Morton Subotnick Documentary Completed

First announced back in 2017, the upcoming Morton Subotnick documentary has been completed.

Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer

We are thrilled to announce the completion and world-premiere screening of “Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer” (or “Subotnick” for short), our official bio-documentary on revered avant-garde music composer, and electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. We could not be more proud of the film, and can’t wait to share it with all of you. We also take great pride in the fact that Mort has given his full approval of the finished film. We are truly humbled by that!

Our world-premiere screening for the film will take place in early-November at a very special event. This is truly going to be a night for the history books, and you can expect full details in an event announcement next week.

About the film:

Through a series of candid interviews and illuminating conversations with key figures from his past and present, Subotnick provides an overview of this fascinating composer’s rich life and uncompromising career. Over 5 years in the making, Subotnick is a first-hand account, and an artistic portrait, of this seminal composer, who’s approach to art, and outlook on life, reveal a unique thinker with a fiercely individualist streak. The film narrative moves along two parallel lines; exploring a year in his life as he creates and shapes the multi-media chamber opera “Crowds and Power,” while simultaneously exploring his past — going back in time to his days as a child prodigy on the clarinet, his disastrous stint in the army during the Korean War, founding the San Francisco Tape Music Center, and culminating in his breakthrough recording of “Silver Apples of the Moon,” the world’s first electronic music composition specifically created for the record medium. Featuring several live performances from around the globe, captured in glorious surround sound, and augmented with innovative liquid-light psychedelic effects, Subotnick is a multimedia experience that highlights and celebrates one of the world’s most influential living composers.

An update for our Subtonick Indiegogo supporters:

For those of you who contributed to our Indiegogo campaign for Subotnick, please check your inbox (/spam folder) &/or log in to your Indiegogo account, to read a more extensive update on the film's completion, and for those of you still waiting on delivery of an Indiegogo perk (namely, the film itself, whether on a physical disc, or a digital download), the update includes information about that as well.

Update:

Subotnick will premiere on November 3, with a truly special screening / live performance event at the legendary and historic Kino Babylon theatre in Berlin, presented alongside CTM Festival and Ableton. Morton Subotnick, now 90 years old, is not only the subject of our documentary; he will also be taking part in an audience Q&A alongside Subotnick’s director, Robert Fantinatto, and finally, treating us to a rare live A/V performance of “As I Live In Breathe,” in collaboration with longtime visual collaborator Lillevan.

Event info:

3 November 2022 at Babylon Berlin (https://babylonberlin.eu)
Doors 18:00, start 19:00
Tickets (premiere screening + performance): 28€ / 14€ reduced Ticket
Link: https://ctm.stager.de/Morton%20Subotnick/tickets


Programme:
19:00 World premiere screening of Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer
20:45 Q&A w/Morton Subotnick & director Robert Fantinatto, moderated by Lisa Blanning
21:45 Morton Subotnick & Lillevan – As I Live and Breathe live A/V performance

About the concert: Morton Subotnick & Lillevan – “As I Live and Breathe”

Between 1961 and 1980, Morton Subotnick’s principal work as a composer was devoted to the development of electronic music as a studio art. The first four years of that period were spent with Don Buchla designing and building an appropriate instrument with which to make music specifically for recorded formats, to be heard in one’s home. The work which brought Subotnick celebrity was Silver Apples of the Moon (1966-7), which marked the first time an original large-scale composition had been created specifically for the disc medium – a conscious acknowledgment that the home stereo system constituted a present-day form of chamber music. Later, Subotnick began creating works for electronics and instruments and large-scale multimedia projects. In the last decade, technology has made it possible for him to bring equipment onto the stage and perform in public.

The work technique and process of the last decade of his creativity has resulted in As I Live and Breathe, which Subotnick feels will be the ultimate fulfillment of his public performance; one of the last, if not the last, of his public performance works. Centered around Subotnick’s breath – which becomes ever more musically and visually ornamented, only to end with a single, exhaled breath – the work is meant as a musical metaphor for the composer’s life in music.

New Documentary: SUBOTNICK - Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer

Published on May 22, 2017 Waveshaper Media

"An upcoming, official bio-doc on electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. Fundraising NOW on IndieGoGo (from May 23 - June 21, 2017): http://igg.me/at/subotnickfilm

Waveshaper Media, the makers of 2014's acclaimed modular synthesizer documentary 'I Dream Of Wires,' is excited to announce that production is now underway for a new, official bio-documentary about revered avant-garde music composer, and electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. Through a series of candid interviews and illuminating conversations with key figures from his past and present, "Subotnick" will provide an overview of this fascinating composer’s rich life and uncompromising career."

