Osmos the Ambient Electronic Game

Enter the ambient world of OSMOS: elegant, physics-based gameplay,
dreamlike visuals, and a minimalist, electronic soundtrack.



Only $10 from www.hemispheregames.com/osmos
Also on Steam and Direct2Drive

Music on the above video is by Mat Jarvis (Gas and High Skies)
more at microscopics.co.uk

Your objective is to grow by absorbing other motes. Propel yourself by ejecting matter
behind you. But be wise: ejecting matter also shrinks you. Relax, good things come to
those who wait.

Progress from serenely ambient levels into varied and more challenging worlds. Confront
attractors, repulsors and intelligent motes with similar abilities and goals as you.

Osmos soundtrack featuring Gas, High Skies, Biosphere, Julien Neto, Loscil and others.

Demo available now from www.hemispheregames.com/osmos/

Waldorf Largo PDF manual available

Waldorf has the manual for the new Largo VSTi synthesizer available for download.

Parallel Worlds 'Shade' (DiN32) Album

DiN32 - Shade by Parallel Worlds
Release date 23rd March 2009

Shade is the studio album follow-up to Obsessive Surrealism (DiN26 - 2007) and is the fifth CD release by Parallel Worlds (the main musical project of Greek electronic musician Bakis Sirros).

Parallel Worlds employ a vast arsenal of both vintage and modern analogue modular synthesisers with extensive use of classic sequencing techniques to produce a sonic world that combines modern electronica and ambient music styles with the feel of retro electronic music. His attention to detail is astonishing and his careful sculpting of sounds and textures produce an organic, ever evolving atmosphere full of half glimpsed meanings and subdued emotions. The purely electronic rhythms and beats seem to have a life of their own and showcase a musician who is a virtuoso with these types of instruments that are the antithesis of the quick fix pick-a-preset mind set of much of todays society. Musically he likes to explore various states of mind, no doubt influenced by his medical background and this adds a tension and darkness to his compositions that are punctuated by disarmingly simple and wistful melodies.

With Shade Parallel Worlds show a musical maturity and command of sonic atmospherics that takes the music on a journey, moving through dreams and shades, aiming for the light.

http://www.din.org.uk/graphics/din32cover.jpg

audio clips and info here: www.DiN.org.uk

this album is full of analogue modular synths, including the Serge modular music system, Analogue Systems RS-Integrator modular, Doepfer A100 modular, Arp 2600, EMS VCS3, Technosaurus Selector system D, Livewire/Plan B/Harvestman modular, Metalbox/CGS modular, Analogue Solutions Concussor modular, Korg MS50, Oberheim 4 Voice modular, etc...

some reviews links:

a short review from the US 'Electronic Musician' Magazine, May Issue:

http://emusician.com/artists_interviews/musicians_engineers_producers/this-months-soundtrack-may/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
review in the Morpheus Music website:

http://www.electronicmusicmall.com/Html/reviews71.htm#shade

(rating 5 / 5)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
and another review on the Reflections Of Darkness webmag:

http://www.reflectionsofdarkness.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4656&Itemid=44

(rating 8.5 / 10)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
review in Encyclopedia Of Electronic Music:
http://www.pugachov.ru/eem/reviews3.html#PARALLELSHADE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
another review:

from www.Gothtronic.com webmag:

http://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&reviews=5867

(rating 8 / 10)

---------------------------------------------------------
short comment from Bob Williams / Analogue Systems (www.analoguesystems.com):

"With his latest offering Shade, Bakis has released his best work so far.
There is some impressive sound design going on here and the mixture of analogue and digital synthesis is inspired" ----Bob Williams

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
more comments:

from Alio Die (www.aliodie.com):

"I just got your new album and I'm listening to it, and again it is
great!!!!!!! as usual and more than usual!
Great electronic music, your peculiar liquid rhythms and unique analogue
sounds, are so meticulously assorted together... your dreamy cocktail of
vitality, organic with a slight subtle nostalgia, have no comparison
with others.. it is your personal style, and I like it !
You have a strong passion, and a great ability, I hope you'll get the
acknowledgment you deserve :)
Stefano/Alio Die"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

from Dagheisha.com Italian webmag:
http://www.dagheisha.com/music_section/cd.asp?idus=3804

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

review in Sonic Immersion webmag:
http://www.sonicimmersion.org/review.php?letter=P&review=71745


The "Shade" Album is Available to buy from the DiN store ($18.00 including worldwide postage) :
http://www.din.org.uk/shop.html

plus in many other cd shops and online outlets worldwide, such as:

