Cowboy and the Vocoder by Redmartian

The track is now available here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/redmartian9

"The song was recording using the MMM for bass and vocoder carrier. The lead is a jupiter-6 and the drums were done using a Sequential DrumTraks. The lead and vocoder (Roland SVC-350) parts were played manually along with the bass/drums which were sequenced using midi via Logic."

Some of you might remember Cowboy and the Vocoder from these previous posts.  The story behind this track has a somewhat intersting and quirky history.  Cowboy was VoiceEncoder's dog.  VoiceEncoder is known for his vocoder videos and demos that became somewhat of an obscure synth meme.  His demos actually came up in a recent conversation I had with someone.  VoiceEncoder would often feature his dog Cowboy in his videos.  Cowboy would just be lying on a bed somewhere while VoiceEncoder talked to him through a vocoder.  Sadly Cowboy passed away on Monday, March 23, 2009 (click through for a tribute post).

The second half of what makes this track special is that it is one of the first tracks predominantly featuring the Mattson Mini Modular (it might actually be the first) [Update: according to Redmartian, "it was the first 'song' on the MMM. I did a few musical demos and orchestrated lute pieces, but this was the first 'pop song'."] It was composed by Redmartian as a tribute to Cowboy.  The lyrics are a dedication to Cowboy and the videos he was featured in.  Below are two videos for the track.  The bottom video was taken at the 2009 PNW Synth Gathering and features the Performance Music Systems Syntar in place of the Jupiter-6 for leads.   The Syntar was the first fully contained keytar synthesizer created by George Mattson, the man behind Mattson Mini Modular.

Cowboy and the Vocoder and the MMM

Uploaded on Nov 5, 2008 redmartian·73 videos

"A song written for a dog who likes to listen to the sound the Roland SVC-350 vocoder. This song features the MMM as well as a Sequential Circuits Drum Traks and a Roland Jupiter-6. (I don't have a Poly-800 .. sorry cowboy).

Here are the lyrics:

Do you know Cowboy
and the SVC-350?
Do you know Cowboy
and the Roland Vocoder?

Hey there Cowboy
I see you there
Lazy gazing
Gazing lazy
Whos my sweet boy?
You know its you.
I like to vocode and you do too.

No Poly-800 to drive the SVC
So I use an MMM as my carrier wave
No Poly-800 but Cowboy doesn't mind.
We all know its the Roland SVC-350 vocoder time.

Audio version can be found here:
http://redmartian.com/napster/Red_Mar...

Don't hate the dog or the vocoder."

RIP Cowboy

I just did my YouTube run and my heart sank when I found the following two videos. There are very few things that hit more than losing someone you love - person or pet. Pets have your back unconditionally, it's as if their sole purpose in life is to love you and let you know how much of a hero you are to them. My sincerest condolences go out to VoiceEncoder. We can tell that you treated him well, vocoder lectures and all. Cowboy was one lucky dog.

Cowboy: In Memoriam

YouTube via VoiceEncoder
"Cowboy Relaxes and Enjoys Brooke Anderson's Interview With Hugh Jackman.

RIP Cowboy..I loved you and will miss you greatly and dearly!!!! You gave joy to me, my sister, and her three children...Rhett, Riley, and Simone!!!

Early afternoon between 13:00 - 14:00 Monday March 23rd, 2009.

Good-bye my dear old sweet friend and companion of mine...I'll miss you so very-much!!! Once again, I've loved you and will miss you!!! Good-bye."

Cowboy: In Memoriam 2

"Cowboy licking and than scratching himself."
KORG Poly-800 and Roland SVC-350

Be sure to see these posts featuring Cowboy as well as this one that inspired Red Martion to do the following track on Cowboy featuring the Mattson Mini Modular:


YouTube via redmartian.

Note this is via redmartian and not AnalogVocoder1 (click for the reference).
"A song written for a dog who likes to listen to the sound the Roland SVC-350 vocoder. This song features the MMM as well as a Sequential Circuits Drum Traks and a Roland Jupiter-6.

Here are the lyrics:

Do you know Cowboy
and the SVC-350?
Do you know Cowboy
and the Roland Vocoder?

Hey there Cowboy
I see you there
Lazy gazing
Gazing lazy
Whos my sweet boy?
You know its you.
I like to vocode and you do too.

No Poly-800 to drive the SVC
So I use an MMM as my carrier wave
No Poly-800 but Cowboy doesn't mind.
We all know its the Roland SVC-350 vocoder time.

