News Round Up 20/2/15

A tour of the Erica Synths factory, how the Blurred Lines lawsuit could change music forever and tributes to new romantic pioneer Steve Strange.

Doctor Who Modular Synth Restored. Leslie Craythorn from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music restores a rare synthesiser that had spent decades in storage. The EMS Synthi 100 Modular Synthesiser is identical to the one used by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the 1970s to create sound effects and incidental music for Doctor Who. More on this, plus two picture galleries and a video showing off the machine, here.

Ableton Chat To Modular Guru Dieter Doepfer. Accompanying the release of the virtual modular environment OSCiLLOT, introducer of the Eurorack standard Dieter Doepfer shares his perspective on the rapidly changing modular synth sector, and recalls his own beginnings in a bygone era of do-it-yourself electronics and secret circuit diagrams here.

Waves Introduce Classic dbx 160 Plugin. Eddie Kramer introduces a meticulous and authentic plugin model of a compressor used in almost every major recording in the late 70s and throughout the 80s, which many consider to be the best drum compressor ever – the classic dbx160, created by Waves in collaboration with dbx. Watch above and find out more here.

Erica Synths Ex-Soviet Tube Modules. A tour of boutique Latvian module makers Erica Synths, whose parts and engineering come directly from former Soviet manufacturer RMIF, and whose new line of beautifully made Eurorack modules use vintage vacuum tubes and op-amps. Check out the gallery here.

An Audience With Brian Eno. Music journalist Paul Morley’s profile of Brian Eno takes in gospel, Abba, the death of the record and where he’s heading next, as part of a series of conversations filmed for a BBCArena documentary. Read it here.

The Photoshop of Sound. The New Yorker speak to audio engineer John Meyer and his wife Helen Meyer about creating acoustical paradises “from the restaurant to the concert hall” as Meyer Sound Laboratories, a company who manufacture high-end audio products noted for their ability to enhance the acoustic of a hall or space. Read it in full here.

New Romantic Pioneer Steve Strange Dies. Pioneering tastemaker and frontman of the new romantic movement Steve Strange, who fronted Visage, died of a heart attack last week in Egypt aged 55. Read The Guardian‘s piece on Strange here, and appreciation of his life from friend and collaborator Iain R Webb here.

Amen Break Creator Donations. “Do the right thing” by giving something back to an artist behind one of the most famous samples of all time, The Winstons‘ ‘Amen Brother’ breakbeat. The Winstons have never received a single penny for its use in the countless records that sample it, and so a GoFundMe campaign has begun on behalf of Richard L Spencer, who wrote the arrangement, asking for voluntary donations from anybody who has sold music using the amen break. Check it out here.

Hardware Manufacturer Elektron Launches Label. Swedish electronic instrument manufacturers Elektron launch a vinyl-only record label for artists using Elektron instruments. Elektron Grammofon releases will be limited to 300 copies, available for purchase through their website late spring, with all profits going to charity. The series will kick off with a release from Plaid. Find out more here.

A Lawsuit That Could Change Music Forever. Lawyers of the Marvin Gaye estate fear that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams‘ refutation of claims that their 2013 tune ‘Blurred Lines’ infringed on Marvin Gaye’s hit ‘Got To Give It Up’ could rewrite the rulebook on what copyright infringement means for musicians, after a judge has decided to allow a jury to hear only the copyrighted elements of Gaye’s 1977 hit song. Find out more here.

Beastie Boys vs. Monster Energy Drinks in Legal Dispute. A Manhattan federal court jury awarded The Beastie Boys nearly $2 million after the California-based Monster Energy Company had admitted wrongly using the group’s songs in a video. The Beastie Boys now want to force the energy drink makers to pay nearly $2.4 million in legal fees and costs, lawyers say. Find the full story here.