sampling keyboard spectacular

An Alternative To Tape

From the analogue to the digital era, magnetic tape has been the prime production medium for recorded music for several decades. David Mellor examines new developments in recording and speculates where they might lead.

Talking Heads keyboard player Jerry Harrison talks to Nicholas Rowland about a forthcoming Heads LP and a solo project he calls The Casual Gods.

The Return of the Modular Synthesizer

Digidesign continue to add to their innovative range of synthesis programs which use the flexibility of computers for sound creation and the hardware of MIDI samplers to replay the sounds. Paul Wiffen finds he loves the former but hates the latter.

With Richard Burgess And John Walters

Richard Burgess and John Walters talk about the make-up of Landscape.

You don't know his name but you'll have heard his refrains. Composer Paul Bliss writes hits for the best of 'em using a UMI-2B sequencer package and several synthesizers. Ralph Denyer finds out how.

Could you make music using only samples from natural sources? Paul Tingen talks to a band who've done just that in an attempt to draw attention to our environment.

There's an S1000 in every studio — almost. David Mellor presents an introduction to this popular sampler.

Where do you go to learn more about the subjects covered in this magazine? The answer is the Gateway School of Recording & Music Technology. Ralph Denyer investigates.

Emulator SP12

What happens when you give a drum machine the sound-sampling capabilities of an Emulator keyboard? Little short of a miracle, according to reporters Paul Wiffen and Annabel Scott.

The art of writing music for popular television in the last few years may have been single-handedly redefined by Jan Hammer. His upbeat, rocky soundtracks to the hit TV series 'Miami Vice' (along with a few of the chart hits used in the show) have now produced two albums of instrumental music. Ed Jones finds out how they were done.

Hugh Padgham has worked with some of the best contemporary artists - The Police, Genesis, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, and Phil Collins, to name but a few - and has earned his place in the recording industry history books through his sensitive, innovative, and inspired sound engineering and production work. How did he do it? Brian Jacobs finds out...

Die Krupps: hi-tech and heavy

Another year, another host of hardware to look back on. We take you through the goodies and the baddies that came out during '84, just in case you missed any of them.

Digital Sound Production Workstation

The latest version of E-mu's popular Emulator sampler incorporates stereo 16-bit sampling and a hard disk drive. Chris Meyer can't believe his ears.

Moog Series III

Moog's musical mountain - re-appraised

The benefits of additive synthesis software as a means of imitating natural sounds, creating new ones and tidying up your sample loops. Tom McLaughlin adds it all up.

Computer Musician in Rock

Ian Gilby visits The Garden Studio and learns how John Foxx composed and recorded tracks from his recently released album 'In Mysterious Ways'.

As their hit single 'Perfect Beat' proves, Bronski Beat are more than capable of producing enjoyable, dynamic electronic pop. Mark Jenkins talks in depth to Bronski's Larry Steinbachek about how they encompass modern technology in their recordings and live performances.

From synth pop to sequencers and back. Two-and-a-half years since they lost graced our front cover, Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey tell Tim Goodyer how progress is made, as album number seven hits the streets.

Why buy a sampler when you already have one? If you own an Atari ST then you possess one of the major components of any sampling instrument - the memory. With the ADAP1 Soundrack software and processing units your ST can be transformed into a MIDI sampler and powerful post-production tool. David Mellor reports.

Roland D20 LA synthesizer

With its 8-track sequencer, rhythm composer, digital reverb and built-in disk drive, Roland's latest multitimbral LA synthesizer would be better described as a budget 'music workstation'. Paul Ireson reveals why ...

Laurie Anderson, pioneer and populariser of avant-garde electronic music, and arguably the performance artist, recently brought her 'Empty Places' show to the UK. Interview by Mark J. Prendergast.

Eight-voice Polyphonic Sampling Keyboard

Paul Wiffen goes gaga over E-mu Systems' latest attempt at giving the average keyboard player complete control over the sound sampling process.