Discovering Electronic Music (1969-1983)

This film by Bernard Wilets was originally produced around 1969-70, but this reel that I present is the updated version from 1983 which includes new added Fairlight sequences with Rory Kaplan. The original sections are VERY 1969 and the color of this print is still remarkable. Great footage of Moog modular synths right in their heyday and lots of screenshots of waveforms and such. Is it coincidental that so much Bach is being played on the Moog? Calling Wendy Carlos! The film features several people who went on to make their names in electronic music, including Rory Kaplan, Douglas Leedy, and Jean-Claude Risset. This reel was transferred from my own 16mm archive print using my Eiki Telecine. The Eiki projects a 24fps print at 30 frames per second for a flickerless NTSC transfer. A special diffusion plate eliminates the 'hot spot' of the projector, and the sound is pulled right from the optical track. Enjoy!
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[@smallbee1234]

All the work it took for these audio engineers, we just simply take for granted now.

[@marcopaganotto9125]

Indeed, I'd love to go back in time and give these guys a copy of Reason!

[@rjwh67220]

Every part of Switched On Bach was created separately because the synthesizers of the day could only play one note at a time. The recording, editing, splicing must have been a Herculean effort in a time when multi-recording consisted of, at most four tracks.

[@davidskeet6220]

Women in particular have had a huge influence on the development of electronic music: Wendy Carlos, Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Eliane Radigue, the list goes on. I'm just starting my foray into this branch of music and it's fascinating.

[@danhollifield]

Thank you for mentioning Delia Derbyshire. The Doctor Who theme has been a large part of my life since I discovered the show back in the day.

[@rjwh67220]

When Switched On Bach came out it was by Walter Carlos.

[@zacharybutler5944]

@@rjwh67220and that’s not her name now, show some basic respect

[@jeffbecker4882]

Did I miss the Bob Moog credits?

[@2006ToyotaTundra]

Lol Carlos

[@fepatton]

Well, old or not, that was the clearest explanation I’ve seen yet of the basics of analog synths, including the manipulation of waveforms and envelopes. Very cool!

[@RB-bd5tz]

These are great videos from back in the day: Steve diFuria: Secrets of Analog and Digital Synthesis kzbin.info/www/bejne/qprZdoZjqM97mZY New York School of Synthesis: The Building Blocks of Sound & Synthesis, kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6XZpXV7a9lnbq8 and Types of Synthesis & Programming Examples kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXvOqXqsnbSGY68

[@rickc2102]

I learned from my Arturia's instruction book, and then from hours and hours of playing around

[@mcshafty1]

@@rickc2102 Me too! I had a Minibrute and got a lot from the plastic preset overlays

[@smifirno1153]

You kinda look like Partyboi69

[@roucoupse]

Exactly what I was thinking while watching.

[@1954shadow]

I remember the first time I heard, “Switched on Bach,” in the late 60’s, blew me away, then, “Emerson, Lake & Palmer,” took it to a new level.

[@Petertronic]

I loved ELP!

[@1954shadow]

@@rivjoy I have that LP, found it years later at a thrift store record bin.

[@sofa-lofa4241]

Yeah, Wendy Carlos is a legend

[@1954shadow]

@@sideburn I’ll have to look him up, thanks for the info.

[@jimsamuels833]

