"Video by Benge for his new album Minertua. Created with Hameg oscilloscope and Phillips V100 analog video camera. Music by Benge created on Yamaha YC45D electronic organ / Roland 201 Space Echo. See http://myblogitsfullofstars.blogspot.co.uk/ for more"
"Minertua - Deep Listening Gallery
A further study in sustained electronic tonalities complimenting Benge's previous two recordings, Abstraxa and Harmuna
Track one - Elka X705 electronic organ, Buchla modular synthesiser, Roland R880 Digital Reverberation System, Ibanez AD150 analog delay, MXR 126 Flanger/Doubler
Track two - Buchla modular synthesiser, Roland R880, Ibanez AD150, MXR 126
Track three - Yamaha YC45D electronic organ, Roland 201 Space Echo
Track four - Buchla modular synthesiser, Roland R880
credits
released 21 August 2012
Recorded at Benge Studios, London, August 2012
All Music and Design by Benge (c)2012 Ben Edwards
All Rights Reserved
Cover photo of video feedback by Benge
Video content by Benge using Hameg oscilloscope, Philips V100 analog video camera
Watch the video here: myblogitsfullofstars.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/benge-minertua.html www.bengestudios.com www.expandingrecords.com
Released 22nd August 2012"
"The Memetune Programme Annual 2023 takes the form of an A4 hardback book and double CD album, which compliments and celebrates the first six episodes of Benge’s debut television series, made at his Memetune Electronic Music Studio in 2022
To quote Benge from the introduction to the Annual:
'It was always such a thrill, during my teenage years, to discover a new annual compendium from one of my favourite bands, comics or in particular one belonging to a favourite TV series, such as Blake’s 7 or Space 1999
The photos and information contained in those pages always left me wanting to watch the next series ever more eagerly
And so it is an even greater thrill for me to be able to be presenting my very own annual compendium, derived from the content of my recent TV series
I do hope that this book will inspire similar feelings in you, and moreover, whet your appetite for the next series of The Memetune Programme'
The book is divided into the following sections:
SWITCHED ON - Featuring in-depth discussions about the history and development of the synthesiser over the years, including pictures, diagrams and feature guides of many classic and iconic instruments
SYNTHESISER CLUB - A very vintage look at a synthesiser classic or three
PATCHING TODAY - A deep dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch
VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how to create experimental visuals using it
The two CDs included inside the book feature all the music from the series, written and performed by Benge to complement the programmes. CD1 contains 33 synthesiser demos which map out the history of synthesisers through the years. CD2 has all the theme tunes, idents and incidental music Benge made for the series
The book will be released on February 3rd 2023 via Bandcamp. Follow the link to Benge’s merch page here: zackdagoba.bandcamp.com/merch
"The first half of this album (tracks 1 to 33) is made up of the demonstration tracks made by Benge for his TV series 'The Memetune Programme'. The tracks were performed live on each instrument and filmed for the television programmes
The second half (tracks 34 to 55) contains the theme tunes, idents and incidental music from the TV series
To watch the full episodes, please search on YouTube for "the memetune programme by benge" [or scroll down posts here on MATRIXSYNTH]
Please take a look at the Memetune Annual 2023 which is a limited edition A4 hardback book based on the TV series. The book includes two CDs inside, with the music from this release on them. It will be available to buy from the merch section here on the 3rd February 2023"
Additional Vintage Synth TV episodes by Benge
00:00 Opening Titles 00:32 Introduction 01:36 Little Black Boxes 05:37 Switched On Cybersynths 14:59 Synthesiser Club 18:51 Commercial Break 19:41 Patching Today 31:58 Video Lab 42:50 Outro
SWITCHED ON CYBERSYNTHS - An introduction to the concepts behind this fascinating synthesis technique, using vintage Serge and Emu modulars to create some very abstract music
SYNTHESISER CLUB - Roland synths: SH5, Sh3A, Jupiter4, System 100 (101 and 102), MC4 Microcomposer, RE201 Space Echo, DEP5 Reverb/Multi FX, SDE1000 Digital Delay
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2023
00:00 Opening Titles 00:32 Introduction 01:29 Little Black Boxes 05:23 Switched On Cybersynths 14:14 Synthesiser Club 16:59 Commercial Break 17:54 Patching Today 30:59 Video Lab 34:56 Outro
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - The Emu Proteus 2 Orchestral, from 1990
