SYNERGY NEWS

A SMALL REMEMBRANCE OF LES PAUL

2009-08-17T23:22:00.008-04:00

So much has been written about Les Paul since he died last week that there isn’t anything I can add about his legacy. I’m in debt to him for the groundbreaking work he contributed to recording techniques and technology which migrated from his guitar world to electronic music.

I’d met Les numerous times through mutual friends. He was always gracious and friendly though I was never completely sure that he knew exactly what I did. But I always looked forward to a friendly handshake and a short chat at the Audio Engineering Society conventions. I’ll miss that this year.

I do have one little chapter to share. On Sunday afternoon, August 21, 1994 Les came to the Thomas A. Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey. That site is about 10 minutes from House of Music Studios where the Synergy albums were all recorded. The Edison Laboratories were where the recording industry was born. Les, accompanied by Lou Pallo, was recorded that afternoon by cylinder recordist Peter N. Dilg into an 1890s vintage horn-pickup acoustic wax cylinder recording machine. I thoroughly enjoyed the convergence of the oldest recording technology being used to record one of the men who advanced the art so significantly, playing his signature electric guitar into a Fender Twin Reverb, with a 100 year old acoustic horn shoved up against the guitar amp speakers. The perfect blend of art and technology.

APPEARANCE AT THE LEGACY OF MOOG

2009-08-06T17:58:00.006-04:00

No, it's not a concert appearance by me. It the kickoff of a months-long exhibit at the Museum of Making Music about the Legacy of Moog. I'll be part of the weekend activities on Sunday afternoon August 30, 2009 in in Carlsbad, California having a discussion about my use of Moog and other synthesizers over the years on tour and in the studio. It should be a special weekend starting on the evening of August 28, 2008 with the opening of the Moog exhibit. Other guests include Keith Emerson, Erik Norlander, Brian Kehew and Michelle Moog-Koussa, head of the Bob Moog Foundation and the Moogseum. More about the program is at the webiste of the Museum of Making Music.

More about the Bob Moog Foundation:

SYNERGY CATALOG CDs AT CD BABY

2009-07-01T16:57:00.002-04:00

In response to many requests, we've made some of the Synergy albums available at CD Baby. You can order physical CDs directly from them. Not all of the Synergy catalog is available from this source, but for now you can get:

Electronic Realizations

Sequencer

Cords

Reconstructed Artifacts

iTUNES STORE PROBLEMS

2009-06-20T16:50:00.003-04:00

At the changeover to non-DRM files, according to Apple there was a problem with the files provided by Voiceprint Recordings. Temporarily, many Synergy titles are not available at the iTunes Store. We're working with Apple to get this fixed as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Electronic Realizations, Cords, and Reconstructed Artifacts remain available as electronic downloads.

Watch here for status updates.

UPDATE MARCH-APRIL 2009

2009-05-01T01:55:00.000-04:00

March-April 2009: I've been making slow progress on some new Synergy material--very slow. No date for release of anything yet. I'll post that when it's more of a reality. It'll be a while.

WGN AMERICA

2009-04-15T03:00:00.000-04:00

More immediate is some work that I've been creating for WGN America TV which you probably have if you subscribe to cable or satellite TV. WGN America is based in Chicago but has a national reach. Here's a YouTube clip that shows off some of the new audio logos I created for them and a few incidental underscore pieces.

INTERVIEW WITH JAMSBIO

2009-03-15T03:00:00.000-04:00

There's an interview that I did with Jamsbio Magazine. It answers some of the same questions that I'm emailed about from time to time.

SYNERGY STUDIO UPDATE 2009

2009-03-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

Synergy Studio update: I've added Spectrasonics Omnisphere to the soft synth collection, and ironically SampleLogic's "Synergy" software. (Though I don't have any connection to the creation of that software package, Samplelogic now has a license to use the trademark). I've also added an updated version of Apple's Final Cut so I can keep up with the audio for video projects.

UPDATES JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2009

2009-03-01T01:38:00.000-05:00

January-February 2009: Though there are some recording and broadcast projects brewing, this has been the first block of time in over a decade when I have been able to explore what will become the next Synergy recordings. I'm not foolish enough to go out on a limb and predict an end date for a release, but some new things are finally happening. I've amassed a lot of new thematic material, and some old, old pieces that I'd like to explore (old, like around 200 years old...). I find that I'm beginning to lean rather heavily on software synthesis instead of the parade of hardware that I've been using for over 35 years. This might be the tipping point for me. I'm also beginning to review the concert video shot (in HD) at last summer's NEARfest. If that looks as good as the few bits I've checked so far, I'm planning on moving ahead with a concert DVD from that show.

THE END OF XM AS WE KNEW IT

2008-11-13T01:35:00.000-05:00

November 2008: After a nice 10 year run, XM Satellite Radio has all but ceased to exist following the merger with Sirius. My favorite XM channels, many programmed and helmed by people who have become my friends, have disappeared. The XM staff has been decimated. I can't even begin to go into the intrigue and market forces that have once again intruded into the creative arts. My audio logos which had been heard across the 170 XM channels since the operation went live in 2001, and circulated as the service was being built since late 1998, have been taken off the air by the new SiriusXM management. It was nice while it lasted.

UPDATES LATE 2008

2008-10-31T03:00:00.000-04:00

September-October 2008: The last few months have been spent working on various projects, both technical and those not even related to Synergy music. My broadcast roots have been evident with work widely heard creating music logos and sonic beds for a major superstation carried on most cable systems, and as small as helping to set up a fully-digital community broadcast TV station in the town where I live. My new studio Macintosh has been handling the workload, including digital video editing, very nicely. It has gone so smoothly that while I once thought that I would keep my readers posted about the troubles of a major studio update, that just hasn't happened. Every software install, like the latest Waves® plug-ins, have been completely uneventful.

Next up, some producing work on two album projects for other artists. Too soon to give the particulars, but watch this space.

