#QY70

[muchalucha-art]

Music Composition

Introducing my handy dandy QY70. It was all the go in the early 90's :)

In addition to guitar and bass which I play and record separately, I use this for rhythms, strings, whatever. I'm using it on the soundtrack for Socorro as I piece the animatic together, and it is so handy dandy it rests on my knee...

(Hey, I live in a Victorian flat with limited space :)

I also used it for a quick 2022 revamp of the Mucha Lucha theme for 'Undercard'...(click 'unmute')

[medniex]

My latest jam. Something between industrial, big beat and nu-metal. Please subscribe to my YT channel. I'm really close to 500 subscribers.

[39fm]

For those who need to replace the backup battery on your sweet ass Yamaha QY70 too:

It requires a small phillips head screwdriver and a CR2032 battery (same as your old ass pc or your sega saturn, so you could steal one from those)

And on first boot, you have to hold "SONG", "PATT" and ">>" (forward button above the green LED) and select "Factory Set" from the menu (third button right to the screen) or else it will mope about it, or freeze on bootup even, the poor thing

Doing this whips out the memory, so do a bulk dump onto another midi recorder to save your ancient jams

oh and do check that ribbon cable before screwing it shut, it has a tendency to come loose, as you can see on the first pic

now lets see if i can make something resembling music on this nugget

[tasiturney]

i love getting legit and highly capable gear for peanuts but i will admit that fucked up lcd screens/backlights that cant be fixed with cheapo 3rd party new parts is a lil annoying. my mc-50 can look kinda normal if i angle myself, i memorize most of the relavant missing pixels on my qy70, and im not a fucking wild animal so i use a software editor for my jv880 instead of the obliterated 2 line lcd screen that keeps displaying ‘Anal ||//|||||||| ||||||||||||‘

[inner--islands]

In Conversation with Inner Travels and Sunmoonstar (December 2017)

Sunmoonstar and Inner Travels released new albums back in September on Inner Islands, Rainbow Springs and Sea of Leaves (respectively). I, Sean of Inner Islands, got to chat with Natasha Home (of Sunmoonstar) and Steve Targo (of Inner Travels) about their lives and musical work.

Inner Islands: What have you two been inspired by lately?

Natasha Home: Hi! Well we just had a big storm here in Florida. Some time off was inspiring, and I spent one night playing with modular synths listening to the storm outside. I kept thinking the power would go off then it didn’t, and i guess that I was worried I’d lose everything I was creating, or maybe just accepting that it could be lost. We were very lucky with the storm, there’s allot to be grateful for this week!

Steve Targo: Hi, everyone! Glad you’re OK, Tash!! Probably the biggest sources of inspiration for me lately are the Yamaha CP, Korg Volca FM, William Allaudin Mathieu’s albums Streaming Wisdom & In The Wind, Scott Fitzgerald’s Bamboo Waterfall, the “Relaxation & Meditation with Music & Nature” series entries by David Miles Huber (thanks for the tip, Kyle Landstra!) and the book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki.

II: Yes, I’m really glad you’re ok too, Tash! And it’s interesting what happens to a creative practice when there is something on the line or there are these very present factors that are outside of one’s control. Embracing, or at least try to work with, the chaos…

NH: thank you! Ah Steve that all sounds like so much fun to have those instruments! I recently started playing with the Prophet ‘08 :)

II: Do either of you feel like the particularity of your synths guide your hands at all during the creative process? Like you might feel more inclined to play one sort of melody on one synth than on another?

ST: That's a good question, Sean. Until recently, I was a one-synth-at-a-time person. One synth, one song. With a Blofeld, that’s not really an issue, but it can be a challenge with the Volca FM. Such challenges can be rewarding. But I tend to forget that each synth can be used as an instrument in an orchestra, and how assigning each one a certain role in a session can really expand my ideas. How do you like the Prophet '08, Tash? Did you use it on Rainbow Springs?

NH: I am loving the Prophet 08! I started recording with it recently and am drawn to the sequencing processes, I love playing with the mathematics and the randomness and being able to let go of the composition. Actually for Rainbow Springs I focused myself away from sequencing, I practiced parts before I recorded them, chords and melodies on a yamaha synth, the SY35, two sequencers, the qy70 and qy100 with my Alesis Micron to write patterns and craft my own sounds as accompaniment. So I’m finding that if I let the machine write the melody my experience of intuitive memory is discovering emotion outside of myself that I can relate with. Lately and especially in Rainbow Springs I’m enjoying writing parts challenging myself to perform intuitively written pieces rather than push buttons and turn knobs to find out what will happen. I can’t say which process has more feeling, I’m interested in modular experimentation now too, so I’d say I’m inclined to work with emotion, everything else is open =)

II: Do you think either of you would be able to translate your albums, Rainbow Springs or Sea of Leaves, into a live setting?

