Thomas Dolby wins 2012 Moog Innovation Award

via Moog Music

"Dolby is a self made man, synth pioneer, and mad scientist. Like Bob Moog, Thomas Dolby’s quest for knowledge and desire to sculpt the world around him led him to the world of electronics, where he designed his own synths, founded his own software company, and charged head long through the world of pop music and into America’s consciousness. To say he was blinded by science would be doing him a disservice, for science has been his guiding light, and technology his namesake. For expanding the sonic boundaries of the new wave movement and for fearlessly embracing the future, Moog is proud to present Thomas Dolby with a custom Minimoog Voyager XL, in honor of being the 2012 Moog Innovation Award winner.

Go to www.moogfest.com to purchase your passes for Thomas Dolby's Moogfest performance."

Thomas Dolby Live in Roland Cloud

Streamed live on Jul 26, 2018 Roland Cloud

"Roland is pleased to announce 'Thomas Dolby Live in Roland Cloud,' a historic first-ever concert streamed live in Roland Cloud. Free and open to all, the performance by electronic music icon and Roland Lifetime Achievement Award winner Thomas Dolby will take place on Thursday, July 26, at 4:00 P.M. PDT, in Roland Cloud.

As part of an enhanced experience, you will have the opportunity to try the same synthesizers and sounds used by Thomas Dolby in concert by signing up for a 30-day Free Trial to Roland Cloud."

Thomas Dolby - Windpower

YouTube via BrusselZuid. via Thomas Dolby's blog.

Windpower turned 25 years old today.

"Thomas Dolby performing Windpower on Top of the Pops circa 1982"

I'm guessing the computer is the PPG 360 with 340/380 system that Thomas Dolby picked up from Edgar Froese - you can read about it in this post.

Freddy and the Dolby Casio AZ-1

via Ghastly H on The Official Thomas Dolby Forum back in 2004.

"Here's a little watercolour I did of Freddy (transgendered otaku character from my weekly online comic strip) playing the Thomas Dolby Casio AZ-1 which I bought off eBay during the Thomas Dolby clearance sale."

Thomas Dolby - Sole Inhabitant Podcast (#2 One.. Submarines)

YouTube via thomasdolbypodcast. My favorite Thomas Dolby track. Access Virus Ti. Check out the custom MIDI controller (some posted here).

"Alternate version of "One of Our Submarines", including an intro about the song by Thomas from his home shed studio.

Check back every Wednesday for the duration of this series for new episodes. "The Sole Inhabitant" is available NOW. More info: http://www.thomasdolby.com/soleinhabi..."

via =Silent Shrapnel=

Previous posts mentioning Thomas Dolby

Update via james in the comments:

"Hey Matrix, The Sole Inhabitant CD/DVD were actually recorded at two separate times. The DVD footage (and the alternate take) was shot at Berklee College of Music in September 2006. It's nice to watch but definitely doesn't sound as good as the CD.

Which brings me to the point of this already too long comment. TDMR and Johnny Dekam (vj) have pieced together a much more organic performance video shot at Martyr's in Chicago, mixed from the mini cams mounted on Thomas' rig and noggin.

It'll be available later this month (May 2007) for a very reasonable $13.95.

Geez. Thomas! You owe me a beer for the free publicity, mate."

Peter Vogel and Thomas Dolby on the Impact of the Fairlight CMI

YouTube Uploaded by matrixsynth on Feb 29, 2012

"Blinded By Science: Thomas Dolby and Peter Vogel in conversation with Tim Ritchie

This is a great Big Ideas for tech geek musicians and innovators. Blinded By Science is the name of the show and it features musician, Thomas Dolby and the inventor of the Fairlight synthesizer, Peter Vogel, talking to Radio National’s Tim Ritchie at Notes in Newtown. If you love music , you’ll love this conversation. It has the ‘after performance’ feel of musicians talking about why they do what they do – the highs and the disastrous lows!

These were the early days of electronic music and both Peter and Thomas were there at the outset and were both brilliant innovators."

via abc via Failed Muso

Thomas Dolby on the tube - She Blinded me With Science

YouTube via BrusselZuid. via DVDBorn. Spot the synths.
"Thomas Dolby performing 'She Blinded me with Science' on the tube circa 1984."

Update: One more sent my way via Jared.
Thomas Dolby Hyperactive

YouTube via parkhill62.

Thomas Dolby's TED Rig

via Thomas Dolby's blog.

You can find Thomas Dolby on TED here.

BTW, if you are not familiar with TED, do check TED out here.

Thomas Dolby Live Shot

Just thoght this was a cool shot of Thomas Dolby Live at Joe's Pub in NYC. Title link takes you to the post on Thomas Dolby's blog.

Synthesizer Medley 1985 Grammy Performance

Looks like Music Thing found the motherload of the 80s synth performances on YouTube: Thomas Dolby, Herbie Hancock, Howard Jones and Stevie Wonder all in one crazy ass performance. Title link takes you there. Make sure to check out the other YouTube gems on Music Thing as well.



