1990: Discover the MAGIC of MIDI | Techno | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

[@bardo0007]

Good old Atari ST, with built in MIDI interface, it was a revolution at the time

[@user-fed-yum]

The MIDI that worked in those days still works today with the latest equipment. Some electrical enhancements have been made, but the protocol has never changed. It must be one of the longest continuously used, unchanged protocols humans have ever created. Hats off to the creators.

[@christophercooper6731]

Er, the Roman alphabet?

[@deadpan666true]

@@christophercooper6731Er, they said one of…..

[@cockur]

Hats off to Dave Smith of Sequential. Sadly he passed away in 2022

[@606808909]

​@@christophercooper6731 errr it said ONE of....

[@606808909]

​@deadpan666true apologies didn't see this reply. Smart alecs need telling

[@symbiosismusic]

The interviewee Clive Williamson started the UK group Symbiosis, creating music and recording natural sounds for relaxation and mindfulness. He continues to use computer technology to record and mix audio, design album covers and to distribute his work. Nearly 35 years later, MIDI is still the standard method of connecting digital instruments in the recording studio and on stage. (The music heard is: "Detective Theme" from the Symbiosis album 'Tears of the Moon'.)

[@davidhayes8883]

If it's not broke don't fix it!

[@robertcharvetto1295]

My old Atari ST. Running on C Lab and then Cubase. Happy days.

[@issiewizzie]

remembered buying my Atari at DIXONS and my D50 at charing cross music shop .....ahh memories

[@Tapioca7S0]

Good old Dixon😊

[@mark..A]

Was it the rose Morris shop ??

[@bonnetdedouche437]

All you need is a Casio, set it to polka and hammer the keys to waves and barking dog sounds. Instant disco. 👌

[@octaviussludberry9016]

It worked for Florian Schneider, Edgar Froese and Stephan Remmler.

[@bonnetdedouche437]

@octaviussludberry9016 looks like it worked for Glen Hoddle judging by this video. Great guitar player. 👌

[@elizabethorfightcreations178]

That's sounds like a music lesson in the 90s😂

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

And then you can sell your own tapes

[@bonnetdedouche437]

@@ChrisHopkinsBass Diamond lights. 😘👌

[@harrympharrison]

This is almost exactly like the Synthesizer Patel segment from Look Around You.

[@Berk-lf6ge]

Exactly my thoughts. Everything from the little reaction shots to the smiles and questions interrupting the person speaking, its pretty spot on.

[@IThinkYouLookLarvely]

Agh, I'm too late to say the same thing! Very Look Around You. The presenter reminds me of Olivia Coleman with a northern accent 😂

[@apislapis]

That is so cringeworthy and wooden that I thought they'd uncovered an actual outtake from Look Around You. You'd be hard-pressed to know which was the original and which one the spoof. Of all the great synths Casio made in the 80s they had to pick one from the Argos catalogue. Seriously scary.

[@iixorb]

The Tomorrow’s World MIDI Special broadcast in August 1987 was pretty much what started me off on this journey. Hope they put that up on KZbin soon.

[@LeShark75]

There's a great video of Vince Clarke knocking around where he's showing how to layer tracks via Midi on a BBC Micro. My personal experience with Midi was with the Amiga around 1990, I spent hours composing all kinds of stuff via Midi, Audio Engineer, a Casio Keyboard and a Yamaha Drum Machine. All good fun and felt cutting edge back in the day.

[@guillermoromerogutierrez4449]

Actually, in the 90s, a large part of our generation was able to get a MIDI system. I was able to get a Roland D5 and the computer I shared with my 2 brothers was also an Amiga. Notator was an amazing tool that fit perfectly with the Atari ST. By the way, at the beginning of the video you can see a small keyboard in the style of the Korg Volca (which are from 2013). Can anyone tell me what model it is?

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

Casio PT-180?

[@guillermoromerogutierrez4449]

​@@Rr0gu3_5uture Could it be, Now I'm looking at it on a big screen and it looks like a casio Pt1 with 3 switches and blue buttons on one end. Thanks anyway.