SWITCHED ON CYBERSYNTHS - A trip back to the 1960s for a look at the very first Cybersynth, the Buchla 100, including a patch based on Allen Strange’s seminal book Electronic Music, taken from the chapter “‘Real-time Networks’
SYNTHESISER CLUB - Connecting up the Korgs - featuring the Monopoly, DW6000, S770 and DDD1 drum machine
PATCHING TODAY - The Polyfusion 2000 system, with the AS1 sequencer, from the mid-1970s
VIDEO LAB - A look at some of the inspiration behind and planning for the making of Benge’s short film “Proof of Hyper-travel”
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2023
00:00 Opening Titles 00:34 Introduction 01:24 Switched On Digital Synths Part 3 22:48 Synthesiser Club 25:01 Commercial Break 26:43 Patching Today 40:36 Video Lab 45:43 Outro
SWITCHED ON - Featuring in-depth discussions about the history and development of the synthesiser over the years, including demonstrations and feature guides of many classic and iconic instruments
SYNTHESISER CLUB - A short musical demonstration of a synthesiser classic or two
PATCHING TODAY - A deep-dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch
VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how to create experimental visuals
SWITCHED ON DIGITAL SYNTHS part 3 - A look at what Benge refers to as 'Layer Synths' - late 80s and early 90s masterpieces of miniaturised microchip technology, such as the Ensoniq ESQ1 and Roland JD800
SYNTHESISER CLUB - Roland System 100, VP330, CR-8000 all controlled from the MC4 sequencer
PATCHING TODAY - Moog 3C Modular synthesiser, from the 1960s
VIDEO LAB - Picture-in-picture effects and creating moving compositions on vintage video gear
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2022
00:00 Opening Titles 00:32 Introduction 01:29 Little Black Boxes 05:54 Switched On Cybersynths 13:24 Synthesiser Club 16:24 Commercial Break 17:33 Patching Today 31:51 Video Lab 36:22 Outro
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - The Roland Super JV-1080 layersynth from 1994
SWITCHED ON CYBERSYNTHS - Electronic Tonalities and The Krell. We go deep underground on the planet Altair IV to explore the beguiling "Krell Patch" on a giant Buchla 200 system
SYNTHESISER CLUB - An assortment or Arps!
COMMERCIAL BREAK - Brand new Memetune Merch - T-Shirts, Tote Bags and Badges - support this channel and search for BENGE BANDCAMP and look for the merchandise section
PATCHING TODAY - The EMS VCS3 (and friends) from the late 1960s
VIDEO LAB - In this episode - a look at ALIEN WORLD BUILDING, based upon the world of Benge’s short film “Proof of Hyper-travel”
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2023
00:00 Opening Titles 00:33 Introduction 01:09 Switched On Digital Synths Part 2 16:08 Synthesiser Club 18:16 Commercial Break 20:07 Patching Today 35:15 Video Lab 40:45 Outro/Coming Up Next Time
SWITCHED ON - Featuring in-depth discussions about the history and development of the synthesiser over the years, including demonstrations and feature guides of many classic and iconic instruments
SYNTHESISER CLUB - A short musical demonstration of a synthesiser classic or two
PATCHING TODAY - A deep-dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch
VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how to create experimental visuals
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2022
00:00 Opening Titles
00:17 Introduction
01:27 Switched On 80s
15:30 Little Black Boxes
20:13 Commercial Break
23:19 Synthesiser Club
27:08 Patching Today
40:16 Video Lab
46:25 Outro
"Episode one of the third series of the TV program from Benge, made at his Memetune Electronic Music Studio
The series explores his passion for vintage synthesiser instruments and studio gear and how he uses them in his productions and collaborations
SWITCHED ON 80s - This third series takes an in-depth look into six classic 80s synthesisers, selected because of their interesting and unique attributes
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - A further look at some classic rack mount studio gear of the 80s and 90s
SYNTHESISER CLUB - A short musical demonstration of a synthesiser classic or three, concentrating on 'families' of synths
COMMERCIAL BREAK - Some shameless Memetune shilling
PATCHING TODAY - A deep-dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch, this time using Cybersynthesis techniques to bring an element of surprise to the patches
VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how to create experimental visuals, concentrating on a specific device in each episode
SWITCHED ON 80s - A detailed look at the Korg Monopoly from 1981, and Benge unveils his virtual 80s studio environment
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - A look at four of the first true Little Black Boxes - not synths, but early digital reverberation units: the AMS RMX16, Quantec Room Simulator, Yamaha REV1 and the Lexicon Model 200