As some of you know, my volunteer work in historic preservation (something completely outside of my music career) has taken more of my time and attention as I have been appointed to some positions of regional responsibility by different levels of government here in New Jersey. That, and my work with technology for the hearing disabled, has conspired to push my own Synergy composing projects lower on my priority list. But, I'm hopeful that some of those other projects will wrap up later this fall and there will be enough time to get back to the Synergy projects.

SYNERGY AT NEARFEST X 2008 AND ON XM

2008-06-30T03:00:00.000-04:00

June 2008: NEARfest X (2008) The show has happened. We recorded video of the show in hi def. If it looks worthwhile, a DVD will eventually be issued.

On June 30, 2008 I repeated the performance at the XM Satellite Radio studios in Washington DC. Watch the XM broadcast schedule for the times when it will air, possibly on XM Live Channel 120.

SYNERGY on iTUNES

2008-05-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

May 2008: All the rest of the Synergy albums are now available on iTunes. We have to get a listing glitch straightened out, but for now search for "Synergy" to find all of the albums and titles with the exception 'Reconstructed Artifacts' which for some reason is found under "Larry Fast". We are aware of the other "synergys" that are listed. Some are beyond our reach outside of the US trademark jurisdiction, and some are not.

INTERVIEW ON GEARWIRE

2008-03-15T03:11:00.000-04:00

March 2008: Interview on Gearwire. There's a nice audio interview that I did with Gearwire's Bill Holland. It's called "From Memorymoog to MOTU: The Electronic Journey of Larry Fast." Click the link to listen.

SYNERGY AT NEARFEST X JUNE, 2008

2008-03-01T03:09:00.000-05:00

NEARfest X (2008) I'll be opening the tenth NEARfest with a solo performance of Synergy music on Friday night June 20, 2008. Just me, the Macintosh and a couple of synthesizers and modules. It will be a set of classic Synergy pieces, some dating back to the mid-1970s. I'm in the process of making sure that the equipment, music, MIDI files and other devices will be ready for the show. Keep checking the NEARfest site and we'll have more here as it develops.

IN MEMORY OF MIKE SMITH

2008-02-29T03:05:00.000-05:00

February 2008: Mike Smith from the Dave Clark Five died this month. What's the connection? Even though I was a big (huge) fan of the guitars and drum Beatles back in 1964, Mike played a keyboard, a Vox Continental organ in the DC5. I could do that, I thought. I already played piano. And from that inspiration, seeing electronic keyboards in a rock band, it wasn't that big a leap to Moogs and Mellotrons for me a few years later. I got to meet and work with Mike in the mid 1980s on some American Airlines commercial tracks in New York for Radio Kings Productions. He was gracious even as I peppered him with questions about the Ed Sullivan show and the British Invasion of 1964. We exchanged Christmas cards for years until his accident made it so difficult for him to manage in 2003. He inspired me to do what I do and I'll miss him. (watch YouTube video)

SYNERGY STUDIO UPDATE 2008

2008-01-15T03:02:00.000-05:00

January 2008: No particular projects to report on right now (at least that I can say anything about). The latest Synergy Studio news is that the new MacPro computer arrived at the end of December 2007 along with a whole slew of software, both new and updates. There's also a little bit of new I/O hardware from Mark of the Unicorn for higher sample rates and word length than I've had before. Already in are MOTU's latest versions of Digital Performer, MachFive 2 and Unisyn; and Key To Sound's NextSyn. Coming are the latest BIAS Peak and IK Multimedia's SampleMoog. Old friends like the Kurzweils remain in the arsenal. Though I haven't been an Apple Logic user, the new live-performance MainStage module looks very attractive for using virtual synthesis on the road. I'm kicking around the idea of doing a blog about the upgrades and what I'm doing with them. Watch for more . . .

MENTION IN WIRED ONLINE

2007-11-15T03:00:00.001-05:00

There's an interesting piece from Wired online (October 2007) http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2007/10/gabrielstudio

Ironic...at the fall 2007 Audio Engineering Society convention in New York, my wife Phyllis and I were waiting to visit with my old collegue Peter Gabriel outside the shed demo. Peter's personal studio concept grew from my experience with one at home in 1975 which itself was somewhat copied from Wendy Carlo's 1966-67 Switched on Bach studio. The reporter saw Phyllis, one of the few women at the AES convention, spoke to her and took our names. I don't think he had any idea about my 30 year connection with Peter. And I didn't know he was from Wired.

TONY LEVIN BAND UPDATE 2007-2008

2007-11-15T03:00:00.000-05:00

No Tony Levin Band fall tour in 2007 or Winter 2008. Tony's out promoting his new Stick Man CD and gearing up for a King Crimson reunion, and Jesse's out with Todd Rundgren.

NEW LEGACY NEKTAR WEBSITE

2007-11-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

There's a new Nektar website about the legacy of the classic lineup. I hope to contribute some media memorabilia one of these days. www.theNektarProject.com

PETER GABRIEL TOUR 2007

2007-07-15T03:00:00.000-04:00

Summer 2007: Peter Gabriel is back on the road this summer. Thank you to those of you who have emailed about the tour. Yes, Peter's new tour set is predominantly the same material we recorded and toured with Peter in the 1970s and 1980s when Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and I were the core of Peter's band. Peter has chosen to have only Tony rejoin him for this return to his past. I was emailed by the production people at Real World who had a lot of questions about what instruments I had used and how I created the synthesizer patches and parts. Any of you who have seen the Tony Levin Band on the road since 2000 know that I have recreated many of my signature Moog sounds in newer digital instruments

The last I heard from Real World they were attempting to sample my parts to use in the show from the Peter Gabriel albums studio tapes done all those years ago. If that's the case, I guess in some remote sense, I will be on the road for this tour. Seems like way too much work, though.

