Peter Zinovieff is a British inventor, of Russian descent, maded in 1969 the famous VCS3 synthesiser in the late '60s, used by many early psychedelic rock bands such as Pink Floyd and White Noise.
The VCS 3 (an acronym for Voltage Controlled for Studio with 3 oscillators) is a portable analog synthesiser with a flexible semi-modular voice architecture.
Dr.Musician Peter Zinovieff formed in 1969 Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd. to market innovative ideas arising from his private studio and interest in musical applications of computers. Over the next ten years many seminal products were released and many talented designers worked for the company. EMS had its own peculiar brand of British eccentricity which could be both endearing and annoying, but should be viewed in the context of true pioneering. It is easy to copy and follow others, but not to think up new ideas in the first place and EMS had no shortage of originality. The EMS influence was significant and can be traced into many contemporary products.
It may be difficult for a generation brought up with 32-bit computers and digital signal processors as consumer items to appreciate just how revolutionary Peter Zinovieff's projects were. In the 1960s to have access to a 12-bit computer with 1K of memory outside the academic or military establishment, let alone have two personal ones and then use them for music, was completely unheard of. To have a video screen as well when most people programmed with punched cards was beyond belief. Today there is a huge worldwide market for electronic music equipment, but there is little that was not envisioned by the EMS team before 1970 ten to twenty years ahead of their time.
The demise of EMS has many parallels with that of ARP. Both companies succumbed to the lure of the guitar market, ARP with the Avatar and EMS with the Hi-Fli. Both put a large amount of R&D effort into ambitious projects that were never completed. Had they both stayed within the markets they excelled in history could be quite different. After gearing up to make large quantities of the Hi-Fli, for which there was not actually a corresponding demand, EMS incurred burdening debts. Diversification with the International Voice Movement and falling victims to a financial fraud made the collapse of EMS in 1979 inevitable.
The Synthi Group is back for the second installment of their ongoing Electronic Music Studio (EMS) instrument centered compilations. With the popularity of Vol. I, downloaded over 41,000 times, it was made clear that an interest exists for the unique sound of EMS machinery. Vol. II continues the DIY ethic of the first, encapsulating a diverse array of sounds from ultrasonic frequencies and spring reverb howls to rubbery logic sequences and colliding inverted ramp oscillators.
The members presenting their own manipulations and interpretations of the Synthi. Encompassing elements from vintage analog, ambient, glitch and experimental, both beginners and aficionados of electronic music alike will find interest in the varying styles presented here. Available through Clinical Archives, the Synthi Group: Vol. II must not be missed. Bleep.
Recorded: live on March 16, 2003 at the Beta Lounge in San Francisco
In 1967, San Francisco’s Fifty Foot Hose were certainly one of the
innovators of a sound that took Psychedelia to new heights and was
captured on the band’s one record, Cauldron. They are a totally
unique hybrid—on one hand pulsating bay area acid rock, on the other,
fractured electronic freakery, becoming one whole cohesive being. The
sci-fi-ish video game-like artwork hinted at the sounds within, as did
the Limelight label’s pedigree for truly progressive sounds. Band
leader, Cork Marcheschi, used homemade electronic devices to create
crude and experimental soundscapes and instrumental compositions that
were sprinkled throughout the album.
Often starting shows with a swelling rumble that exploded into the
first song, they soon developed a rabid following on the SF scene,
though there was the occasional totally wrong gig, like when a
very-pregnant Nancy had to perform at a Catholic Girls’ school! Still,
the group wowed the crowds, performing with greats like Chuck Berry and
Fairport Convention.
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