Today, the singularly original, creative and musical mastermind, Rich Aucoin announces the final release in his quadruple album project Synthetic with its fourth Season announced to be released on October 30. This Season boasts the highest number of synthesizers of any of the previously released Seasons with its sounds being comprised of 103 unique synths. These 103 synths bring the total count for the four Seasons releases to 162 – a feat (arguably) never before achieved, and making it one of the most unique releases in music history.
“Back in January 2020, when I started writing this quadruple album, I had ambitions to release each of its four parts in 6 month increments (cause releasing a quadruple album in the modern streaming era would be album-track suicide) but then the pandemic hit while I was the Artist in Residence at the National Music Centre out in Calgary,” recalls Rich. “I shelved the project and turned to film scoring until the vaccines were announced and my optimism renewed. The ambitious drive was stripped from me a bit though and so it took me a year to release each increment. So here we are four and half years later from the start of the journey releasing tracks that I started in January 2020 and March 2020 on some of the most unique synthesizers in the world. It’s been a privilege and honour to get to work with all these beautiful instruments over the years of this project.”
This ambitious aural experience began, as Rich notes above recording in March 2020 during Aucoin’s Artist Residency at The National Music Centre in Calgary. There, he recorded the first 60 synths for the series including the infamous TONTO synthesizer (TONTO is an acronym for “The Original New Timbral Orchestra”, the first, and still the largest, multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer in the world and used on albums by Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones as well as in the film Phantom Of The Paradise by Brian De Palma). It’s fitting that TONTO, track 1, begins this synth odyssey through synthesizer history.
Seasons 1 through 3 saw famous synths such as Moogs, Rolands and ARPs take the stage, but Season 4 sees Aucoin digging even deeper with inclusions of the rare Buchla 200a Electric Music Box, the E-mu Modular System, an Ondes Martenot and especially the McLeyvier, the latter of which has never before been used in recorded music and of which only a handful exist.
Season 4 beginning track, Drone Day assembles many of the series’ notable rare historic synths: Delta Music Research Modular Synthesizer, Roger Luther’s Moog Modular, EMS Synthi 100, E-mu Modular System, Hammond Novachord (considered the first synthesizer), one and only NMC’s own Leimseider Jello-tron, Moog Polymoog 203a prototype, Wurlitzer Sideman (considered the first drum machine).
Further tracks and intricate details of this culminating Season 4 will be shared through the coming months. Its announcement is celebrated today, with a new merch drop. Peruse and purchase HERE.
Synthetic Season 4 is available for PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE.
Co-produced with Gordon Huntley of Leaving Laurel and recorded at Los Angeles’ Vintage Synthesizer Museum both in the early stages of the project as well as in February 2024. Together, Aucoin and Huntleyhave shaped the 4 albums in the series along with Halifax-based producer Joel Waddell who has been Aucoin’s main co-producer since the start. Howie Beck (Feist/Charlotte Day Wilson) mixed the first two seasons before Huntley took up the reigns for the final two seasons. All mastered by Noah Mintz and, in this season, joined by 40 synth enthusiasts connected to Aucoin by Moog Synthesizers over the pandemic when Aucoin first called out for collaborators. SE1 & SE2 received back to back Juno nominations for Electronic Album of the Year (2023/2024) and have been written up in Exclaim!, Electronic Sound (UK), Beat Magazine (Germany), Michael Barclay Music Substack, Toronto Star, Brooklyn Vegan, Bandcamp Artist of the Day, Flood Magazine, Crack Magazine and a guest on CBC’s ‘Q’ with Tom Power.