Right around 1970-71 I was a high school student in the southern tier of NY State, near Corning NY. The Corning Glass Works' research lab sponsored a science seminar once a month in the evening to allow their researchers to present their "hobbies" to their peers. We as a local high school science club were invited to attend. We scored this opportunity via our club's adviser, Larry Josbeno's friendship with one of the research scientist. Pertinent to this fabulous Fran film (aka FFF) was an appearance at one of the seminars by Dr. Moog who had driven down (he was visiting upstate NY) along with a carful of his synthesizers. He gave a talk but all I wanted to do was see him set up his equipment and demonstrate the capabilities of same. However, within the talk were some gems that included: 1) he started on the synthesizer as an offshoot to his Theremin development where he reverse engineered Theremins to make kits that he could sell for $$. 2) his work on the synthesizer did not give him any insight into "perfect pitch" and 3) I asked him why did he use patch cords to mix the various modules together as opposed to using lever and rotary switches? His reply was that patch cords (especially ones with open backs to allow for stacking) provided more flexibility than other connection methods available at the time. Then he set up his equipment and began to play, simple melodies and unique sounds to showcase the capability of his devices. Afterwards in the mixing of people around the equipment I overheard him talking about his work with Walter Carlos (now known as Wendy Carlos) and how an album would be coming out soon, well within a year where we would be hearing a full orchestral arrangement utilizing synthesizers. Needless to say I immediately bought the album when it became available. So thanks Fran for triggering my memory of a rich personal experience in my past.

[@lerneo]

Great footage ! By the way, the bass player we see at 11.57 is Rand Forbes, who played electric fretless bass in the psychedelic group The United States of America, in 1968.

[@ISerise]

11:57

[@piratetv1]

The haunting soundtrack to all the educational films and film strips from my grade school days

[@RichardNixonsHippieRemoval]

Film strips. Ha. Forgot about those.

[@nicolek4076]

We all love Wendy Carlos. An inspiration in so many ways. Bach would have loved this technology, I'm sure.

[@paulkocyla1343]

The Fairlight CMI was genious in every way. The software, the GUI, the DAC filter banks. This device has been used excessively by many bands and defined the typical 80ies sound - besides the "gated reverb" ;)

[@mournblade1066]

Funny enough, the gated reverb is loosely related to the Fairlight CMI. See, Peter Gabriel was one of the very first rock musicians (if not THE first) to use it on a recording (the "Melt" album, or Peter Gabriel 3), and he brought former band mate Phil Collins to provide drums on said album, and they accidentally created the gated reverb in the process.

[@RichardNixonsHippieRemoval]

​@@mournblade1066Yeah. Collins' producer Hugh Padgam hit bank using that effect.

[@RReese08]

Reminds me when Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange came out in 1971 and I was just a kid back then. Wendy Carlos created several pieces used in the soundtrack with her synthesizer which really completed the movie's overall look and feel. Of course, audiences back then totally freaked. Kubrick was, as always, ahead of his time. Thanks again, Fran. :)

[@ISOTROPOSPHERE]

10:29, looks like a vintage Buchla next to the Moog. Another enjoyable video from Franlab.

[@SimonCoates]

18:45 I never realised Space Invaders was actually Bach 😂

[@noakeswalker]

Great stuff Fran. Nice to see a Moog analogue synth in its original kind of setting here. In about 1970 (?) BBC dj Kenny Everett used to play chunks of Wendy Carlos' versions of Bach on his radio prog., on a Saturday lunchtime, as I remember.

[@bauhnguefyische667]

WC! 👍 genius level patcher/player

[@DanJohnson]

He definitely did in his TV show!

[@sofa-lofa4241]

Yes, in between Captain Kremen and Cleo and Kenny messing about... I do remember some of Wendy's snippets Thanks for the memories!

[@tommhill9948]

‘74: WFDM-Madison NJ college radio - Studio Electro- I played all the seminal e-music artists. Tied to interview Walter but she wouldn’t do interviews 😕 so I spoke with Rachel Elkind. Wondering if I recorded that show…

[@StealTheJoke]

15:29 This shot of his hands is so unbelievably pretty.

[@roberttower8059]

What a wonderfully crafted film! I grew up about 15-20 miles from where this was filmed. Why oh why didn't I see this in 1983?!?!!? It would have changed my life.

[@EddieRay724]

I took an Electronic Music class in high school around 1971. It started out with Musique Concrete which was hardly "music" in the conventional sense. I had to make myself listen through Subotnik and Partch. The fun stuff started when we moved on to a Putney synthesizer. During that class I discovered Walter Carlos (later Wendy) and Roger Powell. Fond memories. Thanks for the video!