XM SATELLITE RADIO MERGER NEWS

2007-07-12T02:30:00.000-04:00

XM Satellite Radio News: I've received a lot of questions about the proposed XM and Sirius Satellite Radio merger. The short answer is that I don't have any additional information. There are a lot of legal and regulatory hurdles, not to mention the technical ones, in combining two separate satellite services. For the moment, my sound logos (or "sounders") -- the over 100 that I created and recorded at the Synergy Studio, and the many more that famous and talented artists have recorded of my little 7-note theme for XM's on-air use continue to be the sonic identifier of the XM programming channels. Read more in Lee Abram's blog.

For those of you who are Sirius subscribers, or those who haven't subscribed to XM yet, here are some mp3 examples for you listen to. click here...

SYNERGY EMAIL PROBLEMS

2007-07-01T02:45:00.000-04:00

Email: And speaking of email, the incoming spam and spam filtering for this Synergy site have become almost unworkable. I manage to rescue some of the email trapped in the filters when I discover them, but sometimes they're auto-purged before I find them. With a dozen or two legit emails overwhelmed by several hundred pieces of spam every day, it's becoming difficult to manage. My apologies for any emails that have become irretrievably lost. Eventually we're going to set up a forms based way of communicating. It's a little more restrictive, but it means that you can send messages to a controlled mailbox that will recognize them as valid, and in a place that the spammers can't find. Thanks for your patience.

NEKTAR UPDATES 2007

2007-06-15T03:00:00.000-04:00

UPDATE JANUARY 2007: Still no contact from the band or management. I'm starting to think that it's unlikely that I'll be involved after all. The Nektar tour has been rescheduled for February through April 2007, but I have Tony Levin and other commitments so I won't be doing that either. Thanks to all of you who have asked.

UPDATE MID-FEBRUARY 2007: The Nektar winter tour is off (again). I'm so far out of the loop that I find out most information from the band website and by reading the fan forums. However, recent emails and phone calls from present and former band members indicate that the Book of Days album recording is moving toward completion and future touring plans are being put in place. Once again, the Nektar website is where official announcements can be found. I have a soft spot for the first major band that I toured with 31 years ago. I want everything to work out for them.

UPDATE MID-JUNE 2007: Uh Oh. The official Nektar seems to be gone. Try www.royealbrighton.com. I hear Roye's trying to finish the new album, but I don't have any information about how that's going. Look's like there might be some touring, though.

TONY LEVIN BAND--BAJA PROG FESTIVAL 2007

2007-04-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

The Tony Levin Band played at the Baja Prog festival in Baja California, Mexico in March. That finished up our touring for a while. There might be some more shows later in 2007, but nothing has been scheduled yet.

Prior to Mexico and one appearance at NAMM, the band had been off the road since our West Coast US tour leg in October, 2006 which followed a busy spring and summer of touring the eastern US, Europe (Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and Germany), eastern Canada and one show in Mexico City. All this followed our late 2005 dates in Italy, Switzerland, Hungary and Russia. Click on the "Resonator" CD cover to visit pages on Tony's site about the latest album.

I've been swamped with other projects including construction of new studio space at home so I'm leaving it to Tony and the other guys in the band to publish our pictures form the last tour leg online. Click here for a link to Tony's site; and here for Pete Levin's pictures.

NEKTAR NEWS 2006

2006-11-15T03:00:00.000-05:00

Nektar News : the new album "Book of Days" is being recorded during the summer of 2006. I've been invited to contribute to the arrangements (and it's even posted on the Nektar website). As soon as there's more information and I know more about it myself, I'll post my own observations.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2006: It's pretty simple; I don't have any information. To date I have not contributed to the new album. I'm still waiting to hear about that. I was asked to do the tour, but it conflicted with some of my other obligations including the Tony Levin Band dates so I had to decline. Now I understand the tour has been postponed until 2007. The best source of information is the official Nektar website.

IN MEMORY OF JOHN SIMONTON

2005-11-25T03:00:00.000-05:00

Another significant member of the electronic music community , John Simonton, Jr., founder of PAiA Electronics died on November 25, 2005. John was a good friend and someone who shared my background in the nuts and bolts of hardware and software design from which musical creativity could be coaxed. John's obituary on the PAiA site is here. Marvin Jone's, one of PAiA's lead designers and first editor of Polyphony/Electronic Musician magazine's remembrances are found here. A few of my pictures and comments are on a separate page.

IN MEMORY OF DR. ROBERT A. MOOG

2005-08-22T03:00:00.000-04:00

One of the pioneers of our field of electronic music, Dr. Robert Moog, passed away on August 21, 2005. Bob and his family had posted a website to keep interested friends and supporters up to date during his illness. It contains many memorable comments and tributes. Please consider making a donation to CaringBridge which is sponsoring the site. Click here for one of my pictures of Bob from a few years ago.

NEKTAR REISSUE: MAGIC IS A CHILD

2005-08-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

The last of the Nektar reissues "Magic Is A Child" is out. I helped in the remastering and mixed a rediscovered Robert Fripp Frippertronics loops part that wasn't used on the original LP in 1977. It's back as one of several bonus tracks on the CD. More info at the official Nektar site.

BILLY SHERWOOD: BACK AGAINST THE WALL

2005-06-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

Hear some Synergy electronic production on the tribute album of Pink Floyd's The Wall called Back Against The Wall produced by Billy Sherwood (formerly of Yes). Click here for more information on Billy's site. Work is now proceeding on the followup; tribute versions of the music ofDark Side of the Moon. I'll be contributing a track to the project.

INTERVIEW WITH INNERVIEWS

2004-06-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

There is an informative interview posted at INNERVIEWS (www.innerviews.org/inner/fast.html) with a lot of good background on the SYNERGY CD releases through the years.

SYNERGY CD AVAILABILITY - REISSUES ON VOICEPRINT RECORDINGS

2004-03-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

Since 1998, the original nine Synergy CDs on our Third Contact label have been manufactured and distributed by the Chronicles label, originally part of PolyGram and later a part of the Universal Music Group. That distribution arrangement has now ended. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the Chronicles CDs online through US retailers like Amazon.com. A great source of any remaining inventory is The Artist Shop.