[@iixorb]

That was on RockSchool - ‘86 and ‘87 👍

[@Razzberri]

I love the reverb on the flute that was very atmospheric 😮

[@yogbarog100]

Check out Joel Vandroogenbroecke’s 1980s library albums for more of that sort of stuff

[@symbiosismusic]

Alesis Microverb

[@wavesequencer]

Had this setup at school and later at home - spent a lot of time with the D10 and Notator - fun times.. and an occasional escape from math class.

[@brianbrino4310]

Absolutely awesome! Thank you so much for the video!

[@warrenburroughs3025]

He said he has a sequencer on his Atari and the camera zooms in on C-Labs Notator - boy that brought me back in time. Today I'm using Logic 11 which is the grandchild of Notator.

[@daviderskine966]

I used Creator on the ST for years. I still use it for looping MIDI synths which I then record to my DAW.

[@wesstarmedia]

The Atari wuth Cubase (not using cubase in this video) was very advanced and powerful, and still usable today.

[@gwheregwhizz]

John Birt watching this 'yay, I can get rid of the Radiophonic Workshop now, any muppet can do that'.

[@80ssynthfan48]

Well they used this kind of stuff too I imagine.

[@VHS_PAL]

Yes, I thought that was Mat Irvine on bass. He did the various models for Blake's 7 etc.

[@DustyCustard]

He always seemed to be popping up on Saturday Superstore explaining various special effects

[@mootbooxle]

She looks just like my mom did in the 80s!

[@texmex3343]

For me in the old time, one Atari 1040 STE + Cubase +¨Yamaha DX7 the good time :)

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

I can vaguely remember this programme. I think it went out in the same time slot as Corners did back in the day

[@burtlangoustine1]

5:26 the face says it all 🤣

[@paulwindsor4256]

Notator? We def had this at secondary school in about 1994.

[@abrokenframe82]

That looks and sounds like a Roland D20. My first workstation in 1989. Ironically it has a 8 track sequencer which you can produce your own songs so no need for the Atari computer. Still have one to this day.

[@Octamed]

Looks like a D10. Great old school synths. I still have my Yamaha SY85 and Kurzweil K2000

[@abrokenframe82]

​@@Octamed yes your right, just noticed there's no disk drive. Always wanted a Kurzweil K2000 such a great synth but way too expensive for me in the 90s

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

The Roland D20 was essentially a budget multi-timbral version of the D50. I used to own one, and tbh it wasn't that great. Sure, it had an 8-track sequencer and a rhythm track, but the sounds were cheesy PCM based, and compared to Cubase or Notator the sequencer on the D20 was pretty rudimentary.

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

It is a d10, the 20 had the floppy drive slot.

[@BsktImp]

Cubase 3.1 on my Atari 1040STE.

[@sophiepooks2174]

Running an early version of C-Lab Creator program in this show, it was far superior in that with a plug in cartridge gave you 64 midi channels and smpte for tape sync.

[@BsktImp]

@@sophiepooks2174 Thanks. I can't recall knowing about Creator at the time.

[@Stereozentrum]

Fantastic time capsule!

[@dynho_b]

An Atari 1024 ST(E) with an unofficial copy of Cubase and a Roland D-10 was my starter equipment as well back then. OMG, am I really that old? ;-)

[@xsm5525]

just needs the Akai s1000 hooked up for the breakbeats, stabs and sub bass

[@telswood]

The piano is inside the computer!

[@chaton51]

No.. the piano sound is inside the synthesizer.. the computer an atari st at the time which had midi ports just give informations to the synthesizer.. play this notes... This lenght.. this height etc etc... And this on multi track with differents sounds. Nowadays the computers can run also virtual synthesizer ( vst ) and make the sounds too if necessary.

