electronic soul

[steevio]

At the moment I'm inclined to go for a tabula rasa kind of explanation; that soul is something that can grow out of anything, given time to do so.

weird you should say that. i had a TB303 and TR606 in 1984, they were lying around my recording studio me and my mates messed around with them, but we thought they were pretty weak sounding devices, and in a bizarre twist of fate i was in an electrofunk band called Acid at the time, (so called because we were all into psychedelics) but we never used the TB303 or TR606, we used a yamaha RX11 digital drum machine, it sounded better than the 606.
equally no-one else saw the potential of the TB303 at that time, it took a stroke of genius to unleash the soul of that machine a few years later. missed opportunity there haha

[oblioblioblio]

i have a good streak of disgusting flowery hippy in me, but I would disagree with the time phenomenon adding soul. I think that's just parts mechanically decaying. I think a good soulful machine has everything there right from the start, and decay just changes the hue a little bit.

A story that I think is related... my friend made an album and made a really organic looking physical package, I accidentally spilled some drink or something on it and it got stuck to something, and when I took the thing it was stuck to off, it took some bits with it. And actually the damage fitted in with look and feel of the package, and it didn't interfere with it.

[Ingemar]

that's just parts mechanically decaying

haha but how is that any different from us persons, that i assume has souls?

also you say

I think a good soulful machine has everything there right from the start(, and decay just changes the hue a little bit.)

my parenthesis

also, is that so much unlike us humans? Perhaps what is enchanting us, is that mankind has created something that ages and develops along with us - thus being very close to our definition of sentinent life


And also, @Steevio, you and your adventures... please don't tell me that you've ever owned a VCS-3 synthesiser and done psychonautics with it as well!

[steevio]

i have a good streak of disgusting flowery hippy in me, but I would disagree with the time phenomenon adding soul. I think that's just parts mechanically decaying. I think a good soulful machine has everything there right from the start, and decay just changes the hue a little bit.

i would agree, there's a flowery hippy in me too, not sure if he's disgusting though.

if the TB303 had soul from the start, it took a soulful guy to unleash it.

i made some pretty unsoulful music with a 303, i dont think my head was right at the time.

[steevio]

And also, @Steevio, you and your adventures... please don't tell me that you've ever owned a VCS-3 synthesiser and done psychonautics with it as well!

haha mate no, shame though.

[Ingemar]

ill remember those three sentences steevio

[oblioblioblio]

i would agree, there's a flowery hippy in me too, not sure if he's disgusting though.

if the TB303 had soul from the start, it took a soulful guy to unleash it.

i made some pretty unsoulful music with a 303, i dont think my head was right at the time.

Yeah it's true, there's a lot of good in a life connected with one's spirit and the spirit of the earth.

I think there is some truth in what Ingemar is saying about the soul of a machine. I think that many things have a spirit, and I have certainly felt strongly that the machines I have have a spirit. It comes very much from the personality of the designer, but perhaps there is more to it. Obviously it takes a human to interface with it, but I can't help but get a sci fi feeling like it's some form of Artificial Intelligence.

[tone-def]

The 303 sounds as good now as it did in the 1980's. listen to those old acid tracks. Do they sound less soulful than someone who makes tune with a 303 today? No. Synths don't mature with age, old music is proof of that.