Note Waveshaper is still working on the upcoming documentary on Bob Moog, Electronic Voyager. The following are some details on SUBOTNICK captured for the archives.


"2017 is a milestone year for revered avant-garde music composer, and electronic music pioneer, Morton Subotnick. It not only marks the 50th anniversary of his iconic 1967 album “Silver Apples of the Moon,” but also sees the premiere of “Crowds and Power,” a new multi-media tone poem for voice, electronic sound, and live imagery, commissioned by NYC’s Lincoln Center, and premiering there in July.

CLICK FOR MORE »

I Dream Of Wires Coming to VOD & Worldwide DVD Release - Berlin Screening with Morton Subotnick

I Dream of Wires is coming to video on demand via iTunes and Vimeo on Demand on August 10. The DVD will be released in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America on July 31st. To celebrate, there will be a screening in Berlin with a performance and Q&A session with Morton Subotnick.

"To celebrate the August VOD/DVD release of I DREAM OF WIRES, the definitive and acclaimed electronic music documentary about the rise, fall and rebirth of the modular synthesizer, MONODUO FILMS presents a very special screening and electronic music event in Berlin.

On Tuesday July 28, I DREAM OF WIRES will celebrate it’s release premiere in Berlin, followed by a live performance by the legendary Morton Subotnick. Taking place at Babylon Kino Berlin, Morton Subotnick, accompanied by his frequent collaborator, video artist Lillevan, presents FROM SILVER APPLES OF THE MOON TO A SKY OF CLOUDLESS SULFUR REVISITED: VI, marking Subotnick’s first live appearance in Germany since 2011.

Morton Subotnick’s contributions to electronic music cannot be overstated; as a founding member of the seminal San Francisco Tape Music Center, Subotnick played a key role in the conception and development of the influential Buchla modular synthesizer. Armed with his Buchla, Subotnick composed and recorded the landmark 1967 LP, SILVER APPLES OF THE MOON, widely regarded as a modern classic, and the first all-electronic music album to connect with popular music audiences. In 2010 SILVER APPLES was selected for the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Long considered one of the essential milestones in electronic music, it continues to have great effect on later generations of artists.

Subotnick’s interview in I DREAM OF WIRES, alongside interviews with influential electronic musicians including Trent Reznor, Gary Numan, Carl Craig, James Holden and Vince Clarke, is pivotal in the film, and provides a revealing insight into this true electronic music visionary.

The film will be introduced by I DREAM OF WIRES' director Robert Fantinatto, who will also join Morton Subotnick for a post-screening Q&A. This July 28 event is more than just a celebration of the modular synthesizer; it’s a rare opportunity to learn and experience the historical roots of electronic music.

I Dream Of Wires is an independent documentary about the history, demise and resurgence of the modular synthesizer - exploring the dreams and obsessions of people who have dedicated part of their lives to this fascinating, esoteric electronic music machine. Over 100 inventors, musicians and enthusiasts are interviewed about their relationship with the modular synthesizer - for many, it’s an all-consuming passion.

Through tracing the history of the modular synthesizer, I Dream Of Wires also outlines the history of electronic music as a whole, from its very beginnings at the dawn of the electric age. The film provides a fascinating look at how technology has shaped the electronic music landscape. Today, the modular synthesizer is no longer an esoteric curiosity or even a mere music instrument - it is an essential tool for radical new sounds and a bona fide subculture.

Interviews include:
- Legendary electronic musicians: Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Morton Subotnick, Gary Numan, Vince Clarke (Erasure).
- Contemporary dance & electronica artists: Carl Craig, James Holden, Legowelt.
- Synthesizer manufacturers: Doepfer, Modcan, Make Noise.

Event Details
Babylon Kino
Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 30,
10178 Berlin
28.07.2015 | 8PM
20€ Presales
25€ At the Door
+10€ w/DVD

Tickets Available:
Yapsody: https://wires.yapsody.com
Babylon Kino: http://www.babylonberlin.de

RELEASE INFORMATION

VOD and DVD Release of I Dream of Wires in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America will start as follows:
* DVD available July 31 through Cargo Distribution / Amazon
* VOD available August 10 through ITunes and Vimeo on Demand

CLICK FOR MORE »

Morton SUBOTNICK Documentary - North American Premiere + Live Performance Event

Details follow:

A special 2-night event in Toronto:
North American premiere documentary screening, and LIVE A/V performance by Morton Subotnick.

