Poptronics Tribute to Raymond Scott in May Issue

[Feslmogh]

In the May issue of Poptronnics (http://www.poptronics.com) (they don't have it up on thier web yet), the magazine printed a tribute to Raymond Scott. You are problebly thinking "What does Raymond Scott has to do with electronics?" WELL, not only he was an mucisian, he was also an inventor in the field of electronic music and a close fried of Robet Moog (of the Moog Synth). He invented an effect generator called the "Karloff" that can imitate various household noises. He also invented the Clavivox that allowed the user to glide up and down the musical scale with without a musical break"

[Feslmogh]

*rebump*

[J Lee]

OK, i tried to post this two days ago, but the laptop froze (or Netscape got finicky), so...

Aside from his connections with Moog, Scott also has a connection to just about every single Top 40 or urban contemp song you hear nowadays, at least according to the liner notes from the compliation of Scott's music that came out a decade ago:

Herb Deutsch, author and Hofstra University music professor, visited Manhattan Research (Scott's electronics lab) many times in the 60s, before electronic components were miniaturized and when computer technology took up lots of square footage. Deutsch credits Scott with developing the first programmable polyphonic sequencer (the foundation of modern dance music). In an article for Music, Computers and Software Deutsch described something out of a loop sci-fi flick:

"Standing six feet high and covering 30 feet of wall space, the sequencer consisted of hundreds of switches controlling steppinmg relays, timing solenoids, time circuits ... and 16 individual occillators ... if you stood behind the wall during operation ... the music would be all but drowned out by the cacophonus klickety-klack of the relays as they switched position."

Too bad there isn't a film somewhere of Scott's lab in action. Though the equipment itself could produce its own music, it sounds like just a pan across the lab by the camera could be perfectly set to the music of "Powerhouse."