Inspired by the legendary Tomita, the Lo-Fi Orchestra presents Uranus from Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite.

This is using the same Lo-Fi Orchestra setup as Jupiter. You can listen out for the MT32-Pi on timpani once again, the Adafruit Feather on xylophone, and heavy use of the PWM and FM Mozzi, and R2R synthesis engines.

There is a rather curious ticking that occurs when certain combinations of voices are playing in sync that I think is interference between the MIDI signals (bursts of note on and note off messages) and the audio that is accentuated by the lo-fi nature of the synthesis going on.  To start with I wanted to remove it, but as I listen to it, I actually quite like it.  It gives a curious percussive accompaniment to some passages, so I’ve left it in.

This has been programmed in from scratch from the original orchestral score and the composer’s own arrangement for two pianos.

You can also listen to Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn from DIY Electromusic. More on this piece in the post here.