Analog Suicide

Mystery Circuits’ Sweet New Machine – The “Trommemaskine”!

Tara — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:05:46 +0000

Our lovely friend Mike Walters, who played synths and many of his Mystery Circuits machines on my Pilfershire Lane record has created a rather fabulous new machine, the Trommemaskine!

Built for Alex Maiolo’s girlfriend, Olivia (Alex played guitar, bass, banjo, and a dizzying spectrum of effects processors on Pilfershire Lane and now runs the awesome Seriously Adequate Studio in Chapel Hill), you can read more about what’s happening under the hood of the Trommemaskine here on Mike’s Mystery Circuits site….including the making of it! Very cool how he documents the process, as always.
Watch:

Here’s Alex having a go, too:

More Mystery Circuits in case you missed the original postings of Mike’s work..here he is discussing the wonderful Melloman during the making of Pilfershire Lane:

Jeez! Just the mere mention of these fellas makes me miss being in a band with them. More in a bit…

New Mini – Film by Maf, scored by Tara…

Tara — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:41:00 +0000

Here’s a quick dose of what was running through our heads on the way across…I believe this tunnel was somewhere in Tennessee. I found this film oddly sensual, hence the score that popped to mind. Quite sure this will lead to being included in this. This is a grain of how things to come will sound, I think!

The recipe was simple, all Logic 9 with a USB M-Audio Keystation Mini 32 controller, written & mixed in the headphones (this is starting to sound like a disclaimer!) in my hotel in Flagstaff…lots of reversed samples, Flex time and slightly perverse whispering into my Rode USB mic. Fun.

Synths on Route 66! And Home Sweet Home.

Tara — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:25:23 +0000

It hasn’t quite melted into my blurry, slightly road-loony skull that we’ve landed safely in LA…the only place in the world I truly call home. We are camped out temporarily in a lovely old villa in Los Feliz, and I’ve just finished setting up a semi- studio in our apartment to finish work on this.

So, we happened upon an especially beautiful spot in New Mexico, dotted with crumbled clay houses, and rusted car skeletons surrounded by leafless trees that looked as though they were covered with ash, magical and delicate….a perfect spot have a little Monotribe tweak through the car stereo, as Maf filmed me here:

And..here are few pics Maf took at the Petrified Forest in Arizona, me playing with ravens and standing in the middle of the road because I couldn’t resist the pose or being a bit of a dork…

Home sweet home…It’s wonderful to be back.

Amarillo…& “A Portrait of Eliane Radigue”.

Tara — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:46:09 +0000

Here we are. Reeling from a steak overdose. More in a bit…
In the meantime, I’m managing work an a thought that I started last night, watching this, sent to me via twitter:

A Portrait of Eliane Radigue (2009) from Maxime Guitton on Vimeo.

Soap & Skin…Day 1.

Tara — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:39:49 +0000

Half a brain full of wine, and I am listening intently and in rapt amazement to Soap & Skin, and have been on & off all day during our trip through Tennessee. A friend gave me her 2 albums to check out and…let me just say in my somewhat humble opinion; this is the most excited I’ve been about music in a great while. Thus I had to report at least something before I either: #1 pass out or #2: decide to be productive and finish a song with my ‘studio in a bag’:

Nevermind me though. More road pictures lie within my ridiculously compulsively attended Twitter page. Listen to Soap & Skin. Far more important:

Tomorrow We Start…NC to LA!

Tara — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:14:43 +0000

I really should be fast asleep, but it looks like the insomniac is going to win this battle for the moment…too many thoughts tumbling, I suppose….including this little vocal part that hit me in the car today. Brought home, sang into Rode Podcaster and smacked Universal Audio’s Space Echo on it , mainly because I couldn’t help it. I’ll continue cooking it, perhaps:

Anyway…Maf took this photo just now, of our delicious chariot purring in the driveway, waiting to carry us up & over Memphis (where we will visit my uber-super musical genius brother, Todd) tomorrow evening. A trunk full of Moogerfoogers, my Pro One and a soon-to-be-repaired Yamaha CS5 will be riding in the back, what better companions could there be? No, not shoes.

More in the morning…in the meantime, Iisten to this…my brother’s tune “Black & Green Pool In A Dream” – a delicate, dark, trippy acoustic lullaby that I adore deeply. Til next time..

To the HWY…and many random thoughts..