However, in an almost seamless transition, the nine original CDs and the latest "Reconstructed Artifacts" are being released through the Voiceprint Recordings label in the UK. The first four ("Electronic Realizations", "Sequencer", "Cords" and "Games") and "Reconstructed Artifacts" are already available. The rest of the titles will become available through Voiceprint in the coming months. These are the same digitally remastered transfers from the original analog masters that were out on UMG/Chronicles.

The best part is that each of the first Voiceprint reissues has a bonus track, some never before heard. "Electronic Realizations" has an earlier version of Classical Gas exactly as it was on the non-US versions of the original LP. "Sequencer" has an early demo of Sequence 14, "Cords" has radio edit of Phobos, and "Games" has some early digital synthesizer parts created at Bell Laboratories in 1978-79.

All of the Synergy CDs can be ordered directly from Voiceprint and shipped worldwide (that includes to the US and Canada). The Artist Shop has the imports from Voiceprint at reasonable prices for US buyers. And the Voiceprint imports are beginning to show up at online retailers like Amazon for US buyers, but they are a little pricey for now (sorry we don't control that). Check out our How To Get CDs page for additional information.

With Voiceprint distributing everywhere outside of the US and Canada, and their imports from England picking up the slack in North America for now, we're in the process of deciding what makes the most sense for the future in the US and Canada. Options include placing Third Contact with a different distributor, distributing ourselves, or extending Voiceprint's territory to formally include North America. Electronic downloads are going to be a part of this, too. We'll keep you updated as things evolve in the coming months.

RECONSTRUCTED ARTIFACTS - LATEST SYNERGY CD

2004-02-02T03:00:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it on the home page, the latest SYNERGY CD is "Reconstructed Artifacts". All new recordings, but familiar Synergy material. Click here to get the whole story.

Reconstructed Artifacts is available now through The Artist Shop and CD Baby in North America and through Voiceprint Recordings (UK) for Europe and Asia.

LATEST SYNERGY ARTICLES

2004-02-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

The Nov/Dec 2003 issue of Tape Op magazine issue #38 has an extensive interview by Roman Sokal about all things Synergy starting on page 28. It's definitely worth checking out.

Progression Magazine issue #44 Winter 2003/Spring 2004 has a cover story about Tony Levin with a nice sidebar story about Synergy. Also well worth reading.

TONY LEVIN BAND--2004 UPDATE

2004-01-30T03:00:00.000-05:00

HIATUS 2004: The guys are pretty busy with other projects during 2004 so for the moment there are no recording dates or live shows planned. We'll post any information here for later in the year. Check Tony's website at www.tonylevin.com for news about Tony's work this year with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel. Jesse is on the road with Todd Rundgren; information at www.jessegress.com. And you might as well check out Jerry's news at www.jerrymarotta.com.

TONY LEVIN BAND-NEW ALBUM AND TOUR 2003

2003-08-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

NO MORE LIVE DATES PLANNED DURING 2003: Tentative plans are to record the next studio album in the coming months and then do more touring during 2004. We're hoping to finally make it to Europe in 2004 and get back to favorite places and some new ones in North America and Japan.

GRAMMY NOMINATION: The piece "Apollo" from the PIECES OF THE SUN CD has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Rock Instrumental category. Find out if we won during the CBS-TV broadcast on February 23, 2003. (update: we didn't win...maybe 2004 if we get nominated again). (update November 2003: Black Dog from the live Double Espresso has been nominated in the first round for Grammy 2004 but didn't make the finals)

We're back with the double live CD Double Espresso recorded during the Spring 2002 tour. For more information about the CD, to hear song samples or the buy the CD click here.

TONY LEVIN BAND - TOUR DATES. Summer 2003

7/13 - Quebec City - summer festival main stage

TONY LEVIN BAND - TOUR DATES. March 2003

3/19 - Cincinnatti - 20th Cent. Theater
3/20 - Detroit - Magic Bag
3/21 - Toledo - Headliners
3/22 - Chicago - Martyrs
3/23 - Madison, WI - Luther's Blues
3/25 - Indianapolis - Patio
3/26 - Columbus, OH - Little Brothers
3/28 - Trenton - Conduit
3/29 - Boston (Cambridge) - House of Blues
3/30 - New Haven - Toads Place

TONY LEVIN BAND "SNOWTIRES TOUR" Janunary 2003

1/7 - West Springfield VA (DC) - Jaxx
1/8 - Philadelphia PA - North Star
1/9 - Rochester NY - Milestones
1/10 - New York NY - Bottom Line
1/11 - Schenectady NY - Van Dyke
1/15 - Cleveland OH - Beachland
1/16 - Buffalo NY - Tralf
1/17 - Toronto ON - Horseshoe
1/18 - Montreal PQ - Cafe Campus

NEKTAR AT NEARFEST 2002

2002-07-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

It happened. Nektar, the original "core four" members (Roye Albrighton, Mo Moore, Taff Freeman and Ron Howden) plus Mick Brockett's light show reunited to headline one of the nights at the annual NEARfest prog-rock festival. The show was on June 29, 2002 at the War Memorial in Trenton, NJ. Check out the NEARfest site and the Nektar pages ( official and unofficial ) for more information. There are pictures from the rehearsals on this site's Nektar page.

There is talk of additional reunion shows in the not too distant future. We don't know where or when just yet, but as soon as there is any news, we'll post it here. In the meantime, check out the newly remastered Nektar CDs just being released.

LIVE SYNERGY APPEARANCE

2002-04-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

The rumors are true. There was a Synergy live set concert on March 16, 2002 at the Alfa Centauri Electronic Music Festival #9 at Theatre 't Spant, Bussum, the Netherlands. (just outside of Amsterdam). We'll post more details if there are more details to report. In the meantime visit www.alfacentauri.nl--that's where the real information about the show and the other performing acts can be found. It was a night of classic Synergy music from the last 25+ years performed live onstage through a great sound system with the Alfa Centauri stage lighting.