[@equos7754]

44Imma

[@mjrippe]

So funny, I prefer Subotnik and Partch to Carlos any day :)

[@RayZappa]

@@mjrippe I'm totally with you there. The Buchla/Subotnik approach opened up the infinite possibilities of sound whereas the Carlos/Moog approach was to nail it all to a keyboard so it could be sold as 'legitimate' music for mass consumption.

[@RayZappa]

Strange (though cool) electronic music class that taught Partch... Tell me if I'm wrong but I thought Partch was an itinerant outsider artist who invented a whole load of acoustic percussion and string instruments.

[@mjrippe]

@@RayZappa Yes, Partch created his own (non-electronic) instruments.

[@VideyoJunkei]

Walt Disney's "Main street electrical parade" is a wonderful use of synthesizer tones. Loved this presentation!

[@pcm2012]

The documentaries of the 80s about tech were amazing. Thank you very much for this. It brings me back memories of when all started. I remember a TV series of documentaries, in the same line as this, but about robotics, computing, etc. named Fast Forward. I've tried to find it on the internet to no avail. Anyone else remembers Fast Forward docus?

[@babylonbabel]

Delia Derbyshireis is a bigtime hero of mine and is a big inspiration for me. Her Electronic Music is produced in a similar way.

[@antonhosinsky3090]

There is a major difference though, she only used tapes as the sound source, that she would cut, paste and manipulate in the old Musique Concréte style; according to a documentary I saw some time ago she absolutely hated synthezisers when they were introduced.

[@dr.zarkhov9753]

Not a minute in and I'm having a flashback....no, not that kind, my friends and I used to borrow the County library rental projector and a selection of films that were available. Anything from "Hemo The Magnificent" about hemoglobin as I remember it, and that great episode of Twilight Zone, "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge". If you've never seen it, search it out. It's gotta be up here somewhere. Thanks for sharing the film archive Fran. It is a genuine pleasure! I have some old 16 and 8mm things myself. Nothing of the caliber you've been showing us though.😀

[@Darrylizer1]

Hemo the Magnificent! OMG I watched that in elementary school! There were other movies starring the Dr. Science guy and his bud about music etc.

[@KeritechElectronics]

What a lovely movie! It's mere basics, doesn't cover all these VCOs, VCAs, compressors, limiters, whatnot, but still... I'll recommend it to anyone interested. I was keen on building my own modular synth for many years, but the costs and complication put me off; now it's possible that I'll work on a synth project together with the local hackerspace.

[@Welcometotheshow]

Started sequencing music in the mid 80s on my Atari 520 then upgraded to a 1040STE with a 2mb memory upgrade and the phono outs and a program called Sequencer One that was available at the time,great memories and still a huge part of my digital soundscapes today. Thanks for the post Fran ✌️❤️😎

[@TinkerbatTech]

Another way cool and informative transfer! Switched on Bach was my intro into synth music, what a great work that is. As a rabid techie and music nut, this is great. And still can't get over how nicely your telecine works. Great pic, smooth and detailed. What would have happened had Bach been able to get his paws on a Fairlight... The mind boggles... Thanks again, Fran! Lovin' these 16mm converts. You have a cool collection of film. (The days of arguing with a cranky old Bell & Howell at school coming back to mind...) Thanks again for sharing... Stay safe! Stu

[@bauhnguefyische667]

Switched on Bach was the first I heard of WC, music teacher at my high school loaned me her copy 40 years ago and I fell in love with it, you could not get a copy then, reasons. Her sound track for Clockwork Orange just blew me away. I assumed she was Walters sister or something, back then. Either way WC is a genius, but has been quiet last few years.

