2014, Republic.

Day TwelveI Met A Little Girl by Marvin GayeComposed and produced by Marvin Gaye. 1978, Tamla. Oxygene Part I by Jean-Michel JarreComposed and produced by Jean-Michel Jarre. 1976, Disques Dreyfus/Polydor. Praise You...but eight bars longer!