Tracks I recognized (I know I missed a few, so if you know, feel free to comment):
Rockit - Herbie Hancock
She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby
Europa - Thomas Dolby
What is Love - Howard Jones
? - Stevie Wonder (I forget the damn name of the track)
I Just Called to Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder
Living in a Computer World - ?
America The Beautiful

Update: And the synth list via pinkus in the comments:
matrix 6
linn 9000
tr606 not pluged in lol
matrix 12
memorymoog
kurzweil controller
fairlight
kurzweil 250x
yamaha qk
oberheim xpander
dmx
thats all i got right now..

Thomas Dolby's Signed Roland MKS-70 SN 741365 For Sale?

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Behold the mighty Roland MKS-70 analog synthesizer.

I purchased this from Thomas Dolby in 2003. He signed the chassis with a sharpie in silver (see photo). When I bought it from him, the display was not working. I subsequently had the coil driver replaced and now the unit functions flawlessly.

(For those into such minutiae, you can see this exact unit in a photo in the 1992 Keyboard article on Dolby circa Astronauts and Heretics. Dolby is on the cover of this issue. I've seen many copies of this issue on eBay.)

I didn't know it when I bought it, but found out after that he left his patches on the unit. That's kind of a rare treat! (See photos for the coolest patches.) I also left his labels on the thing (denoting MIDI channel, etc.) just because I though that was cool. (You're free to remove these, of course!)"

Note the Submarines patch.

CLICK FOR MORE »

OP-X PRO-II: Retrotone Bank - Alphaville, Madonna, Marillion, Steve Winwood...

Published on Sep 12, 2019 virtualoberheim

"http://www.sonicprojects.ch/opxpro2/d...

Demo of the new "Retrotone" bank for OP-X PRO-II. The bank can be downloaded for free on this site:
http://www.sonicprojects.ch/opxpro2/u...

The video features the "Rack Edition Huge" interface version of the synth within Logic Pro X in an iMac 21 mid 2011.

Learn More about the synth's available interfaces on this site:
http://www.sonicprojects.ch/opxpro2/i...

The midi keyboard's two knobs at the right are learned to the increment/decrement buttons which allows to switch patches remotely. Learn more about in on page 85 of the synth's manual.

The heard audio comes directly from the stereo outputs of OP-X PRO-II. No external effects or any other treatments of any kind involved.

The featured patches:

CLICK FOR MORE »

NAMM 2018 - Thomas Dolby accepts Roland lifetime achievement award and plays "She Blinded Me with Sc

Published on Jan 24, 2018 Kraft Music

"Roland presents Thomas Dolby with a lifetime achievement award. Dolby discusses his relationiship with Roland instruments and performs 'She Blinded Me with Science' at the 2018 NAMM show."

https://www.kraftmusic.com

Some great history on this one, especially the back story of She Blinded Me With Science. Comes in around 4:24. Don't miss it!

Super 80s Kit - Thomas Dolby inspired - Simmons SDS8 - Roland MKS-7 - Beatstep Pro

Published on Jun 6, 2016 Earmonkey Music

"Was listening to Thomas Dolby today and reading some stuff about his song 'She Blinded Me With Science'. Came home and put my Simmons SDS8 and Roland MKS-7 to good use making a Super 80s Kit! Yeah! Any similarity between this little jam and the above-mentioned song is, well, kind of intentional. Dolby was such a huge synth influence on me. Here is how it's all set up: The drum track on the BSP has 5 pads going out through drum gates to the Simmons, and the rest of the pads are being sent via MIDI to the MKS-7. I used the Arturia software to map the pads to where they needed to be to trigger the TR707 sounds in the MKS-7. Channels 1 and 2 on the BSP are going to the Melody and Bass tracks of the MKS-7 respectively. Enjoy!"

Thomas Dolby at Synthplex 2019

Published on Apr 5, 2019 Sound On Sound magazine

"Synth pioneer Thomas Dolby was the star attraction at Synthplex 2019, LA's inaugural 'Everything Synthesizer' exhibition/conference in late March. Prior to his seminar and evening performance, SOS contributor Julian Colbeck sat down over breakfast with Thomas for an exclusive interview in which TD reveals his current interest with new media technologies and their application in music."

Thomas Dolby Interview on Moog Music

via Moog Music Inc. on Facebook

"Thomas Dolby talks about his experiences with Moog synthesizers, his musical process, and his history with many different musicians.

Read the interview here"

Short excerpt: "When were your first experiences with Moogs? When did you first get the opportunity to experiment and play with them?

There tended to be Minimoogs lying around professional studios round-about the end of the 70's - 76-77-ish when I first got into studios. And when the Micromoog came out I picked one up second hand out of the back of Melody Maker. And that was the first off-the-shelf synth I'd owned. Before that the only synth I'd owned was a Transcendent 2000..."

