IHaveSynth spreads some swedish electro music to the world, time for Emmon!

Emmon is Emma Nyléns alias and electronic soloproject. When she is not touring under her Emmon brand she is a member and songwriter in the swedish indie pop band Paris. She has also worked with swedish disco pop group Melody Club and electro pop duo The Knife. Emmon is a person with many talents. She describes herself as an artist, musician, producer, entertainer and writer.

Emma Nyléns Emmon-project started in 2001 as an experimental music vs. art project while she studied art at Konstfack University Collage of fine Art in Stockholm. Emmons computer based electronic music is a mix of pop, synth, electro and disco music. The music uses her vocals as a spine creating melodic pop songs. So far Emmon has released two albums. The Art & The Evil in 2007 and Closet Wanderings in 2009

Listen to Emmons - Lips on fire - in this video.

Great electro pop and beautiful vintage synthesizers

It's clear that Emmon has a soft spot for the gear with synthesizers frequent in not only her music but also in her photos and videos. The Beautiful photos of the vintage synthesizers below is the artwork of Andreas Lübeck. It was the cover art for the - Lips on Fire remix album by Emmon on Wonderland Records. The album was released as a white label 2009.

Check out Emmons blog and site.

Korg has unveiled two new Electribes at Musikmesse, the Electribe SX SD Music Production Sampler and the Electribe MX SD.

Here comes two demos of the new Korg Electribes

Korg Electribe SX SD Demo

Electribe SX SD Music Production Sampler Features:

• The ELECTRIBE’s acclaimed ease-of-use, advanced features, and epoch-making sonic power are all as strong as ever. With the addition of SD card storage and new patterns to keep up with the ceaseless evolution of dance and electronic music, the ELECTRIBE has reached a new level of perfection as must-have dance and electronic music gear.
• Up-to-the minute patterns created by some of today’s dance and electronic music masters, and ready for immediate use.
• Manipulate fresh new sounds and create exciting dance and electronic music
• ELECTRIBE•SX: powerful editing features provide the freedom to sample and modify sounds in realtime
• Twin vacuum tube VALVE FORCE circuitry delivers analog warmth or menacing bite
• Three stereo effects can be chained together for radical sound warping
• Crisp filters and speedy-smooth timbral modulation
• Built-in step sequencer for intuitive song production
• Motion Sequence function captures and replays sound-tweaking knob movements
• Powerful arpeggiator uses our ribbon controller and slider for generating inspired phrases
• Auto BPM Detection sets the tempo based on any external audio source using the audio in jacks. Indispensable dance and electronic music gear, now reborn

Korg Electribe MX SD Demo

Korg Electribe MX SD Features:

• The acclaimed ease-of-use, advanced features, and epoch-making sonic power of the ELECTRIBE•MX are all as strong as ever. With the addition of SD card storage and new patterns to keep up with the ceaseless evolution of dance and electronic music, the ELECTRIBE•MXSD has reached a new level as “must-have” gear.
• Up-to-the minute patterns created by some of today’s dance and electronic music masters give a fresh twist to the ELECTRIBE•MXSD
• MMT (Multiple Modeling Technology) sound engine offers sixteen types of tone generation
• Twin vacuum tube VALVE FORCE circuitry delivers analog warmth or menacing bite
• Three stereo effects can be chained together for radical sound warping
• Crisp filters and speedy-smooth timbral modulation
• Built-in step sequencer for intuitive song production
• Motion Sequence function captures and replays sound-tweaking knob movements
• Powerful arpeggiator uses our ribbon controller and slider for generating inspired phrases
• Auto BPM Detection sets the tempo based on any external audio source using the audio in jacks.

The Korg Electribe MX SD has a MSRP of $750.

Read more at www.korg.com

A demo of the new Korg MicroStation that was realeased earlier this week. Pressrelease here

News from Korg

microSTATION

Designed to satisfy the beginning musician or the accomplished keyboardist, the microSTATION offers unprecedented portability, the stunning sound of Korg's EDS-i synth engine, phenomenal effects, plus new and easy-to-use sequencing tools. Audition riffs make finding just the right sound a breeze.

