Does the year 1977 seam like a long time ago? Does it seem recent? Depending on the technology we’re thinking about — or the memory we’re having — about 50 years ago can seem strangely recent or disturbingly distant, or vice versa. When it comes to the history of music technology, that goes double. Here’s a demo of an early digital synthesizer played by American composer Laurie Spiegel. Here’s more from CDM:

In 1977, the marriage of motion pictures and telephones somehow birthed Hal Alles’ Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer – an experimental additive synth that imagined new directions for both music and vocal communication. This 1977 demo has the creator show off that vision, and Laurie Spiegel is on-hand to explore the device compositionally.

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Apparently, Laurie’s composition was the only creation for this unusual instrument. nd it was massively unwieldy and the interface was a bit – let’s say maximalist, charitable. But you’ll see a number of features (multiple FM oscillators, digital architecture) that make some sense today. Alles’ deeper vision transcends any of those specs, and explains why it was an influential creation.

See and hear more!