ST: I’ve never played a live show, but I would assume I could perform Sea of Leaves. At the moment, my focus with music is on making and releasing recordings.

NH: This may be my ideal (Steve you are really living the dream!), to eventually be able to just focus on recordings alone, as I am currently writing a live set and wondering if practicing will ever be as interesting and as fun as improvising. In previous albums I did allot of sculpting in the mixing process to write songs. In Rainbow Springs I had live performance in mind, also the album is inspired by a particular place, and I’d like to play the songs there. We’ll see!

II: Well, I would love to see both of your albums performed live! Tash, what makes live performance interesting and engaging for you?

NH: I love improvisation, also I love pop so something inbetween which probably just comes out as ambient happens when I play live, and I also DJ regularly and love the live performance aspect of mixing, maybe this love for random creative moments comes through in my music too. Community and good times are probably my favorite things about playing out, especially conversations and after parties. Ever since I moved to Gainesville and started working with Elestial Sound I’ve been loving the live music experience even more. Gainesville inspired the songs and album title because we have a great community here and are surrounded by wonderful nature. For me live performance can be engaging with the community and listening to nature or recording, everything just kind of feels live to me about art. Meeting friends online and sharing our music is also a live performance vibe in a way sometimes ;)

II: When did you two start writing longer pieces (10+ minutes)? And how do you feel your way into the duration of a piece?

NH: I started recording long pieces early on for experimentation, also I listened to albums when I was starting to get into recording that have continuous tracks and some kind of theme, like Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, White Noise An Electric Storm, Water Bearer by Sally Oldfield, also I was really into techno and experimental electronic music early on from going to dance parties.

ST: The first song on Nourish is almost 12 minutes long. It was recorded while I was making Garden Music, and I believe that’s the first time I had a song longer than 10 minutes on an album. Ultimately, I play or just let the synths go as long as I continue to feel something, or until my instinct tells me it should stop.

II: What can we look forward to from you two in the new year? And what are you two looking forward to yourselves?

NH: I’m saving for a fretless bass for my next album :)

ST: A new album, Yonder, will be released in the next few months. The album is dedicated to my mother, Christine, who died in February. She loved our vacations in northern Wisconsin and Canada, and over the years, she took many beautiful photos during those trips. Some of them appear on the Yonder cover, which I’m excited for people to see. And there are lots of sounds on the album I haven’t worked with before which I’m excited for people to hear! What I’m looking forward to most next year is hearing new music from you two. Rainbow Springs and Faces of Love are two of my favorite albums right now, and I can’t wait to hear what you both create next.

[rabidhiss]

I think I’m just going to get this already. It’s overkill for the music I make, but has the memory to sample a full set of multiple songs, plus make more songs on the unit. It just seems like the right way to go. My experience is solely with Electribes and the discontinued Yamaha QY70/100. While I love the portability on the Electribe Sampler, I wish it could do linear recording. When you’re stuck within patterns, changes become more difficult and there are slight pauses where the internal memory tries to catch up to a new sequence- especially a new sequence containing effects. Also, Korg has abandoned their Electribe’s, which I feel is quite disheartening given so many wonderful features the machine has that simply required being ironed out.

[puppetsmedia]

Over Cost by Dizzy States Instruments: YAMAHA QY70, piano

[contac]

Another thing that got flooded out in Hurricane Ida that I just had to repurchase. Totally worth it, though.

[alwaysmoo06]

i love my yamaha qy70

[culturedub]

Iyah Flix – QY70 Dimension – Une pure release Dub Steppa entièrement composée sur la fameuse machine de chez Yamaha ! = https://culturedub.com/blog/iyah-flix-qy70-dimension/ = #dub #steppa #stepper #dubinternational #internationaldub #dubuk #ukdub #frenchdub #dubmilitant #dubfrançais #culturedub #qy70 #qy70dimension #dubsevres #dubsèvres #chronique #review #basslinesocietyrecords #iyahflix #oneadem #downtownstudio @michael_exodus_ @culturedub https://www.instagram.com/p/CUvFo1tMbHX/?utm_medium=tumblr

[iwai-longseller]

わぉ、、、 #qy70 #lowbattery #sequencer

[italocontador]

Italo Contador "MSQ 700"

[kwekwekaru]