Tara — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:45:36 +0000

The morning greeted me with pelts of rain, hammering away on the window in my sister’s house, which has since given way to beams of sun slicing through the clouds. We’re up in Raleigh, NC, returning our rental car and visiting my sister. I’m musing heavily over our impending road trip, having spent the early morning watching this nugget of sauntering sweetness:

Driving…We finally made up our minds about what car will bring us across the country and back to our home in LA. I’ll manage to post some more photos soon, but it is indeed something I’ve been lusting over for a while.

Sexpot on wheels...

We leave for LA tomorrow ( or maybe Sunday) so I thought I’d try to document it in a little road diary, right here…perhaps involving a bit of noise, in a tidy yet wild brown paper package akin to Dorothy’s Balloon ride back to Oz. This is certainly that ride!
My ingredients are minimal, though I have plenty of plug ins & apps via my laptop, iPhone & iPad…and I do love my broken glockenspiel, Rode Podcaster and Monotribe. Certainly a time when an OP1 would come in handy! Nevertheless, limitations are very healthy:

Which brings me back to the love of driving & how creatively stimulating it is. And to long road trips. And to the magic of the world whizzing by in a beautiful, honey coated blur. Music swirling in your head and in your hands, mountains, desserts, creatures, expoding sunrises, drunk sunsets, Jim Morrison, foul coffee, potholes, 72 ounce Porterhouse steaks, Grand Canyon, road diaries, drowsy hotels and everything held together by USB. The Doors ‘Waiting for the Sun’, Cliff Martinez’ ‘Drive’, Clint Mansell’s ‘Moon’, Neu!, Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream, Stereolab…
Leaving you with this for now, a bit of dark beauty:

Also & a bit off topic – More soon in regards to I Speak Machine & the ‘Daily Stems’ I was on about..In the meantime, I’ve made a new Twitter page for it, please follow if you so desire.

A Brainstorm… & Back to Los Angeles..

Tara — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:33:24 +0000

Over the past several months (since the John Foxx tour, in fact), we’ve been in such a state of lovely flux that I left this blog snoozing a bit….but I now, with this a big move to LA imminent, am excited to blog daily again.

To Heathrow...

I’m thinking that I’ll use this blog as more of a production diary, sharing little clips (such as a new idea I may implement known as “The Daily Stem”), videos and “sonic recipes” with you as I work on these projects, a sort of reinvention if you like…As a certain strategy suggests:

I feel that this approach is authentic & it excites me. As you may have figured out, this blog isnt exactly deeply technical, it is here to express a love of machines and music, and also chat in my odd, hyper-excited fashion about other artists that I am infatuated with.
For example, you must hear Mary:
Mary Epworth – Black Doe (Radio Edit) by mary epworth

Anyway, the notion of being back in LA stirs my heart to joy, and I’m excited to dive into several film/ live score orientated projects that are underway right now (watch this space for updates). However, less excitedly, the past few days have consisted of car shopping and gear packing, and slaying what seems to be a never ending to-do list. Anyway…

Car shopping....The closest I'll get to owning my childhood dream car.

As a small catch-up, I thought I would post a few bits from the past few months…all great, spending time, creative & otherwise with friends old & new & magical & bizarre. Seriously….

A recent visit to vintage heaven.

A collection of juicy drum machines at Benge's..

From Christmas to New Year, we were rooted firmly at my parent’s house, far out in the country in the not-so-dazzling metropolis of Statesville, North Carolina. Island Records asked me to quickly cook up a remix at that time, so I reunited with my beloved Farfisa Compact Deluxe & Pro One, and set up camp in the neighbor’s house next to my parents – a creepy, cobweb infested house that the neighbors left for my Dad to look after.

My beloved!

It’s full of bone-chilling country kitsch items; think antique barbershop chairs covered with stained brown leather, several wooden heart-shaped plaques stating “Bless this Mess” and “Kiss the cook”, a huge collection of wax dachsund figurines, and of course, the metal music boxes:

…but oddly a great place to write…and the music boxes actually sound very cool!
Copper Music Box.. by TaraBusch
There’s a tiny catch up, and I will soon start posting my noisy adventures for you in the form of “Daily Stems” and other goods. Back to packing, or else I’ll ramble all day……..

NAMM 2012 – Juicy, Beautiful Creatures of Note…Teenage Engineering, Buchla & Universal Audio…

Tara — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:41:05 +0000

As the NAMM festivities as still curled up in bed 8 hours behind my current time zone (or just going to sleep), I watched with slight, sweet envy all the things that are on the horizon for us this year.