SYNTHESISER CLUB - Today, it's the Kawai Klub - the K4 synth, R-50 drum machine, Q-80 sequencer and K1m desktop synth. The drum machine and sequencer were very kindly donated to Memetune by a generous viewer called Alex 💕
COMMERCIAL BREAK - Some adverts for Memetune-related goodies, including the new Memetune Annual 2024, a Benge album on vinyl, and the range of Memetune merchandise
PATCHING TODAY - on the Serge Paperface system, and a modern recreation of the CGS Gated Comparator in Serge format made by Loudest Warning
VIDEO LAB - In this episode we take a deep dive into the legendary Panasonic MJ-MX50 Production Mixer from the mid-1980s
The MemeTune Programme Credits:
Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge)
All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2024"
00:00 Opening Titles
00:35 Introduction
01:48 Switched On - Polysynths Part One
11:51 Synthesiser Club - EMS Polysynthi & AKS
13:59 Commercial Break
16:10 Patching Today - Buchla 200
29:18 Video Lab - Chromakey
34:53 Outro/Coming Up Next Time
SWITCHED ON - Featuring in-depth discussions about the history and development of the synthesiser over the years, including demonstrations and feature guides of many classic and iconic instruments
SYNTHESISER CLUB - A short musical demonstration of a synthesiser classic or two
PATCHING TODAY - A deep-dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch
VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how to create experimental visuals
The MemeTune Programme Credits:
Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge)
All music, design, writing, filming, editing and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2022"
"New Benge album 'The View From Vega'
Preorder Friday 3rd November 2023
Release date 17th November 2023
Listening party on Bandcamp, Friday 10th November at 8pm GMT
Limited to 300 copies 180g Vinyl / 300 copies Digipak CD
Ben Edwards, better known by his pseudonym Benge, has been exploring the sonic possibilities of electronic instruments since he was a young boy, in the1970s. After graduating from art school in 1990 he set up his own music studio and started recording his unique blend of experimental electronica, culminating in his debut album "Electro-Orgoustic Music" and the formation of Expanding Records in 1995. Since then he has released dozens of albums as Benge, as well as collaborating with various luminaries from the electronic music world on many other album projects. He has formed several notable and ongoing bands such as John Foxx & The Maths, Wrangler (with Stephen Mallinder / Cabaret Voltaire and Phil Winter / Tunng), Fader (with Neil Arthur / Blancmange), and his most recent project Creep Show (Wrangler + John Grant). Benge's creative output now centres around his Memetune Studio Complex, located in one of the UKs remotest moorland locations, writing and producing his various music projects as well as making video art and TV programmes about his activities.
“The View From Vega”, his debut solo album on the DiN imprint, is primarily an ambient suite of tracks inspired by the space-music typically produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It uses a selection of vintage synthesisers, sequencers and FX units to provide a fertile sonic landscape to explore. The idea was to use simple sequences (using both analogue and digital units), sustained synthesiser pads and electronic piano improvisations, alongside various ancient delay, flange and reverb units. The beautiful, warm quality of the tones that exude from such instruments are very evident on the six tracks that slowly unfold their oscillations in organic, melodic soundscapes.
An unashamedly vintage sounding album in all its analogue glory, “The View From Vega” is released both as a 180g Vinyl edition and a Digipak CD with stunning artwork from Wendy Carroll that matches the music perfectly.
01 The View From Vega (Part I) 06:44
02 The View From Vega (Part II) 05:07
03 The View From Vega (Part III) 06:14
01 The View From Vega (Part IV) 06:54
02 The View From Vega (Part V) 05:21
03 The View From Vega (Part VI) 07:32
Total Running Time : 37:54
Thanks to: Ian Boddy at DiN Recordings
Artwork by Wendy Carroll
Video by Benge / Memetune VideoLab"
00:00 Opening Titles 00:32 Introduction 01:22 Little Black Boxes 07:49 Switched On Cybersynths 14:55 Synthesiser Club 18:30 Commercial Break 21:52 Patching Today 35:05 Video Lab 40:34 Outro
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - The Casio VZ10M Phase Distortion synth from 1988
SWITCHED ON CYBERSYNTHS - Euclidean Rhythms. We get the abacus out and do some maths in this episode, trying to work out Euclid’s infamous algorithm
SYNTHESISER CLUB - Today, its Club Yamaha!