Main features

• Lightweight, compact, and equipped with 61 mini-keys, the microSTATION travels easily and fits effortlessly into any home, stage, or studio workspace.
• EDS-i (Enhanced Definition Synthesis-integrated) sound engine delivers high-quality sound in the tradition of KORG's flagship synthesizers.
• Enjoy 480 outstanding, ready-to-use sounds – including keyboard sounds, synth sounds, drums, leads, basses, etc. Tweak, edit, create and save up to 512 sound Programs.
• 256 dynamic Combinations place different sounds on different areas of the keyboard, or layer multiple sounds together for exciting performances – right out of the box!
• Find the right sound fast with eight quickly accessible categories; hundreds of Audition Riffs allow you to preview each sound.
• A full General MIDI level 2 compatible soundset allows commercial and pre-made MIDI files to be played perfectly and instantly.
• Designed for comfort and accuracy, our 61-key Natural Touch Mini Keyboard is highly expressive and supports serious playing.
• Whether performing or composing, the on-board sequencer can be anything from an extra set of hands or a powerful drum machine up to a full-blown MIDI production suite.
• Loop Recording, Grid Sequencing, Dual Arpeggiators, Template songs, and Auto Song Setup features make it easy for anyone to achieve professional results.
• SD/SDHC card slot for convenient storage or your custom sounds and songs.
• USB Type-B connector offers a direct MIDI connection to your computer.

Includes both stand-alone and plug-in microSTATION software for detailed sound editing on your computer; plug-in software is VST, AU, and RTAS compatible. Perform and compose anytime, anywhere At a size and price usually reserved for performance synthesizers, the compact and portable microSTATION none the less features our 61-key Natural Touch mini keyboard, numerous effects, dual arpeggiators, and a 16-track sequencer to transform musical ideas into polished productions – wherever you are! New sequencer features such as Loop Recording and visual Grid Sequencing have been added to benefit the first-time user and to jump-start any type of music production. With so much power, the microSTATION is an ideal first keyboard, plus a welcome addition to any studio or keyboard rig.

Via Korg.com

PRESS RELEASE: Powered by two alkaline AAA batteries, the compact monotron can be held in one hand. Although small enough to easily carry with you, the amazing monotron is packed with KORG's legendary analog technology, generating thick and powerful sounds. Concentrating on the most important sound parameters, the controls have been streamlined as much as possible. The panel contains only five knobs and one switch. With this level of simplicity, now anyone can easily enjoy the world of analog synthesizers.

• Full-fledged, true analog synthesizer: VCO, VCF, LFO• Inspiring, easy-to-play ribbon keyboard• Intuitive, fun-to-tweak controls• Features the same classic analog filter found in the legendary Korg MS-10 & MS-20• Filter any external source using the audio input jack• LFO can modulate either pitch of filter cutoff• LFO Rate knob features cool LED visual indicator.• Battery operation and palmtop size equals true portability• Internal speaker/headphone jack lets you enjoy the sound anywhere – alone or with friends!

For more information. Visit Korg

One important reason to why the 80s (and a part of the 90s) sounded like it did, was the presets on synthesizers like the Yamaha DX7 and Roland D-50. Basically, as synthesizers became more and more difficult to program, musicians turned to presets instead of making their own sounds, like people did on the older analog synths.

The result was that a lot of the music in the 80s sounded pretty much alike. I’m not saying that it was bad music, since the 80s was awesome, but I guess everyone can agree that the DX7, for example, was a bit over-used.

But then came the 90s, and a reaction against the ”one button and a tiny LCD screen” trend. One of the best, earliest and probably BIGGEST example of this was the Roland JD-800, which was released in 1991. A huge synth with a huge amount of sliders. And later came the Yamaha CS-1x, Yamaha AN-1x, Roland JP-8000 etc. Everybody had knobs and sliders again, and the neo-tweaking could begin.

What I felt when knobs came back bigtime in the late 90s was ”I’m never gonna degrade myself by using a preset ever again”. So I, like the rest of the world, started making analog filter sweeps 24/7, and I loved it.

But in the last couple of years, I have started to like presets again, and when I buy an old synth from the 80’s or 90s, it is its presets I choose by. One of the things I like best is to listen to the tons of presets on the excellent www.synthmania.com, and then decide what synth I’m gonna go hunt for.

Actually, nowadays, I feel that it is a kind of an obligation to use presets as much as I can. That way, I feel that the synth ITSELF plays a bigger role in the music I make. And the Japanese engineer who programmed the preset, of course. When I’m using my Korg Wavestation for example, I never change a preset, even if it’s pretty easy to do it with editing software. 

