<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Create Digital Music &#187; Yamaha</title>
	<atom:link href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/tag/yamaha/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com</link>
	<description>The latest gear, software, and techniques for electronic music production and performance</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:51:51 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>I Want My Moog TV: Vimeo Channel, Moog Meets Tenori-On</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/02/09/i-want-my-moog-tv-vimeo-channel-moog-meets-tenori-on/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/02/09/i-want-my-moog-tv-vimeo-channel-moog-meets-tenori-on/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:58:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effects]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Filters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[keyboards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minimoog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moogerfooger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synths]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tenori-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voyager]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/?p=4980</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Studies for two TENORI-ON(s) by Smith from Franck Smith on Vimeo.
A chap named Nick Ciontea has created a channel on Vimeo collecting odd videos folks have made with or regarding Moog products. I know about this, because two of my videos made it in. It&#8217;s a grab bag, but a lovely tribute to how much [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object width="579" height="434"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3141565&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=CC0000&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3141565&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=CC0000&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="579" height="434"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/3141565">Studies for two TENORI-ON(s) by Smith</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/francksmith">Franck Smith</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p>A chap named Nick Ciontea has created a channel on Vimeo collecting odd videos folks have made with or regarding Moog products. I know about this, because <a href="http://vimeo.com/675278">two</a> of my <a href="http://vimeo.com/674628">videos</a> made it in. It&#8217;s a grab bag, but a lovely tribute to how much people love this gear.</p>
<p>My favorite selection is the video here, because it&#8217;s not what you&#8217;d expect sound-wise from either Yamaha&#8217;s Tenori-On or Moog filters. Artist &#8220;Smith&#8221; says:</p>
<blockquote><p>This first test is a prepartory work to a series of solo pieces inspired by John Cage&#8217;s experiments for prepared piano and Conlon Nancarrow&#8217;s player piano studies.</p></blockquote>
<p>Yes, things you don&#8217;t normally expect to go together: Cage/Nancarrow, Moog, Tenori-On. And he successfully erases the Tenori-On&#8217;s beautiful if predictable signature sound. This is what I imagine music boxes would sound like on Alpha Centauri. In other news: I can&#8217;t afford this rig.</p>
<blockquote><p>- 2 TENORI-ON(s)<br />
- MI Audio Pollyanna Octave Synth<br />
- Moog Low Pass Filter (MF-101)<br />
- Moog Ring Modulator (MF-102)<br />
- Moog Bass Murf (MF-105b)<br />
- Jomox M-Resonator<br />
- Rotary Ensemble (Boss RT-20)<br />
- Boss FV-500L (as expression pedal for LPF Resonance)<br />
- Boss FV-500L (as expression pedal for RM Frequency)<br />
- Boss EV-5 for Rotary Ensemble speed</p></blockquote>
<p>But, involved as that is, it&#8217;s further evidence you can push sound in new ways. And if online videos do nothing else, they can lay the gauntlet down in terms of what you think possible &#8211; both by demonstrating the generic <em>and</em> the unusual.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/02/09/i-want-my-moog-tv-vimeo-channel-moog-meets-tenori-on/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>22</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tenori-On is Shipping in US; Tenori-On Meets Kyma Synth</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/06/19/tenori-on-is-shipping-in-us-tenori-on-meets-kyma-synth/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/06/19/tenori-on-is-shipping-in-us-tenori-on-meets-kyma-synth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:39:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alesis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dave-Smith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kyma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[modular]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prophet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shipping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synths]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tenori-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[us]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/?p=3586</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tenori-on Meets Kyma from Nomad Cinema on Vimeo.
US distributor Keyfax NewMedia reports that it has Yamaha&#8217;s Tenori-On in stock and shipping out now. (Pre-orders began at the beginning of May, but this is apparently the first the US unit has made it to our shows &#8212; unless you happened to win one from createdigitalmusic.com, that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object width="581" height="438"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1081690&amp;server=www.vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=BD0000&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1081690&amp;server=www.vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=BD0000&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="581" height="438"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.vimeo.com/1081690?pg=embed&#038;sec=1081690">Tenori-on Meets Kyma</a> from <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/user504366?pg=embed&#038;sec=1081690">Nomad Cinema</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com?pg=embed&#038;sec=1081690">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p>US distributor Keyfax NewMedia reports that it has Yamaha&#8217;s <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/tag/tenori-on/">Tenori-On</a> in stock and shipping out now. (Pre-orders began at the beginning of May, but this is apparently the first the US unit has made it to our shows &#8212; unless you happened to win one from createdigitalmusic.com, that is, in April, in which case you know who you are.) </p>
<p>Every time I mention Tenori-On, despite the awe and lust it inspires in some musicians, someone raises the point of its somewhat retro-styled, simple sound bank. Fair enough: the minimal sounds are fantastic in the hands of creator Toshio Iwai and were specifically programmed and voiced to match his aesthetic. Other people, perhaps, not so much. So it&#8217;s interesting that reader Steven aka Nomad Cinema sends along this video (seen at top) of the Tenori-On paired with the absurdly deep luxury modular synth Kyma, along with a couple of beloved new analog synths. He writes: </p>
<blockquote><p>In order to tap the real power of Yamaha&#8217;s new Tenori-on, it helps to pair it with external equipment capable of producing more satisfying sounds than the somewhat lackluster soundset included with the Tenori-on itself. In this video, no internal Tenori-on sounds were used whatsoever. Tenori-on is functioning purely as a sequencer with external equipment, including advanced sound-shaping from Kyma and analog synthesis from Alesis Andromeda and Dave Smith&#8217;s Prophet &#8216;08. Sequencer data coming from Tenori-on is processed in Ableton Live (utilizing midi scale and chord filters, as well as injecting some generative randomness) before reaching Kyma, Andromeda, and Prophet &#8216;08.</p></blockquote>
<p>That to me remains the Tenori-On&#8217;s unique strength: to me it&#8217;s really an alternative step sequencer, exploded into an array of flashing lights and animated with game-like motion. This is to me also another way in which it <em>isn&#8217;t</em> a Monome, which feels more like an intelligent, programmable set of pads an an extension of your software, in comparison to the Tenori-On which seems to be re-imagining a giant pixel as a controller. I will be getting around to showing off some hands-on applications very soon, at long last.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/06/19/tenori-on-is-shipping-in-us-tenori-on-meets-kyma-synth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>16</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tenori-On US Presale On</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/26/tenori-on-us-presale-on/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/26/tenori-on-us-presale-on/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:59:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tenori-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/26/tenori-on-us-presale-on/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ As the May 1 sale date approaches, US distributor Keyfax is taking pre-orders of the Yamaha Tenori-On. The only way to order it will be (oddly) via the Tenori-On tour site:
http://tenori-on.keyfax.com/
Keyfax explains:
So that everyone has an equal purchasing opportunity, pre-sale orders are being taken via Tenori-on Registration on a first-come first-served basis. 