[@opticalman6417]

back in the days when people spoke properly

[@user-ve3gh5xg9q]

she has hair like Queen guitarist Brian May 😱

[@Liofa73]

It’s the end of the 80s, 80% of all girls had that perm haircut. I remember in the mid-80s when a girl I liked who had lovely long hair the year before, came back to school in the new term with that type of perm. Wasn’t impressed. But she liked it.

[@user-ve3gh5xg9q]

@Liofa73 Call it Vader's helmet🫨

[@alancurrie5313]

Midi is often still the most reliable too, ive seen people ditch USB connections many times and hook up the midi connections again

[@kgbinfo]

wtf that jam at the end is incredible.

[@roystonvasey5471]

I was waiting for it to segue into some ambient DnB.

[@kcrosley]

That Casio sax is actually a completely rad MIDI controller.

[@keithprice1950]

I used Cubase on an Atari st back in the eary 90s. My bedroom was full of gear. Now I use Ableton on a small laptop. Amazing how it's changed over the years.

[@itstheterranaut]

reasonable music shop

[@iixorb]

It would have been around 1990 when I started using Steinberg Pro24 on an Atari 520ST, MIDI’d to a DX7, DX100, ESQ1, TQ5, K1 and K1m, and a few basic MIDI drum machines (TR505, DR550)

[@SteveHolden-e5k]

Atari st in the back !

[@n3r0n3]

uh memories! I must still have my 1040ste somewhere...

[@Frontier2000AnoDomin]

Roland D-20, which of course has its own built-in 8 track plus a drum track sequencer. Much easier to program via the Atari, mind.

[@1mk2524]

That's how early 90s House and techno was made.

[@afh001]

Love that they created 'ponderous music from a low budget detective show', rather than say, banging techno ;-) 🕵🏻‍♂

[@nellyfett2681]

Watching them pull out a flute and oboe didn't really sell me the midi and computers etc! Also Ford Capri parked behind there?

[@BeatUpRecordsCDs]

The guitarist never started playing.

[@christophercooper6731]

@@BeatUpRecordsCDs, it was probably a last-minute dispute with the musician's union representative.

[@jokubrik6597]

"You come in when we`ve gone.."

[@petercarrington948]

I say ! Isn't MIDI jolly good everyone! It was Rock School for me!

[@wavesequencer]

The guitarist was playing the string sound with a MIDI pickup (watch carefully @5:26) - the guitar tone itself was not amplified.

[@FrancoisxavierFlandin]

Now midi 2 and cv gate everywhere

[@TtableWhey]

But the flute and oboe weren't connected by midi to the computer, so that was a bit misleading. And the guitar which was connected by midi - well he didn't really play anything. The recording of midi notes from the synth and/or guitar wasn't shown very well at all.

[@ehenyor]

This guy's temperament (not look) really reminds me of Alan Wilder's explanations.

[@thesunkendream]

I swear those 3 notes on the first keyboard are the first 3 notes of falling down from undertale

[@RolandoRatas]

digital copyright claim incoming !

[@cromulence]

Well it’s not terribly unique is it?

[@liverush24]

Is that an Atari ST?

[@LeShark75]

It is, and if you watch the Erasure video for Blue Savanah you can clearly see Vince Clarke stood in front of an ST throughout the video. I'm guessing that was just a prop because it gets painted blue and I'm not sure if the band ever used an ST for creating music. Its more than likely but I'm not 100% sure.

[@abrokenframe82]

Yes it is. Not sure if it's an ST FM or the superior STE

[@wavesequencer]

A staple of music studios at the time. Rock solid MIDI timing.

[@jasonsmith4084]

Really like to hear you do corrina temptation and another f.p.i. project everybody all over the world

[@DigitalDiabloUK]

And this one time.. At band camp.

[@ymotechnopopfan]

That late 80s - early 90s big teased hair.

[@pinkparodius]

0:16 Just casually, probably randomly, playing the first three notes of "Hopes and Dreams" from Undertale, over a year and a half before Toby Fox was even born.

