Getty
Meanwhile, a few years later and back in the UK, there were electronic rumblings from Putney, in south London. The small company called Electronic Music Studios (EMS) were part composer collective, and part innovation and design team for electronic systems, specifically for making music. Nothing exemplifies this further than the now legendary Synthi VCS3; a semi-portable machine, set in a beautiful wooden case, a little bit like the control panel from a power station! While the uppermost section of the synth was where all the noise emitting elements were located, the panel on the lower section contained a matrix with pins, which was used to route modulation signals.
Talk to any musical historian about the 60s, and you can firmly predict the bands and artists mentioned. This was, after all, the musical decade of love and peace, as a post-war world rediscovered some of the finer things in life. As a musical decade it mostly revolved around the electric guitar; Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys, all secured their place in history in the 60s. But beyond the guitarbased format, there were inventors creating new and exciting sounds which, once heard by many of the aforementioned artists, would go on to play a part in some of their finest work.
The VCS3 first appeared in 1969, and went on to be a vital tool for musicians such as Jean-Michel Jarre, and bands such as Hawkwind. It is still regarded as a highly collectible classic, attracting exceptional price-tags as a consequence.
Of course none of this would have been possible without developments in electrical circuits, which provided the foundation for electronic musical instruments to come of age. Electronic instruments had been around for many years prior to this, with some offering greater success than others. The ill-fated Telharmonium was an example from the end of the previous century; as an instrument that relied on telephony-style circuitry and amplification, it not only made an incredible racket due to its vast numbers of electrical motors, but also weighed hundreds of tons. Not an instrument that you could pop under your arm and head down the local club to do a gig with.