As shipments [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://tenori-on.keyfax.com/downloads/tenori-onbig.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="image" align="right" src="http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images/2008/04/image20.png" width="255" height="224" /></a> As the May 1 sale date approaches, US distributor Keyfax is taking pre-orders of the Yamaha Tenori-On. The only way to order it will be (oddly) via the Tenori-On tour site:</p>
<p><a href="http://tenori-on.keyfax.com/" target="_blank">http://tenori-on.keyfax.com/</a></p>
<p>Keyfax explains:</p>
<blockquote><p>So that everyone has an equal purchasing opportunity, pre-sale orders are being taken via <a href="http://tenori-on.keyfax.com/store">Tenori-on Registration</a> on a first-come first-served basis. </p>
<p>As shipments arrive, KEYFAX NewMedia will personally contact those registered; your order will be processed, and your unit shipped.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I&#8217;m not entirely convinced Keyfax and/or Yamaha understand Web communities. Aside from a clunky website design, they&#8217;re asking for people to <a href="http://tenori-on.keyfax.com/participate" target="_blank">manually send them</a> MP3 links and videos &quot;for review and consideration.&quot; (That&#8217;s a bit odd coming from a hardware distribution company; if that site is supposed to be a &quot;community,&quot; why the tough content policy?) There is some sparse but useful discussion on their <a href="http://tenori-on.keyfax.com/forum/" target="_blank">forum</a>. </p>
<p>So, anyone with cool tracks on Tenori-On, feel free to send CDM links. We&#8217;re happy to look, too.</p>
<p>But all of this makes me wonder &#8212; how much longer will Yamaha treat Tenori-On&#8217;s launch as an &quot;experiment&quot;?</p>
<p><span id="more-3376"></span></p>
<p>It&#8217;s been six years in development, publicly discussed by Yamaha for over a year, and on the market since September, yet we&#8217;re still told that Yamaha can only make Tenori-On units in &quot;limited quantities&quot; via exclusive distribution. Everything &#8212; even this forum &#8212; has a temporary feel, with various apologies posted around about how the product is still &quot;early&quot; in its development. At about 100 units per month <em>maximum</em> (both for the UK launch and now the US), the reality is that the device is shipping a volume more in line with DIY projects and boutique music electronics, not Yamaha-branded, robot-manufactured gear. Yet Yamaha keeps talking about popularizing music to non-musicians, even though the device&#8217;s price and limited availability means the only people buying it are hard-core musicians with cash to spare. </p>
<p>And mostly what we&#8217;re getting is mixed messages. So, for instance, hundreds of people fill a packed, hyped &quot;launch&quot; event here in New York. But then someone asks about price or availability, and suddenly the conversation turns awkward, as if Yamaha didn&#8217;t expect you to actually buy it. That&#8217;s not really a criticism, just confusion. And I know it&#8217;s not just my confusion, either, because I&#8217;m in touch with other press who covered the launch events. They&#8217;re baffled. The hyped-up launch campaign doesn&#8217;t seem to jive with the almost apologetic stance on sales and production. </p>
<p>One possibility is that Yamaha is planning a very big launch for a consumer device, or at least thinking about it. That&#8217;d make the tenuous position now a little more logical. But then, the device itself feels like a complete experience. Could it really be translated to something else &#8212; either at the low- or high-end? What would happen to musicians who spend $1300 on this if a $400 version showed up at Best Buy? Or, more to the point, what does Yamaha think about this and how it relates to the other stuff they make? We&#8217;ve heard lots from Toshio Iwai, and quite frankly, his descriptions have been artful and elegant. Now we&#8217;re just waiting to hear something coherent from Yamaha. Curiously, that message so far has been &quot;look at this new gadget for people who don&#8217;t play instruments,&quot; followed by &quot;now listen to experienced musicians playing it, since they&#8217;re the ones we&#8217;re selling it to.&quot; </p>
<p>And, hey, Yamaha, I do hope you don&#8217;t take this the wrong way. Welcome to the blogosphere &#8212; now you get to know what we&#8217;re thinking.</p>
<p>That said, in the musician community the limited availability is having the effect of separating the smaller group of people who want and can afford Tenori-On from everyone else. Those who want it are working hard to get it, and everyone we&#8217;ve heard from who&#8217;s got one has been really happy with it.</p>
<p>Whatever marketing and distribution may be doing, I still see the product itself as a separate story. Yamaha confirms one is on its way to me, so I look forward to sharing some hands-on time with the device. I still think the design itself is fascinating, not only in terms of what it says about Tenori-On itself, but what it says about the possibility of music instrument design.</p>
<p>Stay tuned for our hands-on.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/26/tenori-on-us-presale-on/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tenori-On in America: US$1200, May 1, Limited Run</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/17/tenori-on-in-america-us1200-may-1-limited-run/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/17/tenori-on-in-america-us1200-may-1-limited-run/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:54:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alternative-controllers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[controllers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MIDI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[samplers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tenori-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[us]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/17/tenori-on-in-america-us1200-may-1-limited-run/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the unlikely event of a water landing, use the Tenori-On to triangulate the mysterious radio broadcast coming from the French woman on the desert island. Erm, sorry &#8212; yeah, I finally got DVDs to watch Lost. Random Mode in the Tenori-On manual; image (C)2007 Yamaha Corporation.