GAS really is insidious. I’m going crazy over #Sequencers like the #MMT8 and the #QY70 as well as the #Circuit I HATE turning my Laptop on but Brain punched me in the cranium this morning n the fact that I have a Native Instruments #Maschine #Mikro Mk3 popped in head and that it has a pretty impressive #Sequencer. Don’t let this happen to YOU! 🤣 (at Gravesend, Brooklyn) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzX7cjmHhT2/?igshid=pds0vqqvp7y8

[roundundround]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Anthony Lawrence Wesley Reitz (@indytone)

I like kitties. #yamaha #qy70 #mattoverse #korg #ehx #kitties (at Irvington Historic District)

[tasiturney]

and still

AND still, i continue to fixate on the theme for the cat (femboi). i spent a lil time forcing myself to learn how to use more features of the yamaha qy70 besides just recording and quantizing and so i made a pattern that just the backing track to the A section of the cat theme so that i can try soloing over the changes

[soundrooms]

Soundrs: Kawatin

Kawatinの多彩なサウンドには、エレクトロニック·ミュージックの様々な側面があり、レイドバックしたアンビエント·バイブからドライブするテクノ·グルーヴまで、彼はシンセサイザー、プラグイン、モジュレーターを駆使し音を奏でます。

彼の音楽の旅は「DJ Kawatin Okawari Show」から始まり、5年以上にわたってディープでアンダーグラウンドなサウンドを披露してきました。

2006年にはPlay Recordingsから「Steal The Funk EP」をリリースし、Si Beggの「My Style」のリミックスで世界的な注目を集めました。2011年にはRicochet Recordingsから「Tokyo Salvage EP」をリリースし、瞬く間にアンダーグラウンド·シーンの注目を集め、BBCラジオのPMS Showでは「Tracks of the Year」にも選ばれました。その後、ドイツの VORDERGRUNDMUSIK とのコラボレーションを開始し、Weightless World EPで注目のデビューを果たしました。このEPには、キラーな「Reboot」RemixとMartin Merzによるバンギングなテクノバージョンが収録されており、DJシーンのビッグネームがサポートしています。

Kawatin’s versatile sound contains numerous facets of the electronic music spectrum. From laid-back ambient vibes to driving techno grooves, he tickles everything out of his synthesizers, plug-ins, and modulators.

His musical journey began with the “DJ Kawatin Okawari Show,” where he presented his deep and underground sound for over five years. He started producing his own material in 2006 with the “Steal The Funk EP” on Play Recordings, followed closely by his remix of Si Begg’s “My Style,” gaining worldwide attention for his sound. In 2011 he released his “Tokyo Salvage EP” on Ricochet Recordings, which quickly became a hot record in the underground scene and was selected for Tracks of the Year on the PMS Show on BBC Radio. A few exciting releases later, he started collaborating with Germany’s VORDERGRUNDMUSIK and made a remarkable debut with his “Weightless World” EP. It included a killer “Reboot” Remix as well as a banging techno version by Martin Merz and was supported by big names of the DJ scene.

➜ https://www.instagram.com/kawatin/

➜ https://kawatin.bandcamp.com/

➜ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1BLo_NuJNrYW6sv2bTR16w

➜ https://soundcloud.com/kawatin

なぜ音楽を作るのですか？

とても良い質問です。音楽を作る過程で得られるフローやゾーンが、私が音楽を作る動機だと思います。それは人が本来身に着けている素晴らしい能力で、私は音楽制作でそれを得ることができると考えています。ただその能力はとても気まぐれで、いつ現れるか分かりません。私はインプロヴィゼーションがフローやゾーンを得る鍵だと考えています。

若い頃はとにかく音楽を作りたかったんです。最初はどんな音楽でも良かったんだと思う。

私が最初に手に入れた機材はYAMAHAのQY70です。

QY70を使って燃えよドラゴンのテーマ曲をドラムンベースにリミックスしたことを覚えています。非常にチープな曲だったけど、夢中で作ったね。

結果それが私のエレクトロニックミュージック始まりだったわけです。

Why do you make music?

Good question.

The flow and zone I get from the process of making music is what motivates me to make music. They are special experiences and I believe we all have these wonderful abilities. But they are very fickle. I don’t know when they will appear. I think improvisation is the key to getting there.

When I was young, I just wanted to make music. I think it could have been any music.

My first equipment was YAMAHA QY70.

I remember that I remixed the theme for “Enter the Dragon” with it.

It was a very cheap drum and bass sound hahaha.

That’s how I began my electronic music journey.

あなたのインスピレーションソースは何ですか? 

