Oct 18, 2022 | Sound on Sound Magazine
Paul Wiffen talks about his career in sound design for some of the world's leading artists and synth manufacturers, including the Synthex, and discusses Cherry Audio's Elka-X. Find out why Paul feels Elka-X captures the magic of the Synthex: "But the one that I'm most excited about now is a $39 plugin from Cherry Audio called Elka-X."
For SynthFest UK 2022, Paul brought synths and an RGB Laser Harp to help him deconstruct some of his most famous sounds created for Jean-Michel Jarre and Stevie Wonder. His career started off with an Elka Synthex as a programmer and demonstrator. This led Paul to work with visionary composer Vangelis, programming the iconic Yamaha CS-80 sound for Blade Runner followed by further work on The Bounty, 1492 Conquest Of Paradise and Alexander film soundtracks.
Later in his career Paul also worked with Stevie Wonder on programming his synth sounds, including the Grammy-winning track 'Skeletons.' He's also worked with Ultravox, Geoff Downes of Asia, Emerson, Lake & Powell, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel and with Jean-Michel Jarre at the Docklands concert with the famous Laser Harp and on several of Jarre's albums.
00:00 - Introduction
01:54 - Vangelis & Elka Synthex
07:26 - Creating Synthex Sounds On Yamaha CS-80
10:35 - Cherry Audio Elka-X Plug-in
12:41 - Synthex Programming For Stevie Wonder
15:46 - Working With Jean-Michel Jarre
18:44 - Laser Harp Synth Sound
23:00 - Yamaha GX-1 Stories
27:11 - Elka-X Sequencer For Blade Runner
29:15 - Blade Runner Sequence Demo Performance
31:38 - Outro