After our international preimere screening of Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer nearly 1 year ago in Berlin, we had a few setback in terms of music licensing clearance delays... but we're finally ready to proceed with new screenings, and it all starts in October...

Announcing our North American premiere screening + live performance event in Toronto, please see details below. We are actively looking to book screenings, so if you have any interest/leads, please get in touch: info@waveshapermedia.com (or REPLY to this email).. More screenings booked and TBA soon include screenings in San Francisco, Barcelona, Malta, and Limerick Ireland.

Friday October 27th.

Morton Subotnick + Lillevan — LIVE.
A special A/V performance of Subotnick's newest work "As I Live and Breathe" — a multi-media, surround sound experience.
Subotnick’s final composition, and final live performance in Canada.
With an additional performance by Heidi Chan (modular synthesizer) & Kristine White (shadow projections).
Al Green Theatre, Miles Nadal JCC — 750 Spadina Ave
RESERVE YOUR TICKET NOW (General Admission seating):
https://SUBOTNICK.eventbrite.ca

Saturday October 28th.

"Subotnick: Portrait of an Electronic Music Pioneer"
Documentary screening — North American premiere.
Post-screening Q&A with Morton Subotnick and director Robert Fantinatto.
From Waveshaper Media, producers of the acclaimed modular synth documentary, "I Dream Of Wires".
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema — 506 Bloor St W.
RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW: https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/films/subotnick

MORTON SUBOTNICK • SIDEWINDER • PERFORMED LIVE FROM TOOL'S STUDIO (4K)

video upload by Peter Grenader

"MORTON SUBOTNICK'S SIDEWINDER:

Part 1 : in four movements (9 minutes 45 seconds)

Part 2: in three movements (6 minutes 45 seconds)

Performed live from Tool's studio Hollywood, CA by Jill Fraser, Shiro Fujioka, Peter Grenader, Thomas Klepper

Filming/Editing: K. David

Recording Engineer: Tim Dawson

Title Graphics: Hyejin Sunwoo

Produced, arranged and mixed by Peter Grenader

Morton Subotnick's seminal 1971 electronic work Sidewinder performed live at Tool's studio in Hollywood CA on March 26th, 2023 by Jill Fraser, Shiro Fujioka, Peter Grenader and Thomas Klepper, at the invitation of Joan LaBarbara, in celebration of his 90th birthday.

The idea of an adaptation of Sidewinder has been on the radar of zZyzx Society's Jill Fraser and Peter Grenader - both CalArts alumni who worked with Subotnick, for years. The process began with an abridged orchestration drafted by Peter Grenader, where the quartet was encouraged to both replicate his soundscapes and develop more interpretative timbres for the individual parts. With that, two general rules applied:

CLICK FOR MORE »

MORTON SUBOTNICK - A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur | live @ fluc vienna | 2011-02-16

YouTube via klubmoozak | February 21, 2011 |
Also see this post for some pics and words via Noiseconformist.
"NETZZEIT & IN DER KUBATUR DES KABINETTS & KLUB MOOZAK präsentieren: "Silver Apples of the Moon" mit MORTON SUBOTNICK

22:00 Uhr Morton Subotnick: Demonstration des originalen Buchla Synthesizer

22:45 Uhr Silver Apples of the Moon (1967) und A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur (1978)

Morton Subotnick: Buchla/Laptop
Lillevan: Live-Video

im Anschluss: MOOZAK Dj-Line

Eintritt (Abendkasse): 10,-
Vorverkauf Jugendinfo (1010 Wien , Babenbergerstr.1): 8,-

Vor 50 Jahren lernte Morton Subotnick, einer der Pioniere elektonischer Musik, Don Buchla kennen und gab kurze Zeit später einen Synthesizer in Auftrag, den Buchla 100 series Modular Electronic Music System. Diesen Synthesizer von 1963 nutzte Morton Subotnick, um Silver Apples of the Moon zu komponieren, das erste Werk für Elektronik, das von einem Plattenlabel (nonesuch) in Auftrag gegeben wurde.

Gemeinsam mit Robert Moogs' Moog Synthesizer revolutionierte der Buchla die Musik und den Sound seiner Zeit.
Nach ihrer Performance Ende Jänner bei der Transmediale Berlin 2011 präsentieren Morton Subotnick und Lillevan auch beim Auftritt im Fluc in Wien die Werke "Silver Apples of the Moon" und "A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur" mit Live-Elektronik (Morton Subotnick) und Live-Video (Lillevan).

http://www.moozak.org
http://www.netzzeit.at/
http://www.fluc.at"

Morton Subotnick And Joan La Barbara On Q2 Music's 'Spaces'

"April 17, 2013The pioneering electronic composer responsible for Silver Apples of the Moon turned 80 years old this week. Q2 Music visited with Subotnick and his wife, vocalist Joan La Barbara, in the couple's Greenwich Village apartment for this installment of their web series Spaces."

via NPR:

"by HANNIS BROWN

It's difficult to overstate Morton Subotnick and Joan La Barbara's contributions to contemporary music.

Subotnick's pioneering work in electronic music includes such game-changing pieces as Silver Apples of the Moon and A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur. The composer, who turned 80 this past Sunday, also helped to develop the California Institute of the Arts's groundbreaking curriculum. He also co-founded the highly influential San Francisco Tape Music Center, where Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros and Steve Reich would cut their teeth writing tape music.

Joan La Barbara is one of today's most iconic vocalists — John Cage and Morton Feldman both wrote music for her. Her own music, which often stretches the possibility of the human voice, has been honored with a slew of awards including a 2004 Guggenheim fellowship in music composition.

For the second installment of Q2 Spaces, we visited the couple's Greenwich Village apartment, where they've resided for the past 17 years. The walls are lined with the artwork of friends and collaborators, and the kitchen cupboard doubles as La Barbara's vocal booth. A shelf in Subotnick's studio houses a piece of the first Buchla analog synthesizer — the instrument used to create Silver Apples. The bustling sounds of the city streets sift through their kitchen window.

Soundtrack
Morton Subotnick, And the Butterflies Begin to Sing (New World)
Morton Subotnick, The Key to Songs (New Albion)
Morton Subotnick, Silver Apples of the Moon (Wergo)
Joan La Barbara, ROTHKO (New World Records)
Joan La Barbara, Shaman Song (New World Records)
Credits
Video: Kim Nowacki and Hannis Brown"

Morton Subotnick in Concert with Video Artist Lillevan Coming to Seattle Nov 9

This one in via Steve Turnige of Synthwerks and the MMTA.  Morton Subotnick is coming to Seattle on November 9.   Details follow below.   Be sure to check out the 2012 Moogfest performance and interview on NPR here.

"'From Silver Apples of the Moon to a Sky of Cloudless Sulphur'

Saturday, November 9, 2013, 7:30 - 9:00pm
Doors open: 6:30 pm.
$15-$20.
Town Hall in Seattle, 8th & Seneca (enter on 8th Avenue side).

Two artistic innovators join forces for one stunning performance when Morton Subotnick, "the grandfather of Electronica," and Berlin-based video artist Lillevan share the stage for a program that spans time and media. The co-developer of the original Buchla synthesizer, Subotnick is a pioneer in the development of electronic music, multimedia performance, and the use of interactive computer music systems; he rocketed to fame with his 1967 work Silver Apples of the Moon, which has become a modern classic. Together on stage-along with a Buchla synthesizer and Ableton Live-Subotnick and Lillevan (co-founder of the visual/audio group Rechenzentrum) weave together the musical phases and techniques invented by Subotnick during 50 years of explorative work, drawing connecting lines from the analog past into the digital present.

Presented by: Town Hall as part of the Arts & Culture series in partnership with the University of Washington School of Music.

Media sponsorship by Seattle Weekly.

