Behind "Video Killed The Radio Star": The Synth Parts

[@michaelambrus3051]

People like you make the world a better place

[@willfomes406]

Damn true.

[@emyrhumphreys6908]

Awsum!

[@Taka_Takata]

On top of the great musicianship, presentation, and enthusiasm, these reconstruction videos show Doctor Mix is also a true master of instruments and gear. Total respect.

[@goliathyeti1669]

I love how he can find all these different synths and still be impressed and fall in love with a sound a different keyboard makes

[@GavinFreedomLover]

I love seeing someone so happy with their work !!!

[@rdoetjes]

I love that it’s not quantized to death. It’s nice and syncopated, the way it should be :)

[@enriqueernesto738]

There is such an appealing human touch in the sounds of that synth

[@olivierpire8311]

indeed, such touch is so rare

[@shane864]

It's horrifically out of calibration and when it was new would not have sounded this way. A big part of the appeal of vintage is just the fact that it's technically possible for it to drift like this. Modern manufactures are juuuuuuuuuust finally now catching on to this, and this is why stuff like the Prophet 6 and OB 6 still don't have that last 5% of funk of the good old stuff. Or at least they didnt, until sequential added the vintage knob that affects EVERYTHING, not just tuning slop.

[@alistairsteadman3765]

You’ve got to love The Doctor. He always has the perfect prescription.

[@iMadrid11]

I’m more amazed with the amount of access he has to vintage synths.

[@tranceangel7480]

I'm amazed with what he can do with them!!!

[@jasonritchie8475]

I think some of them get sent to him by the manufacturers 🤔

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

Mmm. As a musician myself, I can certainly vouch for the fact this project is executed well & in a clever way. Especially given the equipment.

[@jugglerj0e]

I'm def jealous. I wish I had all those vintage synths that the Doctor has.

[@aurelienmengual4740]

⁵⁵

[@JeremyCoppin]

Dude, so many of your videos leave me with this stupid grin on my face. Simple, Brilliant Fun. Thanks man. That was so cool.

[@Harry-wt1pi]

The Voyetra 8 was the most desirable synth on the market when I was young , micro processors made it all more afordable later on but these analog synths still sound the best

[@geozvidz]

My man... This is unbelievable and you are in every sense an artist. Cannot wait to check out some more of your stuff! Thank you for sharing!

[@AlessandroCarn]

You are not only good at doing synth and audio stuff, watching your videos make me cheerful 😄 It is clear that you have fun and you have passion for your work.

[@herberar]

In 1980, during my military service, this theme was on the radio (a.m) almost all day long!!! Nice job, cheers !!!!

[@thomaskolb8785]

This is the guy everybody would want to hang out with - not because of the synths but because of that infectious crazy good mood.

[@Meowbay]

Actually no, I would hate to 'hang around' with him. He's a spoiled brat. Too much money, suffering from delusions of grandeur, etc.

[@Cesar-ey7wu]

i, too, would be in a good mood if i had that many synths

[@Tupac_Shakur-NL]

@@Meowbay He is better of without you anyway

[@BassicVIC]

I find him utterly ANNOYING.

[@danielmconnolly7]

@@Meowbay 🤔

[@myfastcars]

DUDE,,, YOU ROCK. You're SKILLS are second to NONE! We are all talented in different areas. You kill yours!! Keep up the very cool work!!

[@psgower72]

As a person that worked in nightclubs, in the the 90's. A DJ friend produced a remix of this song before the it got popular, went to the recording studio, was rejected, and amazingly, the remix slightly changed came out not too long after. Yes, the DJ's name is, Shane King. He is a great DJ!!!

[@grahamhill8018]

Amazing to watch you gradually build this classic track from the late 70's. Brings back many happy memories, which sparked my interest in electronic music, all those years ago. Thanks for sharing.

[@christianwouters6764]

I am a classically schooled composer and arranger and I am in awe for dr. Mix ! He can create anything without pencil and paper, all in polyphony. And he NEVER plays a mistake( at least, not in the video's 😀).

