Living sound forever: The genius of Wendy Carlos | Hacker News Reader

Living sound forever: The genius of Wendy Carlos

xtramagazine.com

154 pointsCharlesW49 comments

Oh Switched-On Bach was just foundational for me as a kid, it cemented my love for both Bach and for digital music. I found it in my dad’s vinyl collection and used to put it on, turn it up loud (sometimes waking my parents up and/or really irritating them) and rock to it. My dad might have been secretly a little disappointed when Switched-On Bach led me to seek out lots more digital music (found stacks of Isao Tomita at the library) and then go deeply into digital art, because my dad was a luthier who made violins by hand, but he never judged me openly.

I think I didn’t even realize the first time I saw TRON or The Shining or Clockwork Orange that it was Wendy Carlos, it just had that Moog sound I knew I loved. Yes looking back it’s unquestionable that the mark Wendy Carlos left on the world is enormous.

There is a great podcast called Switched on Pop that goes deep into pop songs and I just made the connected to Switched on Bach :)

oh but switched on bach is so delightfully analog

I'm going to guess that parent meant "electronic music" rather than "digital music". I can see their point, at various times in the history of contemporary music, there has been a preconception that electronic music is worth less than music played by performers, or that it's only good for the dance floor but not for listening. Especially during the time that rock music was big, let's say from the late 50's to the late 70's.

EDIT: I don't know if Switched on Back was mostly sequenced or mostly performed by Wendy on a keyboard, Moog synths of the time offered both options - I'm guessing it was a mix of the two but I might be wrong.

It was entirely analog (well, all except for the fingers).

Switched-On Bach was recorded in 1968, playing one voice at a time on a keyboard going to a custom 8-track tape recorder.

https://www.wendycarlos.com/+sob.html

And I was another who found it enthralling when it came out, and still do.

I think what makes SOB work so well is that it’s not only an electronic Bach interpretation, but a very well played and tasteful interpretation.

Performed. (And a college professor told me she recorded at half speed.)

The sequences of the time weren't like a midi file is today. I'm used to hearing the repetitive sequences in 1970s music that were a few bars long; if there's any kind of example of programming a Moog to play something more than a few bars, I'd like to see it.

IE: Something like this only appears to play a few bars on repeat: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SequencerCBM--moog-s... It's not capable of playing an entire song.

Thanks for the added details. Yes I'm familiar with those early sequencers, I believe that the idea was that you would use them for a musical phrase and then put them together as a longer sequence on tape. Roughly similar to clip mode vs song mode in a modern DAWs (but much more limited).

That might be possible.

Its been years since I listened to Wendy's "Secrets of Synthesis," but I don't remember her discussing long sequences or techniques like you describe. The implication is predominantly live keyboard performances.

Note: sorry for mis-spelling Bach. I wrote in a hurry and not it's too late to edit the comment.

> The trans synth pioneer changed music—and the world—forever

> it contained a nod to her identity, hidden in plain sight. There it was, on her 1968 album cover: Trans-Electronic

One thing that Wendy really didn't want to be is an icon for "trans" anything. I remember reading an article on her website years ago about her transition, but now I can't find it.

What I remember is that she wants to be known for her music, but not for her transition. She just wants to put the whole thing behind her. It's not part of her identity. (I really wish I could find the article, because her words are better than mine.)

As a huge fan of her music, I see her as a musician first and foremost. The gender change is just an interesting footnote, not her identity.

> I remember reading an article on her website years ago about her transition

It may have been a link to her '79 Playboy interview, where she talks (shockingly for the year, IMO) frankly about her transition and the realities of being trans: http://transascity.org/files/history/Carlos_Wendy_Playboy_In...

It talks about her music, but also dives into things like masturbation post-operation, sexual encounters before and after, and more.

Her closing statement seems to align with your summary, but goes even further:

> Wendy: [..] I think I would feel happy if a reaction to this interview were a yawn. I mean, who cares? I've gone through a procedure. It's done with. Just let me live my goddamn life and I will let you live yours.

> Playboy: It's certainly not boring. And by doing this interview, you're showing that you do care.

> Wendy: I don't want to become a proselytizer. I don't want this interview to champion the cause. I think it's very important that my condition be acknowledged as very rare, so that it's seen as a highly unlikely solution for other people with an unhappy life, or suicidal impulses, as I had. The fact that there were some "successful' transformations doesn't erase the many tragic cases in which an operation was not the full solution for particular individuals. No one should follow this hellish path if an alternative exists. Try other options first.

Wow, this is a great interview. I didn't think I'd read the whole thing but I couldn't stop. What a candid and touching account of a person becoming themself.

It's incredible how much of today's discourse comes up in that interview. We haven't come very far since 1979.

> '79 Playboy interview,

The phrase "for the articles" immediately springs to mind.

