Music comprised of various hardware synthesizers played live from keyboard, recorded track by track, as well as other live performed audio and sequenced elements.
Hardware synthesizers / keyboards: Casio CSM-1, Casio CZ-101, Casio HT-700, Casio VL-1, Casio WK-1630, Kawai MS20, Roland JV-1080, Roland RA-50, Yamaha FB-01, Yamaha PSS-380, Yamaha Reface CS, Yamaha TG55, Yamaha TX7. Recorded through a Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi SB1090 USB sound card.
Live instrumentation / audio elements: Acrylic drum sticks hit together, castanets, clarinet, hand claps, tapping pencils on a metal can, tapping pencils on a plastic container, tapping pencils on keyboard keys, acoustic sound of a Roland PDX-8 electronic mesh snare, tambourine. Recorded through a Blue Yeti Pro microphone. Additional contributions by a good friend include cello and trumpet. Recorded through a TASCAM DR-05X.
Drums and percussion sequenced from Roland JD-990, Roland JV-80, Roland JV-1080, Roland R-5, Roland XV-5080, Roland TD-7, Roland SC-88, BOSS DR-202 Dr. Groove, and MusicRadar drum samples.
Recorded and mixed in FL Studio.
Special thanks to kqa for the stellar cello and trumpet performances, to Hypercaine for the epic ideas and being just amazing and supportive, and to A Bit of Chiptune for everything.
Copyright © 2020 Laz.
Bandcamp links:
sonicym2612.bandcamp.com
quirby64.bandcamp.com
lazerburnaudio.bandcamp.com
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Name: Miles Roberts
Alias: Syntheck (synth + tape deck)
Born: 2001 in Los Angeles, CA
Age: 31 (year 2032)
Backstory:
Miles is a young, aspiring musician. Coming from a musical family with his father being a jazz musician and his mother a keyboardist and singer, music is a huge part of his life. His parents, while leading relatively successful musical careers, never became particularly famous, and certainly Miles himself has yet to achieve noteworthy fame. However, he has started to gain some notoriety in the local music scene with his unique performances utilizing vintage synthesizers, home keyboards, and analog tape machines to create experimental fusions of the new and old, and enthralling audiences with nostalgic vibes. He was on the right track to something big, and everything would appear to be going well for him, but things wouldn't go so smooth sailing one night...
One night, after a good show and having raised money for charity, Miles was tearing down his setup as usual and preparing to relax and call it a night. It suddenly became unusually bleak and stormy in the area, but no one thought too much of it. Miles was nearly done dismantling his setup, just had a couple of amplifiers to go. He walks over to his trusty vintage power amplifiers and begins disconnecting everything. As if on cue, a lightning bolt strikes very nearby as he's disconnecting the amps from the power supply. A huge electric arc was produced and Miles collapses on the ground after receiving a nasty jolt.
He awakens. The last thing Miles remembers was a brief bright blue glow and the sensation of a million needles shooting through his arm, then darkness. He is confused and disoriented, wondering where he is. He feels quite strange, as if his body wasn't his own. Someone approaches. Suddenly he realizes he's been hospitalized and the man approaching is a doctor. Miles is told how lucky he is to be alive. He was unconscious for several days and needed extensive care and treatment due to very serious electrical burns. Unfortunately some of the damage was so deep that parts of his body needed to be bionically augmented, including even parts of his head. Upon release from the hospital, Miles had many thoughts racing in his head, he thought about how things wouldn't be the same for him. However, he also thought about certain positives, as his new state-of-the-art bionic implants did carry some advantages. Maybe things wouldn't be the same, but maybe they'll be better than before in unexpected ways. From this point on, he decides to embrace his new self and creates a new identity, the world will now know him as Syntheck.
Abilities:
Over time, Syntheck has grown accustomed to the bionic implants, and has even added in a few of his own for further personal customizations and enhancements.
-Integrated multi-engine synthesizer which can produce almost any kind of sound. Can be internally controlled with the mind and externally controlled via MIDI. Sound can be output to built-in speakers, output to an external input, and also recorded directly to memory and to built-in cassette deck.
-Special cassette deck in chest that can read and write digital and analog audio data as well as synthesizer patch and sequence data, all of which he can derive moves and abilities from.
-Built-in stereo bass reflex speakers in upper back for outputting internally generated and stored sounds. Sounds can be ultrasonically directed at specific targets for use against opponents in combat.
-Eye candy color LED display visor which can display high resolution images, video, and visualizations. Visor also serves as a smart augmented reality device which can relay various information and be used as a computer. Head implant customized with a multicolor RGB LED grid pattern which can be finely controlled to display mesmerizing visuals.
-Companion and best friend mecha dog Juno who can be called into battle as an assist. Moves include bite, arm cannon, high speed tackling, and harmonizing along to Syntheck's synthesizer. Can show off with square and circle shaped RGB LEDs reflecting off his shiny, solid metal body. Eyes change color to indicate expression. Moves around on a high torque spherical gyroscopic wheel.
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What is your OC fighting for?
He's torn between becoming his old self again and helping others and the world become better.