COMMERCIAL BREAK - Benge’s latest album The View from Vega, released on the DiN label; FORMS SERIES albums on Bandcamp; Polyrythmic Electronica vinyl from the Systems of Objects label; Memetune merchandise - T-Shirts, Tote Bags and Badges
PATCHING TODAY - on the Paia 4700, made in Oklahoma City in 1974. Is this the WORST modular system ever made? Maybe, maybe not!
VIDEO LAB - In this episode - a look at vintage video cameras, and why the Three Tube system rules
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2023
This album features a series of solo improvisations on modular synthesisers. On occasion some additional ancillary equipment was used (see below) to augment the sound. A video is available to watch entitled “Benge Mirror Systems” which documents the improvisations. Some of the tracks presented here were edited slightly for the purpose of creating a satisfactory album-flow
Tracklisting and description:
01 - Arpor. Created on a vintage ARP 2500 from 1971. In addition some reverberation (Emu Modular spring-type) was used and a monophonic digital delay line (Yamaha D1500)
02 - Mirroog. Featuring the Moog Modular 3C from the late 1960s. No other sounds used
03 - Mirrula. Created on a cloned version of the Buchla 200, designed in the 1970s in California, these modules are based upon the original schematics of Don Buchla’s circuits. No other sounds used
04 - Forror. The system used was a late 1970s Elektor Formant, a large format system made in Germany. In addition a vintage (1990s) TC Electronic M5000 dual reverberation system was employed
05 - Birror. Created on a vintage Buchla 100 modular system from the late 1960s. No other sounds were used
06 - Mirroha. Made with a 1977 Yamaha CS30. This synthesiser was Yamaha’s answer to compact complete systems such as the Buchla Music Easel and EMS VCS3. It contains 2 VCOs, 2 VCFs, 3 envelopes, an 8 step sequencer, 2 VCAs, LFO and other sundry elements. In addition, some reverberation and fx were added (Yamaha SPX90 phaser and TC Electronic M5000)
07 - Buchror. Another study on the Buchla 200
08 - Sergor. Made on the Serge Modular, a large 8 panel system containing mostly early ‘paperface’ modules, and some later STS-era ones
00:00 Opening Titles 00:33 Introduction 01:32 Switched On Monosynths 17:58 Synthesiser Club 19:43 Commercial Break 21:51 Patching Today 32:15 Video Lab 35:02 Outro/Coming Up Next Time
SWITCHED ON - Featuring in-depth discussions about the history and development of the synthesiser over the years, including demonstrations and feature guides of many classic and iconic instruments
SYNTHESISER CLUB - A short musical demonstration of a synthesiser classic or two
PATCHING TODAY - A deep-dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch
VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how I create visuals for my music
SWITCHED ON MONOSYNTHS - A brief history of Monosynths, with the Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, Roland SH101, SH5, Korg 800DS, Yamaha CS40M, Elka Soloist, EMS VCS3, Buchla Music Easel, and various related sequencers: Moog 960, ARP 1601, EMS TKS
SYNTHESISER CLUB - ARP / Rhodes Chroma, ARP 2500
PATCHING TODAY - Emu Series 2000 Modular synthesiser
VIDEO LAB - Brief introduction to the lab, Panasonic WJ-MX50, Sony Camera, Grass Valley Indigo vision mixer
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2022
"Music Technology Discussion with Ben Simpson, Kent Spong, Rob Puricelli and special guest, Ben 'Benge' Edwards!
