CHARLES COHEN AT THE BUCHLA MUSIC EASEL on Vimeo

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1. CHARLES COHEN AT THE BUCH…

by alex tyson

3 years ago

{Viewing with headphones or a stereo is highly recommended } Produced + Directed by Alex Tyson.

A film featuring sound artist Charles Cohen improvising on a 1970's Buchla Music Easel. This extremely rare instrument is one of Don Buchla's 200 series. Buchla (a pioneer of audio synthesis) only manufactured 14 of these units. The film was edited from over an hour of free improvisation, with audio taken directly from Charles' mixing board.

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vadim steinbrecht
3 hours ago
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1 day ago
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1 day ago
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4 days ago
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5 days ago
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5 days ago
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5 days ago
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6 days ago
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Tags

dalas verdugo 3 years ago

Amazing video, instrument, and musician. The titles were especially cool.
Tony Salinas 3 years ago

Great Video!
Cast Exotic 3 years ago

sweet! Amazing quality and editing... and of course the playing is mind blowing.
jeff chin 3 years ago

Wow, how much does one of those run? I liked all the zooming in and out starting at 3:55
alex tyson 3 years ago

This synth would run you somewhere between $11,000 to $20,000. Thats just a rumor though. I do know that these fetch a pretty penny because of the small run manufactured. I'm hoping that Buchla will release a similar model in the near future... this video seems to be getting people excited about them!
stretta 3 years ago

splendid!
Blake Whitman 3 years ago

Fascinating.
kruzer 3 years ago

Amazing.... this whole board and equipment is replaced by a $ 60.00 system that you can buy today :)

Progress is cool.
alex tyson 3 years ago

I wish! Just the keyboard for this particular synth (chromatic, touch-sensitve) isn't something you're going to find on any old microKorg. Progress is cool, but not as cool as the Music Easel!
dalas verdugo 3 years ago

Yeah, it costs money to get sounds this weird and high fidelity :)
Kubrick Apostles 3 years ago

Ahhhhh I love sound:)
Winston Parker 3 years ago

WOW. It's amazing seeing someone who knows what they're doing improvising on an instrument like that. The filming made it even more enjoyable/pleasing to watch. Thanks!
ap 3 years ago

brilliant!!
tim prebble 3 years ago

beautiful vid/beautiful machine!

(dream on kruzer)
Peter Berkman 3 years ago

try emulating THAT on a vst haha
Rusty Rogers 3 years ago

Crazy!
Julyen Hamilton 3 years ago

great Alex:much appreciated; real quality of musicianship matched by your own in the visuals! Lovely to see this maturity and sense of play. Thanks.
alex tyson 3 years ago

No problem! I'm hoping to get more projects up and running that are similar to this. It was a blast to shoot and edit. Charles is a total Legend!
rastAsia 3 years ago

That just MOOGd the bends out of me! My ears flopped far forward for more of Mr Cohen's touch. What an incredible insight Alex. Truly. My Genelecs are refreshed!
alex tyson 3 years ago

Gee Whiz!
Ivan Vihe 3 years ago

w0000w !!!!11

i'm a synths fan !!!

This synth was so cool, thinking it was made in 1970's

like a comment upper, I think titlte are really c00l ;-)

it's amazing video !! :D
alex tyson 3 years ago

Thanks for watching
loopcycle 3 years ago

excellent in every regard--thank you.
alex tyson 3 years ago

Pleasure = all mine
T.A.M. Corp. 3 years ago

fantastic! thank you for sharing.
Laurent "Focusmatic" Perret 3 years ago

amazing!!!
and with headphones...oh my god!

great video!
alex tyson 3 years ago

Yes, or a loud bumpin ghettoblazter.
Matthew Burns 3 years ago

That was hypnotizing. How did you achieve those perfect titles?
alex tyson 3 years ago

The entire thing was done with the LensBaby lens. Its an extremely versatile prime lens.
Rustyanalog 3 years ago

Loved every second. I could watch and listen to hours of that. Loads of fun!
Siegi Müller 3 years ago

Schön! like these sounds and colors mix and produce a somehow synaesthetic experience..
Jérémy FORNI 3 years ago

Brillant film for a brillant instrument
alex tyson 3 years ago

total thanks
Tiago Pedras 3 years ago

Fell in love with this piece.
THe camera work is great and obviously your subject and his instrument are too!
Tom Guilmette 3 years ago

nice to see someone incorporating the inside of the letus extreme for a video. i always push past all that.

uninteresting approach.
alex tyson 3 years ago

Your videos are awesome, Tom. Means a lot coming from you!
Derek Scott 3 years ago

very cool. love the use of the inner frame using the Letus. How did you get the extremely feathered edges in those shots?
alex tyson 3 years ago

Thanks! The lensBaby gives the blurry, feathered look.
lensbabies.com/
guillaumeloiseau 3 years ago

a fantastic work!
Jon Carpenter 3 years ago

I have been looking for an example of one of these. Thanks for posting this. I have had a recent obsession with old synths and this just continues it.
alex tyson 3 years ago

Yes, please email mr. buchla and ask him to release another easel!
corporation 3 years ago

so yummy!
Xynthetic 3 years ago

beautifully shot, so strange!
alex tyson 3 years ago

Thnx
Andreas Wetterberg 3 years ago

very very inspiring. If ever there was a geek video experience to aspire to, this would be it!
alex tyson 3 years ago

