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Polivoks
The Polivoks (also occasionally referred to as the Polyvox; rus, Поливокс) is a duophonic, analog synthesizer manufactured and marketed in the Soviet Union between 1982 and 1990. It is arguably the most popular and well-known Soviet synthesizer in the West, likely due to the uniqueness of both its appearance and sound. The Polivoks was designed at the Urals Vector plant, but actual production was handled at the Formanta Radio Factory in Kachkanar, Russian SFSR. It was intended to appear and sound similar to American and Japanese synthesizers from companies such as Roland, Moog, and Korg. The Polivoks was engineered by circuit designer Vladimir Kuzmin with the appearance of the instrument influenced by his wife Olimpiada, who took inspiration from the design of Soviet military radios. Its retail price upon release was 920 roubles and over its lifetime around 100,000 Polivoks were manufactured - sometimes with a production rate of up to 1,000 units a month. But acco ...
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Duophony
Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic or paraphonic. Synthesizer Monophonic A monophonic synthesizer or ''monosynth'' is a synthesizer that produces only one note at a time, making it smaller and cheaper than a polyphonic synthesizer which can play multiple notes at once. This does not necessarily refer to a synthesizer with a single oscillator; The Minimoog, for example, has three oscillators which are settable in arbitrary intervals, but it can play only one note at a time. Well-known monosynths include the Minimoog, the Roland TB-303, the Korg Prophecy, and the Korg Monologue. Duophonic Duophonic synthesizers, such as the ARP Odyssey and Formanta Polivoks built in the 1970s and 1980s respectively, have a capability to independently play two pitches at a time. ...
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Analog Synthesizer
An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of vacuum-tube (thermionic valve) and electro-mechanical technologies. After the 1960s, analog synthesizers were built using operational amplifier (op-amp) integrated circuits, and used potentiometers (pots, or variable resistors) to adjust the sound parameters. Analog synthesizers also use low-pass filters and high-pass filters to modify the sound. While 1960s-era analog synthesizers such as the Moog used a number of independent electronic modules connected by patch cables, later analog synthesizers such as the Minimoog integrated them into single units, eliminating patch cords in favour of integrated signal routing systems. History 1900–1920 The earliest mention of a "synthetic harmoniser" using electricity appears to be in 1906, cre ...
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Soviet Chic
In German culture, ''Ostalgie'' () is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words '' Ost'' (east) and ''Nostalgie'' (nostalgia). Its anglicised equivalent, ostalgia (rhyming with "nostalgia"), is also sometimes used. Another term for the phenomenon is GDR nostalgia (german: DDR-Nostalgie) The term was coined by the East German standup comic in 1992. Social scientist Thomas Ahbe argues that the term ‘ostalgia’ is often misunderstood as a lack of willingness to integrate, an uproar to reverse German reunification and reinstate the GDR. However, Ostalgia is rather an integration strategy used by East Germans who wanted to retain their own original experiences, memories and values incompatible with those of the West German majority. As with other cases of Communist nostalgia, there are various motivations, whether ideology, nationalism, wistfulness for a lost sense of social status or stability, or even aesthetics or i ...
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Eurorack
Eurorack is a modular synthesizer format originally specified in 1995 by Doepfer Musikelektronik. It has since grown in popularity, and as of 2022 has become a dominant hardware modular synthesizer format, with over 15,000 modules available from more than 1000 different manufacturers ranging from DIY kits and boutique, cottage-industry designers to well-known, established synth mass-manufacturers like Moog and Roland. Compact size, 3.5mm mono jacks and cables for patching all signals, and lack of a visual or sonic aesthetic defined by one manufacturer sets Eurorack apart from other modular synthesizer formats, and these factors have contributed to the popularity of Eurorack among both manufacturers and musicians. History Before Eurorack, in the late 1970s, several modular systems based on the industrial “Euro” card frames appeared: * Elektor Formant (3U or 6U x 7HP, 3.5 mm jacks, 31 pin bus, +/-15V) * BME PM10/Axiom (3U x 8HP, RCA/Phono jacks, 31 pin bus, +/-15V) * ...
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Cyberpunk 2077
''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Set in Night City, an open world set in the ''Cyberpunk'' universe, players assume the role of a customisable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. The main story follows V's struggle as he deals with a mysterious cybernetic implant that threatens to overwrite his body with the personality and memories of a deceased celebrity only perceived by V; the two must work together if there is any hope to separate the two and save V's life. The game's development began following the release of '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine'' (2016). The game was developed by a team of around 500 people using the REDengine 4 game engine. CD Projekt launched a new division in Wrocław, Poland, and partnered with Digital Scapes, Nvidia, QLOC, and Jali Research to aid the production. ''Cyberpunk'' c ...