[@MickeyDJ1]

I do wonder if electronic music would have hurt Bach's ears, a bit like the birth of Rock 'n' Roll for most not in their youth. I would have expected it sounded very ugly to traditional musicians that I imagine were very sensitive to purity, the same way the sound of 200 year old instrument is cherished. Obviously the progressive thinkers and the younger generations would run with it with a passion. :)

[@lordmuntague]

Wow! I've adored synth music ever since my older brothers started playing Isao Tomita and Jean Michel Jarre at home in the 70s. Hope this gets listed Fran, I'd love to forward the link to my friend Jose at the DX5 channel, this will be right up his street. PS: How's the move going?

[@AnalogueKid2112]

Wow this is fantastic. As a fan of Tangerine Dream and other early electronic music pioneers, it is even more interesting to see how they actually made music

[@Nuru_77]

Awesome little documentary Fran. Reminds me of the movies the teachers would show us in public school around 1970....when they needed a break from teaching our distracted little minds. I always loved these matter-of-fact educational films. Great curation finding this one !

[@Cryo837]

Bought my first synth in 1986....a Casio CZ-101. A great little synth. Now I have a lot more appreciation for how it evolved from the huge sound devices of the two decades before it.

[@martin-mi3cg]

Yep I've got one of those ! I love the way that it looks and feels so cheap but there are some seriously grown up sounds to be had from it if you mess around enough.

[@prokesuk]

Expecting to see old synths and the first thing shown is a Fairlight. Then, I realized the Fairlight is old. As am I.

[@jimcabezola3051]

Mahalo for bringing this masterpiece of a film to me! I grew up on the synthesizer performances of Wendy Carlos, Isao Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Larry Fast.

[@TucsonAnalogWorkshop]

Once I saw Fairlight CMI I knew it was only a matter of time until we heard :::Orchestra HIT:::!

[@brianbieniowski2777]

Awesome to watch electronic sound go from "wow this is challenging and fun music" to "uh oh, in the wrong hands this can generate pure evil" over the course of 20 minutes. Have loved electronic music for 40 years and never bothered to learn as much as I did from watching this. Thanks for posting!

[@lpcamargo]

Once again, Fran, what a treasure! We are just so so lucky to have you.

[@Mr.EricMBlack]

I'm watching this while listening to drum and bass thinking how far we have come since the 70's.

[@wphmusic]

This is right in my wheel house. Thanks for sharing, Fran! 💙🌟🎶

[@houseofsteinert]

Wow great video. I'm following LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER and now i understand what he's talking about ;)

[@Raveheart]

So cool, that "tracker" software he is using... Nowadays considered retro, in 1983 this stuff was unheard of.

[@tiitulitii]

Calm harmony of sound, picture and people of the past.

[@tmwinkler]

Electronic Music was my introduction into an EE career. As a sophomore in high school physics (1980), I had been studying and tinkering with electronics for most of my life; but when I saw the Simple Synth project in Radio Electronics magazine, I had to build it. It was my first PCB. I had to come up with a Science Fair project to justify building it, but the synth was the end goal. I had so much run experimenting with it. Although not a musician, to this day, I still enjoy electronic music. Remember Hearts of Space? Thanks for sharing Fran!

[@mothratemporalradio517]

As someone born around the time you started your course and very intrigued by this history, may i ask what was Hearts of Space? ❤️🌌

[@tmwinkler]

@@mothratemporalradio517 It was a radio program showcasing space music (electronic music). There is a KZbin channel. Enjoy!

[@mothratemporalradio517]

@@tmwinkler cool. Thanks! Sorry for the delay in reply - i had a hiatus and didn't see the notification on return. Cheers!

[@kaasmeester5903]

Awesome stuff! Also, great transfer from 16mm... My dad tried endlessly with some old family reels, but in the end he gave in and sent them to a lab for scanning. Amazing how quickly electronic music evolved back in the day; this wasn't that long after Delia Derbyshire was still messing around with tape reels, oscillators and other equipment to make electronic music (like the Dr. Who tune)

[@jamessullenriot]

I've been looking for a video like this for a while that could explain synths in a very easy to understand way. All I got was a bunch of goofy thumbnails and knob twisting. This is amazing and all I wanted!