Thank you thank you thank you.... !
orglarovin 3 years ago

Very well done vid.. Even tho I'm a synth-buff, I was more impressed by your work than Mr Cohens Buchla ;).
Scott Sandler 3 years ago

Awesome video dude. We should hang out sometime.
GuerillaGorilla 3 years ago

THAT'S MY FRIEND CHARLES. Amazing video. It compliments his beeps and boops very well. Good work all around. If you all have not had a chance to see him play, He plays in NYC and Philly a lot.
Check him out on myspace: myspace.com/beepsandboops
alex tyson 3 years ago

Awesome! Good shout out. He is incredible live... hope to catch him play soon.
Sol 3 years ago

I like it a lot!
alex tyson 3 years ago

Gracias
antfactor 3 years ago

thank you! Charles is a wonderful person... a joy to be around in all regards - musically and otherwise. My (mostly) unsung hero of music and improvisation.
alex tyson 3 years ago

truth = told
Brendan Keegan 3 years ago

Saw the video last night at the Rotunda, bravo! The selective focus lens looked great and really worked with all those cables sticking up. Taking things out of focus while keeping in focus a knob or switch less then an inch away, wow.

I really like the titles too, how did you achieve those?
alex tyson 2 weeks ago

Reprographic techniques :¬)
Tom Thistlethwaite 3 years ago

Wow. I'd read about Buchla extensively in this great book:
hup.harvard.edu/features/pinana/
but this film really brought it to life. Robert Moog was clearly great, but something about Buchla takes it to another level. My Korg MS-10 is a mere imp! Great titles too.
benton-c bainbridge 3 years ago

Alex, great work captuing Charles- the world's best synth improvisor
Moop Jaw 3 years ago

e n e r g i e s
1ddual 3 years ago

i like this analogelectricpsyminimalistics....
very nice performance and documentation
of it...
Wray Bowling 3 years ago

I think this is still my favourite internet find of all time.
Luka Dekleva 3 years ago

Tasty! I like the camera work and editing.
brrrrrrrrrrr 3 years ago

Awesome video, can never get enough of that trademark sound. Check out his work with Color Is Luxury as well... colorisluxury.org
casiomistakes 3 years ago

Wicked..!!!
Servando Barreiro 3 years ago

Really cool!, Macro style.. It remembers me the videos of "eye for ears"
lilbrew 3 years ago

me ncanta el rollo !!!!
alex tyson 3 years ago

I don't know what that means, but awesome.
keith 3 years ago

Great clip. I used a Buchla in an electronic music class at SUNY Stony Brook (New York) a few years back. Here are some photos of it: keithhopkin.com/photos/v/Etc/buchla/
alex tyson 3 years ago

awesome! thanks!
Jes 3 years ago

you have made me a happy guy tonight.. thanks

i <3 sound
prscrptn 3 years ago

inspiring video...
Jym Davis 3 years ago

This is why I came over to vimeo
augustusmk 3 years ago

very good!
Aaron Fortson III 3 years ago

Very Cool.
Andrea Paz 3 years ago

yupi!
speak with other dimension!
macjunki 3 years ago

Sweet videography! Lensbaby, right?
alex tyson 3 years ago

Yes indeedy.
Davis Paul 3 years ago

how were you able to create that first video shot after the titles? I am looking to do something similar to that in after effects for a snowboarding flick just curious as to how you went about achieving that film look? Great video by the way, love the radial blur
alex tyson 3 years ago

lensbaby.com
elemental 3 years ago

Very very cool. Wicked to see someone who knows what they're doing play a legendary instrument like this. Thanks
michael roy barker 3 years ago

hi cc
andre schaefer 2 years ago

yeah. thats the only thing i can say.
Jonathan Fretheim 2 years ago

Thank you for documenting the amazing Charles Cohen! Miss you, Charles.
Mathias Huber 2 years ago

very very cool, i wish... im stuck on vst plugins for now i guess. is this from a documentary or something?
alex tyson 2 years ago

thank you; it's just a short piece- not part of a larger film
Jes 2 years ago

came back for more. awesome!
Jeffrey R. Ayars 2 years ago

Trippy dude, love the tight shots on the circuitry.
Preacher of the Savage Truth 2 years ago

This was amazing, Buchla instruments are just amazing. Just to expensive for 99% of musicians...

Take 3 minutes to watch my music video by the way...
Juan Urquhart 2 years ago

Wonderful video,playing and inspiration!
lematt 1 year ago

superb sounding video !

thank you.

blogged ! tcheaz.com/2010/charles-cohen-plays-the-buchla-music-easel/
alex tyson 1 year ago

Merci Beaucoup!
Jeroen Hoogendoorn 1 year ago

Being an ex-synth freak, this film inspired me to restart my old analogue synths. So thanks for that.
Talking about animals (easel means donky) and music, check my video "Rare Birds" if you have the time.

J.
alex tyson 1 year ago

awesome, thanks Jeroen.
Giorgio Sancristoforo 1 year ago

vimeo.com/13410201
alex tyson 1 year ago

nice moves.
loquat 1 year ago

wow I'm always impressed when I hear a Buchla instrument being played well.
Madrona Labs just came out with a VST called Aalto. It's as close as I've heard to this.
One day I would love to get my hands on the real thing, but until I've got a lot of disposable income that dream is not going to come true.
Yaschar Scheyda 1 year ago

stunning perfomance....
Yaschar Scheyda 1 year ago

and a good documentation - by the way...
alex tyson 2 weeks ago

:¬) thank you
GaboV 11 months ago

thanks a lot