Here&#8217;s the good news: the Tenori-On is really going [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img border="0" alt="tenorion_random" src="http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images/2008/04/tenorion-random.jpg" width="580" height="366" /></p>
<div class="imgcaption">In the unlikely event of a water landing, use the Tenori-On to triangulate the mysterious radio broadcast coming from the French woman on the desert island. Erm, sorry &#8212; yeah, I finally got DVDs to watch Lost. Random Mode in the Tenori-On manual; image (C)2007 Yamaha Corporation.</div>
</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the good news: the Tenori-On is really going on sale here in America. It&#8217;s about the same price as in the UK, as expected. (GBP600 = about US$1200.)</p>
<p>The bad news? If you want to buy one, good luck. Yamaha says initially only about 100 units a month will be available. (We also heard &#8220;1000 units&#8221; for the whole year, which would mean they stop doing 100 units each month after September, if that&#8217;s right.) To put this in perspective, the Monome 64, with zero press behind its launch, <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/01/29/monome-64-sold-out-in-2-minutes-simple-is-in/">sold out a 100-unit run in 120 seconds</a>. After getting hands-on with the Monome, I want to reemphasize that a square grid of buttons are the only things these two designs have in common &#8212; but you can bet ravenous demand will be one other common feature. (Another example: the permanently-backordered <a href="http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/">x0xb0x</a>.)&#160; Heck, even the Arduino board, a USB kit for electronics makers, has <a href="http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8165">500 units on-hand at one vendor alone</a>, and they typically sell out when a new semester begins.</p>
<p>That means that <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2007/08/31/tenori-on-pricing-behind-the-scenes-images/">Tenori-On is getting the same cautious launch</a> it got in the UK, even though the UK is a much smaller market than the US. (We may not be as electronically-savvy, but there are five times as many of us Yankees.) And there&#8217;s the US press blow-out likely to happen (Gizmodo and Engadget were on-hand at the press event last night; Friday the launch hits San Francisco.) And there&#8217;s a full half year of buzz. We didn&#8217;t even hear word that Tenori-On would be available in record shops in the US as in the UK; word was distribution will be exclusively online, via <a href="http://www.keyfax.com/">Keyfax</a>. (Updated: There&#8217;s nothing on the Keyfax site, so head to <a href="http://www.tenori-on-tour.com">www.tenori-on-tour.com</a>.)</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not for lack of manufacturing capability; the Tenori-On is expensive to produce, with its unusual, rounded magnesium frame, but Yamaha literally has robots for that. (They had pictures of what would look like mass production, but isn&#8217;t.)</p>
<p>It was curious to hear people muttering &quot;too expensive&quot; in association with the unit, because I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;ll be a problem. Anyone wanting one, plan to have a party by your mouse the night before 5/1.</p>
<p><a href="http://gizmodo.com/380767/hands-on-yamahas-tenori+on-synthesizer-we-love-it">Benny Goldman has an early review</a> at Gizmodo. That&#8217;s actually my voice you hear in the video, talking to Yamaha about when the &quot;experimental&quot; limited run will end and the Tenori-On will become a mass-market product. I&#8217;ll have to see if I screwed up Engadget&#8217;s sound, too.</p>
<p>Of course, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H8IWT-qIGk&amp;eurl=http://bricktable.wordpress.com/">best way to get a Tenori-On</a> in the US is to build a sophisticated interactive table and win over a crowd of people, but that&#8217;s been done already, and there is the danger of winding up with just a hat. More on that later today.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/17/tenori-on-in-america-us1200-may-1-limited-run/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>19</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tenori-On Launch Notes from Montreal; Launch Tonight in New York</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/16/tenori-on-launch-notes-from-montreal-launch-tonight-in-new-york/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/16/tenori-on-launch-notes-from-montreal-launch-tonight-in-new-york/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:50:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Dines</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alternative-controllers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hands-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[samplers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tenori-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/?p=3323</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
Creator Toshio Iwai strikes a &#34;mad scientist&#34; pose for photographer watchlooksee in London.
Peter Dines, known for his work with Reaktor (don&#8217;t miss his fantastic Reaktor Tutorial Project blog) got a first-hand look at the Yamaha Tenori-On&#8217;s first North American stop on its launch tour. He brings us some impressions of the launch, and introduces [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/watchlooksee/2355493758/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/2355493758_d058b84caf.jpg?v=0" /></a> </p>
<div class="imgcaption">Creator Toshio Iwai strikes a &quot;mad scientist&quot; pose for photographer <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/watchlooksee/">watchlooksee</a> in London.</div>
<p><em>Peter Dines, known for his work with Reaktor (don&#8217;t miss his fantastic <a href="http://reaktortips.blogspot.com/">Reaktor Tutorial Project</a> blog) got a first-hand look at the Yamaha Tenori-On&#8217;s first North American stop on its launch tour. He brings us some impressions of the launch, and introduces the phrase &quot;switchboard acrobatics&quot; to the lexicon, which I think will have to find a home in these discussions from now on.</em></p>
<p><em>I&#8217;ll be at the Brooklyn event tonight, so if you&#8217;re there, do say hi! We&#8217;ll have coverage of the artists and event soon. (Yeah, I cheated &#8212; these are London launch event photos.)</em></p>
<p><em>Here&#8217;s Peter &#8212; and yes, it&#8217;s interesting to know that those buttons aren&#8217;t necessarily immediately intuitive when you&#8217;re under the gun!</em></p>
<p>Since I am an extremely lazy person I had only a cursory knowledge of the Yamaha Tenori-On when I arrived at SAT for its gala Montreal launch. A number of the little blinking beauties were set up at kiosks separated from the loud music of Pheek by the flimsiest of curtains. I waited in line for my turn to have a poke at it, and when I got it I was baffled. </p>