Rough Trade:
http://www.roughtrade.com/site/shop_detail.lasso?search_type=sku&sku=311198

Ear/Rational:
http://www.ear-rational.com/detail.php?id=50707

Voiceprint:
http://www.voiceprint.co.uk/web/Release/DIN32/

Groove.nl:
http://www.groove.nl/cd/3/38111.html

Cd Universe:
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7864381

Diskpol.com:
http://www.diskpol.com/product_info.php?products_id=33859

Little Universe:
http://www.littleuniverse.co.uk/store/product_info.php?cPath=21_188&products_id=540

Overstock.com:
http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/Parallel-Worlds-Shade-3-24/3891099/product.html

elimbo.de:
http://www.elimbo.de/EAM0001scu3-parallel_worlds%3A_shade.htm?PHPSESSID=e8bb49ca77cc415445e89736be5e9787

Analogue Haven:
http://www.analoguehaven.com/miscellaneous/cd

plus many other shops...

and as a Digital Download in MusicZeit (mp3 and FLAC formats).
http://www.musiczeit.com/album.php?album=1002&Parallel+Worlds+Shade

(it will be available in many other downloads outlets in the future)

Parallel Worlds / Interconnected / Memory Geist
www.parallel-worlds-music.com
www.myspace.com/parallelworldsmusic
www.myspace.com/interconnectedmusic
www.myspace.com/memorygeist
www.DiN.org.uk
www.musicamaximamagnetica.com
www.shimarecords.co.uk

Yellow Stranger

A few years ago, I held onto a Waldorf Q for quite some time despite the fact that it was in fairly shabby condition due to prior mistreatment and a nasty FedEx shipping mishap. Regardless, I was able to build up a nice library of sounds on a couple of Q memory cards before it was eventually sold.

Just this last week I stumbled across a rather nice-condition Q courtesy of Noisebug and, thanks to a timely tax refund, was able to add it to the studio.

I really missed this quirky "yellow stranger" with its massive mod matrix and dual filters, especially the bizarre tuned combs! Because of the Q cards I had stashed away, I've already got a good head-start on programming. ;)

Except for drums and some spoken word, the following song is all Waldorf Q:

http://www.carbon111.com/music/the_face_of_strangeness.mp3

Shadow is finally released!

Well it's finally done - mixed, mastered, duplicated, barcoded and shrinkwrapped!

After a couple of namechanges, a new logo and a complete rework of the front cover graphics, Shadow is finally ready!

I have it available here on CD Baby. ^_^

It's been a long six years in the making and I'm really proud of this release as I've taken my time and tried to address every little detail. Many songs had to be remixed numerous times so as to fit better within the "character" of the CD and some had to be saved for another release entirely as they didn't mesh well with the other pieces, most notable amongst these were my weird Serge Modular pieces - they'll be getting their own CD later this year, probably this Fall.

Mastering Shadow turned out to be a fairly hairy business that I eventually accepted was beyond a mere "mix engineer" like myself. After many days spent mastering, re-mastering and starting from scratch again, again and again, I decided to have a professional do it. I've discovered that mastering is very different than the kind of engineering I'm used to on the "frontend" of a piece of music. I called in George Mattson for the task and he has exceeded my highest expectations.

The cover was originally a black and white image designed specifically to be well-suited for silkscreening, a technique that turned out to be too expensive this time around, so I decided to create a brand new cover image to take advantage of the full-color standard CD cover:



Here's a few of the pieces featured on Shadow:

Arrival 5:27

A contemplative tune grounded by Nord Stage E-piano. Lead synth is by Nord Wave, "rhythm" by Juno 60 and weird ambiences by NI Reaktor & NI Absynth 4.

Bicycle 7:42

The SCI Six-Track takes up rhythmic bass duties while two pianos courtesy of the Nord Stage and NI's Massive weave complimentary lines. Oasys provides the FM pad and Absynth provides some ambiance.

Crows for Marie 5:25

A "piano-ambient-thing". The piano is "Marie", my old Baldwin spinet, the background is Nord Modular percussion, Nord Modular insects, Nord Modular FM pad and a Prophet'08 triangle pad.