Ableton LiveとTouchOSCはあらゆるアイディアを形にすることができます。

これらを使って新しいmoduleを制作する過程は、新しいインスピレーションをもたらします。

What are your inspiration sources?

Ableton Live and TouchOSC. They can materialize any sound design ideas. The process of creating new modules with them brings me new inspirations.

あなたのワークフローについて教えてください。

基本的にAbleton LiveとTouchOSC、そしていくつかのmidiコントローラー、シンセサイザーを使ったインプロヴィゼーションによって音楽を制作しています。

サウンドは常に録音されており、その録音から優れたテイクを選び、ミックスダウン、マスタリングを行い完成させます。

今は新しい制作フローのアイディアがあるので早く形作りたいです。

私は以前ラップトップだけで音楽を作っていました。マウスを使って音を入力してね。

その制作方法で十分なクオリティのサウンドが作れていたし、沢山のリリースもしました。

しかしブロックを積み上げていくようなその制作法は機械的で、音楽的ではないと感じ、その制作方法を楽しめなくなったんだ。

例えば”次の16小節でベースを鳴らそう、次の32小節でシンセの音を重ねよう。”ってね。画面と睨めっこしながら、なんだかシーケンサーに支配されているような気分だったね。

ある時キックとベースとハイハットだけの、シンプルなインプロビゼーションを録音したんだ。その音は流れるようなグルーブがあり、音楽的で人間的だったんだ。

その時にインプロビゼーションの可能性を感じたんだ。

Tell us something about your workflow.

Basically, I make music by improvising with Ableton Live, TouchOSC, some MIDI controllers and synthesizers. I always record what I make with them. I then select the best takes from the recordings. Finally I mixdown and do mastering on them.

Now I have a great idea for new production flow. I can’t wait to try it out.

I used to make music only with a laptop and mouse.

I was able to make good quality sounds and released a lot of music with that way.

However gradually I couldn’t enjoy it because I felt that its production method, like stacking blocks, was mechanical and not musical.

Then once I recorded a simple improvisation. It had flowing vibes, which were musically and humanly. It was then that I realized the potential of improvisation.

クリエイティブな儀式は、あなたのワークフローにどのようなメリットをもたらしますか？

インプロヴィゼーションには特別な力があると信じています。思考ではなく、感覚のみで音楽に集中すると、音を生き物のように捉えることができ、音と一体になる感覚を得られます。これはマインドフルネスになるための優れた方法だと思います。

How would creative rituals benefit your workflow?

I feel that improvisation has a special power. 

When I’m improvising, I don’t think about sounds, I just feel them. I feel like the sounds are alive. I think this is an excellent way to become mindful.

どのようにしてゾーンに入るのですか？

インプロヴィゼーションは音との対話です。音に身をゆだね、音の意思を感じ取り、コントローラーを使って私の意思を音に伝えます。伝えた意思によって音は変化し、そして絶え間なく対話が続きます。この対話を繰り返すことでゾーンに近づくことができます。

本質的には、内なる自分自身と音を通じて対話しているのでしょう。

How do you get in the zone?

Improvisation is an interactive communication with sounds. I capture the intent from sounds and I use the controllers to communicate with my intent to the sounds. So, the sounds are changed, and the reactions come back to me accordingly. This process brings me closer to the zone.

In essence, I am interacting with my inner self through sounds.

どうやってトラックをスタートさせるのですか？

自分で制作したセミジェネレーターを使ってピアノを演奏するか、シンセサイザーで短いフレーズを作ることが多いです。もしくは新しいmoduleを作るかです。

Abletonのデバイスや、max for liveを組み合わせて制作しているもので、

TouchOSCで制御できるようにデザインしています。

例えば、16stepのシーケンサーは、いくつかのパラメーターを操作すると、そのシーケンスから新しいフレーズを生成したり、規則性を保ったまま変化、ある程度の統制を保ったままランダマイズできます。

このようなモジュールが私のテンプレートには沢山含まれています。

How do you start a track?

I often play the piano with my semi-generator, which I created myself, and make short phrases on synthesizers, or I create new modules.

My modules are the combination of Ableton devices and M4L devices.

It is designed to be controlled by TouchOSC.

For example, a 16 step sequencer. 

Manipulating some parameters will generate new phrases from a 16 step sequencer.  This also makes some changes and controlled randomization while maintaining regularity. My template contains many such modules.

