Invented by composer
(a sample of whose works are collected on Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights, and immortalized in countless cartons, most recently Ren & Stimpy) spent the last years of his life working with electronic composing systems that he designed. One of his devices, the
, has been described as "one of the first applications of artificial intelligence in music composition." (Justin Green)
Raymond Scott: "A composer (guidance control) asks the Electronium to suggest an idea, theme or motive. He listens to these on a monitor speaker. When happy with one of these ideas, he stops the Electronium and starts recording.
"Faster, slower, a new rhythm design, a hold, a pause, a second theme, variation, extension, elongation, diminution, counterpoint, a change in phrasing, an ornament...ad infinitum...whatever the composer requests, the Electronium accepts and acts out his directions."
The only photo I've seen of the device makes it look like an old analog computer flanked by Bauhausian monitors.
Richard Kadrey kadrey@well.com
The Scott composition Pygmie Taxi Corporation utilized the Electronium.
to a sample in realaudio format (50k).
Other Scott Inventions
;
: Keyboard Theremin;
RHYTHM MODULATOR, THE CIRCLE MACHINE, etc;
RAYMOND SCOTT at work in his lab;