Ben Edwards, known professionally as Benge, is an English musician and record producer based in Cornwall, England. The main focus of his work is within the experimental electronic music field. He launched the record label Expanding Records as an outlet for his debut album 'Electro-Orgoustic Music' in 1995. His tenth solo album, released in 2008, was called 'Twenty Systems' and featured 20 individual tracks, each based around a specific synthesizer
Over the years Benge has amassed a large collection of electronic synthesisers, drum machines and studio equipment which is housed in his 'Memetune Studio Complex'. From here he writes and records his own music as well as working on his many collaborations
Since 2012, Benge has released a regular series of online solo albums via his bandcamp and iTunes pages. These albums regularly feature his "one-synthesiser-per-album" concept, whereby he limits himself to creating a full album using a single electronic music system
He's worked as a co-writer and producer with many luminaries of the Electronic Music scene, such as John Foxx, Wrangler (Stephen Mallinder), Blancmange (Neil Arthur), Creepshow (John Grant) and many others, as well as pursuing his own musical projects such as Oblong and Fader
2022 saw the launch of The Memetune Show on his YouTube channel. This show, hugely reminiscent of late 70s/early 80s BBC/PBS technology shows, is a part tongue in cheek, part serious exploration of vintage synthesizer and video production technology"
Thirteen years after the release of his original synthesiser concept album, Twenty Systems, Benge brings you a follow-up of sorts, the similarly themed Thirteen Systems, an album of modular explorations, showcasing his evolving fascination with these modular machines
The pieces were originally commissioned by the newly formed Modulisme radio broadcast, Philippe Petit’s project to bring the music of underground modular artists together and provide a platform for the burgeoning electronic modular music scene that has been building momentum in recent years
There is one significant difference in the approach Benge took in the creation of this new Systems album compared to his first incarnation. The previous album used overdubbing techniques to layer the sound of each synthesiser upon itself to build up the tracks, but on this album Benge took the decision to play each piece in real time, without overdubs or edits, creating each piece as a live performance. This meant setting up each instrument in advance and either letting it play along by itself, or interacting with it as the pieces develop in various ways. Each performance was filmed and there is an accompanying 60 minute video that goes with the album
00:00 Opening Titles 00:35 Introduction/Coming Up Today 01:16 Switched On - Digital Synths Part One 23:47 Commercial Break 25:08 Synthesiser Club - Moog Modular 27:20 Patching Today - Roland 100M 41:40 Video Lab - Video/Audio sync 46:14 Outro/Coming Up Next Time
SWITCHED ON - Featuring in-depth discussions about the history and development of the synthesiser over the years, including demonstrations and feature guides of many classic and iconic instruments
SYNTHESISER CLUB - A short musical demonstration of a synthesiser classic or three
PATCHING TODAY - A deep-dive into vintage modular systems and how to set up a patch on them, starting from scratch
VIDEO LAB - A look at old video equipment and how to create experimental visuals
SWITCHED ON DIGITAL SYNTHS (PART ONE) - a brief history of digital synthesis featuring some classic vintage instruments such as the Korg DW6000, Yamaha DX5, Emulator II and DK Synergy II+
LINKS: Benge's Studio Blog: http://myblogitsfullofstars.blogspot.com Memetune Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memetunestudio Benge on Bandcamp: https://zackdagoba.bandcamp.com
The MemeTune Programme Credits: Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge) All music, design, writing, filming, editing and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2022"
"Back in 2007 FM got an exclusive tour of the Play Industries studio by owner/artist Ben Edwards. Check out this very impressive collection."
Synth spoting with Benge at 3:45. Click here for all posts mentioning Benge. He's the man behind all the It's Full of Stars posts. Catch his blog here, and DO NOT MISS his Twenty Systems for one of the best Synth CDs out there. See the post for more details.
Update: just the synth walkthrough (note the time delta is only about six minutes):
benge studio tour 2006.mov
YouTube via zackdagoba — April 05, 2010 — "see myblogitsfullofstars for more. tour of benge's studio back in 2006 conducted by future music magazine"
See this link for more posts featuring benge, this link for videos by zackdagoba (benge).
Many of you are likely familiar with Tara Busch & Benge, featured numerous times here on MATRIXSYNTH. It turns out Tara is a film maker as well as musician extraordinaire. She and Maf Lewis are currently seeking funding for their new film, Zombies 1985. There's only 24 hours to go! You'll find the campaign on Kickstarter here. The film will feature a live score composed by Benge & Tara. Brings back memories of John Carpenter who also composed the scores for his films on vintage analog synths. Definitely looking forward to this one.
Left: "Composers Tara Busch & Benge Edwards working together in the studio with John Foxx."
Below: Zombie Tara & Benge
Some details for the archives:
"A short film with live score set in 1985 about a self-obsessed man who fails to notice the Zombie Apocalypse happening around him.
OVERVIEW:
'Zombies 1985' is one in a series of short horror and science fiction films that are created to be performed with a live score. Here's an extract of a live performance for one of our previous films, "The Silence".
Zombies 1985" tells the story of greed and self obsession in 1980's Britain. The film will be created by the collective I Speak Machine, directed by Maf Lewis, score composed by Tara Busch and Benge Edwards, and featuring Lee Bane.
