Obsolete Components

portait

landscape

port rev

produced by dan torrance & matt thibideau

copyright 2014-2015

The (Co)Sine project begun in early 2014 with the development and construction of synthesizer modules which would later be used to define the
raw, vintage sound that is (CO)Sine. Through the latter half of 2014, The (CO)Sine collaboration focused on studio work using the concept of
limitation as the core artistic driver. In juxtaposition to the modern recording experience, where possibilities are endless. all productions were written and mixed within in one or two studio sessions, all sounds were generated using modular or vintage equipment and no computers were used in productions, with the exception of recording final products.

Echo As Metaphor is the first offering from the (CO)Sine experiment. Portrait, Landscape Port Rev are defined by syncopated synth lines, thick melodic pads and raw untreated drums, creating nostalgic deep vibes that remain relevant in modern house and techno.

(CO)Sine is a collaboration between Dan Torrance and Matt Thibideau

Tonight you can hear some great electronic performers including Matt Thibideau on uStream.
Music performances start at approximately 9pm.  To connect to the stream click on the link below:

http://ustre.am/vpYP

This evenings lineup includes:

Arthur Oskan – dj/live
Matt Thibideau – live
Craig Whiting – live

Markus Heckmann – dj
Monika Janek – dj
Tom Kuo – dj

Please tune in and enjoy!

 http://www.studiofeed.com/main/studiofeed-radio-the-hushlamb-free-range-show-episode-22-ft-mark-matt-thibideau/

Check out their featured Podcast:

http://www.electronique.it/podcastA2815C10_Podcast_Matt—Mark-Thibideau_E-P-175

Enjoy!

Hi Everyone.
Please check out this nice mini doc that studiofeed has created on our Studio, Music and Record Label.
Cheers
Love Obsolete Components

http://www.studiofeed.com/main/2012/07/10/creative-spaces-mark-and-matt-thibideau/

Matt Thibideau’s live set from Mutek 2012 in Montreal.

Available on Beatport

buy now

come out and support this very rare and special event on april 25th at the drake hotel in the fine west end of downtown toronto!
the performance will feature vocals by dawn lewis and ana mulrooney with mark and matt thibideau playing the synths. 
show starts art 8:30pm at 1150 queen street west, toronto, on, m6j 1j3
it is 5 dollars at the door and there will be some limited merchandise.
we hope to see you there.
sincerely 
repair

Hi Supporters!
It has been a very active winter here at Obsolete Components.
Blogs, performances, releases and general interest in the label has increased.
We wanted to thank everyone for the continued support.
There is some exciting releases coming very soon so stay tuned!
In the meantime Matt Thibideau has done a special live set for Studio Feed here in Toronto.
You can watch this video performance here.. 


http://www.studiofeed.com/main/2012/03/07/studiofeed-radio-the-hushlamb-free-range-show-episode-4/

Here is link to Scott Stanley’s live performance from a few weeks back in Toronto at the Rivoli.
Listen and Enjoy!


Sincerely Obsolete Components 

http://soundcloud.com/spectrumeclectric/scott-stanley-live-feb-2012

Matt Thibideau / Partial / Obsolete Components
So Here is our Latest Offering From Matt Thibideau composed entirely on the Synclavier PSMT.
A Video for the track “Partial” created by Markus Heckmann using Touch Design.
The Music is available on Obsolete Components Volume II.
Available on Itunes, What People Play and Beatport.

Basic Soul Unit

Scott Stanley

Feb 2 / 2012

Scott really killed us New Year’s Eve, for those that missed it – here is your chance!

http://soundcloud.com/matt-thibideau/matt-live-nye

Here is a recording of Matt Thibideau’s current live set from NYE.
Listen and enjoy.. this is all new stuff!

Hello everyone!

Happy 2012 from Obsolete Components!


Here is some evidence of our fantastic New Years Eve party to welcome 2012.
It was streamed and will be archived for your listening pleasure soon!

 Scott Stanley at sound check making sure everything is set up and ready to go.

 Arthur Oskan doing his sound check  while Mark Thibideau and Markus Heckmann Adjust the PA and visuals. Scott Stanley is adjusting some mutes on the MPC.

 Jakob Thiesen in action bringing us until midnight with his machine drum and memoryman delay unit.. dubbing us from time to time.

  Mark Thibideau delivering welcoming 2012 with a deep house/ tech set that got everyone going!

Shiriyazaki

The EMU SP-1200 was used for this track.

Video Filmed and Edited by Mass Transit Film in Toronto.

                            
                 happy holidays to everyone and thanks for the support in 2011!

Mark Thibideau – LAG TIME GENERATOR

My long journey with the ARP 2600 began in the early 90’s.
After finding out that Depeche Mode used one and my favorite producers (Flood) had one, I knew that I eventually wanted to own one of these machines. Upon the first time I played with the 2600 i knew I was going to have this machine for a long time. It made so many strange sounds that my other synths couldn’t do, and with the offering of modular patching, my head could explode from sound making possibilities. The Arp synth offers a aggressive and big sound that can scream at you, commanding attention.
For lag time generator, I used this synth for all sounds, drums and even a lot of the processing ( built in spring reverb and processing through the preamp, filter and ring mod).
Making music with this machine is always fun and interesting. always getting sounds that are unexpected and unique.

Mark

When I was a young boy/man, I drove motorcycles. I had two Yamaha 125cc motocross off-road machines, and a 400cc road bike. I enjoyed the feeling of acceleration by being thrust through open space.
There was a feeling of solitude and peace, as I was so carefully wrapped in leather and plastic. When driving, I was enveloped in the rising and falling pitch of the engine vibrating through my skinny 16 year old body.
One day this solitude was interrupted by a minivan. Traffic had backed up considerably &, as I turned the corner, it had just begun to rain. I was an inexperienced rider and applied the brakes too quickly and began to slide on the newly slippery oil soaked pavement. In slow motion, I began to gently lay the bike on the road but not before rear ending the back of that minivan. The motorcycle fell to the left and the gas tank split my femur in half.
I was rescued by that poor minivan driver, and a group of military personnel, who happened to be driving behind me. They held my leg in place on the highway until the ambulance arrived. I was in shock, shivering and shaking. They saved my life. Right next to the femur there exists a large vein, which when severed by a splintered bone, can cause one to bleed to death within minutes.

I am pretty lucky.
These days I get my kicks in different ways.
love, Jakob
(Obsolete Components)

“Foraup” is being released as part of Obsolete Components 2nd techno music compilation “volume 2″ on November 28th 2011. Available on Itunes, Beatport, and What People Play.
All sounds derived from a Yamaha DX100 FM synthesizer, serial number #23160.

A new addition to my studio

Electric Lairs 

 "Electric Lairs" is entirely based on the Yamaha CS15. No other sound sources have been used. Besides EQs on the channels, I only used some reverb, tape delay and a little bit of compression on the bass drum part. Also, I didn't sequence it, all parts are played live and recorded and mixed in Logic Studio.

I love the CS15, and it's one of the synths that has stayed with me throughout all studio changes. Generally, I don't really like to keep a lot of things around, and I believe in "traveling instruments"- I buy something, use it for a year or two, and let it go again to replace it with something new. I love the idea that especially vintage instruments travelled through the hands of generations of musicians and were an inspiration to many. Very few instruments actually remain with me for longer periods. 

 My CS15 is one of these instruments that I will never let go of. Mine also has a bit of a sad story, since before me it was owned by Christian Morgenstern, who suddenly died in 2003. A mutual friend, Falko Brocksieper, was asked by Christians parents to take apart and sell off his studio after he passed away, and Falko asked me if I would maybe like to have this very particular one. I took it and loved it ever since.

The CS15 basically does not sound like anything I have ever heard elsewhere. It's noisy, it's dark, it's unpredictable and it sounds of electricity to it's very core. It's not a necessarily a very pleasant synth, but it has character and patina, it's a sound universe on it's own, more so than pretty much any other synth I have ever put my hands on. That might also be one of the reasons why many people actually can't really relate to it; it's also quite hard to program since a lot of parameters work and sound totally differently than one expects. 

And here some pictures of the baby that this track came to life through (Photos taken by Ronni Shendar):

Glitterbug

What a great label from Italy, check it out!

Lots of great free mixes and artist releases…

Label
http://www.eclipsemusic.eu

Night Drive
http://www.eclipsemusic.eu/2009/+blog/?p=499

Ceremony (for Binny and Eric)
http://www.eclipsemusic.eu/2009/+blog/?p=541

it’s raining outside, perfect day for perfecting the set

  Obsolete Components Mix Compilation by obsoletecomponents
Another mix compilation of our catalog for you to enjoy
This is Matt Thibideau’s approach at DJing.I added some extra drum parts from a wonderful E-mu Sp-1200. Enjoy!
1. Night Drive, Archive 1, Matt Thibideau
2. Key Maps, OC Vol.1, Mark Thibideau & Scott Stanley
3. Tilta-Whirl, Archive 4, Mark Thibideau
4. Carriers, OC Vol.1, Matt Thibideau, Scott Stanley
5. Jumbled Mass, Archive 4, Mark Thibideau
6. The Slow Club, Archive 1, Matt Thibideau
7. Chrome Type II, OC Vol.1, Jakob Thiesen
8. SH, OC Vol.1, Scott Stanley
9. Tape 5A, Tapes 1-8, Students
10. Tape 5A Tapes 1-8, Coordinates Remix
11. Discreet Voices, OC Vol.1, Coordinates
12. Into Winter, Archive 3, Scott Stanley
13. Six, OC Vol.1, Matt Thibideau & Scott Stanley
14. Clocks, Archive 2, Jakob Thiesen

Please take some time to enjoy listening to this Obsolete Components DJ mix by Eric Downer.
Its free, so download it and put it on your Ipod, or play it loud on your speakers.

This is a mix of some of the available tracks from our records. Artists included: Scott Stanley, Students, Matt Thibideau, Jakob Thiesen, Repair and Mark Thibideau.

Enjoy!!!

Obsolete Components Mix by DJ Eric Downer by obsoletecomponents
 

This is a great machine for modifying sound. It has four independent efx processors that can be configured in a multitude of ways to make new combinations of efx. The flexibility and modular architecture of this machine actually makes it cross over into the synthesis category, which is why I am posting about it here. The sound is warm and deep, and has a bit of hiss to remind you that you aren’t using a plugin.

https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~dattorro/DP4.htm

The exact unit used in these tracks has recently undergone a memory chip swap on one of the processors by John R. Southern (www.hardwerke.ca). He was gracious enough to invite me over to his facility as he did it, and he documented the procedure on the web for others. In the process, I learned a lot about DSP, RAM and how these efx processors work. You can find his project-log link below.

http://zope.hardwerke.ca/projects/resources/electronic-music/manufacturers/ensoniq/dp-4/systems/dp-15079/log

happy tweaking,

-jakob

 via kanadische inhalte

   Matt Thibideau, Live PA @ BreakandEnter , Kanadische Inhalte, reboot.fm, Berlin, 27-08-2010 by reboot.fm

It was always in our dreams as young producers to work with the Synclavier.
The Glossy shots of it in Keyboard magazine as we grew up always caught our attention. After learning that this was the secret to part of Depeche Mode’s early sound, we knew we had to have it some day.

So 1 year ago luckily Mark and I managed to purchase a Synclavier PSMT system.
Mark, David Lush (Thanks again for lugging it around!), Jakob Thiesen, and Myself got in David’s mini van and took the excursion all the way out to Scarborough for the Synclavier that awaited us disassembled in a garage mostly!
We purchased it from a guy in that used to use it on the show’s “Street Legal” and  “The Relic Hunter”.
Included with it was the 32 poly voice sampling system with 32 meg,  16 voice FM synthesizer, 16 track Hard disk recording system, midi, the apple mac and VPK weighted keyboard controller.

After an evening of moving the massive and heavy system to our loft we slowly powered it up to encounter several problems with the system. We knew there were going to be problems with this system, but not near the extent of the problems that we faced.
 