Audio version can be found here:
http://redmartian.com/napster/Red_Mar..."

Cowboy and the Vocoder and the MMM

YouTube via redmartian.

Note this is via redmartian and not AnalogVocoder1 (click for the reference).
"A song written for a dog who likes to listen to the sound the Roland SVC-350 vocoder. This song features the MMM as well as a Sequential Circuits Drum Traks and a Roland Jupiter-6. (I don't have a Poly-800 .. sorry cowboy).

Here are the lyrics:

Do you know Cowboy
and the SVC-350?
Do you know Cowboy
and the Roland Vocoder?

Hey there Cowboy
I see you there
Lazy gazing
Gazing lazy
Whos my sweet boy?
You know its you.
I like to vocode and you do too.

No Poly-800 to drive the SVC
So I use an MMM as my carrier wave
No Poly-800 but Cowboy doesn't mind.
We all know its the Roland SVC-350 vocoder time.

Audio version can be found here:
http://redmartian.com/napster/Red_Mar..."

Update: The ending might not be safe for work.

Cowboy Enjoying His Song While Licking Himself

YouTube via VoiceEncoder
"Cowboy enjoying his song while licking himself!!!!

Thanks to 'redmartian' for his song "Cowboy and the Vocoder and the MMM".

'redmartian's' footage is taken from my video "Cowboy and the Vocoder".

This footage is from me 'AnalogVocoder1'."

Pacific Northwest Synth 2009 - Red Martian

YouTube via matrixsynth.

This is my video of Red Martian's performance. More details here.
http://redmartian.com
http://mattsonminimodular.com - MMM and Syntar
http://www.division-6.com - Midified Skulls
http://acidlab.de - Miami

Note this is the last of my videos from the PNW Synth Gathering this year.
click here to see all posts in the series.

Cowboy and the Vocoder and the MMM

A tribute to the dog Cowboy who passed away.

YouTube via redmartian. Note this is via redmartian and not AnalogVocoder1 (click for the reference).

"A song written for a dog who likes to listen to the sound the Roland SVC-350 vocoder. This song features the MMM as well as a Sequential Circuits Drum Traks and a Roland Jupiter-6.

Here are the lyrics:

Do you know Cowboy
and the SVC-350?
Do you know Cowboy
and the Roland Vocoder?

Hey there Cowboy
I see you there
Lazy gazing
Gazing lazy
Whos my sweet boy?
You know its you.
I like to vocode and you do too.

No Poly-800 to drive the SVC
So I use an MMM as my carrier wave
No Poly-800 but Cowboy doesn't mind.
We all know its the Roland SVC-350 vocoder time.

Audio version can be found here:
http://redmartian.com/napster/Red_Mar..."

And the first track from this post:


FIRST PRODUCTION MATTSON MINI MODULAR DEMO NUMBER FOUR from RED MARTIAN on Vimeo.

"Here is a fourth demo which features a LP and HP triangle wave arpeggiation nearly through out and a quick EG three oscillator bass. The drum kit is the same as in the other demos with no pitch changes or other processing, just dry sounds out of the VCA. There are two leads one is just two oscillators (saw) and the second has a square and a saw with the saw slight modulated by an LFO with high resonance on the filter.

The bass and arpeggiation were played and quantized in logic. The leads were recorded as played."

Cowboy and the Vocoder

YouTube via AnalogVocoder1.

Roland SVC-350 with KORG Poly-800 as the carrier.

"Cowboy and the Vocoder. Cowboy NOT paying any attention to the vocoder. Talking, NOT singing, just playing one note per syllable."

Cowboy Listening To The Roland SVC-350 Vocoder Info-Sheet

YouTube via VoiceEncoder.

The things pets put up with. Cowboy

"Cowboy listening to a reading of the Roland SVC-350 Vocoder info-sheet."

Red Martian ROLAND SVC-350 VOCODER

via this auction

"Rackmount unit, one of the best sounding vocoders ever made
Controls operate smoothly, unit works great
USA 120v
owned and used by a non-smoker
Free shipping in the USA, $75 to elsewhere
Used on Red Martian - Your Computer (1993) and Cowboy and the Vocoder"


RECORD PLAY LISTENING OF ACETATE DUB COWBOY AND THE ROLAND VOCODER - RED MARTIAN
YouTube Uploaded by redmartian on Mar 5, 2010
Some of you might remember this one.
"Listening to Cowboy and the Vocoder (1 of 10) acetate dubs. b/w MMM demo number four.
The record is a thick aluminum disk with a coat of dub lacquer. It was a heated cut on a modified 1949 Presto cutting lathe using fairchild and ampex equipment for the mastering and RIAA curve."