[@mikegasche6141]

You are unbelievably gifted my friend!

[@darkwraithcovenantindustries]

One of the happiest and most enthusiastic production KZbinrs!

[@johnkidd3975]

I have to agree with Mike. Gifted and talented. Very enjoyable videos. I'm a new subscriber, so happy I found you. Well done Sir.

[@sprint955st]

Trevor Horn made it. Most credit to him.

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

@@sprint955st I'm sure that's the guy that produced for Seal.

[@RestrictedAirspacePodcast]

You have serious skills brother! Nice job.

[@RestrictedAirspacePodcast]

Antonio Silva Completely agree! I play guitar professionally but I love playing synthesizers and piano as well.

[@StarejFotr]

5:50 :D :D That feeling when you find the sound that reminds you of something.

[@macronencer]

5:50 Love this moment! One reason I enjoy your channel so much is that you're clearly just full of joy and in love with music in general :)

[@anonandon71]

He achieves in the first minute what most of us could do in ten years/never actually do.

[@65blaufisch]

Die beste Demonstration die ich bis jetzt gesehen habe. Besser geht es nicht. Absolutely amazing!

[@rciscon]

Thank you so much for this, and your other videos. You display so much joie de vivre in them, it's infectious and makes me smile!

[@benoitlefevre9565]

True !

[@flatlandcircuitry]

+1

[@musikmakerman]

Hearing such memories az this classic brung to life Dr Mix style warms my heart im truly feeling inspired to record again at 50 yrs young your FANTASTICO

[@LogiForce86]

"video killed the radio star" and "reality star killed the video star"... R.I.P. Old school MTV.

[@DMC.101]

Excellent way you used the pitch wheel to imitate the vocal inflection. Great work Man!

[@littlebritain64]

Can't believe it! 5:52 is the sampled Korg M1 house organ!!!

[@PlanoFSXer]

Doctor Mix: 0:33 -- I am gonna leave out the piano intro because that's not a keyboard. Me: My life has been a lie! I suppose DrMx meant "that's not a Synth" ;)

[@agfagaevart]

piano is the best part!! especially near the end of "video" it goes all classical.

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

Video _without_ quotes, @@agfagaevart.

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

Haha, James! No kidding, right? Ha! Original piano is a _mechanical_ keyboard!

[@CONSIDERABLYMORE1]

Never question the good Doctor

[@petermortensen3832]

4:21 It's actually an Aria SB-1000, not a P-bass, but good guess :-)

[@TheRahsoft]

i like the way you ad lib to the song( humming/singing the lyrics), like a big kid again !this was the song of my childhood !

[@Doctormix]

Hahaha! Exactly... I just sing along to have something to play to :)

[@MrVadymMykh]

I watched this video on a single breath! It's just awesome to see such pasion that you have! Cheers from Spain)))

[@anthonybutto1925]

It's just a natural gift, the earlier you pick it up the better. I only started singing when I was 2 my mum reckons. Growing up in my early high school years, if someone was to give me an opportunity to lead a musical choir I dare say I would have no problem; but I'd be a very hard boss to deal with because every piece of music I listen to most of the time I reckon it can be extra better, that's how passionate I am. It's marvelous what a difference technology makes. When taking frequent breaks doing music rehearsals, also it's marvelous what a difference Milo makes. I wouldn't mind one actually. Gotta go, cheers.

[@TreyVittetoeMusic]

Wow man, such cool vintage gear. And super fun to watch you build this. Amazing, thanks!

[@TheC0G]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching you constructing this great song! Amazing!! 😎👍

[@samikalastaja]

5:51 "She wakes up every morning, Just to do her hair now"

[@freezitrecords]

yes lad!

[@mtbevins]

Wow that was great. You are so talented. I love watching your process. Thanks for making the great videos.

