NeoKitsch is very proud to release yet another Sci-Fi fusion album entitled “Klaatu’s Theremin”.
This album was produced after the studio decided to invest in a collection of vintage, hard to find synthesizers such as the Roland TB-303 Bass Line Synth, Moog Rogue Analogue Synth, Yamaha CS10 Analogue Synth, Moog Etherwave Theremin and the Roland TR 707 Drum Machine. It came about after having produced an enormous amount of music for film and television using computer software and modern electronic and acoustic instruments. These methods of producing music, although successful in their own way, created a strong yearning for NeoKitsch to move in the opposite direction, and seek out vintage Analogue sounds of the 70′s and 80′s. Some modern machines such as the Elektron Monomachine were used, although arguably, the Elektron machines are very vintage sounding. They model their sounds on synths of the past and use the SID chip in the Sidstation. The SID Chip was one of the first sound chips to be used in a home computer and was used in devises such as the classic Commodore 64.
Many contemporary artists who create electronic music enjoy a modern approach to the old analogue synths of previous decades. Musicians and groups such as Autechre and Aphex Twin had inspired so many musicians to search far and wide for those unmistakable, unique vintage sounds, and create something new.
The name of the album, “Klaatu’s Theremin”, is based on the alien who visits earth from the classic 1951 film, The Day The Earth Stood Still. The original movie had a breathtaking musical score composed by Bernard Herrmann. Although it may be considered to be slightly dated for today’s standards and is often a victim of spoof, the score, which featured the Theremin, inspired NeoKitsch to produce a modern album with echoes of the 50′s Sci-Fi ‘Red Scare’ era.
NeoKitsch had experienced some new challenges with the new set of equipment, as the use of Midi technology was no longer possible with some instruments which predated the existence of Midi. This had allowed the music to take a more spontaneous and improvised approach. The result can be heard in a few extracts of the album in the media player below.
You can download the album or purchase individual tracks from iTunes, Amazon mp3, Napster, Rhapsody, emusic, and other leading stores. There is a link at the bottom of the post to direct you to iTunes.
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Here’s a look at some of NeoKitsch’s quirky instruments. This improvisation tries to recreate the sound of the 1950′s Science Fiction movie soundtrack using continuos pitch instruments as well as looking into other ‘victims of spoof’ genres such as 1950′s Hawaiian music, in which this particular piece was not inspired by the traditional, religious music of the native Hawaiians, but by the ‘Kitsch’, franchise hungry invasion of the ‘pleasure island’ at that time. This time however, extra-terestials are doing the invading! Now that’s Neo-Kitsch!