Here's a complete gearlist-per-track:

ARRIVAL
E-piano - Nord Stage
Lead - Nord Wave
Rhythmic Arp - Roland Juno 60
Ambience - NI Reaktor, NI Absynth 4


AZATHOTH DREAMS
Everything - Nord Wave


DEAD LEAVES
Lead - Yamaha VL1
Bass - DSI Prophet '08
FM Bell - OASYS
Ambience - Waldorf Microwave XT
Drums - Korg Electribes ER-1, ES-1


BICYCLE
Bass Sequence - SCI 6-Trak
Mellow Piano - Nord Stage
Bright Piano - NI Massive
FM Pad - OASYS
Seagulls - Waldorf Microwave XT
Ambience - NI Absynth 4


PERMANENT SUNRISE
All Synth Sounds - John Bowen Solaris Prototype
Drums - Korg Electribe ES-1


RED TOWERS
E-Piano - Nord Stage
FM Bell - Nord Stage
Electric Grand - Nord Wave
Voxy Lead - Nord Wave
FM Whistle - OASYS
Bass1 - OASYS
Bass2 - Roland Juno 60
Bright Arp - OASYS
Drums - OASYS


LONG SHADOWS
Synth Sax - Yamaha VL1
Woodwind - Yamaha VL1
Growl Pad - Roland V-Synth
Smooth Pad - DSI Polyevolver Keyboard
Drums - Korg Electribe ES-1


CROWS FOR MARIE
Piano - Marie (Baldwin "Acrosonic" Spinet)
Percussion - Nord Modular
FM Pad - Nord Modular
Triangle Pad - DSI Prophet '08
Insects - Nord Modular


INLAND SEA
Piano - Marie (Baldwin "Acrosonic" Spinet)
Pad1 - Korg Lambda
Pad2 - Korg Lambda
Syn Choir - Korg Lambda
Ambience - Waldorf Microwave XT
Drums - Korg Electribe ER-1


SOLSTICE ON MARS
E-Piano - Kurzweil K2600
Percussion - Nord Modular
Ambience - Nord Modular


If weird, experimental, modular excursions are more to your interest, I've also re-released my dark ambient album Touch.

Alphabet Soup #1: The Dual Universal Slope Generator

This is first in a series of introductory articles, each focusing on a specific Function Block of the Serge Modular synthesizer.

The DSG is one of the most flexible synthesizer modules ever conceived as it can be patched to cover so many very different functions and yet, in some ways, remains very simple in concept. The low-level building blocks engender marvelous complexity!

The Page can be reached directly:

http://www.carbon111.com/alphabet1.html

...or through my Index of Serge Pages:

http://www.carbon111.com/serge_index.html

Arrival...

Sometimes in the midst of one very involving task, it's nice to stop and do something else for a while - just to freshen one's outlook.

I'm in the process of finishing up "Shadow Bridge", an album of music spanning the last six years. Tweaking everything to make it just so and listening to songs over and over again can get a little fatiguing to the ears so I've taken a little "breather" from the editing/mastering process and created a little piece called Arrival with my Nord Wave, Nord Stage and Juno60. Though it's a bit "late in the day", I'll try to fiind a spot for Arrival on the Shadow Bridge CD.

Most of my recent pieces have been minimal and kind of "downtempo" and this one is no exception. I'm finding that, as I get older, my tunes have become more melodically sparse and rather introspective in tone. Not a bad thing I think.

Enjoy!

Nord Wave - Impressions

I've put a little review and a demo MP3 on my homepage: http://www.carbon111.com/nordwave.html

Pacific Northwest Synthesizer Meeting 2008

It was another great time for all at the annual Pacific Northwest Synthesizer Meeting!

George Mattson and his MMM was on hand as well as Scott Jaeger and his Havestman modules. There were synths and DIY projects to share as well as some excellent gourmet pizza and even some nice "circuit" cookies. It ended up running from about 10am until 4:45pm - what an absolute blast!
So much talent, knowledge and personality all in one place!

Lots of photos today....

The entire set of pictures is here:
http://www.carbon111.com/pnwsm2008/

Here's just a few...

Gas - Vapourware Oscilloscope video

Here is what happens when you pass raw electronic waveforms through a voltage to electron beam converter, more commonly know as an Oscilloscope, and then map the input voltages to Lissajous curves. Pure analog in:analog out.


View on YouTube...

Music: 'Gas - Vapourware' from the album Gas 0095 by Mat Jarvis who also records as High Skies.

Equipment used: Sequencial Circuits Pro-One, Korg Station.

Hi-res Downloads…
Gas - Vapourware (mpeg 36mb)
Gas - Vapourware (ipod video 10mb)

Links...
Gas 0095 website (Microscopics)
Gas - Microscopic (Free 10 minute electronic music mp3)

Related Posts…
Gas 0095 with free Minimoog!
Gas - Microscopic on YouTube
Free 10 minute Electronic track.
Gas 0095 remastered.