Photo by Ed in den Bosch.

TONY LEVIN BAND--NEW ALBUM AND TOUR 2002

2002-02-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

The new CD is out. Pieces Of The Sun available on Narada Records/EMI. More information is at this page at the Tony Levin site.

Here's the background:

It only took a decade or so, but the core of the old Peter Gabriel Band (Tony, Jerry Marotta, and me, plus Todd Rundgren guitarist Jesse Gress) has reconstituted itself as the Tony Levin Band . We played on and toured in support of Tony's solo album "The Waters of Eden" (see below). We''ve finished touring across the US and into Eastern Canada from May through November of 2000, and Japan in the Spring of 2001, and several outdoor festival dates during the summer of 2001.
Rehearsing and recording the next album called "Pieces Of The Sun" took place during the Summer and early Fall of 2001. Release is scheduled on Narada/EMI Records for mid February, 2002 with touring across the US and (possibly more) expected soon after that.

We're off the road for a while after touring during March, April and May, 2000. We recorded a live show at the Bearsville Theater (New York) which will be mixed and released as a live CD later this year. We'll post information about the release when we have a date for it. Any additional tour information will be found at www.tonylevinband.com We'll post any new tour dates here as soon as they're announced.

Tony's so much better at keeping a tour diary than I am that I'm sending everybody over to his site to see the tour pictures and read Tony's write-ups about the different shows. I couldn't have done half as good a job at keeping this kind of journal. Go to www.tonylevin.com to see the tour pictures and then come back here.

To make it a little easier to see the band photo albums that Tony keeps, here are some direct links into his site archives:

You can see and hear streaming video of the Toronto show in October, 2000 by following this link:

WATCH TWO SETS

TONY LEVIN
RECORDED LIVE IN TORONTO
OCTOBER 28, 2000

The band appeared live playing and with interviews on Vin Scelsa's "Idiot's Delight" show.--one of his last on WNEW-FM in New York. (A streaming audio archive was available through Vin Scelsa's site--follow the links to see if it's still up).

This is what I spent a lot of time doing on the tour --
lots of time on the bus with my Powerbook (photo by Tony Levin)

People have been asking about my tour equipment. It's now listed on the productions and studio page. And yes, the rumors are true. There is a Synergy piece performed live in the set. There will probably be some minor equipment changes when we hit the road again in 2002. We'll post them as they happen.

XM SATELLITE RADIO

2001-11-12T03:00:00.000-05:00

As they say on their site at www.xmradio.com, first there was AM, then there was FM, and now there is XM. You can think of XM as an entirely new radio band of direct broadcast satellite radio blanketing the North American continent with up to 100 separate programming channels--each broadcasting like a distinct radio station with a specific format. You'll need a new radio or adapter for the old one, and these will start appearing in new cars and stores inow.

So what does Synergy have to do with this? I'll be providing the "sounders"--the sonic logos that you'll be hearing on all of the 100 channels as well as the unifying sound logo for the entire XM broadcast service network. It's a very exciting project which will change the way that radio works. It also brings me back to my roots in radio which included college radio at WJRH FM in Easton, Pennsylvania in the late 1960s and early 70s and the now-defunct WSAN AM 1470 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Synergy is considered to be one of the "XM Originals" Creative Partners in developing this new broadcast entity. (I predict that XM will become a power in internet broadcasting, too.)

PETER GABRIEL REMASTERED CDs RELEASED

2001-10-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

Peter's back catalog has been reissued with enhanced audio and packaging. I provided a lot of the photos that appear in the new releases since I had a pretty good archive of images that I shot while we were making all of these records. Some of the images are a little small in the CD booklets, so when I get a chance we'll post bigger versions of them on the Peter Gabriel page at this site. For now, you'll have to use a magnifying glass. There's information about these reissues at Peter's site.

NEW SYNERGY MUSIC CREATED FOR DISNEY

2001-09-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

The project is called Tokyo DisneySea. It's a $4 billion new theme park at the Disney complex in Tokyo and now it is open. I walked the construction site about 4 months before completion and it's absolutely breathtaking. The theme as you might have guessed is nautical. The park is hard to describe, but it combines the best of Epcot, Jules Verne, and the world's seafaring cultures past and future.

From late 1999 through the summer of 2001 I worked with Walt Disney Imagineering creating all the music that will be heard in one of the DisneySea's enclaves, an area called Port Discovery. A total of 3 hours of new music in various arrangements and mixes was delivered to the team that created the park's environments. There is new Synergy music heard inside and outside of buildings in this part of the park as well as music connected to one of the water ride attractions that will be visible throughout the Port Discovery village. Imagineering had described to me plans to tie together the music with the movements of the rides and kinetic visual details of the park.

Other well-known electronic composers will also be contributing to DisneySea. It is unknown right now whether Disney will release the music on CD, I have been asked to provide a few of the pieces as CD ready mixes so I'm guessing that there might be a compilation CD of sorts of music from the whole park. If we find out about availability at some later date we'll post the information here.

AN INTERESTING NEW CD WITH SYNERGY MUSIC

2000-08-15T03:00:00.000-04:00

BACK IN TIME, A SPACE ODYSSEY produced by Chris Abbot (http://www.c64audio.com). This is the third in a series of full orchestra arrangements of video game soundtrack music which was originally performed on the SID synthesizer chips of Commodore C64 computers. "Ancestors" from AUDION was often appropriated for C64 game themes back in the 1980s. Chris Abbot has provided three outstanding full orchestral versions of "Ancestors" on this British CD released in 2001. Visit their website, or email them (cd@c64audio.com) for information about purchasing the CD.