20 years from now, when people listen to today’s electronica and its self-tweaked sounds, will they be able to hear what synth was used, or will they say ”probably some VA synth or one of those millions of VST synths those idiots used back then”?

Some presets the world will never forget (from the AWESOME synthmania.com)

E.Piano 1 (Yamaha DX7)

Digital Native Dance (Roland D-50)

Soundtrack (Roland D-50)

Organ2 (THE house-bass from Korg M1)

Pizza Hutt (The Roland JD-800 also had some famous presets, despite its sliders)

2 questions : Do you agree with me on this and whats your all time favourite synth presets?

This is the MK-101, a customized MicroKorg inspired by the Roland SH-101. Its demoed in this clip by Polaroids Of The Pyramids. The work has been performed by Custom Synth and looks awsome!

KORG hits the news with this thing.  Its supposed to be more powerful and flexible than the previous Kaossilator. Read the full press release.

PRESS RELEASE: Announcing the KAOSSILATOR PRO – a powered-up version of the palm-sized KAOSSILATOR, reborn as a powerful track-making tool and loaded with live performance power.As a trailblazer among the "instrumental gadgets" that allowed anyone to easily create melodies and phrases, the KAOSSILATOR gained a strong and dedicated user base, even among those without any performing experience. Today, the KAOSSILATOR continues to be enormously popular. Retaining these revolutionary features – while adding a wide variety of new ones as well – the KAOSSILATOR is now reborn as the new KAOSSILATOR PRO. With 200 sound programs, a new Electribe-inspired gate arpeggiator, and four loop recording banks that can even record external audio sources, the KAOSSILATOR PRO is packed with features that make it ideal for live performance. In addition, USB connectivity with your computer and SD card memory storage allow the KAOSSILATOR PRO to be used not just for improvised performances, but also as a superbly intuitive, track-making music production tool.Intuitive X-Y touchpad lets you perform complex phrases with one fingerUsing touchpad is highly intuitive – simply rub, stroke, or tap it to instantly create gestures that were difficult to produce on synthesizers of the past. Horizontal motions control the pitch, while the vertical axis can control tone parameters such as cutoff, feedback, or modulation depth. This makes it easy for anyone to create entirely original sounds and musical phrases.Two hundred exciting sound programs covering synths, drums, and acoustic instrumentsThe Korg synthesizer technology acclaimed by top musicians around the world has been carefully distilled into the KAOSSILATOR PRO. The versatile array of pro-level sounds covers all styles of dance music including techno, house, breaks, hip hop, R&B, reggae, and electro. There are also numerous acoustic instruments such as piano, trumpet, and guitar, providing a further boost to your expressive resources. You can assign your favorite programs to the eight Program Memory buttons for instant recall, ensuring that your live performances will be smooth.Extensively enhanced drum soundsRhythm can be the most important element when creating a phrase. In addition to the modeling synthesis borrowed from the original KAOSSILATOR, the KAOSSILATOR PRO provides a new PCM sound generator as well, allowing even more realistic drum sounds. There are twenty different one-shot sounds for kick, snare, and hi-hat etc., as well as twenty-five rhythm loop patterns that will be immediately useful in dance music styles.Vocoder programs for creative audio effectsThe KAOSSILATOR PRO features a mic input jack and fifteen types of vocoder programs, making it easy to achieve unique sound effects, create robot voices and unique more.Thirty-one scales for musical expressivenessThe thirty-one types cover a range from chromatic scales to major, minor, blues and beyond. By specifying a scale and key, you can use a single finger to play perfect melodies and phrases that would be difficult to play even on a keyboard. There are also special scales such as Spanish, Ryukyu, and Raga, letting you play phrases that have a distinctive atmosphere. Another boost in expressive power is provided by the new Note Range function, which lets you specify the

Too bad they are in japanese, but the Youtuber baward has put up some rare clips from the Korg museum in the 90's. Even if you don't understand japanese, it's pretty nice too see all those lovely Korg synthesizers. Check out baward's channel to find all ten clips.

Here's one of them, featuring the Polysix and Mono/Poly

Yotube via baward

Note: Can't someone translate and subtitle them? It seems that the guy talks a LOT about the synths. A LOT.

MS-50, MS-20, MS-20, SQ-10, that's all you need.

Youtube via Newueel