PLOT:
Steve is an upwardly mobile entrepreneur who believes he has come up with the next big thing - the next Rubik's Cube. 'It's going to be bigger than Betamax!'.
The film covers his journey home from a super successful day at the office where he's all but closed the biggest deal of his life. Just a couple of mobile phone calls on the way home and it's in the bag. However, as he races back to celebrate with his wife and kids, we witness his fall from apparent certain victory to increasing infuriation - everyone's suddenly stopped taking his calls. His anger and desperation boils over when he can't get anyone on the phone....not his secretary, his investors, or his wife. All the while, the Zombie Apocalypse is happening around him; he's just too self absorbed to notice it... until he gets home."
"Abstraxa - exploring the outer reaches, using the Buchla Electronic Music Box
The six compositions featured on Abstraxa were realised on a Buchla modular synthesiser. Donald Buchla began makng electronic musical instruments in 1963, developing the first Buchla 100 series systems in conjunction with the San Francisco Tape Music Center. These first inventions coincided with the development of Robert Moog's 900 Series modular systems over on the west coast of america, and as such belong to the very first generation of commercially available synthesisers. One intersting aspect is that Don Buchla is still developing and manufacturing his modular systems, using the same module format (now 200e series) that he introduced 50 years ago. The current 200e modules utilise a combination of analogue and digital components
The Buchla has a very unique way of producing sound, using electronic voltages to control the sound sources (oscillators and noise generators), sound modifiers (gates, filters, phase shifters, modulators, etc) and event timing generators (sequencers, random sources, pulse generators, etc). Systems can be built up from the available modules to suit the needs of the composer. The power of the system lies in the inter-modulation capabilities. This means that extremely deep patches can be set up with a myriad of connections interacting together in complex ways to produce evolving and self-generating soundscapes. It is anagolous to working with a living organism as opposed to a static machine, a brain rather than a computer
The pieces presented here were recorded to tape using overdubbing in places. Additional reverberation and delay lines were also incorporated into the system. See below for a full module list
Buchla 200e Electronic Music Box: 225e Midi Decoder (digital interface and preset manager) 227e System Interface (various audio mixing and panning functions) 251e Quad Sequential Voltage Source 255 CV Processor (octal slew and voltage source) 261e Complex Waveform Generator (dual digital VCO) 266e Source of Uncertainty (complex random and noise functions) 281e Quad Function Generator (quad LFO / envelope) 291e Triple Morphing Filter (three bandpass filters / VCAs plus sequencer) 292e Quad Dynamics Manager (four Vactrol lowpass gates) 077 (Eardrill) Pendulum / Ratchet (complex triggers and clock dividers) 254v (Verbos) Quad Voltage Processor 258v (Verbos) Dual Oscillator (clone of the 1970s Buchla analog VCO) Boss DD3 Delay Unit (mono) Ace Tone MP4 Spring Reverb (mono)
Recorded at Benge Studios, London, February 2012 All Music and Design by Benge (c)2012 Ben Edwards (Benge) All Rights Reserved Cover picture adapted from NASA Images lunar photograph www.bengestudios.com www.expandingrecords.com credits released 29 February 2012 (c)2012 Benge"
00:00 Opening Titles
00:17 Introduction
01:26 Switched On 80s
13:36 Little Black Boxes
16:07 Commercial Break
18:42 Synthesiser Club
21:40 Patching Today
33:44 Video Lab
40:06 Outro
"Episode two of the third series of the TV program from Benge, made at his Memetune Electronic Music Studio
The series explores his passion for vintage synthesiser instruments and studio gear and how he uses them in his productions and collaborations"
"In THIS episode:
SWITCHED ON 80s - A detailed presentation on the Arp / Rhodes Chroma, the mega-poly-synth that nearly took over the world
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - A look at the Korg M3R, a slimmed down version of the biggest selling synth of all time
SYNTHESISER CLUB - a picturesque study made on the Sequential Six-track, the Drumtracks, the Prophet VS and the mighty T8
COMMERCIAL BREAK - Some adverts for Memetune-related goodies, including the new Memetune Annual 2024, the range of Memetune merchandise and Benge's seminal 13 Systems album
PATCHING TODAY - on the vintage Emu Modular, with some help from a big Modcan A-Series
VIDEO LAB - In this episode we try and use the video mixers without any external inputs - its all about self-generating feedback imagery - with a soundtrack made on classic vintage modular synths
The MemeTune Programme Credits:
Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge)
All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2025"
