BY BARRY ANDERSON

 Cool Rhythm Thing by Oxix52

A BRIEF ENCOUNTER: BARRY ANDERSON

Barry Anderson is musician whose primary focus is sound synthesis through the use of various electronic components including the Buchla 200e.  His work combines exploratory sound with a deft sense of control.  He is a good friend,  a gifted artist and technician,  and an inspiration to those who have heard his work. See/hear Barry's videos on his YouTube channel,  Oxix52.

TSS:  What route did you take to your interest in electronic music and music technology?  Who were some of the artists/musicians that first sparked that interest?

BA:  I have always been interested in technology. As a kid in the 70's and teen in the 80's, I had a keen interest in the sounds being used in the music of the time.  Some of my earliest memories of synthesizer sounds were Chick Corea's Minimoog leads on his album My Spanish Heart. Some of the other bands that caught my ear were Genesis, Yes, and Pink Floyd just to name a few. Of course, I had no idea what was creating the more interesting sounds. I knew nothing of synthesizers. Later I would learn about synthesizers by listening to Switched on Bach by Wendy Carlos.

TSS: How would you describe the music that you are now making?  Is the Buchla 200e the primary instrument that facilitates your musical ideas?  What are you favorite Buchla modules?

BA:  The music I make now is more experimental or explorative. I do try to find ways to incorporate the 200e in to the music I make with friends and on projects, but when I sit down to see what comes out without direction, it is usually journey of discovery.  If I have a specific musical idea or plan, I will not start with the 200e. I usually begin with the Nord G2X, Access Virus, or piano. Once I get a basic structure, then I may either patch something on the 200e to fit, or I may run a recorded track through some modules for processing. It is very hard to choose a favorite module. They are all so unique and beautiful. But, if I had to pick, it would probably be the 292e, or really the 292e/281e combo. I love the rhythms and textures that can be produced with these modules. Just these two and a sound source is lovely.

TSS: Why use modular?

BA:  I can blame the Moog Voyager for my fascination with modulars. I acquired my Voyager in 2005. When I added the CP-251 and VX-351, I began to understand the power and joy of hardware modular synthesizers.  I decided I had to build a system and was planning on Synthesizers.com when I realized that I really didn't want to have a modular that was in the same sonic territory as the Moog. I thought about Eurorack but was really drawn to the Buchla.  It's just so different.  I liked the idea of having a folding case that I could easily move and having modules that were functionally deeper.  Also, The videos on Youtube by Alessandro Cortini were a big inspiration to me.   I have not regretted my decision one bit.

              

OSCILLATIONS: Song/Sound/Synth

Here are a few recordings that have garnered my attention through their use of synths and/or sound processing within the context of song. They all differ wildly in their approach,  but keep the idea of "song" intact.

SCOTT WALKER - THE DRIFT
Here are songs as cinema and poetry,  and like a good film or poem,  you never know what's coming next. Brilliantly ambiguous and expressive,  these songs blend the personal and the politcal into iconic imagery that leaps between caverns of silence and maelstroms of sound,  including the sounds of a slab of meat being punched.  What is at first forbiddingly surreal,  slowly turns into an expansive vision of us.

PERE UBU -  THE MODERN DANCE
Allen Ravenstein's use of  EML synths elevates the proceedings to a kind of sonic warfare,  where the songs seem to deconstruct and rebuild themselves as we listen.

JUANA MOLINA -  SEGUNDO
With  acoustic guitar,  voice,  and electronics waxing and waning,  here is a passionate collection of signal hymns sung entirely in spanish.  Language and sound nestle comfortably beyond the need for translation.

THE ASSOCIATES - WILD AND LONELY
Even without the more experimental textures of Alan Rankine,  this often maligned release by Billy Mackenzie and company is ignited by great songs,  powerful performances,  and Chain Reaction/Basic Channel kingpin Moritz Von Oswald's punchy percussives.

PHILOSOPHER'S STONE -  PREPARATION
Gareth Mitchell's processed guitar provides the sound/structure for these mostly instrumental  pieces of looped dystopian vistas.  When his voice intrudes,  its haunting tone plunges us even deeper into those vast smeared spaces.

THOMAS BRINKMAN -  WHEN HORSES DIE
"Give me words" is repeated like a mantra on the first track of Brinkman's only song-oriented release   amongst a sea of minimal electronics.  The somber tone of his voice is amplified in the slow piano  ballads and skeletal electronics of this disconnected world.

MIRACLE -  FLUID WINDOW

The newest release (2011) listed here,  but one that also seems the most retro with its analogue sequences and vocals reminiscent of Depeche Mode,  but less mannered and self-conscious lyrically.

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -  WALKING WOUNDED

Jazz/Rock/Folk/Bossa Nova group embraces electronics with wonderful results.  Its thick bed of electronic beats,  clipped sequences,  and atmospheric loops turn these confessional songs into reasons to move.

A GESTURE FROM ether^ra

MATERIALIZATION

THE DREAMER HAS AWAKED: Yvette Vickers (1928-2011)

The badly decomposed,  mummified body of horror film icon Yvette Vickers was found by a neighbor on May 2nd after noticing a maibox full of yellowing mail at her poorly maintained Los Angeles residence.  It  barely seemed an end befitting her status as the sexy star of such films as ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN (1958) and ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES (1959).  That she also appeared in an uncredited role in the classic noir SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)  and was photographed by breastmania director Russ Meyer for Playboy magazine in 1959 only furthered her cult status.  She apparently lived a very private life,  but continued contact with her fans through horror convention appearances.  It was in later years that her hermetic life pushed her into the paranoia that would prove fatal.  Her death is not considered suspicious,  but an autopsy report is still pending.  Though now gone,  floozy "Honey Parker"  will continue to thrill DVD viewers with her flirtatious dancing,  persuasive scheming,  and as the frightened victim of a tremendous finely manicured rubber hand.

SURVEY