#Rompler

[shugmonkey]

Vintage Korg Adverts

[synthtv]

Improve $50 mini ROMpler

[dustedmagazine]

Dean Spunt — Basic Editions (Drag City)

Photo by Penny Spunt

There’s quite a lot of synthesizer in No Age, so it should, perhaps, come as no surprise that Dean Spunt’s solo project would explore synthetic sounds. Basic Editions comes out of a period he spent exploring vintage1990s EM-U synth Romplers from No Age. The Romplers (“ROM” for computer memory, “plers” for samplers) are filled with pre-set sampled sounds, which can be played through buttons and manipulated in various ways. You can go down any number of rabbit holes (try here and here for starters) and still not understand exactly how the apparatus works. So let’s stipulate the shorthand: Spunt bought a new set of toys and spent a certain amount of time bending them to his will.

We can, at least, gather that the EMU-Romplers came in a variety of editions, each with distinct palettes of sampled sound. The “Mo Phatt” version featured blasts and blats of hip hop textures; you can hear it at work here in the robot funky “Boom Times at the Phatt Farm.”  Other versions delivered more ethereal, ambient friendly tones. Opener “Gonzo Bop” is really neither very gonzo or much of a bop; it floats and hovers over a twitching synthetic bass groove. The amusingly named “Confusion Is SysEx” drops watery bloops into fizzing electric-shocked noise blasts. It’s austere, cerebral, and maybe having a laugh at us.

The tracks, then, are very different from each other, so much so that you wonder how much is Spunt and how much is the instrument he’s playing. “Highlighter Bombast” rolls out a glassy beat, all transparent tones and shushing, syncopating glitch percussion; it would be right at home on a Kompakt comp.  “Fructose,” though is lush and tropical, all sinuous curves and hand-drum patter, though with the sound of a wire sculpture exploding laid over it. And what to make of “The Eternal Present”’s multicolored 1970s optimism? You expect Karen Carpenter to come in singing at any moment.

None of this matters if the music isn’t good — not the unusual instruments, not the variety of sonic textures, not the technical challenges turning pre-set tones into tunes. But in fact, it is quite good, full of airy atmospherics and shifting moods and intricate layers of percussion and tone. It’s quite different from No Age, not to mention from the post-punk rough-housers Spunt highlights on his PPM label, but enjoyable on its own terms. If these are the basic editions, we can only anticipate the deluxe ones.

Jennifer Kelly

[whifferdills]

ok i actually enjoyed that it's just that the general vibes of RTD are like chewing on tinfoil for me. you can't fit an entire 80's DW serial into one 45 minute episode is another problem BUT i like the new companion and i love things that are bad. so.

[atlaslovesedm]

how to make fire music like you???

find an fl studio crack and download a shitton of video game/rompler soundfonts

or just use beepbox

whatever butters your eggroll

[kushblazer666]

why is teenage engineering selling a medieval rompler

[pcegsts]

(1994) Vasteel 2

a nice little rompler romp. i guess you might call this overarching style "DTM"?

dunno. it's alright. i particularly like "Revengers".

[sparkysynth]

Sure you can get all this fancy equipment but there's just something about a 25 year old rompler

[framelandgame]

The Music of Frameland

Let's talk about the music of Frameland today! As a game that prominently features a retro pixel art aesthetic, it was only natural for the music to reflect that as well.

Realistic-sounding instruments would feel out of place, and so we decided to adhere to the limitations of the Super Nintendo, music-wise. Listen to the first town's theme as an example:

The biggest limitation here is the 8-note polyphony. That means only 8 sounds can play at the same time, including percussion and drums!

To get that typical SNES feel, you'd also need to have the right samples. As file size was an issue in the 90s, these samples were usually very short and looped to allow for longer notes.

Also, you'd typically just have one pitch and let the system play the sample faster or slower to allow for different notes — yet another thing that gives the SNES its characteristic sound!

In order to find samples with the right ✨ vibe ✨, we found and sampled some vintage machines:

A toy piano from the late 90s

Two different synthesizers/romplers from the late 80s

Input everything into a DAW (music software) of your choice, load up your favorite sampler (we love chipsynth SFC) and off you go:

We hope you like our little excursion into the audio side of things! We can't wait to have you hear the whole soundtrack in-game.