I always keep a keen watch on Sonic State during NAMM-time for their wonderful, tech savvy videos. Nick Batt & Andy Macreeth have become great friends of ours over the past few years since the hatch of Analog Suicide 4 years ago. Synthtopia and of course Matrixsynth are also amongst my favorites sources.

Here are a few bits of beauty that have really excited me, the first being the dazzling Buchla Skylab.

I read via Synthtopia that Buchla has some very fresh reformatting to come in general:
“..His company, Buchla & Associates, has been acquired by a group of investors, who are creating a new company Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments. Buchla wil be the Chief Technology Officer of the new company…
..Buchla also introduced a new modular synthesizer, the Buchla Skylab. The Buchla Skylab is a compact and slightly more affordable configuration of the Buchla 200e modular line.”

Buchla Skylab, photo from Synthtopia

Rather delicious, the thought of having a Buchla on my lap during a long haul flight…

Onward, I am in the market for a new interface to replace my MOTU traveler. I have been a fan of Universal Audio since I first conjoured up the nerve to work a compressor on my own, and I’m quite taken by the new Apollo:

I am also charmed by the wonders of Izotope, and have indulged myself quite a bit in their software this year, namely Ozone and their wonderful Nectar vocal plug in. And on their horizon is a tasty update, Ozone 5 – I can’t wait to use it!

And of course, no NAMM update would be right in this world without Moog – so of course, here’s the Sonic State peek at the big, juicy, bass beast – the Minitaur…

Lastly, check out the latest gorgeousness from Teenage Engineering..I have long since been lusting after the OP-1, and they now have this. Oh my:

More in a bit. Still reeling from that Skylab, quite frankly. With that, let’s end with a conversation between two beautiful creatures – the OP-1 and our dear friend Benge’s Buchla:

Behold! Meeting the New Moog Minitaur, Pt. 1..

Tara — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:28:40 +0000

Happy New Year, all! And with the beauty of a new year comes mountains of gorgeousness in the shape of the new tiny- but-super-mighty Moog Minotaur! Yes, I’m excited.

Meeting Minitaur...

Since drooling over the Taurus 3 pedals at MoogFest this year, I longed for something with the all enveloping bass minus the mass – and behold! Moog have created a forward thinking, super-concentrated creature about the size of a Moogerfooger with all the sweetness of the Taurus.

Delicious.

This week, Moog asked us to pop in and film a short segment testing out the lovely Minotaur and of course I could never resist such a request! The sound is spectacular and plump, boasting 2 VCO’s and the famous succulent filter we all know and adore…I will have this posted soon, so stay tuned for part 2!

Big shoes and bigger bass....a must.

In the meantime, here’s Moog’s intro video…watch this space for our own adventure with Minitaur.

Tara interviews John Foxx & Benge for SonicState.com!

Tara — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:05:31 +0000

Our dear friend from SonicState.com, Andy Macreeth ( also the DP on our upcoming short film, ‘The Silence’) caught up with us at XOYO on the last night of our tour with the wonderful John Foxx & The Maths. I’m famously awkward on camera if I’m talking, but Benge & John are ever fabulous, funny and informative and Andy did a great job as always.

“I Speak Machine”….A sonic story of a dark A.I. romance.

Tara — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:41:48 +0000

It’s been a few days short of a month since we landed in LA, ensconced in my favorite neighborhood, the Los Feliz hills near Griffith Park. Much has happened and managed to run through my fingertips & into Logic, though I have been more & more quiet on the blogging front…apologies as usual!

I am currently working on a short electronic symphony for PRS and Sensoria in the UK – drawing odd bits of inspiration is quite easy in this city!

Born of an short story idea that Maf had, it is the story of a man that falls in love with his own creation: a small black box that houses a female A.I. Of course, he created this “monster” to soothe his loneliness and provide companionship. The fun part is, I, in collaboration with a few proper mad scientists, will be creating this AI box to be used live. It will actually be a yet – to – be – determined voice effects processor and I get to voice the part of the wicked AI mistress. We will be touring this show next year in the UK as well as a few shows in LA. I am writing the bare bones of it using much digital love from Native Instruments, Universal Audio, Izotope, a Rode Podcaster mic (very smooth & lovely, I must say) and my trusty MPK Mini. Though I am very much out of my studio elements, and I am doing my best to make the most of “limitations”.

