Moog Little Phatty : monophonic analogue, 2006 Tribute Edition, the signature Moog sound, all basses on my songs are played on this, and obviously it excels in leads. With the new arpeggiator, it's also a good source of interesting effects.
DSI Prophet 08 : polyphonic analogue (8 voices), 2007... beautiful and sophisticated sound. It's the instrument I usually use for lush, warm textures. The on-board sequencer and the ability to layer two patches are most useful to create loops and percussive grooves.
Roland Alpha Juno-1 : polyphonic analogue (6 voices), 1986... this is the one for eighties sounds with a lo-fi, dark edge. The classic Juno sound, in a punkier sort of way.
The virtual analogue connection :
Korg Microkorg : polyphonic virtual analogue (4 voices), 2002… a most successful, retro looking and sounding instrument, often derided for its toy-like appearance, but it’s a serious, surprisingly deep instrument, with great arpeggiator and a vocoder full of character.
Korg Electribe EMX-1 : polyphonic virtual analogue (16 voices), 2003… most underestimated drum machine and synth module… great sounds, great effects, and a handy 5-parts synth sequencer, allowing you to program a whole song in there.
The digital collective :
Roland D-550 w/ PG-1000 programmer : polyphonic digital (16 voices), 1987... one of the finest digital synths ever, cleverly using truncated samples to add "realism", which sounds dated today but that's what I love in it! Great strings, ethereal pads, but also a fantastic source of strange effects.
Korg Wavestation : polyphonic digital (32 voices), 1990… another fine digital instrument, of outstanding depth. The lack of a proper filter renders the sound a bit cold, but it’s the perfect tool for soundtrack or ambient work. With a little bit of programming, a single patch can provide a whole complex atmosphere.
Yamaha QY70 : portable workstation… in my bag on most vacations and weekends, a great tool to work out song ideas on the move, with very decent sounds.
And various Bontempi, Casio and Yamaha...
I did this as a jingle for a (now defunct) design company.
Almost all Electribe EMX, including the crazy arpeggio, and probably (memory's a bit fuzzy) a touch of Roland SH-32 as well. The melody was re-used on the "Uniforms of Snow" album.
I did this in the early days of Moog Little Phatty proud ownership, but never really developed it into a finished track...
Moog and Virtual String Machine.
Finding that Lugosi track makes me think I should record some kind of instrumental album in the "vintage soundtrack" vein I've been exploring these last years, with a more fantastic/horror tone... something retro, with lots of creepy mellotron, spooky beats and scary synths... maybe with more Ed Wood samples...
That's to ponder...
I love Ed Wood's work, by the way.
I first encounter the name in 1992 when a "Plan 9 from outer space" video game was released on Amiga and Atari, with the VHS film as a bonus.
Then of course was Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" starring Johnny Depp and Martin Landau, one of my favorite movies ever and the best Burton work in my books. It triggered my interest in the original movies, and I have a couple of things to say.
1 : Ed Wood is NOT the worst director of all times. I've seen an unhealthy amount of Z movies (or nanars as we call them in France), and there are many more incompetent directors in the history of cinema. Fred Sears, Godfrey Ho, I could name a few... Burton romanticized his subject a bit, but Wood really was that dedicated, creative guy with a vision.
2 : His movies are NOT the worst ever made. "Plan 9" is awfully wrong in many places, but then again, I've seen a lot worse, oh my, yes... "Bride of the monster" is a decent B movie (Burton exaggerated about the fx quality and stock footage abuse) and after multiple viewings, I take "Glen or Glenda" to be one of the craziest docudramas ever made, with flashes of pure graphic brilliance.
That's right, it's out there!