<p>Yes, there were instructions. Step four required the user to hold down a function key while pressing an LED in row nine. Now I don&#8217;t know about you but I don&#8217;t immediately recognize groups of nine out of an array of sixteen by sixteen identical, evenly spaced das blinkenlights, especially when there&#8217;s a queue of impatient people behind me. There was also no obvious way to turn up the volume to a level that would be audible in the venue. Disheartened, I passed the headphones to the guy breathing down my neck, got a beer and settled in to watch musicians who evidently knew the ins and outs of the thing as they worked it on stage. </p>
<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/watchlooksee/2355493542/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2124/2355493542_83f0f7d641.jpg?v=0" /></a> </p>
<div class="imgcaption">Best part of the Tenori-On: getting some distance between you and your laptop, as Secondo does here. Photo: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/watchlooksee/">watchlooksee</a>.</div>
<p><span id="more-3323"></span></p>
<p>Pheek was just finishing his set and I Am Robot And Proud followed with fun music that reminded me of a funkier take on Sign by Nobuzaku Takemura. The man clearly knows his way around a traditional keyboard as well as the tetris-like interface of the Tenori. He alternated between them and at times played one with each hand, a feat something like typing with one hand while writing cursively with the other. </p>
<p>Nathan Michel played a set that, I first thought, demonstrated exactly how not to perform with the Tenori-On, standing motionless like a kid with a Nintendo DS. Then I slowly became aware of how well he knew the interface and what he was doing with it &#8211; switching effortlessly between patterns and modifying them on the fly. It was geekily hypnotic; an impressive demonstration of switchboard acrobatics. </p>
<p>By this time the crowds around the Tenori-On kiosks had thinned out so I took another stab at it, read the instructions at my leisure, figured out how to turn up the volume and got a few sounds working in bounce mode. Though the interface was not as intuitive as I expected, it was a relief to find that the instrument was also deeper &#8211; not at all the cookie cutter sequencer with a tic-tac-toe interface I had feared it might be. It&#8217;s a good piece of finger, ear and mind candy. Each musician who performed, including the Tenori-On&#8217;s creator Toshio Iwai, had his own way of using the device expressively, which is exciting. It is by no means a one trick pony or toy that corrals creativity into strict bounds. I can imagine a lot of potential for its abilities to import samples and to control external gear.</p>
<p>Toshio himself took the stage and gave us a history lesson on the Tenori-On&#8217;s roots. One of its early inspirations was the Scots-Canadian animator Norman McLaren, who painted shapes directly on the sound and image tracks of film, creating images that were sound and sounds that were images. Toshio, if you want to butter up a Canadian audience, complimenting McLaren and our National Film Board is the way to do it. We were putty in his hands from that point. Highlights of his spiel included playing a punch-roll of the song Happy Birthday backwards through a hand cranked music box &#8211; it turned the music pleasantly melancholic &#8211; and a video of Ryuichi Sakamoto playing a piano linked to a Toshio-designed audiovisual device that bounced the sounds as colorful images on a screen to a second piano that translated them back into sound.</p>
<p>Robert Lippok played the Tenori-On accompanied by percussionist Debashi Sinha in a performance that started out rhythmically off-the-grid before settling into a giant swirling groove accompanied by similar motion on the Tenori and VJ projections on the screens behind. Lippok had the Tenori clamped upright to show the sound and light patterns as he created them. I enjoyed seeing a performance that demonstrated the Tenori in a free-flowing, improvisational and partly non-quantized context.</p>
<p>Sutekh made dark music in a dark room. Like Lippok and Sinha, he used the Tenori-On in a non-obvious way, creating drones and cascades of threatening sound over a throbbing bass. As with Lippok, I can&#8217;t say precisely what he was doing even though I watched him do it. Chinstroker nirvana!</p>
<p>The evening&#8217;s final performer was Stefan Betke, a big, avuncular seeming guy who, as Pole, creates some of the most brutally ass shaking grooves you will hear. Like the last time I&#8217;d seen him, he rattled my organs loose. There are technologies and there are musicians who transcend those technologies. I think Stefan could create bone shattering sub bass with a kazoo and sheer force of will if the situation called for it. He engages the music with his full body, cobra-swaying nonstop behind his equipment in a way that makes him difficult to photograph in low light. The groove was infectious and everyone near the stage including myself broke into dance. Stefan&#8217;s music that night was utterly, idiosyncratically his own, another indicator of the Tenori-On&#8217;s versatility.</p>
<p>If the event was meant to stoke desire for the Tenori <a name="DDE_LINK">&#8211;</a> and surely it was &#8211; then it succeeded. I certainly want one, though I understand they aren&#8217;t cheap. When they hit the shelves I&#8217;ll be annoying the employees at my favorite music store by playing with the thing for as long as I can before they boot me out.</p>
<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/pixelsumo/1327973720/"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1238/1327973720_d8d1c0146a.jpg?v=0" /></a> </p>
<div class="imgcaption">The creator demonstrates, hands-on. Photo by Chris O&#8217;Shea of <a href="http://www.pixelsumo.com/tags/instruments/tenori-on">Pixelsumo</a>.</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/04/16/tenori-on-launch-notes-from-montreal-launch-tonight-in-new-york/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Free Samples: Lo-Fi Drum Machines, Fisher Price Music Box Record Player</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/03/05/free-samples-lo-fi-drum-machines-fisher-price-music-box-record-player/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/03/05/free-samples-lo-fi-drum-machines-fisher-price-music-box-record-player/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:41:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[downloads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drum-machines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Korg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[samples]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sampling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soundware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toys]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turntables]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vintage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/03/05/free-samples-lo-fi-drum-machines-fisher-price-music-box-record-player/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Free, odd soundware keeps on coming &#8212; hot on the heels of faux bent instruments and a tape-recorded Roland 606 and 808, here are more sounds to satisfy your need for unusual sounds.