Polyfusion Modular for sale

For sale on craigslist in Tampa, FL for $10k (not mine): http://tampa.craigslist.org/msg/735133725.html

"POLYFUSION SERIES 2000 MODULAR SYNTHESIZER - Asking $10,000 and I'm taking all serious offers plus or minus of the asking price. The synth is very heavy and makes out of state sales a nightmare. SEE FULL SIZE PIC: http://members.aol.com/midiandsfx/polyfusion_1.jpg THIS is the real deal when it comes to modular synthesizers. This is a RARE Series 2000 in immaculate physical shape. I am the 1st owner and it's been in a smoke free studio and only moved to three locations total since purchased in 1976. The Polyfusion is a rare instrument... and one of the finest synths ever made. This unit is in a rare all steel cabinet which assured that the oscillators and modules were stable and not influenced my RF (radio frequencies) or other external fields that caused havok with most synths in this class. Polyfusion was designed and built by two ex Moog engineers, Ron Folkman and Alan Pearce in 1976. This was the next generation synth and is still one of the most excellent examples of where modular synths were headed. The construction on this synth is over the top incredible. All highest quality circuit boards, components and unbelieveable stability. The oscillators were ROCK solid and didn't drift. Users of this synth were Toto and film composer Hans Zimmer. The only considerations for this system is: * One of the power supplies need repaired (just haven't had time) *The 2052 dual keyboard works fine... but the keys have been removed so that new rubber guides (whatever they are called) can be installed because the old ones deteriorated. This happened to most all 1975-ish or similar keyboards. Otherwise, the system is in perfect shape. Everything else is in working order. Here's what is included: 2010 Dual Voltage Controlled Amplifier (5) 2012 Dual Ring Modulator (1) 2010 Dual Voltage Controlled Amplifier (2) 2030 Variable Formant Filter (1) 2020 Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter (1) 2046 Dual Envelope Generator (2) 2048 Dual Sample-Hold (1) 2060 Power Supply (2) (one needs a new regulator, about $4) 2002 Random Signal Generator (1) 2080 Four Input Mixer (8) 2071 Full Size Lower Steel Cabinet (1) The cabinet is rare*(only 3 or 4 Poly's were made of steel, the rest were made of aluminum!) 2052 Two Voice Keyboard with Velocity and Pressure "

Pro-One progress...

A little update for those who remembered my Pro-One project: http://www.carbon111.com/pro1.html.

Well, after finally replacing the old capacitors and finding a set of P5 knobs for my SCI Pro-One, I thought I'd top everything off with a little treat.

I just added Synthwood's "light mod" to my Pro-One which adds color-switchable lights on the wheels. (currently set to orange)

Intensity can be off, full on or synced to the LFO waveform with the toggle switch. On some color settings, the lights actually cycle through different colors during the LFO's duty cycle. Being able to "see" the LFO waveform as well as rate is rather useful, actually. Very nice!



The P5 knobs give it a bit of class as well, making it look a little more like its "big brother". :)

A Weekend Visitor...

This is the first time I've had any time with the Solaris since NAMM...and, sadly, I only get to enjoy it for a few days.

It's at O.S. version 0.8 now and there's been some solid progress...there are lots of features active and present that were conspicuous by their absence when I demoed it for folks at NAMM. Just a ton of stuff is now implemented. I'm extremely jazzed - This is very quickly turning into my favorite synth!

There will still be a bit of a wait for the production model...after a slow start, Sonic Core had to finish up some of their own stuff first before turning their attention back to the Solaris. John is justly proud of his baby and is working like crazy to get it finished in a timely manner.

It's a blast to program with this knobby/visual interface! Everything is right at the top, no menu diving. No mod matrix either - If I want to add modulation, I just go to the destination on the control panel, select a mod source and dial in the amount.



I've recorded a quick little song with just the Solaris:

Permanent Sunrise

Everything is Solaris except drums, which are Korg Electribe ES-1. I'm not completely comfortable posting the MP3 because people will want to judge the sound of the synth by it, lossy compression and all, which would be unfair. The WAV file sounds much, much better but its really enormous. I'll see if I can do a FLAC version...

This tune is mostly PPG-style wavetable patches. The droney bass thing throughout is a wavetable patch, so is the "plucky" sound throughout and also the weird sound at the two breaks that have a pitch-up at the end.