Tickets: Advance tickets are $17 general/$15 Town Hall members; $20/$18 at the door.

http://townhallseattle.org/morton-subotnick-lillevanfrom-silver-apples-of-the-moon-to-a-sky-of-cloudless-sulphur/

more tour dates and info here: www.mortonsubotnick.com

www.lillevan.com"

Morton Subotnick on Pitch Painter for iPad

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
YouTube Published on May 14, 2012 by intervalstudios

"Morton Subotnick presents a new way for your kids to create music. Pitch Painter is a musical finger painting app that is simple yet surprisingly sophisticated. While engaged in creative musical play, the child will be introduced to a variety of musical instrumental sounds and authentic scale tunings from four regions of the world."

iTunes:
Morton Subotnick's Pitch Painter - Morton Subotnick
iPads on eBay

"Morton Subotnick presents a new way for your kids to create music. Pitch Painter is a musical finger painting app that is simple yet surprisingly sophisticated. While engaged in creative musical play, the child will be introduced to a variety of musical instrumental sounds and authentic scale tunings from four regions of the world.

features:
-designed specifically for ages 3-5.
-select 3 instrumental sounds from each of 4 different regions of the world.
-Hear what you are creating as you paint it using up to three fingers at one time.
-play the "canvas" in many different ways:
-hear exactly how you painted it.
-hear it as a normal piece of ‘written’ music played from left to right.
-hear how it sounds upside down, backwards
-scrub it like a DJ
-erase notes you don’t want.
-save and load your compositions.
-detailed instructions for parents and educators."


iPads on eBay

Motherboard TV: Morton Subotnick, Father of Electronic Music

via Motherboard.TV via Scott Sharon on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge
"What kind of music would robots make? Blips and bloops, most likely, with a whole lot of abstract tones and soundwave manipulation. You know, droning stuff that sounds like auditory binary. I mean, come on. How musical could a robot be?

Such were the early days of electronic music, whose early proponents put much more emphasis on the “electronic” than the “music.” That’s not to denigrate the incredible complexity of wave generators or tiny bits of tape spliced together on splicing blocks. It’s just to point out that what we see as electronic music today was once well and truly the sound of electronics themselves.

So who’s responsible for turning the electro tide towards real music? Why, Morton Subotnick of course.

As is often the case in music, it was a bicoastal thing: Subotnick, Ramon Sender, and Don Buchla spent the 60s in San Francisco developing what may be the world’s first analog synthesizer, the ‘electronic music easel’ BUCHLA 100, while Robert Moog was putting together his incredible keyboard on the East Coast.

BUCHLA 100 was brilliant because, instead of a keyboard, it relied on pressure sensitive touch-plates. Those controlled keys that could be individually tuned, allowing for an unlimited number of sound-producing possibilities. It freed musicians from the sine, sawtooth, and square bonds of the past, and allowed electronic music to flourish.

Subotnick himself was the first to put his creation through its creative paces. Recorded over the span of a year in New York, his album Silver Apples of the Moon stands as the first all-electronic LP, and effectively declared the era of computer music dead. The album has since been inducted into the Library of Congress.

As part of our Electric Independence series, in 2011 we paid a visit to Subotnick at his Lower East Side studio to chat about the past and future of electronic music. Remember one thing the next time you’re in a club with some cyborg DJ poking away at a booth full of weird gadgets: If it wasn’t for Subotnick, you’d be stuck listening to robot chatter."

Morton Subotnick & Tony Martin / Floris Vanhoof / Köhn @ BOZAR

YouTube Uploaded by bozarbrussel on Oct 19, 2011

"MORTON SUBOTNICK (US) & TONY MARTIN (US)
Floris Vanhoof (BE) / Köhn (BE)
on Monday Oct 17, 2011 (20:00) at BOZAR, Brussels!
Centre for Fine Arts / Terarken room
co-produced by Bozar Cinema and Kraak

Morton Subotnick is one of the grand pioneers of electronic music. In the late sixties he worked along peers as Steve Reich, Terry Riley and Pauline Oliveros. He also helped developing the legendary Buchla synthesizer, with which he composed his first and most important work Silver Apples of the Moon. This work, that was released through the Nonesuch label in 1967, has gathered the reputation of a classic electronic avant-garde piece. Subotnick devoted much of his career to multimedia work and technologic innovations. On Oct 17 he brings his Silver Apples of the Moon again together with visual work of Tony Martin, who stands as the inventor of light show. Martin is a visual artist from the same generation who worked with Oliveros and David Tudor. His work, that in the early days focused mainly on light and interaction, originates in the same period of Subotnick's first pieces. Back in those days he worked closely with the San Francisco Tape Music Centre, where Subotnick was active as well.