これも私が制作したモジュールの一つです。

機械的な正確性と、人間的なユーモアを持ち合わせたジェネレーターで、複数のアルペジオ、LFO、いくつかのデバイスによって構成され、私の考えたアルゴリズムで制御されています。

例えば、私がC major コードを押さえれば、ジェネレーターがフレーズを生成します。

簡単な演奏で豊かなフレーズを奏でられるのです。

下記ＵＲＬのピアノの曲はこのセミ·ジェネレーターで作りました。こ

れを聞けばどのようなものか理解できると思います。

Semi-generator is one of my modules.

It has mechanical precision and human humour.

It consists with arpeggios, LFOs and few devices, which are controlled by an algorithm of my own design.

For example, if I hold down a C major cord, the generator will generate and play the good phrase. I can play great phrases with a simple performance.

The piano piece at the URL below was created with  Semi-generator. If you listen to it, you will understand what it is like.

➜ https://soundcloud.com/kawatin/captures-210225-piano-mix

特別なテンプレートはありますか？

インプロヴィゼーションを行うために、Ableton Liveでテンプレートを構築しています。そのテンプレートには600トラックあり、独自のシーケンサーや、エフェクター、セミジェネレーター、モジュレーター等があります。かなり複雑に構成されていて時折私を悩ませます。

Do you have a special template?

I have a special template on Ableton Live for improvisation. This template has 600 tracks. There are my unique sequencers, effectors, semi-generators, modulators, etc. This template is quite complicated and can sometimes get me into troubles.

マスターチャンネルには何を入れますか？

インプロヴィゼーションの時はlimiterのみです。

マスタリングするときはOzone9を使っていますが、マキシマイズはあまり好きではないので少ししか使いません。

What do you put on the master channel?

When improvising, I only use a limiter. When mastering, I use Ozone 9, but I don't like to maximize, so I only use it a little.

曲のアレンジや仕上げはどのように行いますか？ インプロヴィゼーションの音はすべて録音しています。素晴らしいテイクはできる限り手を加えません。手を加えることで、そのテイクに含まれていたエネルギーが失われる場合があるからです。

How do you arrange and finish a track?

I always record all the sounds improvised. When I get great takes from recordings, I make as little editing as possible because the energy contained in these great takes may be lost.

未完成のプロジェクトにはどのように対処していますか？

未完成の曲は沢山あり、未完成レベルをエクセルで管理しています。しかし管理が間に合っていません。

How do you deal with unfinished projects?

I have so many unfinished tracks and use Excel to manage them. But I’m not keeping up with managing my works.

プロジェクトをどのように保管·整理していますか？プロジェクトが多すぎて正直管理できていません。管理の仕方を教えてほしいよ。

How do you store and organize your projects?

I have too many projects and honestly am not sure where to start. I wish someone could tell me how. Hahaha.

スタジオのエルゴノミクス（人間工学）にはどのように配慮していますか？

JBL Model 4318とiLoud MTMの2台のスピーカーを使っています。それらのスピーカーは完璧にキャリブレートされていて、更にステレオ空間内にマシンを配置し、常に音に集中できるようにしています。

How do you take care of studio ergonomics?

I’m using two different kinds of speaker, JBL Model 4318 and iLoud MTM. Those speakers are perfectly calibrated. All the machines are placed in the stereo space.

あなたの日常生活、一日の構成、創造性を発揮するためのスペースをどのように確保しているかを教えてください。

仕事の前、早朝に作業をすることで多くのクリエイティビティを得ることができます。しかし最近は寝坊気味です。

Tell us something about your daily routine, how is your day structured, how do you make room for creativity?

Before I start working, I make music early in the morning. This is a great way to get some creativity. But I oversleep a lot lately :(

プロデュースの秘訣を教えてください。

あまりマスタリングや、マキシマイズに時間を費やさないでください。

音楽を生み出すこと、表現することに集中してください。

Share a quick producing tip.

Don’t spend too much time on mastering and maximizing. Focus on creating and expressing your music!

興味深いウェブサイトのリンクを共有する。 Share a link to an interesting website (doesn’t have to be music related).

➜ https://maxforlive.com/

今、あなたが聞いている音を10個挙げてください。 List ten sounds you are hearing right this moment : )

Nils Frahm - Then Patterns

Jon Hopkins - Music for psychedelic therapy

Max Cooper - Live at the Acropolis

Stars Of The Lid - and Their Refinement of the Decline

Loscil - Endless Falls

Oscar Peterson - Jazz Manifesto

Chet Faker - Hotel Surrender

Console-Solo Swim - EP

Claudio PRC - Rites of Passage

Nightmares On Wax - In a Space Outta Sound

Domo arigato Kawatin! （╹◡╹）