DAVID BRYAN "LUNAR ECLIPSE" (RE)-RELEASED

2000-08-02T03:00:00.000-04:00

Rounder Records has finally issued in the United States the solo piano and synthesizer album that I co-produced for Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan. The CD has two new solo piano tracks and a new name "Lunar Eclipse" in place of the old title "On A Full Moon". Otherwise it's the same great record that got overlooked a few years ago getting the new chance that it deserves. David is a terrific pianist and uses this CD to perform in ways that just don't fit into his role in Bon Jovi. There's one piano track with Synergy synth orchestra arrangement, and a few more electronic pieces which we both worked on. e openminded.

MACWORLD 2000 NEW YORK

2000-08-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

I was asked to give the music and audio keynote talk at the July 2000 MacWorld in New York. There might still be information posted at this site: www.apple.com/creative/musicaudio/showcase/ It went so well that It's possible that I'll be talking more about my computer platform of choice at future conferences. Maybe even a little virtual synth live performances off of a PowerBook. Stay tuned for more info in the coming months.

TONY LEVIN "THE WATERS OF EDEN"

2000-03-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

Recording work on Tony Levin's solo album "The Waters of Eden" is complete and released on Narada Records. Though there are nine songs on the CD, I'm only on five doing synth arrangements on Tony's new songs. Many different musicians appear on the album, but the interesting thing for my own personal history is that Tony, Jerry Marotta and I worked together on more than half of the tracks. This was the first time the core of the "classic" Peter Gabriel band has worked together since some sessions we did for another artist, Pamela Golden, in 1986. (We haven't all worked together with Peter since 1983).

Tony has a lot of background about the project up on his site including photos during the recording. Visit Tony's web site at www.tonylevin.com for general information, or visit papabear.com/passionatebass.htm for pictures and Tony's diary of the recording.

The way the album was recorded was interesting, too. It was done entirely on computer hard disk--no tape rolled during the record--using Macintosh-based Emagic Logic Audio (Tony's recording in Woodstock, NY) and Mark of the Unicorn Digital Performer (at the Synergy Studio in New Jersey). I spent a few days in the studio in Woodstock with Tony, his co-producer Artie Traum, and guitarist David Torn planning the tracks. Then I took clones of the multitracks from their Mac back home on CD-R, loaded the tracks into my computer and worked on the arrangements. Tony had another project to complete in California so every day or two I made MP3 reference mixes and emailed them to him. Tony could listen on his Powerbook and email his comments back to me. When all was okay, I made submixes of my parts to CD-R and sent them up to Woodstock to be conformed to the master. If we had higher bandwidth available at both ends we probably would have used the internet for that last stage too. Next time...

ANNIE HASLAM "THE DAWN OF ANADA"

1999-12-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

During the autumn 1999, I spent time co-writing, co-producing and recording tracks for the new Annie Haslam album "The Dawn of Ananda". Other tracks were produced by Tony Visconti and by Annie's long-time band keyboardist Rave Tesar. I also did the mastering preparation for all of the songs on the album to sonically integrate the songs recorded at different times, in different studios and with different musicians into a smoothly flowing collection. The CD is in limited release now and will be in wider circulation later during 2000.

"My" tracks are entitled "Running River Runs" and "Angel Blue". For more information about this release on Annie's White Dove Records (#WD 000-02) visit Annie's site at www.anniehaslam.com, or visit Annie's Ananda page at annie-haslam.com/ananda.html.

SOME NEW RECORDINGS

1999-11-15T03:00:00.000-05:00

There are new, or relatively new SYNERGY recordings about to become available. These are individual tracks that are appearing on two different compilation CDs.

The first is on a CD being released in the UK called "Music For The 3rd Millennium Volume 1" (AMP-CD039). The CD was announced to the world during the European Total Solar Eclipse on August 11, 1999. Details and ordering info are at http://www.ampmusic.demon.co.uk (ordering page: http://www.ampmusic.demon.co.uk/ampcds.html). It is also available in the US through The Artist Shop.

This CD is mostly electronic music and features tracks from Isao Tomita, Patrick Moraz, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, White Noise and others. Look for advertising in various magazines including "Progression".

The SYNERGY piece is called "Moon Caves" and did appear briefly on a limited edition compilation for the last New Music Seminar back in the mid-90s, and actually got some good club reviews (!), but it was never commercially available.

The other SYNERGY recording is an electronic interpretation of Ravel's Pavane. This appears on a benefit album for Kosovo relief called "Refuge". This album also features songs by Melanie and Peter Gabriel (Melanie's recording debut), Joy Askew, Vernon Reid, Freedy Johnston, Richard Barone and many others (15 tracks). The album will be available through most major online vendors. Read about the CD at www.joyaskew.com/refuge.html. You can buy it directly through The Orchard or through all of the major online vendors.

This Ravel piece is intended for a future SYNERGY album of classical interpretations. It is incomplete in that the instrumentation in this mix sounds quite orchestral. By the time it makes it to the SYNERGY collection, the instrumentation will have taken on a more "electronic" sound. This mid-production mix might become a collectors rarity.

TONY LEVIN PUBLISHES BOOK

1999-11-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

So, it's not strictly SYNERGY news, but my old friend, bandmate with Peter Gabriel, bass player, international raconteur, sometimes photographer, and King Crimson member has published a book called "Beyond The Bass Clef" , The Life and Art of Bass Playing. Not only is it a great book to curl up with, it's got my name in it a bunch of times.

Why don't you visit my page with pictures I took of the events Tony writes about in his book. (It can't be serious electronic music all of the time.)

WE'RE LOOKING FOR SYNERGY SAMPLES USED ON OTHER RECORDS

1999-10-16T03:00:00.000-04:00

With the rise of electronica, ambient and other new offshoots of traditional electronic music there's been a flattering amount of sampling from the older SYNERGY albums used in recordings by newer artists. For instance, there's a nice bit from the SYNERGY "Audion" album used on Future Sound Of London's "Snake Hips" on the I.S.D.N. CD (Astralwerks/Virgin Records, Ltd.).

We're trying to compile a listing of all of these sampled uses of SYNERGY. If you've heard any, please drop us a line at synergy@synergy-emusic.com

WARNING... THERE ARE SYNERGY IMPOSTERS.