The background string pad is a simple "multi-saw" pad using just two oscillators - each multi-saw osc is equivalent to seven detuned saws with detune amount being a mod destination.

The synced lead is very nice - John has tried to get the sync to sound as close to a P5 sync as possible - there's some one-to-one wav file comparisons of that in the forum section of his website.

Since there are no strictly "VA" patches in the song, other than the sync lead, it won't sound particularly "analog" though the Solaris excels in that area too, I'll see what I can do, time permitting, to portray its VA personality...or maybe something a bit "darker". Once again, in my song the drums are Electribe though, when the Solaris ships, there will be sample playback as well that you could conceivably stuff with drum hits. However this beast won't really be a "rompler" per se but, in a pinch, it may be all you need.

If you want sound samples unadulterated by MP3 compression and artifacts, go check out the examples over on John Bowen's site http://www.johnbowen.com/ - There's some on the main "Solaris" page and many more in the forum.

It looks like things are on track now that Sonic Core is on the ball again. There'll be another prototype (with the vector joystick and some other notable physical changes) before too terribly long but, in the meantime, the O.S. has been progressing in a really thrilling way!

UPDATE: Well, I had to give it back, John had just received a new OS for it.

...so, anyway, I wrapped up the thing I was working on with a metallic plucky lead and a few snippets of piano from the Nord Stage.

November.mp3

Rhythm is Electribe again.

Everything else is Solaris.

The Age Of Machines

Soyuz7.net

Equipment Used:
Ableton Live, Korg MicroX, Korg Wavestation.

Summary:
Ambient, drone piece set to images of WW1.
I found the imagery of WW1 to be very frightening as a child,
yet fascinating as an adult; something modern yet so primitive.

More audiosamples to download, drumloops online

-
Hello again!

I'm here to let you know that there are new samples uploaded to my samplesite.
4 new instruments including a new drumkit: FatDrums
A MaSSiVe new piano and more.

For those who has asked for my drumloops they are online now.

-
These samples are a kind of side-product. When I'm making songs I always make
alot of audiosamples. So I thought, why don't I share them, perhaps other
people also could have use for them :)

They are made in to exs-24 instruments and there are: pianos, drumkits, guitars, base sounds and pads.

I also have some standalone wav formats containing: drumloops and musicloops.
-

Here is my site: http://hem.passagen.se/piplayer/samples

Thanks!
///Soulmachine!

Gas 0095 CD with free Minimoog!

All pre-orders of the new Gas 0095 CD come with a free model Minimoog. The 1/8th scale model is painstakingly modelled on the classic Minimoog model 204D, and the offer is only open until the 29th June.

The album also comes with the 320k mp3 version as an instant download (including booklet and extra goodies) and free shipping.

Order the album...
Free mp3 from the album...
Video on YouTube...







Minimoog model 204D




The video for Gas - Microscopic from the album.

Get the Minimoog whilst it's hot, yet somehow still in tune...

Further details...

Tali and Serge

Just a fun pic I found while sorting photos today. My cat likes to hang out in the studio when I'm working. Its hard to keep her away, actually. ;)

Finished!

My Pro-One project is done, title link takes you there. It sounds as nice as it looks!



I had such a fun time fixing it that I'm thinking of what I should tackle next...
;)

My SCI Pro-One Project...

A few months back I got very lucky on an eBay auction. Someone had listed a Sequential Circuits Pro-One in a slightly strange category with an absurd "buy it now" price and I snagged it right away!

When it arrived, I realized it would be a bit of work. It was really filthy with layers of dust and someone had marked his favorite knob positions on the panel with ruby sparkle nail polish! The key bushings were dried out pretty badly, the output jack was damaged and there were some scratchy pots and coarse-moving switches. Worst of all, the pitchwheel was broken in half!

Surprisingly, electronically it was fine...all functions worked!

The full story with many more photos on my website. Title link takes you there.



The case is solid Cherry from http://www.synthwood.com and is a thing of beauty to behold!

Update:
Nearly finished now. The webpage has been updated.

Serge and Nord Jam...

I got a cool rhythmic patch going on my Serge Modular this Friday evening and decided to improvise against it with the Nord Stage - a lead synth sound (at the beginning), a Rhodes and a comp/pad. Its a bit large at around 20mb but lower bit depths sounded awful! MP3s basically suck I've decided.

http://www.carbon111.com/music/stumblegum.mp3

The Serge patch is shown below. If you like this, feel free to check out some other songs I've made by clicking on the title link - they're all pretty varied. :)