I love Wendy so much and to me it is gross to even mention she is trans. It is the least interesting part of her.

Digital Moonscapes and especially Beauty in the Beast are two of my all time fav albums.

I am really not much of a fan of Switched-On Bach. Have to consider that people had not really heard synths before that album so I don't think it quite holds up.

It is a shame she is so reclusive. Her website use to be a wonderful source for news about her but hasn't been updated since 2009. In early 2000s she was sharing more online than most musicians and then basically vanished. I remember she hated youtube and would defend her IP to have things taken down more than any artist I recall when youtube started.

I always hoped to be able to see her play live but to no avail. I don't even know when the last time she performed in public. It must be decades.

Totally with you. Beauty in the Beast is incredible and incredibly underrated. I enjoyed Switched-On Bach for what it achieved, but, I listen to the former when I want goosebumps.

The page you are thinking of is probably https://www.wendycarlos.com/pruri.html

I agree, Wendy is a pioneer and has an incredible body of work. It’s a shame her music is mostly out of print and not available to stream. I realize that’s her choice but it leaves her legacy unavailable to modern audiences.

I would say she succeeded in that, because for decades I have listened and enjoyed and respected her music, and today is the first day I learned that she was trans.

Like the sibling comment, I saw the same work attributed to different names and got confused. When I was a kid, it was the kind of thing that was pretty much verboten to really discuss, but mockery was acceptable, so I can imagine it just wasn't really spoken about and I'm sure hampered her career.

The BBC has an archived interview[0] where I believe she was wearing fake sideburns to keep up a more masculine appearance in public while transitioning. The effect is a bit odd.

I actually first came across her work perusing the public library and actually found the technical excellence of her playing combined with the simplistic sounds of the early synths to be a bit off-putting; it sounded like a 90's midi file. But I could certainly imagine the interest of that in the 60's, and while it's grown on me a bit since then, I can see why it hasn't aged particularly well.

[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsW2EDGbDqg

I only noticed when I started out with the Clockwork Orange soundtrack and noticed her name varying in different releases. It's completely irrelevant to her work.

> It's completely irrelevant to her work.

I don’t think it is from her perspective. Lost connections, lost time, and she can’t even get her name on her work.

“By 1981, Carlos was known everywhere as Wendy: she had completed her gender confirmation surgery in 1972, and talked about it for the first time in a 1979 Playboy interview. Only two columns were devoted to her music in the piece, which she saw as a betrayal. Nevertheless, she revealed just how much “forced secrecy” had affected her career. Switched-On Bach’s popularity had made things hard for her, she said. She had “lost an entire decade” avoiding live performances and connections with other artists because she didn’t yet feel ready to disclose her gender transition publicly. Once, Stevie Wonder came to check out her synthesiser set-up, and Carlos hid as he knocked. Sewell writes in her book how Carlos still faces prejudice from record companies today: Warner Music has not still corrected her name on the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange.”

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/11/she-made-music...

Exactly.

I have so many stories about Wendy Carlos - one of my college teachers wrote the early moog manuals and was fond of saying “Walter was an asshole, Wendy was the sweetest person I’ve ever met” - someone told me of a time they were synthesizing a trumpet and someone invited Wendy in, who listened for 20 seconds and said the third partial was a few dbs off, sure enough it sounded much more real after adjusting just that - but at the end of the day, something everyone forgets to acknowledge is just how great of a performer she was - switched on Bach wasn’t great because of the patches she used or the mixing or anything technical, she was really an amazing interpreter in the classical sense of Bach, and her works shine for it - pity that she is so regressive when it comes to digital rights, but a reminder that being a genius in one field does not make you a genius in related fields

The first time I heard Carlos on a college radio station I had to stop and pull over - it was as close to a sea change moment in my life as anything - at the end of the day she was/is a human being and it sucks that she has to be an icon of anything because her work speaks for itself and independently of that she is who she is - I love Wilhelm kempff for his interpretation of Beethoven but have no idea of his self-identify - I truly don’t agree with Wendy’s view on copyright but that doesn’t delegitmize what she has created - it takes strong personalities to break conventions and that force isn’t always “right”, but we’re better for those that have them

"Beauty in the Beast" album on streaming services or re-issues would be wonderful.

The title track is, to me, absolutely epic and transports my mind to a parallel dream dimension. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j1gy2

I know it stems from the bias of western music, but this is really not enjoyable to me. Those weird scales to my ear just sound wrong, like a synthesizer with some frayed wires.

Yes! I remember reading about this album in the ‘90s and decided to buy it as soon as it’s reissued. Still waiting.

I don’t quite understand how that’s possible for someone with as much name recognition as Carlos. Are the rights to this album held by a bankrupt record company or something?