[@TheSynthnut]

Many thanks for the transfer and upload! Love seeing these.

[@anx1]

My love of electronic music has led me to a stage where I carnt go back 😄have to many synths 20 plus I love my latest module called clouds which is a granular synth its amazing 👌

[@SonnyBrown1965]

Fran, this is fabulous. Thanks!

[@misterjib]

Thanks for digitising and sharing this, excellent archive material

[@LisaBellaDonnaMusic]

I was so thrilled to see Rory Kaplan In this!

[@bassemb]

Thanks for transferring and uploading this!

[@REBELDONOG]

This is so awesome. Thank you for posting

[@JD-lk7im]

Brilliant transfer Fran, I really enjoyed this. Thankyou.

[@telemedic2000]

That was a very enjoyable and informative video. Thanks for uploading!

[@RapperBC]

This is a real gem. Thanks Fran!

[@DavidMorley]

Thank you so much for this version Fran!

[@stephenwoods4118]

Thanks again Fran for all this lovely goodness.

[@gigteevee6118]

So damn cool, what a fine rarity to share and at such great quality, nice work Fran!

[@alpcns]

Fascinating as always, Fran - you always have the good stuff. Some beautiful memories there. Thank you for that.

[@bollux78]

You touched my heart with this video Fran! Thank you!

[@thomashowe855]

Fantastic work, Fran! This has always been one of my many areas of fascination.

[@en0n126]

Thanks for uploading Fran !!!

[@HotHeels]

Great upload. Thanks for sharing Fran

[@eternaldoorman5228]

What a beautiful job you did digitizing this!❤️

[@darrensjames]

Thank you, Fran, that was amazing to see.

[@florascent9ts]

Pretty sick, always fun to learn new things! Many thanks for uploading ma'am ❤️.

[@kenhukushi1637]

Peter Gabriel's monkey album is probably the first I heard the Fairlight CMI, and it blew my mind. Herbie Hancock's Future Shock around the same time was also amazing. Huge leap from Moog or Arp that was around til then. Thanks Fran for the nostalgia.

[@Rhythmattica]

Don't forget the CMI JMJ magic (I have a soft spot for Zoolook)

[@theharper1]

@@Rhythmattica or Kraftwerk.

[@hagen-p]

Beautiful! Thank you, Fran!

[@bloodyl_uk]

You've done an absolutely stellar job transferring this awesome film Fran, I'm in awe.

[@brhfl2812]

One of the best explanations of subtractive synthesis that I've seen! Thanks for preserving this, Fran!

[@reynaldolunajr.6909]

I love this film. I could only find it in pieces all over YT. Thanks Fran!

[@melplishka5978]

I love how you find these gems. Well done.

[@Skraboing649]

These are awesome Fran! Keep 'em comin' please!!😀👍🤟

[@rjy8960]

Thanks Fran! Brilliant telecine job :) Totally immersive. Really interesting how simple sounds made from real instruments are at a fundamental level.

[@avi8r66]

Very nicely done on the transfer.

[@andreaskitzmann7391]

Thank you for sharing this important piece of synth history!

[@danhollifield]

I remember watching parts of this film in school back in the 1970s. One of the things I do for fun now is compose music in my computer. One of the projects I'll be working on in the future is contributing to the soundtrack to an animated movie being done by an online friend in the Netherlands. Electronic music has been an interest of mine for decades. From classical stylings to rock, and blends of both, my influences are many and varied. I even dabble with sound effects added to compositions from time to time. Thank you, Fran. You enabled me to relive part of my youth with this film!

[@luviskol]

Fairlight section had me getting flashbacks to The art of noise - no max headroom though

[@alvaroplol]

I love the sound of old synths on old film.

[@bradpalmer2914]

Another cracking film. Thank you Fran

[@jackpisso1761]

Thank you for this! Very informative.

