Electronic Music Innovations

Today, I am going to talk about an innovation of electronic music that has been around for over 30 years.  It might come as a surprise to some of my readers but I’m betting for most of you, it won’t be.

I’m enamored, at the moment, by the turntable, to be more specific, the SL-1200 MKII.  That’s right, the turntable.  I recently learned that some turntables back in the 1970’s were actually capable of reproducing a four-channel sound much like our modern surround sound.

It is still one of the biggest selling mediums for audiophiles today.  The quality of a recording on vinyl placed on a solid turntable is almost undeniably the best reproduction available to some. Tons of indie artists will still only release their music on vinyl, including most DJ’s and Turtablists across the globe.  In 1979, Technics added speed control to their turntable, which made it the most sought after and used DJ tool ever.  So much so, it now has a street name of “The Wheels of Steel”.  Its durability has yet to be surpassed.

It was this added functionality to an already amazing piece of machinery that eventually led to the rise of the “lowly” turntable being recognized as a musical instrument.  The National Association of Music Merchandisers even made it official in 2001.

The SK-1200 MKII not only opened the doors for sampling, mixing, and creating new music, but also led to new discoveries of synchronicities between artists and their sound… old and new alike.  This same spirit and flexibility of sound heralded a new age of a kind of respect and unity of mind for some artists, while also inspiring rivalry and competition among the industry.  (Everyone remembers when sampling of other artists was big news... this turntable was a huge catalyst for that, and still works it's magic in pretty much the same way today.)  This proved to be, though arguable, very healthy in the evolution of music and reviving old sounds within the new genres being played around the world.

I have always known that the turntable served as a major conduit in the recycling of the old into the new… but, I never put much thought into its use as an instrument all its own.  There is a video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0iZdggruFpY which has now caused me to give this instrument the respect it deserves… along with those who have the amazing talent needed to play it.