Some time ago, I listened to Switched-On Bach out of historical interest, and I was surprised to find that it's largely gimmick-free. It's a (good) classical music performance that just happens to be performed using synthesizers.

It's a shame that, as the article mentions, Carlos's music is currently inconvenient to listen to due to unavailability on streaming services.

It's really unfortunate that the only example of her work easily available to most people is the Tron soundtrack, which frankly isn't very good; as she herself has said, the synthesizer is out of tune with the orchestration due to circumstances beyond her control.

(Not to be confused with the Tron Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk, which is incredible.)

edit: grammar

Switched-on Bach is readily available if you're willing to, uh, look for it. Not her compositions admittedly but still seminal Wendy Carlos.

There’s also the ‘Clockwork Orange’ soundtrack

While reading this, it got me wondering about proper pronoun usage for past-tense. AFAIK, Wendy was Walter when Switched On Bach was released, so is it proper to say "his" work, or "her" work?

The article refers to Carlos with "her" in all cases.

https://www.discogs.com/release/1343533-Walter-Carlos-Switch...

The Wikipedia Manual of Style is a good guide to cases like this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Gend...

To answer your question, she/her is correct, and a brief note that she went by Walter at the time is sufficient to avoid confusion.

Thanks! I'm somewhat ignorant of these things, and I did not mean to offend anyone.

It's, uhm, confusing.

She was living as a she at the time.

The first pressing of Switched on Bach didn't even have a name on it. She had to fight just to get W??? Carlos on the second pressing. (I have the first pressing framed.)

In hindsight, it might have been less confusing to just use W. Carlos as her professional name. I certainly was confused because, in 2000, my college textbooks said "Walter Carlos" but the record store had CDs by "Wendy Carlos." I didn't figure it out until I Googled "Walter Carlos."

Article also refers to her "deadname". I suppose that is how she likes to view it: Walter never existed.

I wonder what's her reason to not make her music available online. This is really unfortunate.

Not just online, the CD re-releases (and LPs) are only available second-hand as far as I can see, except for the Tron re-release from last year.

Wendy used to hand-draw album covers for tapes of tests she sent to Bob Moog when he sent prototypes to try.

They are beautiful and childlike with wonder. A couple went to Smithsonian.

source: I’m former cochair of Moog Foundation

Her Brandenburg concertos are amazing. I’ve got them on CD - I think they might have been remade with direct to digital output.

Sadly, I fear Wendy has already vanished from current culture as I cannot access her work, only reams of writing on her. I have the Clockwork Orange LP that I bought in Canada for $5 back in 1998 but attempts to get much else have failed. It’s just too expensive, and while I can be a fan of the artist, I would like to be a fan of the art.

Maybe whoever inherits her works will make it available for a new generation to discover, and hopefully there’s enough writing and analysis that contextualizes her achievements.

You can easily find her albums in FLAC or WAV/CUE (not quite legally, or possibly somewhat legally via archive.org), or even get the vinyl records second hand (often for fair prices, although state of the record may vary).

She certainly didn't disappear from the collective memory of many people around the world (and anyone seriously in to synthesizers will know her works). Her music just isn't available on whatever streaming service is popular now, or whatever Apple or Google are pushing.

It'll come back available to all eventually.

> HRT involves rewiring the endocrine system to alter one’s mind, body and emotions to their desired state.

I don't think that's what Carlos was doing; she was using a Moog synthesiser, which is an modular analogue synthesiser rigged so as to simplify making "patches" - roughly, a Moog put you on tramlines. Carlos wasn't re-wiring anything.

She was trans. Started as Walter Carlos.

i am a lifelong fan of electronic music. given that wendy carlos is one of the pioneers, i am in the process of buying up all her records.

as has been mentioned previously in these comments, her music is harder to acquire than some of us would like. pretty much all of it was released on CD at one point or another, but all of those labels are now out of business. further, she is absolutely rabid about having her music removed from youtube and other such sites, when it appears.

that said, it is not all that difficult to get ahold of this stuff. personally, i am going through sellers on discogs. say you wanted to buy a copy of her version of the clockwork orange soundtrack.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/193356?ev=rb

you can order a copy for as little as ten bucks. not exactly a princely amount.

i do hope she will re-issue this stuff one day, in a more readily available format. it will probably come too late for me, though! i will have bought up all her records second-hand by then.

My favorite piece of hers has always been the 13 minute version of Timesteps from the Clockwork Orange movie. Some of her works are on Spotify.

I've mentioned this before, but I have a bootlegged "Everything Carlos did for The Shining," which was a LOT, but Kubrick hardly used any of it. Good stuff.

I’ve always been cool with trans artists but I’m not drinking the arcus foundation kool-aid. People are always looking into the past to validate their skewed contemporary perception. It’s a drag.

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