1999-10-15T03:00:00.000-04:00

There are CDs out on the market, some available through big online services and stores, using the nameSYNERGY. We don't want you to be misled by buying the wrong records and not getting the artist or quality of music that you're expecting. These recordings are not by Larry Fast/SYNERGY®. Legal action is being taken. The most prevalent of the fraudulent CDs are one called "Synergy:12 Electrifying Hits" on the LaserLight label, and another called "Matsuri" by new age musicians from Australia calling themselves Synergy on the Celestial Harmonies label. These are in clear violation of the real SYNERGY's United States Trademarks. If you run into others please let us know by email.

APPEARANCE AT THE AES CONVENTION, NEW YORK CITY, SEPTEMBER 1999

1999-09-30T03:00:00.000-04:00

I appeared (non-musically) at an historic side trip during the 107th Audio Engineering Society convention in New York on Saturday, September 25, 1999. This was a bus trip for convention attendees to the Columbia University Computer Music Center. The CUCMC used to be known as the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Since the 1950s the center has been one of the premier locations for the development of electronic music in the United States. Many well-known pioneers of the electronic music arts either studied or taught there including Milton Babbitt, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Alice Shields, Wendy Carlos, Pril Smiley, Robert Moog and many, many others. (No, I didn't study there, but the place has exerted an influence on me).

The centerpiece from my perspective as a technical historian (my other life) is the huge, room-size, vacuum tube RCA Sound Synthesizer Mark II. The sound generating and manipulating functions of this machine anticipated many of the facilities taken for granted years later on analog synthesizers. During AES, the present day staff at CUCMC gave tours of the facility showing off the RCA and some of the other archeological gems of electronic music technology that they still have.

In front of a section of the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, August ,1999.

STUDIO UPGRADE (SUMMER 1999)

1999-08-31T03:00:00.000-04:00

The SYNERGY STUDIO is undergoing an upgrade for the first time in about three years. We're installing a new 450 MHz Blue and White G3 Macintosh and Mark Of The Unicorn digital audio system to complement the older Digidesign ProTools / Opcode StudioVision Pro system we've been upgrading in one form or another since about 1989. Now we can run some of the new cool software synthesis packages like the BitHeadz Retro AS-1 and get those analog sounds without fighting with all of the old modular equipment as much. Since a lot of people have been asking for it, we've put up a small equipment section in the Productions & Studio page.

RECENT INTERVIEWS AND ARTICLES (updated August 1999)

1999-08-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

A couple of items have run recently. They're worth checking out:

There was a feature article in the May issue of Stereo Review's Sound and Vision. The article is called "Upstairs/Downstairs" and shows a bit of my studio at home. The article is posted at the Sound & Vision site for a while, though it's unclear how long the publisher will leave it on the server.

There's a long interview by Barry Cleveland that ran in the March 1999 issue of Electronic Musician. You can read a copy of it posted here at the Synergy site.

There was a cover story in Issue 28 (summer/fall 1998) of Progressionmagazine, page 20.

There's an interview and some sound clips posted at Cosmik Debrishttp://www.cosmik.com/aa-january99/synergy.html

Check out Synergy reviews in Babysue: http://www.babysue.com/LMNOP-Reviews-Jan-99.html#anchor2191963

There are reviews posted at Pitchfork: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/s/ . Find Synergy under the S heading.

Album reviews have been printed in Expose magazine. Their web site is athttp://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/1831/expo-nl.html

USA Today had a half-page feature in the Living section on August 31, 1998. The article was posted at http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/lmds335.htm for a while, though it's unclear how long USA Today leaves old news on the server.

There have been a bunch of reviews at Spinme:

Wind & Wire's July/August, 1998 issue ran an interview with Larry Fast by Judy Markworth which is posted with permission here on this site.

electronicmusic.com ran an interview in 1997.

so did MIX MAGAZINE May,1997 page 84

more to come . . .

APPEARANCE AT NEARFEST (JUNE 1999)

1999-07-10T03:00:00.000-04:00

The NEARfest, the northeast progressive rock festival in Bethlehem, PA on June 26, 1999 went beautifully. It was a sold out conference and concert. The promoters are already planning NEARFest 2000 in a bigger location. You can visit the NEARfest site at http://ghostland.com/nearfest/ to find out more.

Just clear up any confusion, I didn't play or perform a music set. What I did was a talk with audio examples about my experiences with, and thoughts regarding, creating progressive music. There were slides and studio reference (work) mixes from mid-production showing the evolution of several songs including those from my own Synergy works, Peter Gabriel, and some historic background about my earliest technical work with Rick Wakeman. And we did takes some questions from the audience.

My talk and many of the other performances are to be webcast by Studio M. I'm not sure if this will be in real time or broadcast at some time in the future. When we know more we'll let you know.

SYNERGY WEBSITE'S NEW URL and EMAIL ADDRESSES

1999-06-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

We've got a new domain name for the Synergy site. Now you can reach us at synergy-emusic.com. You can continue to use www.eclipse.net/~synergy which will remain active. And it seems that www.synergy-emusic.com works too, but you don't actually need that "www" for this URL. Email is stillsynergy@eclipse.net though we're moving that to synergy@synergy-emusic.com. For now you can use either one.

NEKTAR RUMORS

1999-03-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of buzz about a Nektar reunion. The buzz is largely true. There's movement toward getting the Nektar catalog reissued, and getting back together to do a new album. I'll probably be involved. There are many logistical problems to be worked out so it won't happen quickly. You can keep up on the latest developments by checking out the Nektar site at www.nektar.com. As of March, 1999 it looks like this is going to take a long time to get together, but the guys want it to happen so hopefully it will.