Signed Moogfest Posters to Benefit The Bob Moog Foundation - The Signers

This is a follow-up to this post where you will find an image of the poster.  Here we have pics of the actual signings sent in via Michelle Moog-Koussa of The Bob Moog Foundation.  You can find the posters listed here.  The auctions end tonight, so be sure to bid now if you plan to.

Via The Bob Moog Foundation:

"Moogest Rockers and Legends Sign Moogfest 2012 Official Posters

At Moogfest 2012, a host of artists were generous and gracious enough sign the beautiful, official Moogfest posters (which are works or art in themselves) to help raise funding for the projects of the Bob Moog Foundation. Among those artists were: Orbital, Richie Hawtin, Santigold, Morton Subotnick, Thomas Dolby, Nas, Primus, Squarepusher, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Carl Craig, Bear in Heaven, Divine Fits, GZA, Magnetic Fields, Miike Snow, Death Grips, Shpongle and Explosions in the Sky and E-lp.


The one-of-a-kind Moogfest 2012 Official poster were designed by Eric Davis. Featuring clouds and the moon in hues ranging from pastel to neon, this work of art is a great addition to any poster collection. Printed on 100lb poster stock, this 24” x 36” poster also features the festival name, dates and complete line-up.

You can view the posters and bid on them here, but don’t delay. The auctions in the first few hours of the morning on Saturday, November 24th."

Pictured:
Morton Subotnick
Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson)
Santigold
Carl Craig
Paul Hartnoll (Orbital)
Phil Hartnoll (Orbital)
Ana Sia
Bear in Heaven
Shpongle
Thomas Dolby
Explosions in the Sky

CLICK FOR MORE »

Thomas Dolby - The Ghost of Faffner Hall - The Jim Henson Company

Published on Apr 19, 2012 The Jim Henson Company

"When Farkas buys a robot to help him get rid of the musicians of Faffner Hall on Make a New Sound Day, the gang borrows some parts from the robot to construct a synthesizer so they can make all kinds of new sounds. Fughetta doesn't understand how a synthesizer works so the Wild Impressario turns to his best source, Thomas Dolby, to explain it to her."

Synthplex 2020 Set for March 26-29 in Burbank, CA

via https://www.synthplex.com

"Exhibits + Seminars + Live Electronic Music + Pop-Up Synth Museum + DIY Synth Build + Gala Banquet

Synthplex® 2020 is back! Come and join the fun in Burbank at Synthplex, the “All Things Synthesizer” festival/ expo. Synthplex has it all; Trade Show Exhibits (Open Friday thru Sunday), Educational, Technology & Product Seminars, Synthesizer History Seminars, Master Sessions & Key Note speeches with Industry Legends (2019 we had Thomas Dolby, Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL), Brian Transeau (aka BT), Harold Faltermeyer and Dave Smith of Sequential), DIY synth building workshops, Live Synth Concerts all weekend long (Thursday night thru Sunday night), the Synthplex Pop-up Synth Museum and the Saturday night Gala Dinner Banquet with a live performance TBA. Last year we had Thomas Dolby give an intimate performance at the Gala Dinner Banquet.

What to Expect at Synthplex

Even in this age of online social media, with myriad synthesizer-related social groups, YouTube performances and tutorials, there is still no substitute for having a physical location where like-minded, synth people can come together and meet face to face/ear to ear. The West Coast has an amazing (and LARGE) community of synthesizer enthusiasts, who all look forward to the times when we can meet up, hang out, break bread and learn new things about synthesis. Enter Synthplex®.

Hands-on Experiences

There will be many opportunities at Synthplex® to get hands-on with a lot of synthesizer gear and much more. In the exhibit halls you will discover new products and you will get to dive deep into these products and experience them for yourself. All weekend long there will be equipment vendors giving demonstrations, and there will be daily DIY synthesizer building workshops (modular and other formats) going on in the morning and the afternoon.

Furthermore, Synthplex® has an extremely special Pop-Up Synth Museum, where you can experience firsthand many rare and valuable synthesizers with the guidance of museum docents. You don’t just get to listen and see these instruments, you actually get to tweak some knobs and play them! Note: Admission into the Pop-UP Synth Museum is a separate pass from the Synth Expo pass, as all profits from the Pop-Up Synth Museum will benefit the Bob Moog Foundation. Each year we will feature a new recipient for this donation..."

You can find full details at https://www.synthplex.com

The Ghost of Faffner Hall "Thomas Dolby" - Synthesis Explained

YouTube Published on Apr 19, 2012 by HensonCompany

"When Farkas buys a robot to help him get rid of the musicians of Faffner Hall on Make a New Sound Day, the gang borrows some parts from the robot to construct a synthesizer so they can make all kinds of new sounds. Fughetta doesn't understand how a synthesizer works so the Wild Impressario turns to his best source, Thomas Dolby, to explain it to her."

Added this one to the Synths in TV and Film post.