Basically everything Floris Vanhoof put his hands on in 2010 turned into a highlight. Not only his debut album 'Slime Time' on Ultra Eczema, or his self released cd-r Nozem / Mutant, but also the many small concerts. In his live shows Vanhoof links new visual ideas to his idiosyncratic musical performances in which homemade synthesizers, modified 16mm projectors, exceptional internet acquisitions and a personal framework are forged into an impressive whole. One of the most versatile and creatively liberated artists in Belgium!

Köhn (born Jürgen De Blonde) is a self-taught musician and composer. He's been an active musician since the age of 12 when he started playing around with a small casio keyboard. From that time onward he's been fascinated by electronic music and creating his own sounds and music. Not having an academic background, De Blonde's interest in music has always been eclectic, allowing influences from a wide range of styles and sounds. Early influences were Jean-Michel Jarre, Jan Hammer, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden and mainstream Pop Music. Recently he has been focusing on the kosmische synth pioneers and minimalists such as Terry Riley and Steve Reich, reaching new heights in his discography and live performances.

www.bozar.be
www.kraak.net"

SUBOTNICK The Making of Silver Apples of the Moon & the first Buchla 100

Published on Jun 27, 2017 Waveshaper Media

SUBOTNICK: The First Buchla 100

Published on Jul 5, 2017 Waveshaper Media

"Excerpts from SUBOTNICK, a forthcoming documentary on avant-garde electronic music composer Morton Subotnick, now raising funds via Indiegogo: http://igg.me/at/subotnickfilm [the funding goal of $40,000 has just been met]

In 1963, Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender, the two founders of the San Francisco Tape Music Center, commissioned Don Buchla to create one of the first modular electronic music systems.

The first Buchla 100 series system was completed in 1965, eventually moving to Mills College in 1966, where it remains today.

In April 2017, Subotnick and Sender returned to Mills College to meet with Prof. Maggi Payne, co-director of the Center of Contemporary Music, revisiting the original Buchla 100."

2018 The Synthesizer Show Episode #6 "The End" HIGHLIGHTS & Morton Subotnick's The Wild Bull

Published on Jun 20, 2018 Vince Clarke Fanpage

This one caught my attention for a number of reasons. Obviously, Vince Clark and Reed Hayes, as well as the title, and... the set starts out with an excerpt of Morton Subotnick's The Wild Bull composed on the Buchla 100. You can find it in full further below.

Details for the live set above:

The Synthesizer Show Episode #6 "THE END" HIGHLIGHTS
hosted by Vince Clarke and Reed Hays
June 20th, 2018 on http://www.makerparkradio.nyc

The Show Highlights:
- Jingle
- Buchla and Hawaii dancing Girl
- Erasure "Solsbury Hill"
- Alka "Betablockers"
- Reed & Caroline "Entropy" exclusive
- Yazoo / Yaz 'Nobody's Diary'
- Jingle
- Outro "THE END"

NEW ALBUM "Hello Science" from Reed & Caroline
out on July 6th, 2018 on http://www.veryrecords.com

Reed & Caroline support Erasure on their
North America Tour 2018 in July and August
More information on http://www.erasureinfo.com/concerts

more info about Vince Clarke on http://www.vinceclarkefanpage.de

Morton Subotnick - The Wild Bull (Full Album 1968)

Published on Mar 3, 2017 sound light

1. The Wild Bull (Part I) 13:00
2. The Wild Bull (Part II) 14:50

A composition for electronic-music synthesizer
A Nonesuch Records commission

Composed on the modular electronic music system originally built for Morton Subotnick by Donald Buchla at the San Francisco Tape Music Center.
Composed By – Morton Subotnick

Morton Subotnick Live in San Fransisco

"Morton Subotnick's Until Spring Revisited is performed by Subotnick and Miguel Frasconi on three laptop computers. The performance is based on the idiosyncratic vocabulary of pulsating and sculpting gestures that the composer has developed during the last 40 years. Subotnick's software interprets the position, speed, and gestural quality of the mouse movement, as well as which keys are pressed and when they are pressed, and translates that information into musical variation and spatial motion. Two large-scale video screens display the hands of the two performers manipulating keyboard and mouse.

At the same time, Sue Costabile, photographer and light artist, improvises a video performance using a laptop, lightpad and digital video camera to build abstract, layered worlds of light and texture out of hand-painted papers, photographs and fabrics.

Asphodel and RML are pleased to present Until Spring Revisited, a full evening-length work of surround sound and projected images that together create an immersive audio and visual experience."

Two shows April 6. Title link takes you to more info. Via daddio on the AH list.