[@threepotMR2]

Love that smile moment at 5:50 for the lead Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman

[@scottptolomey3498]

The strings were originally done on a Solina using the crescendo setting for the slow attack on the verses and the Prophet 5 used for that signature brass motif.

[@PianoBeaShar]

I played this with my band. Being the Key-broad and backup singer, I rocked it too! :) Nice job!

[@mistaish]

And this song my friend was also the 1st video that appeared on MTV. Great job. Ooowa oow

[@djanitatiana]

Watch your back Hans Zimmer, your secrets have been uncovered...

[@thomasa.1772]

Hey Dr. Mix, would you consider recreating "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League, or even "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order.

[@victorbarnes6898]

I owned two Votetra 8s. When I got my first I put it up against my Oberheim OB-8 and the next day found a buyer for the OB and that was that. The Voyetra was just that much better so I couldn't justify keeping the OB if it was always going to get beat. My friend got a Voyetra 8 and he wanted to use it to replace his Prophet 5 so I offered to make his Prophet programs on the Voyetra so he could get started. I asked him if the sounds came out and he said no. They were better. I lament selling them. Oh, by the way. The first version of the Voyetra sounded much more organic and smooth but didn't have nearly as many features. Forget trying to find one of those. They were all upgraded to version 3+ which removed the balanced XLR outs with MIDI on XLR. The MIDI cables were $50. One last thing. The longer you kept the Voyetra 8 on, the warmer it sounded. It wasn't my imagination because I could leave one on for days and the other off and then test the difference.

[@richardjohansson2648]

Wait.. Did i just hear Crystal Waters at 5:52??

[@Doctormix]

You did

[@altayant3174]

beat me to it. :(

[@Forest_V19]

First chord to Mr.Blue Sky???

[@jasm291183]

@@Doctormix can you do a video making that song please?

[@Catonator]

Crystal Waters uses the "Organ 2" preset on M1 (Card 01, Bank 17), you can find it in the M1 Le VST!

[@DanielOakfield]

One person killed that video that killed the radio star!!! EDIT: After downloading the tracks I know why you got that 1 dislike... someone wanted the full song not just 1:36!!! ;) Bravo Claudio, ottimo lavoro, non demordere!

[@Doctormix]

Hahaha!!! Grazie amico

[@VCRgameplay]

Oddio quindi è italiano?

[@Doctormix]

VCRgameplay oddio si, egli e’ italiota!!

[@francescoarno8215]

Sei un grande

[@martinoserri8814]

@@VCRgameplay Il suo inglese lo tradisce :D

[@zenbeeblebrox9339]

Phenomenal man! This is the first video of yours I've watched -- loved it. Thanks for posting!

[@SuperMinecrafter200]

Beeblebrox lmao

[@pierreduchesne0001]

I listened the whole video and as a result you got an additional subscriber. Amazing work.

[@dykodesigns]

You’re a true musical virtuose. That sounds very funky!

[@daveogarf]

Thank you for demonstrating the Voyetra 8, one of the most underused synths of the eighties. It was definitely ahead of its time. You showed it to best effect.

[@gtrman9342]

Absolutely brilliant & Hilarious 2 . very talented with a great sense of humour! Thats rare in the Music Business ha . Good Job

[@livefromstudioa8245]

I don’t even play a keyboard instrument or have any idea how synths work and this was amazing to watch. Really fantastic work.

[@PeterJonesonline]

I love watching this guy enjoying himself so much.

[@personsofinterest7215]

Dude! You're like mix of SNL's Sprocket and Thomas Dolby! I like how your mind works! Awesome stuff, Keep it up!

[@LarsJacobsenDK]

This brings me right back to ‘79. One of my all time favorite songs of that era, nicely recreated on that beautiful vintage synth. Loving it ❤️ (well, perhaps not “beautiful” but certainly interesting)

[@sea-saw2654]

I absolutely love your enthusiasm..wish I had a fraction of it.. great work..

[@BlackMytilus]

You and your synths do amazing magic!