Above: Beautiful doorbells at our house, I will utilize for a song or 2.

Photo above from aintitcool.com.
I have my head buried in everything from Demon Seed (I know…say what you will. I liked it!) to 2001: A Space Odyssey to Moon – if you have any suggestions as to books or movies that involve robots or artificial intelligence that becomes sentient and sinister, let me know.

I promise to rear my head again soon with more details!

Rocket Wife Remix Contest Winners Announced!

Tara — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:03:23 +0000

Hello from lovely LA, and apologies for the rather much needed hiatus! There are many things that I need to share since I last posted, including our smashing time at MoogFest 2011 (which I will share details about in a bit) but I’m back in LA to write and reqroup – no better place to do so at the moment!

Performing at MoogFest 2011, Photo by Maf Lewis

Performing 'Suspense' at MoogFest 2011, photo by Maf Lewis

Now that we’re reacquainted, let’s announce the winners of our Bob Moog Foundation/ Tara Busch ‘Rocket Wife Remix’ contest!

For those that are unaware, we released a benefit EP for the Bob Moog Foundation in August, which will help to bring Moog instruments into classrooms all across the US to help teach children science through synthesis – known as ‘Dr Bob’s Sound School’. All the proceeds from the EP and the remix contest go to benefit this cause. Have a look!

John Foxx & The Maths/ Tara Busch Interplay Tour…Some lovely highlights!

Tara — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:00:54 +0000

Well, my attempt to cover this in proper tour diary, on the spot fashion was thwarted by the lack of decent internet connection – but here are a few bits that really shine in my memory! Maf & I had a wonderful time, and are deeply grateful to all who came out to spport the tour and cheer us on! Glasgow in particular was a bombastic wonderland; though each city was very appreciative and welcoming of me – not a bad reception for a support act!

Here are some pix & vids:
At XOYO London, photos by Richard Pearmain

Performing ‘We Can See Mars’ & ‘Superstar’ at The Arches, Glasgow, via vdomorph on YouTube:

John Foxx & The Maths Performing ‘Running Man’:

And more pics from York &

Warming up in Glasgow...

Glasgow…

Me & Maf, jubalent in Glasgow post show...

The magnificent Mr. Foxx & me!

Breakfast in York - size *does* matter...

Much more to post from the tour…just landed in Raleigh, NC last night, and off to get ready for the marvelous MoogFest today! I will write a big bombastic post about my involvement in MoogFest this year when I next land in Asheville – it’s gonna be fabulous! Check out the MoogFest schedule here in the meantime and I’ll catch up with you in a bit.

Tour Diary Quickie w/ Me & John Foxx & The Maths-Manchester, Liverpool & off to Glasgow…

Tara — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 08:48:32 +0000

Goodness!

We’ve left Cardiff till next year, and have been a bit sleepless. I’m feeling every muscle melt into the mattress here in Liverpool, willing myself to shake my tail feathers off to soundcheck. Liverpool football fans raising hell in the bar below….. I’m after all the Beatle spots, but not sure we’ll have time to find them….
Anyway, wanna see some quick pics?

Hannah & Serefina glitt-fy-ing, about to hit the stage.

John Foxx & The Maths, about to rock...

Sleepy hotel window..

[caption id="attachment_2565" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="& the eyeliner slides down my face..."][/caption]

Off to Glasgow, more in a bit! I failed to collect any Beatle memorabilia here in Liverpool…shameful. I’m also zapping up many updates here on my Twitter page too! Look.

Listen – The Quietus brings you exclusive, new John Foxx and the Maths/ Tara Busch track & interview!

Tara — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 07:49:22 +0000

The collaboration you read about here has hatched! Listen now, via the Quietus’ Soundcloud link to the lovely tune John Foxx, Benge and myself crafted in May, “Where You End And I Begin”. The song is included on John Foxx & The Maths’ new album, “The Shape of Things”:
John Foxx And The Maths featuring Tara Busch – ‘Where You End And I Begin’ by theQuietus

And more nutrition: Here on the Quietus is an interview with John and I about everything from sexy synths to influences!

I’ll provide you with a referesher – here are a few clips of the making of our tune, “Where You End And I Begin”:

It was of course a great honor to work with John & Benge – and the tour kicks off full-on this Thursday at Thekla in Bristol! See you at the shows, hopefully! I’ll of course keep everyone updated with my ‘tour diary’. Tune in!

