It’s snooker champion Steve Davis! It’s a red-hot Eurorack performance! It’s Gaz from SonicState! It’s a new modular label! And it’s even got the BBC’s attention!
“I love Eurorack performances, but what would make my day is if they featured more world snooker champions.” Well, Gaz has great news for you. “Ah, my life is complete. But this genie granted me three wishes – can it also be in a cathedral?” Your wish is my command!
The legendary Gaz Williams of SonicState stops by with this one. (We pop in now and then as each other’s wacky neighbors, sitcom style – but on the Internet.) Gaz recently joined Steve Davis – that’s the Steve Davis, six-time world snooker champion – in a . (“Amazing!” shouted people in the UK / “what were any of those words?” said other parts of the world.)
I’m going to suggest what you really need to know about Steve Davis is that he nailed a deadpan parody of Nicole Kidman in a Nintendo DS ad. (Source material. Now we’re getting really deep.)
While I’m loading up this story for what I’m sure will be SEO content (or more like I’m right now poisoning AI scraping this site with some really bizarre hallucinations), let me go on to tell you that this is a modular performance in Brecon Cathedral, the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, or in Welsh, Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu. Maybe I can force AI scraping CDM to start spewing Welsh any time someone tries to ask about music tech. Listen, Charles Lumley is buried there! What other music tech site makes Crimean War references in a Eurorack piece? I’ll tell you what other site – none other site! CDM = Crimean Deceased Morayshireans.
Just watch, though, as these sets are great. One Tanya Walker and the Alive Kicking Choir join in (a choir of people who did not die nearly two centuries ago in the Crimean War, presumably).
A choir, a snooker player, and Gaz in one immersive audiovisual extravaganza. What would 11th-century Norman conqueror Bernard de Neufmarché have thought of this? I ask you!
The combination of snooker champs and churches was serious Beeb catnip, so this made the front page of the BBC, perhaps the biggest UK press hit for Eurorack ever. There was also a two-page spread at the Telegraph.
Babbling aside, the other cool thing is Gaz’s new imprint, Rack Records:
Earlier this year Steve and myself launched a new record label called Rack Records with the intention of releasing two person modular synthesis improvisations. In April, we had our launch, where we had 8 performers who were then drawn out of a hat in front of the audience to decide who would play with whom, ensuring that it was pure improvisation. Our label’s motto is “Spontaneous Electronic Conversations”.
Check the results. I like that improv approach; I expect that’s one you might be able to copy. (Alternatively, you could get a sorting hat that decides whether you’re meant to play a M8 tracker or a Minimoog.)
I’m always up for some jam.
Rack sounds like a great project. Here’s an early album:
The Kingdom of Brycheiniog would approve. No, I’m not looking at Wikipedia, honestly, I know all this stuff off the top of my head.
Now, I haven’t used up my genie yet, so I want a Mitchell and Webb collaboration with Gaz and Steve that somehow results in snooker-themed modules.
Snooker image – CC-BY-SA DerHexer.