[@het_gele_teken]

At 5:59 it reminds me of the intro of Duran Duran's Last Chance On The Stairway. Sounds pretty similar to me.

[@MiskoKatua]

@5:50 very recognizable sound & riff 😃

[@alainperrieregenevincent54]

J'aime bien quand tu dis: "it's too boring, we can do it better"! (c'est trop ennuyeux, on peut faire mieux!). Very good job, Doctor Mix! Alain (France). 🇫🇷🇺🇸👍👍👍

[@mosespray4510]

I really enjoy watching you deconstruct my favorite songs.

[@EthanVillanueva]

This is such a great channel to discover. I feel like I'm learning quite a lot just watching to be the doctor if the mixes

[@gutierrezpablod]

Doctor Mix you’re the musical hero we don’t deserve

[@Doctormix]

Hahahaha!!

[@MTSLEX]

I love the energy you put into your videos 😁 very talented as well

[@barryjdwyer]

Sounds like Daft Punk were listening to this for the Discovery album.

[@therealpanse]

now that you're mentioning it, I can totally hear Digital Love's hook in there.

[@blakeochsner546]

holy crap your right!

[@boowonder888]

Then I must listen to that album....

[@proizvodnjasweethouse1815]

Original hook is sample of song from 70s so no

[@jurgisvalancauskas4006]

​@@proizvodnjasweethouse1815 if you listen closely to what's happening in the Daft Punk's "Digital love" from around 2min:45s... then you'll get that the riff got inspiration from piano/synth riff of this song (video killed a radio star). In that case it's not a sample or direct stealing of riff but instead just a pure inspiration for their own stuff.

[@MsMarciax]

Listening very closely with such great anticipation with the song bouncing around in my head and then all of a sudden "Dabba Deee Dabba Daaa... Dabba Deee Dabba Doow" bashes my brain cells like Thor's lump hammer at 5:49 . Love it.

[@maricate]

5:50 - Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)

[@jizzo385]

Gustavo Maricate yes

[@teddybeddy123]

Bless you, that was driving me crazy!

[@jackpast]

Just awesome, Doctor! So nice watching and listening to your thoughts and results!!

[@markrae1317]

Leaving out the piano intro because "that's not a keyboard" - sheesh!

[@WibblyWobblyBob]

I was wondering if a piano isn't a keyboard instrument what the hell is it? Woodwind?

[@adrianbroughton9752]

@@WibblyWobblyBob You can classify piano as Percussion - www.orsymphony.org/learning-community/instruments/percussion/ But pretty sure it was just a tongue-in-cheek comment by OP to get a rise out of piano purists.

[@NajmulHasan-ml2zw]

CD xxx

[@markbell1]

You know of course he was being sarcastic? Look at the way he looks at the camera.

[@Samdemaeyer]

It's also a kboard

[@neuronmind]

It seems so afford less , but it's not . You got great skills Doctor mix and your presentation is always a joy. Many Thx.

[@gullyfoyle6354]

Auguri! :) this shows you don't need a ridiculous army of synths and samplers to create good music. Just a lot of talent and the right tool. ;)

[@TRIPPLEJAY00]

Brilliant work and thank you for the chords just by looking at your finger work on the ebony and ivory keys. Take care.

[@thesynthesia7478]

This song is one of the define classic of synthpop music. I quite like how Erasure coped with the cover. They dressed it onto a new coat but preserve the symbolism of the original track.

[@Rocky-ne9vf]

I had a Voyetra 8 rev 4 [final rev] 28 years ago. Great tone. Wide band width. However, envelopes were software and less than 16 bit. That's why Rick Stevenson at Manny's Music was hailing the Roland MKS- 80 [ rev 3 - more gutsy] Thus, on the Voyetra 8 you could easily hear zipper "stepping" . And on long decay you could detect the stepped levels change. So , don't feel too bad if you missed your chance to get one .