Leamington Spa with John Foxx & The Maths – A Swell Birthday and Show…

Tara — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:01:33 +0000

As promised, and a few days late, here are some nice tidbits from Thursday’s gig – not a bad b-day at all! John Foxx and the Maths were indeed wonderful, and I had loads of cupcakes and wine. Blissful.
Here are a few photos:

Twixt soundcheck and wine application...

John Foxx sound checking...

Fun with Daleks backstage...

Tom from Analogue Solutions gave me this for my birthday. Fabulous.

In Tammy Wynette's touring trailer, apparently. In the 'hangout area' backstage-ish...

In Bristol playing Thekla on the 20th – who is coming? See you then, then!

Red Alert! The Bob Moog Foundation/Tara Busch “Rocket Wife Remix Contest” Ends Tomorrow!!

Tara — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:13:41 +0000

Indeed – tomorrow is the deadline for our dazzling Rocket Wife Remix contest!

In August, the wonderful Bob Moog Foundation, Maf & myself launched “The Rocket Wife EP – A Benefit for the Bob Moog Foundation”. We have since received a beautiful crop of remix submissions and can’t wait to listen back to your splendid creations! All of the submissions are here!
The winner will be announced at MoogFest on Sunday, October 30th when I perform live film scores at The Asheville Fine Arts Theatre (more on the mighty MoogFest in a bit).

We will try to stream the event on my Livestream.com channel, if the internet’s willing.

If you have the itch to do a quick remix or are an audio-dork (like me) and want to download the stems just for fun, do so here.

And of course, download the Rocket Wife EP here – 100% of the proceeds go to benefit the Bob Moog Foundation. Do it, my darlings!

So yes. I now owe you a report from our Leamington Spa gig last night! Great fun. Dahleks, oscillators, Moogs, ARPs, Tammy Wynette, cupcakes, insane Indian food, red wine….bliss.

Tonight! Tara Supports John Foxx & The Maths, Leamington Spa…And I’m “wiser”.

Tara — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:39:23 +0000

Stirred awake, super restless…

After a semi dramatic day of ironing out a bit of Ableton issues (lovingly & quickly solved by their support team, thankfully) I ran through my set to the point where it was coming out of my eyeballs (this is healthy for me). Now, off to recalibrate myself on the yoga mat, pack the car and roll of into the afternoon to Leamington Assembly.

All this, and I’m another year wiser! Old enough to have had record stores as an integral part of life, & to have proudly worn legwarmers and harem pants the 1st time around (*wince*), and to have seen Jane’s Addiction in a tiny club in Charlotte,NC. All that interesting stuff. Needless to say, harem pants break me out in a panic these days. Anyway.

…I’m off. Enjoy this…new John Foxx & The Maths and one by me; of the tunes I’ll be playing this evening – “We Can See Mars“:

We Can See Mars by TaraBusch

John Foxx & The Maths Tour Begins (On my birthday, ahem…) Tomorrow!

Tara — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:06:34 +0000

I’ve returned to the blog-o-sphere!

Always cuddle a Moog modular & photo yourself doing it when no one's looking.

I’ve been well under the radar working on my set for the upcoming John Foxx and the Maths tour – and so excited! The tour begins tomorrow in Lemington Spa at The Assembly, a beautiful, newly refurbished venue that is renowned to have a sweet sound system and a capacity confident to envelop as many LFOs that we can muster. Between John Foxx & The Maths & myself, there will have quite a few, trust me! And yes, tomorrow is my birthday – I expect red wine, champagne & gluten free chocolate cake ( as the youngest child of 5, it is in my nature to broadcast my birthday no matter how old I get).

Anyway, to get those juices sizzling, I’ve been snooping around Benge’s blog (John’s collaborator, as you know) – and found lovely rehearsal footage featuring the rest of the band, the elegant & extraordiinary musicians Hannah Peel & Serefina Steer. See?

And of this succulent bit, “No One Driving”:

Loving the exciting clips from their rehearsals – I’ll try and post some of mine today. Anyway, watch this space as I will be documenting the tour and creating a lovely tour diary from the road for you to hopefully enjoy!

On another note, my collaboration with John & Benge will be ready soon on the upcoming album, “The Shape of Things”. See the full track listing here.
Here’s a taste of it:

They will be playing this song from the new album on the tour – listen, learn & love:
The Shadow Of His Former Self by John Foxx And The Maths

Again, have a peek at the tour dates, if you come please say hello! More in a bit. xo