Traditional Synthesizer Music
Venetian Snares isn\'t kidding about that title: Every song was written and recorded entirely on modular synthesizer, without any additional overdubbing or editing. The sounds, however, have little in common with the electronic music of the \'50s and \'60s; they\'re squarely in line with Aaron Funk’s typically mind-bending IDM. \"Goose and Gary v2\" arrays glistening leads and acid squelch over a whip-cracking electro pulse, and \"Decembers\" pairs breakbeat-inspired rhythms with detuned brass stabs, while \"Everything About You Is Special\" explores labyrinthine time signatures. No matter how complex, it\'s as expressive as electronic music gets.
Traditional Synthesizer Music is a collection of songs created and performed live exclusively on the modular synthesizer by Aaron Funk. Each sound contained within was created purely with the modular synthesizer. No overdubbing or editing techniques were utilized in the recordings on Traditional Synthesizer Music. Each song was approached from the ground up and dismantled upon the completion of it's recording. The goal was to develop songs with interchangeable structures and sub structures, yet musically pleasing motifs. Many techniques were incorporated to "humanize" or vary the rhythmic results within these sub structures. An exercise in constructing surprises, patches interrupting each other to create unforeseen progressions. Multiple takes were recorded for each song resulting in vastly different versions of each piece.
Aaron Funk's latest album was created and performed live on a modular synth with no overdubbing and editing; it's one of the more beautiful records from the project in recent memory.
Aaron Funk has explored analog synthesizer music before, but he usually saves this type of work for his Last Step moniker, which veers toward acid techno rather than the frenetic breakcore of his more well-known guise, Venetian Snares.
Winnipeg's Aaron Funk has an obvious darkness in him — the breakcore legend has a child-killing-themed album called Doll Doll Doll — yet he...
Venetian Snares (real name Aaron Funk) has made a career out of confounding expectations and acting up on the fringes of electronic music, and yet