Previous Morton Subotnick posts

Morton Subotnick in Vienna

via Noiseconformist

"Yesterday Morton Subotnick performed here in Vienna. Before that he gave us a lecture and talked about the origins of his work and of course about the San Francisco Tape Music Center.

When he spoke about those two Buchlas on stage he called them the 'the newest one' (200e) and 'the oldest one'.

'These modules right here are probably the first one (synthesizer) which was ever made.', meaning the modules saying 'San Francisco Tape Music Center Incorporated'. (Buchla's idea how to name it, something what S. obviously didn't like at all - '... this is not a business ...')
The slides said 1964-1965 but already showed a Buchla 100 Music Box.

I let the quotes speak for themselves, reading and listening to other sources gives a somewhat contradictory image.

Mr. Subotnick kept speaking about a 'music easel', in a metaphorical sense, he wanted to have.

This is not to be mixed up with the Buchla Music Easel we know. Which obviously came out much later.

The adaption of "Silver Apples Of The Moon" is wonderful, very vivid, powerful and gentle at the same moment. Lillevan's projections looked very organic and were a great part of the show. I'm looking forward to Subotnick's "Jacob's Room" on Saturday!"

See this post for recent video of Morton Subotnick at Transmediate 2011.

Electric Independence: Morton Subotnick

"In its early days, electronic music wasn’t very musical. Painstakingly put together with wave generators or tiny bits of tape spliced together on splicing blocks by music professors and hobbyists, it was often highly abstract, largely concerned with pitch and timbre, and lacked much rhythm or pattern.

Enter Morton Subotnick.

Back in the sixties, while Robert Moog was developing his pioneering keyboard on the East Coast, Subotnick, Ramon Sender and Don Buchla were toiling away in San Francisco on what would become possibly the world’s first analog synthesizer, the ‘electronic music easel’BUCHLA 100. Instead of a keyboard, it relied on pressure sensitive touch-plates, which controlled individually tuneable keys for limitless micro-tuning possibilities, analog sequencers, and complex waveforms beyond your basic sine, sawtooth, and square waves. You can now find it at the Smithsonian.

Check out more at Motherboard.

See the rest at VBS.TV: Electric Independence: Morton Subotnick - Motherboard | VBS.TV"

Click here for additional posts featuring Moton Subotnick including video of recent performances.
Click here for additional Motherboard TV posts.

Richard Lainhart, Morton Subotnick and I Dream of Wires Screening

As many of you know, Richard Lainhart passed away on December 30, 2011. He was primarily known in his later days for his music composed with a Buchla 200e modular system and Haken Continuum. On July 7 & 8, 2012 he and Morton Subotnick's works will be featured in a concert and screening presented by Harvestworks, in association with ((audience)) and River-to-River Festival. A screening of the modular synthesizer documentary "I Dream of Wires" which features Richard will be held on July 8.

"A note from Caroline Meyers (Richard's wife).
'Richard would have been so honored to have his name linked to that of Morton Subotnick for this July 7th concert. He often spoke of his reverence and admiration for the composer's works and I believe Silver Apples of the Moon was the inspiration for Richard to begin his explorations in electronic music.

That he did not live to see this day pains my heart, but I hope that the occasion and the admission price will encourage you to mark your calendar and attend this concert in his name, and in celebration of electronic music from the master.'"

The events:

July 7, 2012, 7:30pm
Works by Morton Subotnick and Richard Lainhart Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts
Pace University
3 Spruce Street, NYC
Admission: FREE

On July 7, Source of Uncertainty II presents a premiere performance of Energy Shapes by Morton Subotnick and excerpts from his legendary album Silver Apples of the Moon.

The July 7th concert's opening feature is The Orchestra of the Damned, by the late Richard Lainhart (1953-2011). The Orchestra of the Damned is a quadraphonic tape-work for the Buchla 200e analog modular synthesizer.

As Richard introduced the first audition of the piece on MatrixSynth (www.matrixsynth.com) in 2007, he said: "Friends: just in time for Halloween, a new piece for Buchla 200e and Continuum - The Orchestra Of The Damned...I played this live entirely with the Continuum - no sequencing or multitracking involved. I hope you enjoy it." [posted here]

In a review for Further Noise, Caleb Deupree says, "Orchestra of the Damned is cinematic with all of its texture changes, from sparse, quiet sounds to constant, siren drones, including a remarkable section reminiscent of the earliest electronic works from Cologne and Paris of the 1950s."