Stephen Haunts was inspired by the cassette-recorded 808, and writes to tell us he&#8217;s decided to give something back. He&#8217;s uploaded 22 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.hollowsun.com/donations/dd10/index.html"><img height="291" alt="dd10manual" src="http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images//2008/03/dd10manual-thumb.jpg" width="215" align="right" border="0"></a> Free, odd soundware keeps on coming &#8212; hot on the heels of <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/20/free-faux-bent-instruments/">faux bent instruments</a> and a <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/18/free-tape-recorded-samples-of-roland-tr-606-808/">tape-recorded Roland 606 and 808</a>, here are more sounds to satisfy your need for unusual sounds.</p>
<p>Stephen Haunts was inspired by the cassette-recorded 808, and writes to tell us he&#8217;s decided to give something back. He&#8217;s uploaded 22 kits from a Korg ElecTribe ER-1, a kit from a Yamaha DD-10 (pictured amusing the awkward fellow at right from the manual), and a Yamaha PSS-80. The Yamahas steal the show: they&#8217;re little toy keyboards with a decidedly lo-fi sound. I always admired the Japanese sound designers for their minimalism on these low-end hardware units. You almost don&#8217;t <em>need </em>to circuit bend this.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hauntedhouserecords.co.uk/drummachines.html">Free Drum Machine Samples by Creature</a> [Haunted House Records]</p>
<p>Stephen, aka Creature, used these samples for his Distant Horizon album featured in Mike Una&#8217;s <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/21/sonic-sampler-whats-been-cooking-in-the-cdm-forums/">round-up of music from the forums</a>.</p>
<p>Toy drums not to your liking? How about a toy music box instead?</p>
<p>Our friend Tom at Music Thing has repaired and sampled his Fisher Price record player music box, then uploaded the results to the open source soundware site <a href="http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/packsViewSingle.php?id=3141">Freesound</a>:</p>
<p><a href="http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2008/03/sampling-fisher-price-music-box-record.html">Sampling a Fisher Price Music Box Record Player</a> [Music Thing]</p>
<p>You may remember said Fisher Price kit from the tongue-in-cheek <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/12/djtt-video-review-fisher-price-dj-controller/">Fisher Price turntable &#8220;review&#8221;</a> by DJ Tech Tool&#8217;s Ean Golden.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s great about both these sound collections is they&#8217;re actually different enough to give you some real inspiration musically. Now, if you&#8217;ll excuse me, I think it&#8217;s time to take my handheld recorder around the house and grab some other sounds.</p>
<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/gizzypooh/1455866616/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1425/1455866616_77c2db119d.jpg?v=0"></a> </p>
<div class="imgcaption">Fisher Price record player, as viewed by <a href="http://www.gizzypooh.com/" target="_blank">gizzypoo</a>. Via <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/gizzypooh/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>.</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/03/05/free-samples-lo-fi-drum-machines-fisher-price-music-box-record-player/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tenori-On Worldwide Launch Dates Announced for April</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/28/tenori-on-worldwide-launch-dates-announced-for-april/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/28/tenori-on-worldwide-launch-dates-announced-for-april/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:53:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alternative-interfaces]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[berlin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NYC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tenori-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tokyo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/28/tenori-on-worldwide-launch-dates-announced-for-april/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
Photo: Gary Kibler for CDM.
At long last, the Yamaha Tenori-On, the unusual sampling/sequencing instrument bestrewn in light-up buttons, is getting its worldwide release. 
And it&#8217;s going to be an amazing party.
Launch cities:

Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany
Paris, France
Montreal, Quebec
New York, NY
San Francisco, CA
(most appropriately) Tokyo, Japan

The tour kicks of in Frankfurt first on March 12, then [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/garykibler"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1309/1323793713_f4ca12fb33.jpg?v=0"></a> </p>
<div class="imgcaption">Photo: Gary Kibler for CDM.</div>
<p>At long last, the Yamaha Tenori-On, the unusual sampling/sequencing instrument bestrewn in light-up buttons, is getting its worldwide release. </p>
<p>And it&#8217;s going to be an amazing party.</p>
<p>Launch cities:</p>
<ul>
<li>Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany
<li>Paris, France
<li>Montreal, Quebec
<li>New York, NY
<li>San Francisco, CA
<li>(most appropriately) Tokyo, Japan</li>
</ul>
<p>The tour kicks of in Frankfurt first on March 12, then hits the other towns April 8 &#8211; 25, finishing where the Tenori-On was born: Tokyo.</p>
<p>Launch artists:</p>
<p><span id="more-3065"></span></p>
<ul>
<li>Toshio Iwai, the man from whose brain the Tenori-On sprang
<li>Jim O&#8217;Rourke, composer/improvisor/producer extraordinaire (perhaps best known for his association with Sonic Youth)
<li>Atom Heart, aka Senor Coconut aka Atom Heart aka various other things
<li>Pole, the DJ and electronic artist great
<li>To Rococo Rot, German post-rocker trio
<li>Robert Lippok, who counts &#8220;set designer&#8221; among his credits and co-founded To Rococo Rot
<li>Sutekh, who spans electronica to noise collage, and mate Safety Scissors, the San Fran contingent
<li>Andi Toma of Mouse on Mars fame
<li>The Books, representing New York and generally All Things Awesome &#8212; I need to put them on continuous loop on Winamp just so they wind up on the top of my Last.fm profile, where they belong
<li>I am Robot and Proud, Toronto electronic soloist, toured with Mum and Caribou, and an all-around great computer man
<li>Nathan Michel, experimental electronicist and DAT politics collaborator. Oh, and Nathan just got his PhD in music composition from Princeton last year, meaning he&#8217;s yet another person who finished his PhD before I did. Dr. Michel, congrats.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.global.yamaha.com/tenori-on/event/index.html">TENORI-ON Global Launch Event</a></p>
<p>I&#8217;ll be covering NYC, of course, with an awesome lineup (Toshio Iwai / Robert Lippok / Pole / Sutekh / I am Robot and Proud / Nathan Michel / Safety Scissors). But I&#8217;d love to pick up some of these other cities and do global team coverage. If you&#8217;re interested, drop a line.</p>
<p><strong>Frequently Asked Questions:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Do I know when you&#8217;ll actually be able to buy it?</strong></p>
<p>No.</p>
<p><strong>Do I know where?</strong></p>
<p>No.</p>
<p><strong>Do I know how much it will cost?</strong></p>
<p>No. I&#8217;m hoping less than the initial UK launch when it goes global, as that was the hope. In the UK, it costs GBP599, which, when you translate to the ridiculously weak dollar is, um, a lot.</p>
<p><strong>Is this better or worse than the <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/tag/monome">Monome</a>?</strong></p>
<p>They&#8217;re different. Stop trying to compare them. Get both.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/garykibler"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1218/1323821853_87505eeef0.jpg?v=0"></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/28/tenori-on-worldwide-launch-dates-announced-for-april/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>18</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Essential Keyboard Technique: Sun Ra</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/17/essential-keyboard-technique-sun-ra/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/17/essential-keyboard-technique-sun-ra/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:15:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[artists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gurus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[keyboards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[live-performance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science-fiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[space]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[synths]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[videos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[youtube]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/17/essential-keyboard-technique-sun-ra/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[




Keyboard Magazine, I have a challenge for you:
I think this solo desperately wants a Keyboard transcription. You know, &#8220;Play like Sun Ra.&#8221; It may require a larger insert, but maybe it could be sponsored by Yamaha or something.
