Synths!
Baroque Classical music! Futurist-retro mix-up! Droogs with Moogs!
Synthesisers are
fascinating things aren't they. A confession here - my preference has
always been for guitars, mainly because during my teenage years I
hated all those keyboard bands on Top Of The Pops. It also
became apparent to me that technology was moving so quickly that if
you bought a keyboard it would soon be out of date. It was a musical
arms race in the '80s. Whereas, buy a decent guitar and it would age
and sound better in 20 years time. That was my theory then anyway...
Oh how young, innocent
and stupid I was. Some of those keyboards are probably worth more
than my house now. And the sounds have a pleasing dated but unique
and quirky appeal that makes a Fender Telecaster look pretty limited
by comparison. That's the thing with synths isn't it. At the time of
release they sound so far ahead of themselves but then become quickly
associated with the era of their production after technology and
tastes moves on. If you're a fan of all things retro though, these
pieces of outdated kit can end up having a holy grail-like aura.
I mention all this
after listening to an album that's coming out on Gare du Nord Records
next week. Willie Gibson's take on Vivaldi's Opus 8, Il Quattro
Stagioni, fitting re-titled Seasons Change, has been
created using a Eurorack format modular synthesiser. Having not kept
up with the afore-mentioned arms race I'm not entirely sure what a
Eurorack format modular synthesiser is, but what I can tell you is
that it sounds not unlike the beginning of The Who's Baba
O'Reilly, or the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange.
There's a commonly-held
but false belief that synth music is an easy option, that it's made
simply at the push of a button. Not so. Season's Change took a year
to make with Gibson painstakingly creating the music layer by layer,
one part at a time. It's worth mentioning here that Willie Gibson is
not the artist's real name, it's a pseudonym for George Barker, a
successful music producer and publisher whose career dates back to
the late '60s/early '70s when he started out as a trumpet player for
the likes of J Jackson, Tony Orlando, Dawn and Arthur Conley.
Season's Change is an
immensely likable piece of work, a true curio and quite unlike
anything else out there at the moment. It appeals to futurists,
retro-heads and especially fans of baroque classical music. How's
that for a coming together of the tribes!
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Nord Records on Twitter.
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