26 thoughts on “Vangelis Demonstrates His Virtual Orchestra”

  1. "and it's great, really. but, uhhh.. somebody broke the reverb switch. maybe my assistant broke the reverb switch.. I should fire her. although, even if it worked, I wouldn't know where it could be.. on this.. big uhh machine. my music machine. I love it."

  5. As it seems, these are some unique preset switchers/controllers which allow the performer to load specific presets from groups of handwritten symbols which represent the properties of each program (sound). There is also an lcd screen which displays the name of the chosen preset and some octave selection buttons…There is also something like a big midi/signal router/patcher at the right side which manages midi channels etc…I'm afraid of calculating a price for that system…

  6. As it seems, these are some unique preset switchers/controllers which allow the performer to load specific presets from groups of handwritten symbols which represent the properties of each program (sound). There is also an lcd screen which displays the name of the chosen preset and some octave selection buttons…There is also something like a big midi/signal router/patcher at the right side which manages midi channels etc…I'm afraid of calculating a price for that system…

  7. If there's one thing that really ticks me off it's when some millionaire musician dismisses some fantastic piece of kit that the rest of us could only dream of one day being in the same room with in an offhand way: "Oh, and I have one of these of course, but haven't really bothered to use it much yet."

    Here is the complete opposite: Van the Man is clearly working hard not to giggle out loud at his obvious schoolboyish delight of what is, for him, the ultimate toy. Plus he is almost uniquely qualified to exploit this device to the max as he modestly demonstrates. I watched this and felt really happy for the guy, and look forward to hearing more of the results. Great piece of kit, great musician.

  8. If there's one thing that really ticks me off it's when some millionaire musician dismisses some fantastic piece of kit that the rest of us could only dream of one day being in the same room with in an offhand way: "Oh, and I have one of these of course, but haven't really bothered to use it much yet."

    Here is the complete opposite: Van the Man is clearly working hard not to giggle out loud at his obvious schoolboyish delight of what is, for him, the ultimate toy. Plus he is almost uniquely qualified to exploit this device to the max as he modestly demonstrates. I watched this and felt really happy for the guy, and look forward to hearing more of the results. Great piece of kit, great musician.

  9. "and it's great, really. but, uhhh.. somebody broke the reverb switch. maybe my assistant broke the reverb switch.. I should fire her. although, even if it worked, I wouldn't know where it could be.. on this.. big uhh machine. my music machine. I love it."

  10. "and it's great, really. but, uhhh.. somebody broke the reverb switch. maybe my assistant broke the reverb switch.. I should fire her. although, even if it worked, I wouldn't know where it could be.. on this.. big uhh machine. my music machine. I love it."

  11. MilitronOne – there's a great old video from the 80's of Vangelis doing the same sort of demo with his then state-of-the-art CS-80 based synth setup, and he acts EXACTLY the same – humble and giddy at the options he has available.

    Fake Vangelis – after you've got your Academy Award and 40-year track record, people will be bitching about how much reverb you use, too.

  12. MilitronOne – there's a great old video from the 80's of Vangelis doing the same sort of demo with his then state-of-the-art CS-80 based synth setup, and he acts EXACTLY the same – humble and giddy at the options he has available.

    Fake Vangelis – after you've got your Academy Award and 40-year track record, people will be bitching about how much reverb you use, too.

  13. I remember on some liner notes on one of his albums they talked about this system. At the time I had no idea what they could be talking about. I guess this is it.

    This is one of the weirdest things I have seen in a long time.

  18. I'm sure that's Jon Anderson (of Yes) saying "I was just amazed…" at the beginning of this clip! Is this part of a larger documentary, or perhaps a section from some DVD's bonus features? "1492" perhaps?

  19. I'm sure that's Jon Anderson (of Yes) saying "I was just amazed…" at the beginning of this clip! Is this part of a larger documentary, or perhaps a section from some DVD's bonus features? "1492" perhaps?

  20. Shame the timecode obscures the subtitles.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this. You guys who called out Vangelis' childlike nature hit the synth on the right keys :), I smiled with glee as he declared, "Magic!" That's some really rich, traveling reverb, too.

    I've long suspected Vangelis was able to get quicker results due to a setup like this, paired with his ability to perform live — it's much more direct and natural than step-time programming everything in.

    Vangelis taught the electronic music world an early lesson which remains true to this day: you can have both incredibly melodic, accessible music AND get into experimental abstractions (like Beaubourg-ish stuff he plays at 4:40 in) without being afraid of limiting yourself. This is unfortunately lost on many artists today who retreat behind aliases or are too concerned with prejudice, rather than exploration.

    Haha @ "Van the Man". Physically, he's a big papa bear!

    I doubt my long-hoped-for Vangelis-Yanni collab will ever happen, but if it did, it'd be a veritable epic of the Greek Titans.

    I wonder if Van the Man enjoys Monty Python, too?

    Someone should start up a Lifehacker-esque site for electronic musicians and show how to DIY Vangelis on-the-cheap. A really comprehensive guide. (And don't forget the aftertouch!)

  21. Shame the timecode obscures the subtitles.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this. You guys who called out Vangelis' childlike nature hit the synth on the right keys :), I smiled with glee as he declared, "Magic!" That's some really rich, traveling reverb, too.

    I've long suspected Vangelis was able to get quicker results due to a setup like this, paired with his ability to perform live — it's much more direct and natural than step-time programming everything in.

    Vangelis taught the electronic music world an early lesson which remains true to this day: you can have both incredibly melodic, accessible music AND get into experimental abstractions (like Beaubourg-ish stuff he plays at 4:40 in) without being afraid of limiting yourself. This is unfortunately lost on many artists today who retreat behind aliases or are too concerned with prejudice, rather than exploration.

    Haha @ "Van the Man". Physically, he's a big papa bear!

    I doubt my long-hoped-for Vangelis-Yanni collab will ever happen, but if it did, it'd be a veritable epic of the Greek Titans.

    I wonder if Van the Man enjoys Monty Python, too?

    Someone should start up a Lifehacker-esque site for electronic musicians and show how to DIY Vangelis on-the-cheap. A really comprehensive guide. (And don't forget the aftertouch!)

  23. Oh – never got to see the video… Could someone inform me where it can be seen!!!!! It's a muat!!!
    BTW regarding the system. Some years back Bill Marschall (one of the engenirs involved in developing the "DIRECT" system for Vangelis) was comunicating with a few guys over the internet (including me) and was very interested i making this sytem available to the public, but needed some help – and needed to know if anybody would be interested. Bill has been working on a system called "The Improviser" – but there are so few people backing him up…. Would be great if we could help him to brings part of this technology out to the public:))

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *