Pitchfork investigate vinyl purist labels in the digital age, the BBC explores the forgotten heroes of Chicago house and EMS founder Peter Zinovieff discusses the legendary Synthi.
EMS Founder Peter Zinovieff on the Synthi. British engineer and inventor Peter Zinovieff, founder of EMS, whose pioneering work and research into electronic music production led to many innovative developments in the late 1960s, tells the story behind the Synthi portable analogue synthesiser. Watch above.
Vinyl Purist Labels in the Digital Age. In Pitchfork‘s new longform feature, Philip Sherburne explores the ethos of vinyl-only labels in the digital age, asking underground electronic music’s vinyl purists, including Sex Tags Mania, Aniara and No ‘Label’, about their philosophy. Is their devotion to the format righteousness or elitism? Read the feature here.
Forgotten Heroes of Chicago House. In a new documentary, BBC 6 Music’s DJ Dave Pearce travels to the Windy City to discover how house music grew out of black gay clubs in Chicago in the early 1980s. From being dismissed by radio stations as “gay music” through to spawning a $20bn industry, Pearce asks what the originators think of this new scene. Stream the show in full here.
Apply for Ableton Loop tickets. The second annual Ableton Loop summit will take place in Berlin from the 4th to 6th of November. The programme includes a conversation and live performance with Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, a session with Jazzy Jeff and a conversation with Moritz von Oswald. Check out the full line-up and apply for tickets here.
New electronic music synth agency launched. Syncsmith is a new sync agency specialising in electronic music. Representing labels including Houndstooth, Opal Tapes and Versatile Records, plus artists like Hieroglyphic Being, Beatrice Dillon and Karen Gwyer, the Bristol-based company aims to place experimental electronic music in TV shows, films and video games. Find out more here.