Thursday, October 04, 2007
Laurie Anderson - O Superman
YouTube via bchfj. Anyone know what synths and vocoder she used for this track?
via Phoebe.
"Aside from making music, she is also credited with a couple of inventions: the tape bow violin, and the talking stick, which uses granular synthesis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_anderson#Inventions"
Update:
15 comments:
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Roland VP-330, far as I know.
ReplyDeleteAnd if Laurie Anderson warrants a "Synth Babe" tag, then W. Carlos does, too. That hair! Those cats! That, um, jawline...
So freaky! One of my all-time favorites.
ReplyDeleteIve got the "Big Science" LP at home. It lists equipment If I remember right. Ill have a look but want to say the vocoder is a VP-330 Roland vocoder.
http://emusician.com/em_spotlight/Laurie_Anderson_Interview_021405/
This interview from the mid-80s talks about gear a bit too.
Wendy has a Synth Babe tag pretty much every time I see her mentioned on here. They are both very deserving of the tag, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt's a Vocoder Plus VP-330. There is also an OB-XA and possibly a Casiotone. For the "United States" tour she used a couple Synclavier II's.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia is a criminal nest of misinformation.
"Wikipedia is a criminal nest of misinformation."
ReplyDeleteOh brother. Well, here it is from the horse's mouth (Laurie's very own Bio):
"Recognized worldwide as a groundbreaking leader in the use of technology in the arts, Anderson collaborated with Interval Research Corporation, a research and development laboratory founded by Paul Allen and David Liddle, in the exploration of new creative tools, including the Talking Stick. She created the introduction sequence for the first segment of the PBS special Art 21, a series about Art in the 21st century.
Her awards include the 2001 Tenco Prize for Songwriting in San Remo, Italy and the 2001 Deutsche Schallplatten prize for Life On A String as well as grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts."
Surprisingly, I couldn't find any info on the Tape-Bow Violin on her official site, but there's isn't a lot of technical info on there anyway, hence, Wikipedia. Her invention of the Tape-Bow Violin is well-known, though.
Checked the LP sleeve, but it just says "Vocoder, Electronics" for Laurie with Roma Baran on "Farfisa, Casio" and Perry Hoberman plays sax and flute. The OBXa is all over the rest of the album. Maybe the CD reissue has more info?
ReplyDeleteVP330 is the best guess, as I haven't found anything definitive in my Laurie Anderson books. Maybe the book "Stories from the Nerve Bible" has something in it. I seem to remember that book to have a few more technical details than the biography I have.
The Synclavier doesn't figure in until US Part Three. Big Science is culled from Parts One and Two. All the Concrete sounds are on tape prior to that.
I am anxiously awaiting her next performance in Chicago.
It's a VP-330, just like the one shown in the video.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia has some true information & a whole lot of false information. Who knows which is which? Some of the information is planted by publicists. Some of it is speculation by God knows whom. People should really pinch themselves before using it as an actual reference source.
the vocoder is a vp-330, as are the strings that come in around :37.
ReplyDeleteBy Casiotone, she means Casio M10.
ReplyDeleteThere are pictures of her using one in the studio, plus, well, it sounds like one, too. I don't think her M10 had the modifications done to it that you can do (extra sounds, etc). All the photos I've seen of her with it (all 3) have it stock.
I remember this song when i was 8 or 9 and it seemed really scary and haunting. That "White Horse" song used to freak me out too.
ReplyDeleteTo this day i'm not sure what she was going for but it's a classic song and video. It's just her in a studio with a Roland, a lightbulb, and some snowflakes!
Reed: which is why they insist on no original research. If it's sourced, check the sources; if it isn't, don't believe it.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia may or may not be a good reference, but it's a pretty good place to point people as a stepping stone to some real references. And given that ranting about how it's a big pile of crap any time anyone posts a link to it without going and creating an account and doing your best to sort it out really doesn't accomplish anything useful, what's your wikipedia ID?
Dear god I love this song more than most things and I don't know why. Likely has something to do with my near-autistic love of repetition mixed with my love of the vocoder when used well. This is one of the first things that drew me toward synth based music.
ReplyDeleteI saw her perform a few years ago with Antony from Antony and the Johnsons. It was an incredible pairing.
...oh jeez at least I'm not getting as old as I thought. I thought the Booka Shade version of Oh Superman from earlier in the year was original material! ooops.
ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic stuff.
She was at my college last year, that being UNCA
ReplyDeleteRoland VP-330 Vocoder Plus MkI to be exact. But not sure if this version (MkI) or (MkII) was used for Soundwave.
ReplyDelete