Okay, granted, Earthlings might argue that this sounds chaotic, but on Sun Ra&#8217;s native planet Jupiter, this actually [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
<div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:35dd24c3-2341-499f-921e-3c88b9c6ee65" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">
<div id="27449d60-9635-42e6-803d-2a3f5dad48b9" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;">
<div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqWPl0AexnA&amp;rel=1" target="_new"><img src="http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images//2008/02/videod6324919c11f.jpg" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('27449d60-9635-42e6-803d-2a3f5dad48b9'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = &quot;&lt;div&gt;&lt;object width=\&quot;425\&quot; height=\&quot;355\&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=\&quot;movie\&quot; value=\&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/mqWPl0AexnA&amp;rel=1\&quot;&gt;&lt;\/param&gt;&lt;param name=\&quot;wmode\&quot; value=\&quot;transparent\&quot;&gt;&lt;\/param&gt;&lt;embed src=\&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/mqWPl0AexnA&amp;rel=1\&quot; type=\&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash\&quot; wmode=\&quot;transparent\&quot; width=\&quot;425\&quot; height=\&quot;355\&quot;&gt;&lt;\/embed&gt;&lt;\/object&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&quot;;" alt=""></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p><em>Keyboard Magazine</em>, I have a challenge for you:</p>
<p>I think this solo desperately wants a <em>Keyboard </em>transcription. You know, &#8220;Play like Sun Ra.&#8221; It may require a larger insert, but maybe it could be sponsored by Yamaha or something.</p>
<p>Okay, granted, Earthlings might argue that this sounds chaotic, but on Sun Ra&#8217;s native planet Jupiter, this actually borders on the pedestrian. It&#8217;s pretty conventional 83-fingered hyperlocramixydixylycradidian mode, transposed here to what is apparently a Yamaha YC-30. Sun Ra even makes a nod to the fact that the Jupiterians&#8217; torso typically rotates at increasing speed during live performances, as an especially &#8220;grupicosmilogical&#8221; solo causes their arms to detach.</p>
<p>What?</p>
<p>You want <em>me</em> to do the transcription?</p>
<p>Due <em>when</em>?</p>
<p><a href="http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2008/02/sun-ra-live-keyboard-solo-1980.html">SUN RA &#8211; Live &#8211; Keyboard Solo (1980)</a> [Matrixsynth]</p>
<p>In all seriousness, this just happened to coincide with listening to some Sun Ra records this weekend &#8230; if you don&#8217;t know his music, take some time to listen to it. YouTube excerpts with bad sound could easily give you the wrong idea. The ability to order a certain amount of entropy into larger forms that really are connected with the jazz tradition is amazing. And for those of you running boring, equal-measured loops in Ableton, spend some time with the polyrhythms. Sun Ra does have good stuff to teach. And it makes me look forward to <a href="http://www.yurisnight.net/2008/">Yuri&#8217;s Night</a> in April all the more &#8212; Sun Ra is the artist who really went to space, <em>and</em> brought us back some music. Who needs Virgin Galactic?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/17/essential-keyboard-technique-sun-ra/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>16</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Keytar Komeback: You Don&#8217;t Love It Until It&#8217;s Gone, An Open Letter to Roland</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/13/keytar-komeback-you-dont-love-it-until-its-gone-an-open-letter-to-roland/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/13/keytar-komeback-you-dont-love-it-until-its-gone-an-open-letter-to-roland/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:52:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hipsters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[keyboards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[keytars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/13/keytar-komeback-you-dont-love-it-until-its-gone-an-open-letter-to-roland/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
Find a friendly leprechaun, and you might get a deal on a Roland AX-7 keytar like this, which is apparently now ridiculously hot. Just don&#8217;t go to your Guitar Center, because Roland thought you didn&#8217;t them any more. Photo: Bombardier, via Flickr.