An old friend John Southern decided to help us out with the technical side of fixing the Synclavier. We are so thankful to have him involved in fixing this beast!
We all kind of walked into this blindly.
Keep in mind there is very little support for these machines. Just a few select people online that sell parts and offer expensive servicing options.
After many hours of trouble shooting over the winter we discovered these problems…
1. The main computer rack (called the ABLE computer) cards were not in their proper place.. according to the information we found online.
2. The Floppy Drive was not connected internally making it impossible to boot up.
3. Although we had most of the cards for the FM synthesizer , none of them including the power supply and cables were installed into our system.
4. The Poly sampler was also missing a power supply and the Sample to Memory module was also located in the direct to disk tower. This means that we would have to have both towers powered up just to sample sounds (an insane amount of voltage)
So after many months of troubleshooting, researching, emailing, we were able to get the machine configured well enough to boot up. Many thanks to Steve Hills of Synclavier in england for guiding us down the right path!
After boot-up we noticed that the Able computer would crash randomly, the VPK keyboard would not respond as a controller, and that computer was not seeing all of the ram that was located inside the machine.
This is when we were learning how the machine worked.. unlike modern equipment, the synclavier has cards that carry out mostly one function… and it is modular in it’s approach. This makes it easy to try and narrow down what the potential problem could be.
Luckily included with our system was several boxes of spare parts, cards, a few power supplies and disks.
We did however have to order a few things that we did not have.
Once we got the parts we needed , we started by replacing the power supplies on the Able computer, and the Poly sampler. At this time we luckily found another Synclavier PSMT tower that had been gutted of a few parts in the suburbs of Toronto.  It was mostly a full system. We were able to take parts from it to put into our system and start testing everything.
-We started by replacing the Ram cards, and it didn’t recognize any of it.
-Next up was the card that controls the Ram and that fixed that problem.
Our system all of a sudden was reading all 35 megs in it (3 meg was for computer / sequencing functions)
- Our next goal was to load in samples to listen to them. All that played back was static noise.
Frustrated and annoyed we turned to the spare FM cards we had in the parts collection and installed the 16 voice FM synthesizer with it’s new power supply.
Without the working keyboard, the only way that we could hear if the Fm synthesizer was working was to learn how to input notes into the 200 track sequencer or midi up a controller. We were in luck, the FM voices worked beautifully. We were so shocked at how much nicer they sounded to Yamaha’s DX variety of FM synthesis.
At this point we had to get the VPK keyboard working. It would really be the easiest way to test the machine, and program sounds since there is basically a control for every parameter on the front of it. We had all of the spare cards to fix this keyboard.. and we discovered that card that was telling the keyboard to send information to the computer was faulty. Once we replaced this it is working beautifully!
It is amazing how easy it is to make complex sounds and sequence them via the VPK. It was apparent to us now why the lucky producers and studios loved the Synclavier so dearly!
The next portion of work needed to be done to get the sampler playing back it’s sound properly. Something that was converting the sounds was not playing them back properly. So our guess was that the D/A controller card was faulty.
After switching many cards, we got it to work. The samples sounded amazing! 
Our final project with the Synclavier was to instal the Sample to Memory module. This is located usually at the top of the tower and has a very large power supply that works with it. The problem is that our system had a custom floppy drive / hard drive installed. this needed to be taken out and controlled externally. The sample inputs and power supply would need to take up that space and have proper ventilation to keep the system cool.
Once we installed the sample to memory and power we immediately turned the system on and started sampling.
Somehow although we were able to load and play back samples, what we recorded into the machine played back as noise.
We were so close to having this machine running perfectly.
After discovering software called “Logger” for the synclavier, we were able have the computer perform tests on itself to tell us what was wrong with it.
Sure enough another card that controls the Digital to Analog playback was not working and we replaced it!
Now our system is up to snuff, working how we always wanted it to.
To describe the way the synclavier sounds, I would say is huge, warm, clean yet grainy. We are still learning how to use certain aspects of it.  We have started making a library of our own sounds.
But it will be a main tool for creating our next records and hopefully for years to come.
Matt

http://www.myx2u.com/obsoletecomponents/

things are happening here again… (albeit slowly)

a repress of our beloved vol 1 is in the works, as well as other surprises we will tell you about soon.

babies, houses, loves won and lost, monster synthesizer restorations, city streets and deep forests.

these things have filled our year, and will soon fill our tracks which will fill your ears.

