Fascinating 12" featuring "recordings of raw output from 49 configuration of an EMS VCS 3 synthesizer" released through Russell Haswell's Touch sublabel, Or. As many synth fiends will know, the VCS 3 was the first commercially available portable modular synthesizer, and renowned for it wide range of inherent electronic sound effects. But due to it being an early model, and with the accumulations of oxide which occur over time, the machine is also known for its melodic unpredictability and the microtonal fluctuations which this instability exaggerates. Theo Burt and Peter Worth of the Music Research Centre, York, recorded directly from the two independent outputs of the VCS 3, using unusual, incremental and violent changes to the modulation routing and configuration to produce "a variety of complex relationships between the left and right channels. Timbral, rhythmic and harmonic themes emerge, revealing unexpected properties of the machine." This is a formal investigation into the inner life of the machine, producing results that could never be created with a computer and are worthy for this reason at the very least. If you're a fan of Eleh - do not miss this.