 I love you, Roland. I really do. But it has to be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/bombardier/44427616/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/33/44427616_7af400f049.jpg?v=0"></a> </p>
<div class="imgcaption">Find a friendly leprechaun, and you might get a deal on a Roland AX-7 keytar like this, which is apparently now ridiculously hot. Just don&#8217;t go to your Guitar Center, because Roland thought you didn&#8217;t them any more. Photo: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/bombardier/">Bombardier</a>, via Flickr.</div>
<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/unit-186/2175986763/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2175986763_77f87b0e13.jpg?v=1199752747" align="right"></a> I love you, Roland. I really do. But it has to be said:</p>
<p>You&#8217;re completely clueless when it comes to the coolest things you&#8217;ve ever made.</p>
<p>And if an ordinary keyboard with a silly guitar-style body and shoulder strap can be cool, I&#8217;m not sure I can even blame you. You just have to listen to the people.</p>
<p>People love their 303, their 808, even their 909. Yet when these a whole generation of kids desperately wanted you to just re-release these things &#8212; or your Jupiter, or Juno, any of your other fantastic keyboards and sound toys of yesteryear &#8212; you&#8217;ve responded with souped-up, &#8220;modernized&#8221; versions that mainly share only the name. </p>
<p>But most importantly, you killed the keytar (the awesome, infrared-equipped AX-7) just before everyone decided they really had to have one. So, every week, I hear from people wanting them, just because of I mentioned the keytar in a random post back in April 2005.</p>
<p>Ironically, then, I said, the <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2005/04/21/keytar-lives-rolands-ax-7/">Keytar Lives</a>. And it does, more than ever &#8212; just not in your catalog.</p>
<p>In comments, people sound desperate, hungry &#8212; sometimes even poetic. (They sing to the keytar, in Spanish, &#8220;ESTOS INSTRUMRNTOS SON GENIALES&hellip;..YO TENGO UNO Y LO RECOMIENDO, EL NIVEL DE EXPRESIVIDAD EN VIVO CON ESTA JOYITA ES INCREIBLE&hellip;.&#8221;) Pure poetry.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s driven the AX-7 prices sky-high on eBay, though some cheaper items remain of <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&amp;PID=2762960&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3Dkeytar%26category0%3D">lesser-known and older models</a>. The really lucky people get theirs for fifteen bucks at a yard sale from people who don&#8217;t know better.</p>
<p>But why not new units, if they&#8217;re this popular? Yamaha &#8212; I hope you&#8217;re listening, too. Korg? How about a nice, cheap <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/08/24/keyboard-maker-cme-posts-bizarre-anthemmusic-video-i-am-self-determined/">CME version with motorized faders and some band dumping paint on it</a>?</p>
<h3>But Don&#8217;t Take My Word For It</h3>
<p>Take the Times. No, not the New York Times or LA Times &#8211; <em>the </em>Times, as in London. The one that gave us Times New Roman.</p>
<p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/smull/32337142/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/32337142_c175a2d5fc.jpg?v=0"></a></p>
<div class="imgcaption">Above: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/smull/">&amp;y photographs</a> the official keytard. Top right: jumping keytar by the excellent <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/unit-186/">Pianisimo</a>.</div>
<p><span id="more-3011"></span></p>
<p>Commenter <a href="http://www.kentsandvik.com">Kent Sandvik</a>, at least, notes the irony and sends this link in:</p>
<p><a href="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2258703.ece">Why the keytar&rsquo;s the star again</a> [Times Online]<br /><em>Long dismissed as hopelessly naff, the keytar is enjoying a comeback. Our correspondent tunes in</em><br />
<blockquote>
<p>YouTube trawlers are almost as keen on You be my Wife, a recent duet between the Croatian keytarist Belinda Bedekovic and, er, the comedy Kazakhstani Borat. That Sacha Baron Cohen chose the keytar for his leotard-clad, culturally wayward creation pretty much sums up the instrument&rsquo;s irredeemably naff reputation.
<p>It&rsquo;s something of a surprise, then, to be attending the 1234 Festival in thoroughly hip Shoreditch, East London, and to discover a keytar in the hands of one of the headlining bands. Pete Cafarella, front-man of the New York dance duo Shychild, agrees to talk me through the instrument that is now being used by acts including Chromeo, Mutemath, Goldfrapp, Imogen Heap and Peaches . It also features in the video for the recent BeyoncÃ© single Green Light.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I don&#8217;t even know what &#8220;naff&#8221; means (I&#8217;m using context clues to work it out), and I&#8217;m impressed at that comeback. They quote my editor at <em>Keyboard</em>, Ernie Rideout, as someone with his finger on the pulse on what&#8217;s hot in keyboards. (Okay, granted, the last conversation I had with Ernie was about slick new ways of miking pianos and what tuning options were on Roland&#8217;s digital harpsichord, but at least&nbsp; <em>pretend</em> all of us are uberhipsters.)</p>
<p>Yes, it&#8217;s true. The keytar hasn&#8217;t been this hot since <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jem_(TV_series)">Jem featured The Misfits&#8217; keytarist, Stormer</a>. </p>
<p>Actually, you know, don&#8217;t listen to me. It&#8217;s probably discontinuing the keytar that gave it underground cred. Maybe those digital harpsichords will become really hot after they&#8217;re discontinued.</p>
<p>In the meantime, I say to my fellow keyboards, we&#8217;ll just have to find another solution. Keyboardists can be awesome without using any kind of strap on their shoulder. I swear. They&#8217;re easier to play just on a stand or whatever.</p>
<p>Erm, and &#8230; uh &#8230; Beyonce&#8217;s gotten one, so keytars have officially <strong><em>jumped the shark</em></strong>. So you can get out of the bidding war we&#8217;re stuck in at the moment on eBay, friends. </p>
<p>Don&#8217;t &#8230; touch &#8230; <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&amp;PID=2762960&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3Dkeytar%26category0%3D">any eBay items</a>.</p>
<p><embed src="http://togo.ebay.com/togo/togo.swf?2008013100" width="355" height="300" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="base=http://togo.ebay.com/togo/&amp;lang=en-us&amp;mode=search&amp;query=keytar&amp;pid=2762960"></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p></embed><br />
PS &#8212; Yes, I realize a keytar is nothing but a keyboard with guitar envy. And since I love keyboards too much to envy guitars (or french horns, or lots of other instruments), that seems silly to me, too.</p>
<p>I still mean what I said to Roland. ;)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/13/keytar-komeback-you-dont-love-it-until-its-gone-an-open-letter-to-roland/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>55</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>All-Kaossilator Album Makes Korg King, Plus Not-Quite-All Monome Albums</title>
		<link>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/01/10/all-kaossilator-album-makes-korg-king-plus-not-quite-all-monome-albums/</link>
		<comments>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/01/10/all-kaossilator-album-makes-korg-king-plus-not-quite-all-monome-albums/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:57:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Kirn</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[albums]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[composing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creative-Commons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[daedalus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kaoss-pad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kaossilator]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Korg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[listening]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MP3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[open-source]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tenori-on]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[touch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yamaha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/01/10/all-kaossilator-album-makes-korg-king-plus-not-quite-all-monome-albums/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[All Kaoss, All the Time: In a world of endless choices, what happens to the creative power of limitations? Back in November, we saw Norman Fairbanks make an album entirely on Tenori-On, Yamaha&#8217;s interactive blinking-lights button pad.
