New England Digital Corporation // Synclavier I (US, 1978)
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New England Digital Corporation // Synclavier I (US, 1978)
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Moog 3p modular, Synclavier II, Yamaha CS 80, Minimoog, Korg MS-20 and various other instruments at the Deutsches museum
The Synclavier II (1980)
Synclavier returns as Regen, a desktop synth! đ
Frank Zappa: Jazz from Hell (1986)
By 1986, Frank Zappa had reached the ripe old age of 46 and was thus an elder statesmen of rock ânâ roll, no matter what his increasingly avant-garde, genre-defying music, inevitably spiced with intellectually politicized and/or stubbornly puerile lyrics, may have said to the contrary.
And, building upon the previous yearâs P.M.R.C.-obsessed Meets the Mothers of Prevention, 1986âs Jazz from Hell was recorded primarily on the Synclavier: a then cutting-edge, now ultra-primitive, computer/instrument/sampler that could execute any combination of notes with total precision.
For Zappa, the perfectionist, who by now considered the process of hiring, rehearsing, and conducting even the most talented musicians a ânecessary evilâ towards the goal of flawlessly executing his challenging compositions, the Synclavier was a dream come true.
So, the only piece on Jazz from Hell to feature, living, breathing, carbon-based, bipedal organisms, was a Zappa guitar solo called âSt. Etienne,â drawn from a live performance of âDrowning Witchâ -- all other sounds were produced by lengthy sequences of 1s and 0s.
And yet, somehow, the record was a critical, if not exactly a chart-climbing success, described as a âmusical landmark,â by one critic, who went on to rave that it âpushed Zappa to the top of the list of world class futuro-composers.â
Uh, whatever that means ...
Other listeners were less impressed, turned off by âcoldâ-sounding material like âThe Beltway Bandits,â âMassaggio Galore,â and title track, most of which were literally impossible for humans to play; but this didnât stop the album from winning a Grammy for âBest Rock Instrumental Performance.â
Alas, as a typically unimpressed Frank said at the time: âThe night before the Grammys, I was interviewed on CBS [but] they edited what I said [about] the Grammys [being] a farce [and] having nothing to do with merit. The real criteria are record sales or if the person is your friend.â
He wasnât wrong ...
But back to the music, and a couple of cuts that I think managed to overcome the digital/organic divide, namely the frenzied âG-Spot Tornado,â later to attain an improbable humanity in the hands of the Ensemble Modern on â93âs The Yellow Shark, as well as the albumâs very first cut, âNight School.âÂ
The latter was literally conceived as the theme for a late-night talk show to be hosted by Frank and a âpermanent faculty,â who would discuss the news ignored by the mainstream network newscasts ... sort of like a Real Time with Bill Maher, come to think of it.
Viewers would even be given the chance to a âdiplomaâ via phone order!
Needless to say, the show never came to be, but the exercise illustrates how varied and far afield Frankâs interests were moving, well beyond music, as his career entered its third decade.
Amazingly, Jazz from Hell also proved to be the final studio album released before Frankâs death in 1993, as he spent his final years remixing and releasing concert album after concert album (the Civilization Phaze III set was only issued after his death) instead of focused on composing or touring.
Maybe all of his music career dreams and ambitions had been satisfied with that Grammy win ... NOT!Â
More Frank Zappa: Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, Lumpy Gravy, Weâre Only in it for the Money, Cruising with Ruben and the Jets, Uncle Meat, Hot Rats, Burnt Weenie Sandwich, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Chungaâs Revenge, Fillmore East â June 1971, 200 Motels, Just Another Band from L.A., Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, Over-nite Sensation, Apostrophe (â), Roxy & Elsewhere, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury, Zoot Allures, Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, Sheik Yerbouti, Orchestral Favorites, Joeâs Garage Act I, Joeâs Garage Act II & III, âI Donât Wanna Get Drafted,â Tinseltown Rebellion, You Are What You Is, Ship Arriving too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, The Man from Utopia, London Symphony Orchestra Vol. I, Them or Us, Meets the Mothers of Prevention, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore (Sampler), Broadway the Hard Way.

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when you find out your former bandmates bought a SynclavierÂ
Frank Zappa and the Synclavier.