SYNERGY MOVES TO POLYGRAM

1998-12-10T03:00:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard, there are some big changes at Third Contact/Synergy. The Synergy catalog of recordings is now manufactured and distributed in North America (the US and Canada) by the PolyGram/Chronicles label. This includes the three titles that had been independently distributed on the Third Contact Media label. These titles moved over to Chronicles in April, 1998. These three, and all of the rest of the Synergy albums are out now. All nine of the Synergy albums are available from our favorite internet online retailers (like The Artist Shop), and from a bunch of new places including your local record store.

Out Now (as of December 1, 1998):

"Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra" (PolyGram/Chronicles 314-558-042-2)
"Sequencer" (PolyGram/Chronicles 314-558-043-2)
"Cords" (PolyGram/Chronicles 314-558-044-2)
"Games" (PolyGram/Chronicles" 314-558-045-2)
"Audion" (PolyGram/Chronicles" 314-558-046-2)
"Semi-Conductor, release 2" (PolyGram/Chronicles 314-558-048-2)
"The Jupiter Menace" (PolyGram/Chronicles 314-558-047-2)
"Metropolitan Suite" (PolyGram/Chronicles 314-558-049-2)
"Computer Experiments, Volume One" (PolyGram/Chronicles 314-558-050-2)

There are still a few copies of the first three CDs on the Third Contact label which might become collectors items now that all of the new copies are from PolyGram/Chronicles. They're available at The Artist Shop.

For you eagle-eye fans, there's a typo on the first reissue copies of The Jupiter Menace that made it into circulation. It might become a collectors item someday.

Watch for further announcements about the releases and distribution on this news page and other locations here at the Synergy site. (If there is anything important about the acquisition of PolyGram by Universal we'll let you know about it.)

LATEST REISSUE RELEASES (Q4 1998)

1998-10-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

This finishes it up, they're all out. PolyGram/Chronicles has put out the digitally remastered versions of the atmospheric "Computer Experiments, Volume One", my first feature film score to 1982's sci-fi docudrama "The Jupiter Menace", and the last of the first chapter of Synergy recordings, the electronic-orchestral "Metropolitan Suite".

__ __

All nine SYNERGY albums are available now on the PolyGram/Chronicles label. Visit the HOW TO GET CDs page if you want to get your copies.

If you're new to the SYNERGY recordings, you might want to try the compilation album, the two CD set "Semi-Conductor, release 2". This is an expanded and remastered version of the double LP from 1984 including additional tracks, a revised chronological running order, and a new cleaner and more vibrant digital remastering of the original mixes. Until now, this collection has never been available on CD. There's something from each of the eight other SYNERGY albums, plus two tracks only available on this set.

IRC ONLINE CHATS

1997-08-01T03:00:00.000-04:00

The Artist Shop sponsored an online chat with Larry Fast to help celebrate the SYNERGY re-releases of "Games" and "Audion". This IRC Chat was held on Wednesday, July 29 at 9pm eastern time.

During the chat we gave away autographed copies of the Games and Audion CD's. You'll find all the details and a transcript this chat at http://www.artist-shop.com/irc.

The Artist Shop sponsored an earlier online chat with Larry Fast on Monday, November 25, 1996 at 9:00 PM EST. You can read the posted transcript here case you missed it. There was also an IRC session onWednesday, September 3rd, 1997 . A transcript this chat should be available at http://www.artist-shop.com/irc. Visit the The Artist Shop site for information on how to participate in their future chats.

IN CONCERT WITH WENDY CARLOS

1997-04-06T04:00:00.000-04:00

Larry Fast played as a member of Wendy Carlos' Switched On Bach Live All-Synthesizer Ensemble. The premier performance of the ensemble was at the BACH AT THE BEACON Festival at The Beacon Theater, New York City on Saturday April 5, 1997. It was an historic moment in electronic music history.

Click below for more information which can be found at Wendy's site:
Wendy Carlos - Bach At The Beacon Information Page

SYNERGY CDs ARE THE FIRST DISTRIBUTED WITH AUDIO WATERMARKING

1997-01-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

The SYNERGY recordings are the first publicly available recordings in the world to employ ARIS Technologies MusiCode^TM audio watermarking technology for the identification and tracking of musical performances.
ARIS Technologies, Inc. is an industry leader in proprietary audio watermarking systems and solutions that identify, authenticate and protect content in physical carrier, broadcast, online and other transmission environments. ARIS watermarks have a distinctive "layering" feature that enables multiple layers of information to be encoded in an audio stream at different points of the distribution chain. For example, ARIS' flagship MusiCode^TM system encodes Content ID, recipient/transaction, and copy management information.
MusiCode^TM is the only watermarking technology I examined that met my standards for absolute inaudibility within the music while being robust enough to survive all media formats from DVD and CD, through existing broadcast media, all the way to streamed internet audio. The technology of music distribution is evolving so rapidly that if music publishers and recording companies are to survive, tremendously improved tracking of music ownership is an absolute necessity. MusiCode makes it possible for my music to move seamlessly from traditional CDs and broadcasting to the internet and beyond.
Right now, if you listen to the Synergy CDs you won't hear anything different, which is how it's supposed to be; the coding is audibly transparent. But in the future, especially as music and audio move into cyberspace and away from being tied to a piece of physical plastic, MusiCode^TM will provide a way to track who's got the music up on their servers and how it's being used. Watermarking will also be a big help to present-day analog broadcasting and the coming digital TV and radio standards.
If this seems a little arcane, don't worry. Just understand that this technology is the wave of the future; it's here now; and the Synergy records are THE first ones that you can go out and buy at a record store that have it. Visit ARIS Technologies' MusiCode^TM site atwww.musicode.com to find out more.

NEWS ABOUT WEB INTERTAINMENT

1996-12-31T03:00:00.000-05:00

It looks like Web Intertainment, Inc., our first direct CD sales outlet on the web, won't be returning to CD sales after all. Their homepage doesn't give much information and they're still listed on several search engines if you do a search for SYNERGY. They were real pioneers in internet sales back in 1994. We salute them for taking the chances they did. In the meantime, please visit our other distributors on the HOW TO GET CDs page.