Matt putting his obsolete components to work for the 2009 Mutek Festival…

I got into modular synthesizers because I wanted to bypass the computer for music creation and sequencing and get hands on control of everything. I quickly realized that if I was to buy the modules pre-built I would never be able to afford a decent sized set-up, so I did a lot of reading and jumped head first into building them. The song Modular came to be when I invited Matt over to check out the build progress of my modular synth and, of course, to play around with it. The song was done in one take “live” using only the modular synth for all sequencing and sound sources and with a little help from a Roland Jupiter 4. Each sound was recorded to it’s own track in Pro-tools and later mixed and mastered at Matts studio. I used an assortment of modules ranging from an 808 style step (trigger) sequencer to a clone of a Moog 904a filter, along with some modules you can’t buy on the market premade including Tellun’s Neural Agonizer VC spring reverb and a heavily modded MOTM 440 filter that allows for 16 different filter types, very similar to the Oberheim Expander filter.

Dave

For the technical side of this song, we choose to use Waldorf and PPG synths. Our drum kit was created with the Waldorf Blofeld which has been one of the newest additions to the Repair studio. It a pretty interesting little synth that can make a large array of sounds. All other synth sounds and bass sounds were created with Waldorf Microwave and PPG wave 2.2. These synths are known for their bizarrely evolving waveforms and warm filters.

The PPG and Waldorf synths have quite an interesting history. To this day their Wavetable synth engine is uniquely distinct and copied by many synth companies and plug ins. My fascination with Waldorf and PPG started in 1989. After seeing the PPG wave in keyboard magazine and seeing Depeche Mode use them on stage I wanted one. However finding one for cheap was difficult and they were rare machines. Finally, Waldorf released their Microwave rackmount. That was when i knew I had to have it. It was less than 1000 bucks so it was affordable. So I wrote waldorf and they sent me a stack of brochures. Included in those brochures was the Wave synthesizer…. A dream machine. To this day I still want one… A few years later when I was in college, I mustered up the cash to buy the microwave and still have it to this day. It continues to make interesting sounds that are warm, full and punchy sounding. Always a happy addition to any track.

Mark

From the first moment I was approached about participating in this project I was very interested. Over the years the use of a computer in my music making process has become more frequent and I have found it to be both a blessing and a hindrance.

My early music creation experience started off in my teens. I would sit in my mom’s basement, experimenting with tape machines, home keyboards, random instruments, microphones, toys, lo-fi effects that I had cobbled together, etc… Eventually I bought a sampler and a Mac plus and over time I added additional pieces to my studio.

Back then; the computer was not really the pivotal focal point of music creation as it is today. Mainly due to memory and processing limitations, most PC’s were mainly limited to the realm of MIDI (which uses far less data than audio) in regards to music creation. Now however, since the introduction of digital audio editing, when it comes to electronic music (or any type of music really), the PC (which is a powerful multitasking device but, not a machine specifically designed for music creation) is heavily relied on. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the PC is a great machine for various music purposes (editing, synthesis, effects processing, mastering, etc…) however, it is also very accessible to nearly everyone (also, not entirely a bad thing but, can take away from it’s overall uniqueness).

I think what often gets overlooked with computer music creation is that the PC itself is essentially a single sound source. Though it is possible to use many different tools to create sounds “in the box” and use various instruments with a PC, in my opinion, in the end, the composer is still relying on a single source and often relying on a PC’s mix engine and can often be subconsciously geared to editing and composing their music to a certain type of format out of habit.