July 8, 2012, 6:00pm
Film screening of I Dream of Wires
including an interview with Richard Spectacle Theater
124 South 3rd Street, Brooklyn
Admission: $5

On July 8, ((audience)) will present a special screening of selections from I Dream of Wires, a forthcoming documentary on the modular synthesizer featuring interviews with manufacturers, collectors, designers and musicians.

The I Dream of Wires, screening will include an interview with Richard Lainhart.

Directed by Robert Fantinatto, I Dream of Wiresis a journey into the obscure but highly influential world of modular synthesizers. Learn how it revolutionized music from the pioneers that were there, why it quickly became obsolete, and how it has become all the rage again.

The film is currently in production; the directors will present a selection of raw footage and interviews. For more information, visit http://idreamofwires.org/.

The evening will also include short films by Liz Wendelbo with soundtracks by her Brooklyn-based synthesizer band, Xeno & Oaklander."

"About Richard Lainhart
Richard Lainhart was a composer, performer, and filmmaker based in New York. He studied composition and electronic music techniques with Joel Chadabe, a pioneer of electronic music and the designer of the Coordinated Electronic Music System at one time the largest integrated Moog synthesizer system in the world. From 1987-1990, Lainhart was the Technical Director for Intelligent Music, developers of innovative computer music software like M, Jam Factory, and UpBeat.

His compositions have been performed in the US, England, Sweden, Germany, Australia, and Japan. Recordings of his music have appeared on the Periodic Music, Vacant Lot, XI Records, ExOvo and Airglow Music labels and are distributed online via MusicZeit. As an active performer, Lainhart has appeared in public approximately 2000 times. Besides performing his own work, he has worked and performed with John Cage, David Tudor, Steve Reich, Phill Niblock, David Berhman, and Jordan Rudess, among many others. He has composed over 100 electronic and acoustic works, and has been making music for forty years. In 2008, he was commissioned by the Electronic Music Foundation to contribute a work to New York Soundscape.

Lainhart's animations and short films have been shown in festivals in the US, Canada, Germany, and Korea, and online at ResFest, The New Venue, The Bitscreen, and Streaming Cinema 2.0. His film "A Haiku Setting" won awards in several categories at the 2002 International Festival of Cinema and Technology in Toronto. In 2008, he was awarded a Film & Media grant by the New York State Council on the Arts for "No Other Time", full-length intermedia performance designed for a large reverberant space, combining live analog electronics with four-channel playback, and high-definition computer-animated film projection."

Dubspot 'Wireless' Interview: Morton Subotnick

Dubspot 'Wireless' Interview: Morton Subotnick - The Electronic Music Pioneer on Music Technology

Published on Oct 26, 2012 by DubSpot
I'm curious if he is referring to Dave Smith and Sequential Circuits at 3:40.

"More info: http://blog.dubspot.com/electronic-music-pioneer-morton-subotnick
In this episode of Dubspot's Wireless interview series, influential composer and electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick invites composer, producer, and educator Raz Mesinai to his studio for an interview. Their discussion ranges from the innovations and rapid acceleration of music technology over the last sixty years to developing an iOS app that presents a new way for kids to create music."

Morton Subotnick on Bleeker Street

via Critical Terrain where you'll find a full post on Morton Subotnick. The images are from mortonsubotnick.com.

"These great stills from an educational filmstrip show a mod Morton Subotnick in his Bleecker Street studio, most likely in the early 1970s. The analog synth apparatus here is the Buchla Modular Electronic Music System 100 series, which Don Buchla constructed from a spec by Subotnick and Ramon Sender."

Silver Apples Of The Moon by Morton Subotnick

Silver Apples Of The Moon (VINYL RIP)

Published on Jan 27, 2013 Evan Cooper·94 videos

"some pretty interesting music from Morton Subotnick"

via Michal Patulski on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"ok. and now something completely different. as far as I'm concerned this is the very first album ever recorded with Buchla (1967). enjoy! :)"

And a short version at 4:23:

Morton Subotnick: Silver apples of the Moon (1967)

Uploaded on Mar 24, 2011 TheWelleszCompany·2,856 videos

"Morton Subotnick (*1933): Silver apples of the Moon, per nastro magnetico (1967).

Cover image: painting by Vera Molnar.

*****

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