1.  Kimara Sajn – Moment/Festival (2002)

2. Kimara Sajn – Life Stories (2009)

3. Polyethylene Pet – Distortion Parade (2006, but based on older recordings)

4. +1 – Day of our Lives (2000)

5.  Aaron Copland - The Young Pioneers (complete works for Piano)

6.  Roy Harper – HQ (1975)

7.  Emerson Lake and Palmer – Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends (1974)

8.  Present – Triskaidekaphobie/Le Poison Qui Rend Foi (1980/1985)

9. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)

10. Leonard Bernstein – Mass (1971)

11. Todd Rundgren’s Utopia – first album (1974)

12. Terraformation – Gardens Under Ground (2010)

13. Karda Estra – Constellations (2003)

14. Rush – Moving Pictures (1981)

That fairly unassuming collection of knobs and circuits above is an analogue sequencer. A device created to allow a musician to…well, basically sit back and generally not do an awful lot. Simply put, each row of switches above is designated to one note generated by a synthesizer with the possibility to then build up longer sequencers of notes if needed that can be set to loop ad infinitum. Certainly, once sequencers developed in the ’80′s they brought with them a whole host of musical problems and woefully poor music. But, for a while in the ’70′s, they were COOL AS HELL!!! In a way, the sequencer fulfilled the roll of the fiqured bass in Baroque music, or perhaps more closely, the drone of the Shruti box in Indian classical music. In other words, it established a bed over which something else could happen. But, initially, the synth sequencer could also be the main attraction, so unique was this pulsating modulating sound. As with any great new discovery, it could also quickly become a musical cul-de-sac, but these examples below show the sequencer at its most inventive:

1. Pink Floyd – On the Run (1973)     

Done using the rather cute little EMS Synthi AKS synth (pictured above), On the Run features a sped up 8 note sequencer pattern appropriately enough symbolising the pressures of modern life. I’m not sure what the earliest recorded use of a sequencer is, but you can bet that for many people this was the first time that they had heard, what was literally to become the future.

2. ELP – Karn Evil 9 3rd Impression (1973)

It has to be said that using a Moog Sequencer to illustrate the fear that technology could potentially one day get out of control was a stroke of genius on the part of Keith Emerson. Once the slightly low budget sci-fi song lyrics come to an end with a computer, in 2001 style, gaining the upper hand against humanity, the instruments fade out to reveal a very metallic and out of tune sounding pattern that slowly starts to increase speed to a point where the musical phrase is lost in a swirl of noise before finally cutting off abruptly as the record ends. The live version took this to even further extremes with the Modular Moog belching out smoke as the sequencer runs amok.

3. Todd Rundgren – A Wizard! A True Star! (1973) Todd (1974) Initiation (1975)

Whereas the German contingent (see below) would use the sequencer for steady, trance inducing pulse based music, Todd on these albums as well as with Utopia figured out that fast sequences could be used to spray psychedelic bursts of sound into the mix. The results are chaotic and disorientating, and must have taken hours of work to set up. Listen for example to the final moments of An Elpee’s Worth of Toons from Todd.

4. Tangerine Dream – Phaedra (1974)

After four albums of deeply experimental electro-acoustic music, Tangerine Dream got a bit of cash from Virgin Records and decided that a career in synth porn was the future for them (see picture). Phaedra is where it all begins with the very tried and tested formula of –  a few mins atmospheric noises/a few mysterious eerie mellotron chords….and then fade in the sequencer!! – which perhaps would get a little overdone after Rubycon and Richochet, but here still sounds wonderfully on the edge. The synth sounds a little like they’ve only just managed to get it to make those sounds too and it could break at any moment, which I like.

5. Klaus Schulze – Timewind (1975) through to Live (1980) 

A ridiculous amount of classic Sequencer patterns can be found on all of Klaus’s mid to late ’70′s albums, which work in a very similar territory to Tangerine Dream. My personal favorite is the opening pattern of Bellistique from Live,and on this and all the others Klaus uses a delay effect to create a greater rhythmic complexity from what were only relatively simple melodic shapes.

6. John Surman – Upon Reflection (1979)

Surprisingly, for a label that prides itself on its standards of acoustic recording clarity, ECM has many magical examples of early sequencer usage, made all the more thrilling for their being re-contextualised within the framework of non-electric improvisation. Surman’s first few records for the label see him developing an interest in synth loops as a backdrop for soloing or layering – an idea that he had been working on for sometime since before joining ECM.

7. Azimuth – first album (1977)

John Surman is to be thanked for my all time favourite sequencer moment, as he was the one who suggested the idea to John Taylor of using the Synthi AKS in conjunction with piano and the voice of Norma Winstone. Manfred Eicher made the additional suggestion of bringing on board Kenny Wheeler and thus the classic chamber jazz group Azimuth was born. There are two tracks featuring synth and both are equally worthy, with perhaps the ultimate moment coming around 2 mins into the Tunnel as swirling sequencer drifts in beneath the improvising piano.

