In the 70s and 80s electronic musical tools that had had previously been wildly experimental became very mainstream. Now electronic music is as pervasive as every other electronic thing — which is to say, it is like water to a fish. Almost all music is electronic. Less of the pop music we experience had its origins in the physical world. But all of that was once a curiosity. Here’s more from a vintage 1980’s documentary via Fran Blanche:

This film by Bernard Wilets was originally produced around 1969-70, but this reel that I present is the updated version from 1983 which includes new added Fairlight sequences with Rory Kaplan. The original sections are VERY 1969 and the color of this print is still remarkable. Great footage of Moog modular synths right in their heyday and lots of screenshots of waveforms and such. Is it coincidental that so much Bach is being played on the Moog? Calling Wendy Carlos! The film features several people who went on to make their names in electronic music, including Rory Kaplan, Douglas Leedy, and Jean-Claude Risset. This reel was transferred from my own 16mm archive print using my Eiki Telecine. The Eiki projects a 24fps print at 30 frames per second for a flickerless NTSC transfer. A special diffusion plate eliminates the ‘hot spot’ of the projector, and the sound is pulled right from the optical track.

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