Buchla ambassador, Johnny Cash collaborator, Circles and Ellipses show for NTS Radio
Modular synthesizer alumni and Buchla ambassador, Chris Whitten (Circles and Ellipses) curates his favourite synth heavy songs for East London’s NTS Radio. Previous guests on the Synth Hero Show include fellow authorities Vince Clarke, Clint Mansell and Here & Now label mate David Baron. Chris takes us on a journey from Todd Rundgren to Bobby Lyle via Aphex Twin, Speedy J and Surgeon with generous measure of ECM Records.
Click below to enjoy his Synth Hero selection !
You’re tuned into the Synth Hero show with myself Tim Noakes. Every month, I invite an influential musician to mix together an hour of their formative electronic influences.
One of the fun things about this show is that if you dig deep enough, you’ll find the most unexpected synth geeks. So I was very surprised when Here & Now Recordings got in touch to tell me that Chris Whitten, the drummer for Paul McCartney, Johny Cash and Dire Straits was a big fan of the show and that he was also a rabid synth fiend. So of course I had to see what modular madness Mr Whitten was into.
Whitten sees himself as a drummer with a passion for synthesizers. Although he loves the synth sounds of 90’s techno and electronica, Whitten also takes influences from more classic sounds such as the work of Herbie Hancock, Jan Garbarek and Eberhard Weber.
Apart from being a huge synth collector, Chris is also just about to release an EP of remixes under the name of Circles and Ellipses. He’s reworked Simon Boswell’s cult soundtrack to Burn:Cycle, a Philips CDi adventure video game from 1994. It was the first ever game with an orchestral soundtrack made by a film composer.
His work as Circles And Ellipses for the “Burn:Cycle Reworks” EP can best be compared to minimal techno maestros such as Stephan Bodzin and Max Cooper.
But who are his REAL Synth Heroes? There’s only one way to find out. Get your Buchlas and your Arps ready. It’s the SH Show with Circles & Ellipses…
TRACKLIST
00:00 Todd Rundgren - A Treatise On Cosmic Fire - Intro - Prana
04:15 Weather Report - Cannon Ball
07:35 The Tubes - Slipped My Disco
10:20 Billy Cobham - Stratus
11:54 Herbie Hancock - Nobu
15:06 Popol Vuh - Aguirre (l'acribe de rei)
18:38 Bernard Krause & Merry Clayton - Performance
20:26 Azymuth - Azymuth
28:32 John Surman - Constellation
31:21 Rainer Bruninghaus - Die Flüsse Hinauf
33:45 Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer - No Fear
37:07 Aphex Twin - Polynomial-C
39:57 808 State Moses feat. Ian McCulloch - Moses
42:39 Speedy J - Patterns
46:47 4Hero - Escape That - Off-World Remix
52:01 Pan Sonic - Vaihtovirta
54:35 Surgeon - The Primary Clear Light
58:51 Bobby Lyle - Inner Space
To read notes by Chris on each track of his mix check out this thread: https://twitter.com/SynthHero/status/1082340269071175680
Burn:Cycle Reworks EP is released on 22nd February 2019
https://www.hereandnowrecordings.com/circlesandellipses
https://www.hereandnowrecordings.com/newreleases
Circles and Ellipses new versions, more sonic oomph and more modern dance floor compatibility. Yet made with vintage gear
Click below to listen on Bandcamp or everywhere else here
Burn:Cycle Reworks by Simon Boswell & Chris Whitten, released 22 February 2019 1. Zip (Circles and Ellipses Rework) 2. Burn:Cycle Theme (Circles and Ellipses Rework) 3. Kris VR (Circles and Ellipses Rework) 4.
LISTEN ON NTS RADIO with Tim Noakes fantastically passionate radio banter. Click the link or on the image below to hear