Here at TFS the influence of these recordings can be felt particularly in the work of our ambient project Nunbient. For those interested, check out the latest download EP Pagans, which is full of strange drifting electronics of the kind that first appeared in the above recordings.

2. Autechre – Amber (1994)

3. Peter Hammill – A Black Box (1980)

4. Belbury Poly – The Willows (2005)

5. The Necks – Hanging Gardens (2002)

6. Miles Davis – Bitches Brew (1969)

7. Genesis – And Then There Were Three (1978)

8. Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)

2. Steven Wilson – Cover Versions 1 to 6 (2010)

3. Kimara Sajn – Life Stories (2009)

4. Pat Metheny – Orchestrion (2010)

5. Anthony Phillips – Private Parts and Pieces (the whole lot…all 10 of em!)

6. Genesis – Selling England By The Pound (1973…not the remixed version!!)

7. Bass Communion – Chiaroscuro (2009)

8. Bill Evans – Explorations (1961)

A few years back, it was possible via the Zappa.com website to send an email to the Vaultmeister Joe Travers asking about upcoming releases. One such email sent by me enquired about the possibility of L. Shankar being featured on any future albums. A reply came back informing me that my world would be “rocked” very shortly. Well…almost. For those in the know of course, Zappa and Halloween at the New York Palladium became a legendary pairing like Floyd in Pompeii, or Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard. It was his place, and for a few nights every year leading up to Halloween night, Frank and his”rocking teenage combo” (which at this time featured Vinnie Colaiuta, Arthur Barrow, Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf, Ed Mann, Denny Walley and bonus Bass guitar guest Patrick O’Hearn) put on shows of epic proportions. None more so than Halloween 1978: 6 shows in total culminating in a truly momentous 4 hour extravaganza on the 31st, with the aforementioned L (Larry as Frank called him) Shankar, fresh out of Shakti, on hand to provide what can only be described as a dueling partner for Frank throughout the show. These solo battles took place in Pound For a Brown, Little House I Used to Live In, Watermelon in Eater Hay, Packard Goose and Black Napkins and were one of the reasons that the concert nearly hit the 4 hour mark, the other being the sheer variety of material being played from throughout Frank’s career. As he says at the start of this DVD-A: “we’re going to play a very long show, I hope you people arn’t in a hurry to get home…”. He then lets us know that after playing the normal part of the show we’ll be treated to a “whole collection of stuff that we don’t normally do”.

So far so good, and with this being DVD-A the possibilities for cramming an ungodly amount of prime Zappa into one disc seemed exciting. Things start of well with the opening guitar solo Ancient Armaments wonderful setting up the hysteria of the event. But, tragically what follows becomes merely a Zappa greatest hits show. The “whole collection of stuff” that they don’t normally do gets moved to one side to make way for Yellow Snow, Stinkfoot and…wait for it….Dinah-Moe Humm!! To be fair, this album’s version of Easy Meat kicks supreme arse with a great guitar solo, some hilarious seal noises from Vinnie and a lovely swagger throughout. There’s also some hot guitar in Stinkfoot and a nice moment of crowd interaction as Frank spots someone that he recognises from the Garrick theatre days, which makes up for this song seeing it’s 5th official release at this stage. But by the time that the Dinah-Brillo-Muffin Man encore kicks in, you can’t help but feel that a great opportunity to present one of Frank’s greatest concerts has slipped away.

That is until the final track quietly starts up: a softly rendered version of Black Napkins that slowly disintegrates into discordantly scattered guitar phrases over Vinnie’s typically splintered drumming, before the most miraculous transformation occurs. Out of nowhere Zappa starts poking away at the melody to the Deathless Horsie and the band, rather than simply dropping straight into the correct chord sequence, instead modulate and pull around the harmony benind the guitar before finally easing into the tonic key as the groove gets re-established. At which point, out pops Shankar for a some more of what had been taking place all night at the Palladium but sadly not on this album. Shankar ghosts Zappa’s solo beautifully, before a cue form the boss sends everyone back to Black Napkins to finish things off.

It must be something to do with the ZFT’s deal with DTS that warranted such a “hits” intensive release, and the Napkins/Horsie combo clearly comes across as the bait to get the hardcore fans on board. And of course, don’t forget the fact that it was a 5:1 release which was quite ahead of the game for 2003. And Vinnie’s drums do sound edible!! But you can’t help hoping that more is to come from these particular shows…

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/new-podcast-starring-freewheelin-danny-baker

Listen from around the 26min mark for a passionate dispelling of the fallacy that everything started with Punk.