In many ways a musical composition is like a mathematical equation. All the factors of the equation are like all of the various sound sources and processes used to create or equal the final output. The more sound sources you use, the more dynamic your overall sound can be. Limiting compositions to a PC for all music creation can often (but not always) end up sounding like it was generated by a PC and the original intent of the composition can be lost in this process due to things like mix engine and summing bus limitations built into many software applications. Asking a single device like a PC to process and calculate all of the factors involved can often make it more unreliable and can cause various undesired effects (i.e. audio/EQ frequency degradation, digital parameter stepping, unexpected crashes, etc…). A computer only has so much resources and the more you ask it to do in one area can often take away resources which should be prioritized to others. There are ways to enhance the output of a computer but this takes dedication, focus, and often-additional time and financial investment. At this point I often find myself being more of a computer technician, rather than a musician.

Many PC based musicians shy away from using hardware (more often old/vintage hardware) due to the cost, maintenance, space, etc… which (depending on the individual) are valid reasons. However, in my opinion, many older pieces of music hardware have such a unique charm and sound that cannot truly be replicated by a PC, mainly because these machines use components that are entirely dedicated to it’s own form of sound synthesis. By default, using hardware devices like these provides unique elements that can add whole other layers and elements to the sounds (often good, sometimes not so good). I find that the use of different types of synthesis from various unique sounding devices offers a much wider spectrum of sound dynamics that most combinations of software often fail to emulate. It also gives the creator a more hands on approach to making these sounds and often forces them to consider how these sounds are created and how they are being used in each composition, beyond the scope of software editing and processing. This is something that I believe must be compared and experienced first hand in order to grasp the real differences between these methods of making electronic music.

Of course all of the opinions I have expressed here are subjective and somewhat arguable, however, they do come from several years of personal experience. Our goal with this project is not to discredit PC musicians in any way because; we too frequently use computers in our music making process. We are also well aware that computers can generate certain types of sounds that hardware cannot always recreate. We are fans of other musicians who compose music entirely with computers and… The bottom line is, a good song is a good song, no matter what sources were used to create it. Our real goal is to create something unique and cool using rare music technology which we have invested a lot of time to master over the years, to show respect to the individuals who originated and developed the instruments that we cherish and most importantly to demonstrate the value and understanding of these instruments to electronic music listeners who will appreciate our sound.

-Scott

step1 – black spray paint old jewel cases from basement old cd pile.

step2 – break circuit boards into small, rough-hewn chunks

step 3 – when first coat of paint is dry, affix circuit boards with
contact plumbers glue

step 4 – finish with tremclad clear gloss coat to seal it up

21 limited editions!

When Mark and I started our “Students” project, my computer was up on another floor of the house, so it was inconvienient to move it around when it was time to mix, so i plugged in the 4 track I had lying around. The more Mark and I used it, the more we loved what it did to our tracks, how the changes in level affected the Dolby noise reduction, how the sound of the kick drum changed with compression.

Since then I have picked up different cassette recorders to experiment with the different tonalities they impart on my mixes. These tracks were recorded to a Nakamichi cassette with Dolby C. I like this machine a lot. Matt and I did “High Bias” very quickly, we haven’t worked together on a track in a long time and it flowed very well. “Chrome Type II” was completed by me alone in the same fashion, using 3 samples from Mike Huckaby’s sample CD “My Life with the Wave”.
You can really hear the Dolby clamp down on the Emu Emax chord’s resonance, that was a mistake that i fell in love with.

This is the medium i listened to music on in my youth, and the sound of it brings back memories of sitting in the back seat of my parent’s car, with the walkman on providing the soundtrack to a world flying by.

When using a computer to make music, your brain is split in two, you are seeing the waveforms as well as hearing them. I am convinced this affects how you hear the music and definitley how you structure your arrangements. Stepping back away from the computer has made me appreciate devoting all of my brain to the music, and on a good day, getting lost in it.

-jakob

1. White by Mark Thibideau
2. Chrome Type II by Jakob Thiesen
3. SH by Scott Stanley
4. High Bias by Jakob Thiesen and Matt Thibideau
5. Carriers By Matt Thibideau and Scott Stanley
6. Modular by Dave Afonso and Matt Thibideau
7. Key Maps by Mark Thibideau and Scott Stanley
8. Six by Scott Stanley and Matt Thibideau
9. Discreet Voices by Coordinates
10. Call It Coincidence by Repair