[emotionalhxc]

Strawberry Hospital Q&A transcribed <3 PART 3

Q: whats your favourite metal song if you have one N: "favourite metal song of all time is impossible to choose but only recently I have been obsessed with this since I heart it earlier this month"

Q: holoparasite is my favorite songs and I was wondering what inspired you to make it N: "simple repetitive gloomy looped music like the yume nikki soundtrack! I wrote it in like an hour which basically never happens for Strawberry Hospital tracks" Q: wat is cherish about :l? love ur music btw<3 N: "desperate attempts at avoiding abandonment and going as far altering your own identity to be what somebody else might prefer... (pro tip do not do this ^^) I wanted the cute electropop instrumentation to contrast the somewhat hopeless subject matter" Q: R u ever doing a show in Houston again? I loved seeing u live! N: "without a doubt I will be back! my favorite photo of that performance is currently my bandcamp banner actually" Q: What synthesizer, sampler, etc. do you dream of having? Old/new, common/rare... N: "need a full rack of ROMplers, then I will die happy. I already have my beloved SC-88 but would adore an Akai or Yamaha module in addition ! somehow I do not own a physical microKorg either?" Q: also do you watch sailor moon and if so whos your favorite character<3 N: "when I was 4 years old I begged my mother to purhacse a VHS copy of one of the episodes judging only from the cover art style, I haven't seen much since then but that probably caused me to develop an adoration for the magical girl genre long term... wait is this question because my name is Neptune...!" Q: azure is literally my favorite song ever😭is there a reason u made the song??/meaning? N: "awe I'm overjoyed that you appreciate Azure! there were countless musical influences that were poured into this one like cyrbergrind and darkstep and glitch pop, etc. I wanted harsh instrumentation layered with dense sweet melodies and harmonies lyrically, the song is a metaphor for drowning in an abyssal river of your own tears, and imagining a single angelic individual saving you or at least accompanying you in your demise it's also about grief, mutual forgiveness, and is dedicated to someone specific" Q: Hihi! Your wonderful music has brought so much comfort to me. :3 what are your favourite anime series? N: "ah!! thank you very much... I received a few instances of this question so I'll consolidate them into one response current top 5 favorites (excluding feature length animated films): - Kaiba - Madoka Magica - Haibane Renmei - Alien 9 - Princess Tutu"

Q: I really loved I miss you so long, can you tell more in depth of it pls N: "an older favorite! that one is primarily written about lethargy, escapism, and being a self depricating NEET after high school graduation (I'm reformed now as that was many years ago lol)" Q: have you ever seen the covers of the songs like Memento? (Examples: velvet by lilac) N: "yes I have mixed feelings about that specific cover. that said, I have enjoyed many of lilac's original productions and I have listened to most other covers of my songs from other musicians. it is a deeply flattering gesture" THAT'S ALL. I hope you all enjoyed reading this, I'm a huge fan of Neptune's music and I really wanted to do this to keep a log of strawberry hospital's Q&A in a somewhat more permanent way/digital archive way. Lots of love to you all xo emotionalhxc signing out :3

[anosci]

selected albums ive listened to in 2024

this year I'm just posting the highlights so itll be shorter

[1] [2]

January

1/ VHS Head - Phasia (2023) first new album of '24 for me! "Strange Food" that zap pew beat is a delight! title track is p good, floaty. "Phocus" this is very vaguely leaning into…funk? i really like it. possible highlight? wondering why it shares the title of a different album.

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4/ VA - FM Synth 2 (2017) yeah i love fm "Mach 5 Fusion Force X" is a god damn tour de force. insane! "Work Without Rules" second fav of mine for its smoov smoov swingy wobs

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7/ Skee Mask - C (2024) first 2024 album in the list! dusty, crispy, chillout. analogue. deep bass when needed, never too thick of a presence. delightful chillout music. at worst, its a bit varied, as if it were an anthology. probably because it is. highlight: "Bassline Dub"

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12/ (all OCRemix posts from 2017) all over the place ofc some insano selections: "Multi-track Drifting" N R G!!! "Big Room Gobi" funny but in a goes hard way also: Star Salzman's Katamari mix!!! i keep coming back to that in particular

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15/ VA - Adventure Time, Vol. 1-5 (2019) they have extended versions of some sc cuts!! "Party With the Chief" esp(!) the biggest thing I noticed overall: this soundtrack is so…wack. meandering. ADHD in control of a quirky ensemble. continually amazed that this's from a hit show

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16/ Diverse System - JAPAN 2 (2023) a mostly rly good grab bag of bangers with a japan flavor! i adore the koto mixed in with tight electric beats. big big standouts with "灯火" !!! and the much more electric "Amatsu"

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17/ Patricia Taxxon - Bicycle (2024) laid back (mostly) textures n vibes. instant fav in "Frat Claws" and "I Do" specifically! i really like the FEEL within the sounds. i keep coming back to "Chipshop" and "Boys". visceral.

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23/ Aleksi Perälä - Starlight 1 (2018) surprisingly solid, albeit a bit all over the place much love for the smooth sounds of "UK74R1823040" much love for the stepfiltered "UK74R1823090" not as much a fan of the techno flavors this time but still!

it's hard to recommend this artist in general but ive been listening to a lot of AP music. just give those two highlights a try and see what you think.

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February

25/ BT - The Secret Language of Trees (2023) THE GOOD STUFF Producer's Cuts especially!!! "k-means clustering"……. the clicks in "Time Moves So Fast"…. if you ever wished ppl made more music from 2007, here it is. a return to the binary universe.

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40/ Tom Bragl - Regainable (2024) a few crunchy niceities, but just a few imo. "Klamra" f.ex. feels very 2007, which IS a delight. for anyone who wishes they made more music from 2007. here it is. funny it's marketed as "80s esque" lol. i hear it tho.

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43/ µ-ziq - 1977 (2023) mike has a very distinct style that stands out from a lot of his peers imo. i wasnt sure about this but the reverbed minimalist drum machine in tracks like "4am" and "Belt & Carpet" win me over. I think those two and the weirdly hazy house of "Houzz 13" are my favs. "4am" especially, with those ethereal (newage?) chopped vocals

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44/ Autechre - 2005-4-15 Glasgow (live set) apparently there are some old soundboard recordings laying around!!! this is super good. quaristice stuff. i love love love the multiple variations of chence9! the fast version of IO is rly good too. ez fav but still.

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March

47/ STAFFcirc vol. 9: MIDI MODULE FANATIX (2024) oh hell yes, midi AND rompler!!! "Thunder and Strawberry Wine" is otherworldly. i get how it was made but also. How? ooooghhh… "30 Domcaster St" delightful ooooghhh… "Cascade rev.2023" authentic zest "Yakumotatsu" god i love this trend of pushing msgs midi to the max "tunnel7_r35b" listen i love chimeratio and he brought his slapping

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57/ Fields Of Mist - Biospore Farmers (2024) try not to compare to boc challenge: impossible. it's lush damnit. but the perc is way way more analogue drummachine. its wall to wall good. that opening track would have blown my mind in 2007. they dont make it like that anymore, except i guess they do!

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60/ pilotredsun - Achievement (2016) an album misplaced in time. pristine early 00s bedroom musician vibes.

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[charmabrasion]

was listening 2 the new f5ve w my friends and got randomly sucker punched by the bit at the end of jump with the dire dire docks rompler. and i started sobbing and everyone made fun of me for being on my period!!! (˵•̀⤙•́˵) (⸝⸝- ̫ -⸝⸝) so i need u to destroy all traces of gaming from my memory

[centralmao]

Micro Keys .32 patchs ROMpler authentiques provenant d’échantillonneurs montés en rack des années 90. Micro Keys dispose de 4 pianos électriques, 2 pianos acoustiques, 2 orgues, 8 cordes, 10 synthés, 6 basses et un sax ténor en bonus

[smokyproggrock]

more odd time midi/rompler sax please

[raisedbyelectronics]

The sad thing is that consciously masked neurological difference can also look like faked neurological difference.

Someone who passes the Mary-Sally-Box test because they can intellectualize theory of mind – and had enough theory of mind to know how different their mind is from other minds – is still very much autistic.

Someone who can make eye contact, but struggles with it overall, and actually finds it easier to listen by turning their ear to the person, might seem like a drama queen.

Someone who has fairly mainstream special interest/s (i.e., electronics, music, electronic music, etc.) might not seem autistic until they fucking talk your ear off about how transistors and capacitors in a VCO synth are very different from a ROMpler's PCM.

ive found that partially treated mental illness can sometimes look to uninvolved onlookers like faked mental illness.