[@Psilocybeing]

It's like watching music being broken down, digested and reborn. Awesome find Fran, thank you!

[@mattwillis3219]

Incredible piece of musical-synthesis history here Fran!

[@TinkeringJohn]

This brings back memories. I’ve seen this before. Another of my favorites is a NOVA episode titled “Artists in the Lab.” It showed how computers, synthesizers, and lasers were used to create with. A couple examples were using a synth and mike as a vocoder and using lasers to create and view holograms. I had this recorded on VHS tape, but no longer have it. Looked here on you tube, but can’t find it to watch again.

[@Jan-S-Simonsen]

Thanks Fran. That was a most enjoyable film.

[@daniarvi]

Thank you for providing this for us all to view. This was so bloody fascinating . We've come a long way.

[@dreamprescription8852]

Thanks, Fran!!! This is great. Saw it a year ago and watched it again -😊

[@jefmeeks]

Thanks Fran! Love that stuff! Just saw the one on 3-2-1 Contact last month! Classic.

[@quantize]

Superb, thanks Fran!

[@vomithaus1]

My first introduction to the synthesizer was MOOG! by Claude Denjean. Overuse of certain sounds has dated the recording in spots but it still holds up today. Back then (1976 for me) it was nothing short of science fiction come true.

[@spiderpickle3255]

Listening to this video from the other room is really bringing on memories of watching Tom & Jerry as a kid. 70's Tom & Jerry especially

[@thelaboratoryofspacerecord5239]

This is great, thanks for posting.

[@stuartalexander1595]

The first time I heard electronic music was in the 70s by Kraftwerk. Blew me away.

[@fburton8]

The plinky-plonky and drone sounds in the first part of the video remind me strongly of those I used to get when dabbling with Barry Vercoe's Music 11 software on a PDP-11 computer in the early 1980s. It sounded pretty rough given the D/A converters were 16kHz and 12-bit. I think I used to synthesize at half frequency, record on to reel-to-reel and then play back at twice the tape speed in an attempt to improve the sound quality.

[@compfox]

Oh, how I love "Switched on Bach"!

[@robertstredde6798]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@carldahlqvist1290]

This was awesome to geek out over during my morning coffee. Cool restoration!

[@chrisjohnstone6164]

Wowsers!! Absolutely wonderful and amazing !! ... Love love love 💛💛💛💛☀️

[@ichi-goichi6184]

Thanks for the flash back Fran!💗 I was at the ELP concert where Brain Salad Surgery was introduced...what a gifted musician. Thanks for sharing reel life of great value! Blessings!

[@ion-shivs]

I love this video. I'm just getting into analog synths, and I found it very educational. I also really enjoy the video editing style of that era.

[@jwl9286]

Love these old films. It's so amazing to have lived in a time of such wonderful developments! When I was a youngster I was fascinated with records and tape recorders. If anyone thinks a tape recorder is a simple device, I'm saying it is not. And yet, here we are in the computer age that makes that awesome technology obsolete. Anyway, I enjoyed that lesson. Thanks!

[@soarornor]

I think tape recorders are awesome. The old ones have such an extraordinary array of electronics and mechanicals. I still have my Teac 3340. The machine weighs a ton, is chock full of mechanical engineering. It’s hard to believe that a person can do large multi track pieces on a phone now.

By far one of your best films yet.

[@BuildYourOwnBass]

Yes! the quality of your transfer is one of the best I have ever viewed. Kudos!

[@jaco1982za]

Fran! I saw this in high school music class (grade 8, iirc), and have always wanted to get hold of it again, but sadly I could not remember the title. Thank you so much for uploading this. I have been sitting here, sinking into a depressive state, and you just brought a smile to my face. Thank you so much, this made my day.

[@platovsky]

Frank stokes genius! Thanks a lot my friend for this bounch of beatifull Audio visual documents, we love your Film 🎥 masterpiece

[@jasondownard7623]

Thank you Fran!