January 30, 2023
by GForce Software
SEM by NYZ
SEM is a long form drone made using a single instance of the GForce SEM – a faithful recreation of the 1974 Oberheim monophonic analog synthesizer, reinstated on the occasion of Tom Oberheim‘s birthday.
Not completely familiar with the machine prior to this session, but previously having played with other Oberheim designs such as the Matrix 6R and XPander, Burraston opted to simply explore it without any additional machines or effects processors, in order to allow the SEM to illustrate its personality naturally, which resulted in the gorgeous pillar of tone that sits before you now.
Thematically, SEM relates to prior NYZ recordings such as OSC2 at Superpang and the independently released BS2::DRN4, although avid listeners will appreciate the uniqueness of SEM even when aligned with earlier work.
SEM is offered as the twenty-first recording issued in the NYZ subcatalog at Psoma, continuing a rich lineage of vivid synthesizer music and unmapped experimentation.
ODT3 by NYZ
Continuing from SEM with his exploration of GForce software instruments, Burraston builds a wall with the Oddity3, an expansive modern iteration of the ARP Odyssey that includes several new additions and functions. ODT3 consists of two such instances of the Oddity3 to accomplish the wide stereo image, both focusing on the 4035 ladder filter from the short-lived Odyssey mark II (only one of three filter types present within the softsynth).
Landing somewhere on the map between the Cell Meditations and the subharmonic hums of TESCO SYNFETIX, ODT3 pulses in shallow waves that betray the depth beneath their softened surfaces.
Close listening yields wondrous results, especially in headphones, as the swirling mass of the frequency spectrum slowly rises like a shipwreck called back to shore. Almost imperceptibly, the true substance of this piece is revealed in microscopic increments, until it overtakes the senses and surrounds everything, filling the air with vibrating particulate and soporific electricity, glimmering like a portal to an adjacent dimension.
More info
https://noyzelab.bandcamp.com/album/sem
https://noyzelab.bandcamp.com/album/odt3
pspsph.bandcamp.com/album/odt3
About NYZ
David Burraston is an award winning artist/scientist working in the areas of technology and electronic music, operating Noyzelab as an independant art/science music studio since 1981. His experimental arts practice encompasses field recording, landscape-scale sound art, chaos/complexity, practice-based research, sound synthesis and electronic music. He performs, lectures, conducts workshops and creates art installations in Regional NSW and around the world. David also designs and builds sound synthesizers based on his theories of chaos/complexity science. He was recently interviewed by Bandcamp Daily and The Wire Magazine.
David has worked with many diverse collaborators such as Aphex Twin, Chris Watson, Doug Quin, Russell Haswell, Robin Fox, Oren Ambarchi, Sarah Last, Cat Hope, Garry Bradbury, William Barton, Alan Lamb, MIT Media Lab and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In 2014 he independently published the legendary “SYROBONKERS!”, the most technical and in-depth interview ever given by Aphex Twin.
Featured Instruments
Oberheim SEM