RED MARTIAN - YOUR COMPUTER [1993] - ROLAND VOCODER

Uploaded by redmartian on Nov 8, 2008

"Recorded at Hot Traxx (Garland, Texas) in 1993. Yes, I brought everything into a heavy metal recording studio in the back of an El Camino (thanks to Brian Rogers). Here is the equipment list:
- Roland SVC-350 Vocoder
- Roland Alpha Juno (bass line)
- Sequential Circuits Prophet T-8 (additional bass and solo)
- Sequential Circuits Six-Trak (lead)
- Sequential Circuits Prophet-600 (lead)
- Ensoniq Performance Sampler (ERROR 144 - REBOOT?)
- SDF-3 running BSDI BSD/386
- Telebit Trailblazer TB+ plus (calling 'adaptex' over UUCP)
- Pascal Blin (Official French Guy)
- Drums sampled from Kraftwerk's Computer World record
- Vietnamese vocal by Hoang Oanh from Hon Vong Phu

The Telebit was sampled live in the studio because I did not have a SCSI interface on the EPS. The song was supposed to be released on an 'Analogue Heaven' compilation that never materialized and sat on DAT until 2004 when I remastered it and added Pascal Blin's vocal to fill in what I felt were empty spots. Pascal did not know what the words meant but was very concerned about pronouncing them correctly."

Pacific Northwest Synth 2009 - Red Martian Performance

SYNTAR MMM and MIAMI LIVE SYNTHESIZER PERFORMANCE PNW SYNTH DIY 2009

YouTube via redmartian http://redmartian.com/.

Watch the skulls in the background.
"Here is a live performance of the MMM demo number four featuring the stack of MMMs behind, the Syntar (the father of the MMM) and the new AcidLab MIAMI in MIDI mode. The bass line, arpeggio and drums were sequenced in Logic. The Skulls were triggered via Logic (the percussion tracks) using Division-6's MIDIFY."

COWBOY (RIP) AND THE ROLAND VOCODER LIVE AT PNW SYNTH DIY 2009 FEATURING THE SYNTAR, MIAMI AND MMM

"This is dedicated to that old dog COWBOY who used to listen to his master's vocoder. The bass and some melody are handled by the MMMs behind. The Syntar is the carrier wave for the Roland SVC-350 vocoder. The Syntar also plays a sort of melody. The MIAMI is sequenced in MIDI mode from Logic. At the Pacific Northwest Synth DIY 2009"

Be sure to see this prior post for reference and lyrics. The third video is the studio recording of this track.
See demo number four in this post for the first track.

click here for all PNW 2009 coverage.

Pacific Northwest Synth 2009 - Stephen aka Red Martian

YouTube via matrixsynth.

see this performance for reference.

http://redmartian.com
http://mattsonminimodular.com - MMM and PMS Syntar
http://synthwood.com
http://acidlab.de

Don't miss the Syntar neck controller.
Some more info on a modern update will be coming up in George Mattson's talk.
Note, during the reference to the track Cowboy, I mistakenly stated the original cowboy videos were from Vocoderman, it's actually VoiceEncoder. You can see more of his videos previously posted here. Apologies to VoiceEncoder.

click here for all PNW 2009 coverage.

Cowboy and the Vocoder Too

YouTube via AnalogVocoder1. follow-up to this post. "Cowboy "listening" to me using my Roland SVC-350 Vocoder with my Korg Poly-800 Synthesizer as the carrier input."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Cowboy Callosum w/ dual Gesture Arcade

Published on Apr 30, 2019 Meng Qi

(subbass present 🎧🔊 recommended)

new musical interfaces enable new expressions.

Cowboy Callosum by Lorre-Mill (http://lorre-mill.com)
Gesture Arcade by Meng Qi
Music by Meng Qi

http://mengqimusic.com

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Catch a Virus

via Virus on Facebook

"Michael Torres from Selena Gomez's band, with his Darkstar, getting a little help with soundcheck from the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

Thanks Michael! Have a good show!

http://MichaelTorresMusic.com/"

New Cowboy Vocoder Video

For the Cowboy Vocoder fans, there is a new video in this post.

RECORD PLAY LISTENING OF ACETATE DUB COWBOY AND THE ROLAND VOCODER - RED MARTIAN

YouTube via redmartian.

http://redmartian.com/ via this auction

"Listening to Cowboy and the Vocoder (1 or 10) acetate dubs. b/w MMM demo number four.
The record is a thick aluminum disk with a coat of dub lacquer. It was a heated cut on a modified 1949 Presto cutting lathe using fairchild and ampex equipment for the mastering and RIAA curve."

Red Martian at Bear Creek Studio with Mattson Mini Modular System - Cowboy to Be Officially Released

via Red Martian [bandcamp]

"Working with Scott Jackman and Gordon Raphael at Bear Creek Studio processing drums and other instruments using a guitar has a controller."

And for fans of Cowboy (featuring the Mattson Mini Modular), the single will finally be officially released after sevent years of making it's debut.

via @distillerpromo:

"Hey Radio folks, this retro lookin' synth-tastic record by @sdf_pubnix (Red Martian) goes for RPM ADDs on 7/12!"

via @somnambulist:

"Great music, THX @distillerpromo ! 5" floppy disc promo feat. Mattson Mini Modular synthesiser by Red Martian. #MMM"

Floppy disk pick below. See this video for what they look like when opening.

Details coming: http://www.sanfordco.com

Live at the New England Synth Fest

video upload by Jeremy Parker

"My good friend and musical collaborator, @cowboybenalman @TheEntireRobot , invited me to join him at the Spring 2023 New England Synth Festival, where we performed a live set. This was my first time performing at a synthesizer festival, so it was a great opportunity to get to know and participate in the local synth community. It was held in Burlington, MA and included a slew of other performers, lectures and workshops throughout the day. Thank you @newenglandsynthfest for having us, and thanks to the visual synth artists Vidumami and Allison Tanenhaus who provided the video backdrop for our set.

I used my @ArturiaOfficial Polybrute, @KorgOfficial Minikorg 700fs and the Elektron Analog Rytm MKII. Ben used various gear, including the @MoogMusicInc Sirin, Arturia Keystep 37, @EricaSynths Perkons HD-01, among other things.

Please check out @newenglandsynthfest at their website: https://nesynthfest.alt-mode.com/
And the entire stream of the day's performances here:"

New England Synth Fest, April 22, 2023

video upload by New England Synth Fest

You can check out more of Cowboy's stuff on his channel and twitch.tv stream for his latest project, 'The Entire Robot':

/ theentirerobot
and website https://www.theentirerobot.com/

Check out all my original music here: https://soundcloud.com/user-801248952"

Wanna be an electric cowboy? [Teenage Engineering OP-1]

Published on May 30, 2013 ghostradioshow·23 videos

"CWO effect experience.
What a crazy shining Cow !!"

@spaceprodigy w/ Cowboy Cat on Rainbow-Puking Great White Shark in Space, and a Moog Sub 37

Thanks goes to @spaceprodigy, for giving me the opportunity to post a title like that. :)

"@moogmusicinc @Moogfest Happy Phatty Friday! Sub37 was my first synth! #moog #synth #sub37 #switchedonkids"

Best. T-Shirt. Ever.

Not a bad synth as well. ;)

My Vocoder

YouTube via AnalogVocoder1. He's baaa-aaack... Where's Cowboy?
"My Roland SVC-350 Vocoder!!!! No rack-ears." And Korg Poly-800 as carrier.

Synth Spotting with Jonzun Crew - Space Cowboy (Official Music Video)

Published on Jul 23, 2019 Tommy Boy

"Tommy Boy Music is a legendary Hip Hop & Electronic record label founded in New York City in 1981. The label is credited with launching the careers of notable legends Afrika Bambaataa, Coolio, Queen Latifah, House of Pain, De La Soul, and Naughty By Nature."

Heard about this one via Robert Ginsburg in the comments of this EML-500 post. Apparently there is a German performance for the song featuring an EML 500. I couldn't find it, but I did find the above which features a Minimoog and Oberheim FVS based on the size, and I believe a Rhodes piano.

Here's another track with the Minimoog panel down, an Arp Solina, and a couple of other synths.

Jonzun Crew - Pack Jam Show Tv (1983)

Published on Dec 14, 2009 d12n

"Live performance of the seminal Electro group Jonzun Crew's legendary single Pack Jam (look out for the OVC) on the german TV show Formel Eins in 1983. The crew consists of Michael Jonzun, Soni Jonzun, Maurice Starr & Captain Fingers."