&#8220;Ah,&#8221; you said. &#8220;But that sounds suspiciously like the music of Toshio Iwai, the Tenori-On&#8217;s composer-inventor. And it costs [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/images//2008/01/kaossilator.jpg"><img height="308" alt="kaossilator" src="http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images//2008/01/kaossilator-thumb.jpg" width="308" align="right" border="0"></a><strong>All Kaoss, All the Time: </strong>In a world of endless choices, what happens to the creative power of limitations? Back in November, we saw <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2007/11/20/free-all-tenori-on-album-a-chat-with-norman-fairbanks/">Norman Fairbanks make an album entirely on Tenori-On</a>, Yamaha&#8217;s interactive blinking-lights button pad.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ah,&#8221; you said. &#8220;But that sounds suspiciously like the music of Toshio Iwai, the Tenori-On&#8217;s composer-inventor. And it costs a lot of dough. And I have to live in the UK to buy it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Enter our friend Gary Kibler. He&#8217;s also a huge fan of the Tenori-On &#8212; he did <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2007/09/05/yamaha-tenori-on-launch-photos-videos-interviews-demos-and-details-and-a-music-box/">cover the UK launch event</a> for us, and then <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2007/09/07/hands-on-tenori-on-close-encounters-of-the-interactive-music-kind/">lauded its innovative design</a>. But his creation uses a decidedly more accessible instrument: the Korg Kaossilator, which can be yours for a mere US$200 street &#8212; about US$1000 less than the Tenori-On. </p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the surprise: the sound-packed Kaossilator can do just as much as the Tenori-On, arguably more. And Gary really didn&#8217;t need anything else. The Yellow Album is &#8211;</p>
<blockquote><p>Produced and performed exclusively on the Korg Kaossilator. No other effects, EQ or sounds were added other than those incorporated in the original device. Audio was recorded directly off the unit and the only edits performed externally were simple volume balancing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/136984?">The Yellow Album</a> (free MP3 album from Gary Kibler) <strong>Updated: New link from ReverbNation, to save Gary&#8217;s bandwidth!</strong></p>
<p>There you go. All you need is a Kaossilator. You can now cease lusting after anything else.</p>
<p>Okay, that wore off fast.</p>
<p><a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/images//2008/01/grids.jpg"><img height="308" alt="grids" src="http://media.createdigitalmedia.net/cdmu/images//2008/01/grids-thumb.jpg" width="308" align="left" border="0"></a> <strong>All Monome, All The Time With Something Else: </strong>Meanwhile, while I got distracted by turkey and stuffing and neglected to post this back at Thanksgiving, the Monome got an album of its own. Matthew Davidson, aka Stretta, did an &#8220;all-Monome album&#8221; called Grids, and made it fully free and Creative Commons-licensed. Like Kibler, Davidson has some significant credits as a composer (Davidson did the only-ever live performance of Switched-On Bach with Wendy Carlos &#8212; that being the <em>original</em> and greatest &#8220;entirely made on xx&#8221; synth album.)</p>
<p>So, what is the sound of one Monome playing?</p>
<p>You got it: silence. Yes, unlike the Korg and Yamaha instruments, the Monome has no sound generation facility of its own, meaning Matthew &#8220;limited&#8221; himself to a Doepfer modular, Prophet 5, and MOTU&#8217;s MachFive 2. In other words, it&#8217;s not really an all-Monome album. But it is quite good, and the Max patches used to make it are available free. (Wait, that&#8217;s yet <em>another </em>thing that&#8217;s not a Monome used on this album, if you&#8217;re still bothering to count.) Matthew, to his credit, admits &#8220;the notion of an all Monome album is somewhat of a misnomer.&#8221; But he does put forward the idea of a Monomist quite effectively.</p>
<p><a href="http://stretta.blogspot.com/2007/11/grids.html">Grids &#8211; The All-Monome Album</a> (also on <a href="http://audionewsroom.blogspot.com/2007/11/first-monomethanksgiving-album.html">Audio News Room</a>, <a href="http://ladycmog.multiply.com/music/item/1288/Free_Monome_Album_via_The_Stretta_Procedure_Matthew_Davidson">LadyC</a>]</p>
<p>I&#8217;m waiting for someone to hack some internal sounds into the Monome. Get back to us if you have. In the meantime, yes, the whole appeal of the Monome over something like a Kaossilator is that it&#8217;s just a controller, ready to be connected to whatever you desire &#8212; even visuals, or robots, or a giant space laser that blasts pretty patterns into the moon. </p>
<p><strong>Monome, Unplugged &#8212; Erm, Live: </strong>Part of the cult popularity of the Monome phenomenon can be chalked up to the fact that the talented electronic artist Daedalus was playing out with an early prototype before anyone had even heard of a Monome. Daedalus has an album of his own &#8212; live at the <a href="http://www.lowendtheoryclub.com/theclub.html">Low End Theory</a> event in LA. His live show is simply fantastic, so an album version sounds great to me &#8212; and it helps bolster the cause of genuine live electronic performance. I&#8217;m very much looking forward to this one. It won&#8217;t be free, but I like paying for music. On January 22, you can pay for his music, too.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2008/01/daedelus-readies-live-album">Daedelus Readies Live Album</a> [XLR8R]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.alphapuprecords.com/">Alpha Pup Records</a></p>
<p><a title="Daedalus + Monome" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26491951@N00/2184551588/"><img alt="Daedalus + Monome" src="http://static.flickr.com/2349/2184551588_5930464aa2.jpg" border="0"></a></p>
<div class="imgcaption">Daedalus, whom I caught at a show live in New York. He keeps his instrument tilted toward the audience so they can see what he&#8217;s doing. And that might be a gimmick &#8212; except he plays the thing damned well.</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/01/10/all-kaossilator-album-makes-korg-king-plus-not-quite-all-monome-albums/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>25</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
