Wendy Carlos

Wendy Carlos managed to become one of the most important people in Pop music whilst recording Classical. Well Baroque actually. The realizations of the pieces are so well done both from a sound perspective and the playing that the record was impossible to ignore. Switched On Bach was the first time the synthesizer really had the chance … Continue reading Wendy Carlos

Science Fiction

I love to read and there is little that I love better than Science Fiction. I will enjoy Space Opera, Fantasy, Horror, even ordinary books about ordinary things but there is little better in my world than something that makes me think about, and explore, new ideas. This is probably no surprise as many of my albums have featured songs and … Continue reading Science Fiction

Ultravox & John Foxx

I was reintroduced to Ultravox at the same time I was to Gary Numan. The same flatmate also played a bit of Ultravox. I found a video copy of Monument in his collection and played it. I was captured, especially by the synth sounds and the drum ensemble at the end. This led me on … Continue reading Ultravox & John Foxx

Gary Numan

Even though Gary Numan was a figure of fun to many, to many others he was also a very central figure. So much so that his fans became pretty obsessed and wore copies of his costumes to show their allegiance to his unique look. Ok, so in some ways Gary wan't quite unique as he leaned on … Continue reading Gary Numan

Duran Duran

Duran Duran Duran Duran were huge in the early 80's and that is right when I was growing up and creating my own sens of self and my music. This was a good and bad thing in and of itself. I had always been image conscious and the New Romantics (or what we got to see … Continue reading Duran Duran

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk were a blip on my radar as a kid. I heard The Model on my little AM radio but after that they were no more than a name of reverence in magazines. To fill that gap I decided to take a punt on The Man Machine record - brand new even! The pasty … Continue reading Kraftwerk

Tomita

Tomita I found Isao Tomita quite blind. I saw his Planets record in a store and took a punt. I love electronics and Holt's Planets was a favorite as a child. What a good choice I made in that record. His take on Holst's famous work is just stunning. I know it upset Holst's family … Continue reading Tomita

Kitaro

Kitaro Just like I heard Vangelis on TV, I was introduced to Kitaro through his wonderful theme for the Silk Road series. I looked forward to the show as it took me to another place and time along with this wonderfully evocative music. It was only a few months ago that I actually purchased the … Continue reading Kitaro

Vangelis

Vangelis I grew up with Vangelis on the sidelines for many years, as we all did at that time, because of his Chariots Of Fire theme being everywhere and then Carl Sagan's Cosmos show used parts of his Heaven & Hell. I was young and, while I knew there was a man behind the tones … Continue reading Vangelis

Tangerine Dream

Tangerine Dream In many ways Tangerine Dream and their solo artist records have been one of the single greatest influences on my music. Not only directly but indirectly through all the other artists who have followed their lead openly or just cherry picked a bit. They have had a massive output over the years with many lineup … Continue reading Tangerine Dream