From studio solution to performance instrument

Description

The Synthi 100 was developed by the London-based company EMS in 1970-1. A large-scale analogue synthesizer with a digital sequencer, it was designed for use in professional studios such as the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and Radio Belgrade – the locations of the first two models to be built.In the 1980s and 90s, many of the Synthi 100s fell into disuse, either kept in storage or sold; and in some cases, dismantled. In the last decade, a number of initiatives to restore and reuse the remaining Synthis have emerged, both privately and through institutions such as IPEM, Radio Belgrade and KSYME-CRMC in Athens. Central to many of these projects is a drive to encourage musicians and sound artists to compose and perform new works for Synthi 100. Marketed in the 70s as a ‘comprehensive electronic music studio’ in itself, the Synthi 100 was not intended to be used in live performance. However, restored Synthis, often used in conjunction with newer technologies, have recently been re-presented as live instruments at events such as Documenta 14 (Athens, 2017). Using perspectives from Science and Technology Studies (STS), new organology, and the performance of electronic music, I will consider how – and why – a studio-based synthesizer finds itself re-presented as a performance instrument. If possible, I'll also refer to examples of other reconstructed instruments in current usage, such as Daphne Oram's Mini-Oramics machine (built by Tom Richards in 2016 from Oram's plans), as a means of considering the identity, status and social life of the remade electronic instrument.

Frances Morgan is a Lecturer in Sound and Music Theory at University of Lincoln, UK. With a background in journalism, Frances has worked as a music and film critic for publications including The Wire and Sight & Sound and has contributed to BBC Radio 3 programmes Late Junction and The Essay. Recent academic papers have appeared in Organised Sound, Journal of Popular Television, and Dancecult.
Frances has recently completed a PhD at the Royal College of Art, London, in collaboration with the Science Museum, focusing on the construction of electronic music histories.

Period	2021 May 31
Event type	Seminar
Location	Lund, SwedenShow on map