ContinuuCon 2024, held April 26–28 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, synthesists Christophe Duquesne and Ed Eagan discussed their work with composer Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack of Dune 2.
They’re joined by music journalist Geary Yealton, who helps lead the discussion.
Zimmer hired ContinuuCon organizers and EaganMatrix developers Edmund Eagan and Christophe Duquesne to design and perform sounds for the soundtrack, along with Expressive E’s Guillaume Bonneau.
In the video, Eagan & Duquesne discuss their process of working with Zimmer, discuss the unique collection of gear that they brought to the project and demonstrate some of their work on the soundtrack.
AudioThing takes a hybrid approach to tackling the sounds of the 200 and 200a.
Rather than choose between physical modelling and sampling for its new electric piano plugin, AudioThing has used both techniques to generate its sounds. Known as Wurly, the instrument in question emulates the classic Wurlitzer 200 and 200a models, and takes a hybrid approach to doing it.
The ‘electric’ elements of the sound are all generated using physical modelling. These include the pickup, envelope settings and tremolo (we’re told that the geometry of the pickup and reed has been precisely modelled to ensure maximum authenticity). The ‘mechanical’ elements, meanwhile, use physically modelling and sampling in a bid to make the hammer, key, pedal and ‘clank’ noises sound all the more authentic.
The speakers on each model have also been emulated. You can mix between these and the direct output as you wish.
A speaker upgrade is actually one of the things that differentiates the Wurlitzer 200a from the 200, along with better electrical noise shielding and an enhanced key action.
The good news is that Wurly is about as universally compatible as you could hope for. It runs on PC, Mac and Linux in VST/AU/AAX/CLAP formats, and on iOS in AUv3 and standalone formats. There’s the obligatory intro sale, too – the price is currently down from €69 to €39 on desktop, and cut from €20 to €13 on iOS.
In his latest video, synthesist & composer Anthony Marinelli interviews synthesist Robert Margouleff, who pioneered bringing synthesis to popular music and helped create one of the most iconic synthesizers of all time and arguably the greatest synthesizer of its day, T.O.N.T.O. (The Original New Timbral Orchestra).With his partner Malcolm Cecil, Margouleff shaped the sound of the ’70s and ’80s, with albums like Zero Time; productions with Stevie Wonder, including Innervisions, Fulfillingness‘ First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life; production of DEVO; and work with artists like Jeff Beck, Depeche Mode, Weather Report, Stephen Stills, the Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones and others.
It is another must-see interview from Marinelli, offering first-person insight into the history of electronic music.
Topics covered:
00:00 – About Robert Margouleff
02:12 – Discovering the Moog synthesizer
06:59 – Mark Mothersbaugh Shout Out
07:17 – Early T.O.N.T.O
19:14 – Meeting Stevie Wonder
23:59 – Greg Phillinganes Shout Out
24:56 – Cranking Sounds With Stevie
30:37 – Steve Porcaro Shout Out
31:08 – Building T.O.N.T.O
44:07 – Mike Dean Shout Out
44:43 – Building a studio in Los Angeles
55:22 – “Superstition” & Civil Rights
01:04:54 – How we recorded Stevie
01:15:27 – Music & Sounds Today