[@Robert08010]

My first sequencer was before windows. It was a DOS program called Voyetra Sequencer Plus Gold. Back then, PCs were still slow enough that an operating system like windows slowed down the machine significantly. So if you needed high accuracy you kept right on using DOS for several years. Its wasn't until Win 95 came out that you would consider running music software inside of windows.

[@myroomstudios]

even if I'm not into synths and this kind of music, i really love your videos and your creative process, the way you think to build it looks almost easy even if isn't it. Is nice to learn new things from people like you.

[@olivervitze3753]

Thank you for all the great videos you produce. One feels joy when one looks at you. I am very impressed by your technical and above all your musical skills. Unfortunately I can't play an instrument, okay, used to be a flute, but that was 40 years ago. I can sing a little, that's it.

[@michaeltough2449]

Doctor Mix you've cheered me up on lockdown evening. Love your enthusiasm and skills :)

[@ciolamorta]

Please do Crockett's theme!

[@RestrictedAirspacePodcast]

ciolamorta YES GREAT CHOICE!!

[@chevyhighrider]

Yeeessss

[@Trekeyus]

Great idea.

[@android584]

I think Jan had a Fairlight in a live performance of Crockett's theme.

[@scottydawg1234567]

Please!!!! Or the Miami Vice main theme.

[@calibulaminus4778]

to be honest (and i asume some people in this coment section are too) i have no bloody clue of what all this advanced musical mumbo jumbo is all about (my musc formation stoped at primary school with 3 recorder cords and the basic vocabulary) but i really love how ou make it sound easy and make what its basically music out of relatively nothing

[@unknownoriginals]

Just stumbled upon your channel - really awesome work! Will be sharing your vids with friends, keep it up!

[@irushno1]

I love watching your videos! Such a skilled man

[@maikkaune]

Simply a passionate and entertaining guy! ;) Always fun to watch.

[@ArturBernardoMallmann]

I never heard a synth dooing stereo sound so good.

[@jasonwhite7452]

You know what would be a cool song to touchdown on? Eyes without a face by Billy Idol! It’s not the most exciting synth riff but it’s instantly recognizable and it’s personally one of my top 3 80s songs! So Dr.Mix hope you’re reading and hope that one day you get that little bit of Rebel Yell in your blood!Great channel,Signed...A truly devoted fan! Jason ( New York)

[@basiledaudet5774]

5:51 yessss !!! 🥰❤️ the song that brought me into house music

[@supercallifragi]

Doc you are the man im embarking on the wonderful world of piano/keyboards/music appreciation

[@0z33y]

This vid cheered me up , you make home recording look so simple , fantastic job...

[@ricobonifacio1095]

wow you are a synth genius man. you make it look so easy.

[@JayKay0245]

Gifted with music and an energy that can’t help but make you smile even on a dull day :)

[@jeroenfigee]

8:08 > Nooo ! that's not boring, just stack this one and the new one on top of eachother :-) That's the first thing that came up. Cooool video. Great synth! Love the vibe in the video !

[@tranceangel7480]

Wow, Doctor Mix you nailed it! I'm so impressed by what you managed to achieve with just 1 synth! I'm a beginner and I'm still trying to figure out how to use a sequencer properly...

[@Highcastle_of_Tone]

I love the deep dive geekiness of your videos. I love Geoff Downes, so really cool to see how these sounds might have been achieved!

[@kgmoome]

Love seeing all the old tech.

[@PedroPetracco]

1:55 That's a pretty awesome floor tom sound, tbh!

[@Wolfie783]

Hey man I love how you're paying homage to one of the very first videos ever shown on MTV back in the 1980s. You got to love Trevor Horn though.

[@AlbertonBeastmaster]

THE first song played on MTV.

[@Mamutkailiai]

Bass line just makes me crazy with that stereo jumping. Each time it snaps I have to blink.

[@rOymOnd421]

Thank you for sharing your masterpiece! This world needs more people like you.

[@limitedignition]

Wow, looks incredibly easy, but you are a great musician and you know your equipment quite well.... awesome job!