Joe Howe

Musician & Sound Designer,
Based in Glasgow.

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Writing

The History of... The Emulator II Shakuhachi Flute Sample
(Good Press, 2013)

I was asked to contribute a piece (consisting of a work on cassette tape, with accompanying sleeve artwork / notes) by Glasgow's Good Press to their 'The History Of...' exhibition.

The piece concerns the infamous Shakuhachi Flute sample that came bundled with the Emulator II sampling synthesizer - This ubiquitous sound has been made famous on tracks like Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' and has become a staple of dance music / pop culture.

The cassette contains a 30 minute mixtape of isolated incidents of the sound throughout the popular music of the 80's onwards, while the essay tries to describe the aesthetic and cultural qualities of the sound.

This essay has since been republished (with damning comments) on the German music site Amazona.de.

Download Mixtape & Essay

 
 
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