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Doom (2016 Video Game)
''Doom'' is a 2016 first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the first major installment in the Doom (franchise), ''Doom'' series since 2004's ''Doom 3''. Players take the role of an unnamed space marine, known as the "Doom Slayer", as he battles demonic forces from Hell that have been unleashed by the Union Aerospace Corporation within their energy-mining facility on Mars. The gameplay returns to a faster pace with more open-ended levels, closer to the first two games than the slower survival horror approach of ''Doom 3''. It also features environment traversal, character upgrades, and the ability to perform executions known as "glory kills". ''Doom'' was announced as ''Doom 4'' in 2008, and that version underwent an extensive development cycle with different builds and designs before the game was restarted in 2011 and revealed as simply ''Doom'' in 2014. It was tested by customers who pre-ordered the 2014 Bethesda game ''Wol ...
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Black Cherry (Goldfrapp Album)
''Black Cherry'' is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp, released on 23 April 2003 by Mute Records. It marked a departure from the ambient sound of their debut album, ''Felt Mountain'' (2000), incorporating glam rock and synth-pop music; inspirations were Spanish disco group Baccara and Swedish techno artist Håkan Lidbo. The album was met with positive reviews, with many critics complimenting its blend of retro and modern electropop music. The album debuted at number 19 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of May 2005, it had sold nearly 500,000 copies worldwide. ''Black Cherry'' yielded four singles, including "Strict Machine", which reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. It earned the band a nomination for Best British Dance Act at the 2004 Brit Awards. The album was supported by the Black Cherry Tour (2003–2004). Recording and production The duo wrote three songs while tou ...
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Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, their 2000 début studio album ''Felt Mountain'' did not chart highly. Goldfrapp's second album ''Black Cherry'', which incorporated glam rock and synth-pop sounds into their music, was released in 2003. The album influenced the same dance-oriented sound of their third album '' Supernature''. ''Supernature'' took Goldfrapp's work further into dance music, and enjoyed international chart success. The album produced three number-one US dance singles, and was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 49th Grammy Awards. Their fourth album ''Seventh Tree'' placed a greater emphasis on ambient and downtempo music, drawing inspiration from nature and paganism, while their fifth album, ''Head First'', found the group exploring 1980s-influenc ...
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Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His courtship of Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, caused conflict within the imperial household, and their morganatic marriage in 1900 was only allowed after he renounced his descendants' rights to the throne. Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo by the 19-year-old Gav ...
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Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band's original line-up was composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals, guitar), Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Bob Hardy (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Julian Corrie (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) and Dino Bardot (guitar, backing vocals) joined the band in 2017 after McCarthy left during the previous year, and Audrey Tait (drums) joined the band after Thomson left in 2021. The band is one of the more popular post-punk revival bands, garnering multiple UK top 20 hits. They have been nominated for several Grammy Awards and have received two Brit Awards – winning one for Best British Group – as well as one NME Award. The band's first two singles, " Darts of Pleasure" and " Take Me Out", peaked within the top 50 on the UK Singles Chart. "Take Me Out" charted in several countries and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock ...
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East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state was a part of the Eastern Bloc in the Cold War. Commonly described as a communist state, it described itself as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state".Patrick Major, Jonathan Osmond, ''The Workers' and Peasants' State: Communism and Society in East Germany Under Ulbricht 1945–71'', Manchester University Press, 2002, Its territory was administered and occupied by Soviet forces following the end of World War II—the Soviet occupation zone of the Potsdam Agreement, bounded on the east by the Oder–Neisse line. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin but did not include it and West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR. Most scholars and academics describe the GDR as a totalitarian dictatorship. The GDR was establish ...
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Ostalgie
In German culture, ''Ostalgie'' () is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words '' Ost'' (east) and ''Nostalgie'' (nostalgia). Its anglicised equivalent, ostalgia (rhyming with "nostalgia"), is also sometimes used. Another term for the phenomenon is GDR nostalgia (german: DDR-Nostalgie) The term was coined by the East German standup comic in 1992. Social scientist Thomas Ahbe argues that the term ‘ostalgia’ is often misunderstood as a lack of willingness to integrate, an uproar to reverse German reunification and reinstate the GDR. However, Ostalgia is rather an integration strategy used by East Germans who wanted to retain their own original experiences, memories and values incompatible with those of the West German majority. As with other cases of Communist nostalgia, there are various motivations, whether ideology, nationalism, wistfulness for a lost sense of social status or stability, or even aesthetics or iro ...
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