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

He’s going to play with his digital horn…….fnar fnar

[@MolloyPolloy]

Nice one. 😂

[@DavidCarrol-i2q]

Top shelf video music😂

[@issiewizzie]

The key difference here is they can play an instrument and also improvise

[@plfr8541]

He can send midi to extraterrestrial being to the cosmos.

[@AtheistOrphan]

Random car in the background right at the end.

[@daveworthing2294]

The guitarist was really something, he didn't play a single note!

[@wavesequencer]

Actually he did - he was playing the string sound with a MIDI pickup - the guitar tone itself was not amplified.

[@CollapseReport]

Loool with the plop drums from the D10 5:41

[@david-bq2sd]

Rim shot he wishes

[@classlessbozo317]

All these rely on a computer to make it work which makes some rather interesting hairstyles.

[@original.dwornboy]

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

[@RolandoRatas]

lol yes. Maybe session musicians but certainly not rock stars here ! move along ! nothing to see here.

[@michaelturner4457]

Some big names did use similar Atari ST based kit as demonstrated in this video, such as Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield, Depeche Mode, Caberet Voltaire, Pet Shop Boys, Stock Aitken & Waterman, etc. The dude in this video was NOT a professional musician

[@alangrace8628]

​@RolandoRatas and that's a fact 😂😂

[@thewotsit]

Totally agree. We should have all stayed in the cave and be content with shadows flickering from the fire.

[@cnfuzz]

Haha , this particular synthesizer can only make one sound at a time, well it was 8 track multitimbral making it 8 synths in one instrument

[@petercarrington948]

I say, isn't MIDI jolly good! I'll stick to Rock School or Thomas Dolby's kids demo's.

[@awkwardtom]

Mike Hunter anyone? 😂

[@Rasle500]

BBC when they was great. Today is the opposite

[@RolandoRatas]

Strange I never heard of 'Techno' tv show on BBC2 and I was a tele watched back then; I thought this was 'Rock School' at first.

[@jokubrik6597]

I had Dierdre vibes from Rock School initially too.

[@mixolydian]

Beyond parody!

[@original.dwornboy]

I remember going to a Boro v Leeds match in the early 90s and all the Leeds fans - well a third of them - were in the horrible green colour that the guy on the guitar is wearing

[@NeoTokyo2006]

Argh! Notator! Cubase ended up being way better..

[@Progressive_Canadian]

What would it be like to go back in time with a smartphone from today? These poor people wouldn't know what to think!

[@DavidCarrol-i2q]

Ziggy from Quantum Leap used a device similar to a Smartphone to pass on information to Sam.

[@Psykelektric]

They'd think "In 34 years' time most people on the planet will spend every waking hour glued to one of those smartphones in a zombie-like state?" no thanks.

[@Progressive_Canadian]

@@Psykelektric More like they'll be asking "where's my flying car!"

[@whitevanadventures4116]

What a dreadfully awkward jamming session that was

[@TinLeadHammer]

1990, really? Her hairdo and the tech look more like 1985.

[@michaelturner4457]

Yes really. I'd say 1990 is correct. She's demonstrating a Casio CT-660, which came out in 1988. Also the Atari 1040ST was released in 1986, but was still popular for MIDI productions into the early 90s. Mid-80s and early-90s big-hair all looks the same to me.

[@80ssynthfan48]

No they don't. I'm not sure the Ataris were widely in use for sequencing in 85. I mean, apparently Take On Me was sequenced on a BBC Acorn or Micro.

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

The very first Midi sequencer program for the Atari in 1985 was Steinberg Pro-16. Professionals up until then would've used something like the Roland MSQ-700.

[@AtheistOrphan]

The ‘80s look’ in hair and clothes lasted a couple of years into the 1990s.

[@ispowart]

The Roland D-10 was released in 1988 so the programme being from 1990 is entirely reasonable.

[@djtomoy]

that ain’t techno bro

[@BillCourtney58]

I don’t like MIDI, or computer music or Autotune. I only like music made by beating sticks on hollow logs and rocks.

[@original.dwornboy]

I hated this midi music in the 80s and it's just as bad now