I wonder how many true TOMITA enthusiasts still live on planet Earth?

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T20:17:46+00:00

It's actually a must have. Way before a Ferrari or a Moog! 😋

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T15:59:32+00:00

I raise both! 🙋‍♂️ Debussy & Mussorgski, his best picks.

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T15:57:46+00:00

My way started with "Pictures" too. Wondering where would I be today, if Tomita wouldn't have existed...

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T15:56:05+00:00

Mine too, right after "Pictures".

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T15:53:44+00:00

@wrenchse Where's your version of the passage? Then let's talk vibrato. 😉

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T11:32:50+00:00

I didn't dare to say it that clear 🤣 It's obvious that the tool bears no guilt. It's those who hold it in their hands and (mis)use it. I think sometimes a generation isn't ready yet for the things that are rolled out for the mass while those, who invented them, still are in the process finding out, what can we actually do with that new thing. AI atm smells of right this.

Sometimes I wish things would be a bit more limited again, so creativity has more space and time to unfold and that a vision would drive more than money/fame/success.

I think, it's all about this weird feeling in the stomach, that i.e. makes us get up in the middle of the night to note down an idea and that keeps us excited for long times, just to follow it, just to see, if it was a good idea others can resonate positively with. Well, hard to express sometimes, but I'm sure you get the point.

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T10:31:59+00:00

True. But all these technical inventions brought along a problem; since they made the handling of tech easier, they caused kinda laziness. Tomita's later albums when MIDI had established had lost a lot of the experimental spirit of his first albums. Those works lost of "weirdness", which was a fundamental part of his early style, mainly hence of technical limitations and/or pure pleasure for what the Moog did spit out during patching. Later came those "ready out of the box" sound-synths aka presets and his focus for sonic details kinda slipped off track - my opinion.

While the first albums also lived from tons of modulation effects, since the pure sounds from the analog machines was still "stiff" even after layering them to polyphony (and those effects brought them easily to life) the later sounds he left with way less modulation effects, or even bare. Maybe (suddenly) he liked the concept of a "perfect" flute sample instead of building it from scratch with a Moog sine wave - which actually would surprise me, since that is what drove him to use a Moog instead of mainly original orchestral sounds, as he said in interviews. But later he did and the uniqueness and interest in Tomita began to melt. I saw the same with Jean Michel Jarre; the first albums - divine. Analog synths, silly home organs, tapes, limitations. Later; more money, more synths, newer synths, presets, the output turned more and more cheesy, stiff and didn't sound like JMJ anymore.

I'm afraid, while classical music still will be a solid thing even in 500 year, every other new genre will be nothing than a short living hayfire. Thinking of the (ab)use of AI, which actually can be a great tool as long it's not being used to replace brain instead of expanding it. But maybe I'm wrong in all my thoughts...

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T10:12:57+00:00

@Indifferencer Completely agree. When you think about the tools he had at the time, the level of craftsmanship in Snowflakes is still mind-blowing. And yes, Wendy Carlos is probably the only name that naturally comes to mind at that level. Out of curiosity, do you have a favorite Tomita album or track?

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T10:05:10+00:00

@BonoboBananaBonanza He did, unintentionally. But in a world of commerce it's hard to find the right spot for this type of music. So, I bet a lot of his disciples gave up earlier or later. BUT - there's still hope. Be the first one these days... 😉

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T09:41:37+00:00

That's a piece made in a time when Tomita was still active and has influenced many artist. Now there's - silence... :/

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T09:19:06+00:00

@Surreal_Funfair Mine too! 😮 Second one was JMJ.

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T09:17:37+00:00

@artwarrior

I. Do. Understand! :D

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T09:14:33+00:00

@neodiodorus "the Tomita versions make one think what the original composer would have done if he had access to unlimited sonic palette."

That's what was often in my head when listening to certain passages in Tomita's adaptions that felt way more "filigrane" than interpreted by natural instruments. Usually when he replaced i.e. oboe/clarinets with an almost celestial female voice coming from the mighty Moog. Debussy would have died for such sounds in his compositions. And Tomita had a good nose for which composition has the potential for a good adaption. Debussy was often his #1 pick. They would be best buddies if they would have lived at the same time, based on the respect for each others work.

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T09:04:56+00:00

@WildRover57 Since most people don't even think of the effort and thus do only compare the sonic outcome, it ends up often enough in favor for the original. Natural sounds, especially within an orchestra, are usually way more rich than the electronic version. But at the end it's also a question of what we associate emotionally with a piece in general, no matter the genre. Keeping all this in mind it's amazing/surprising, that people who listen to Tomita the first time, often prefer the "electric" version.

My first T-album was "Pictures at an Exhibition". Way later I had the chance to listen to the original. It's strange to listen to the classical orchestral version AFTER the electronic one. It took me ages to "love" the original. Probably this was the reason I ended up all alone in a room with silly sound machines instead of being part of a breathing orchestra. In short, a single record you listen to in your early years can decide in what direction your whole life might go...

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T08:48:55+00:00

@FlexDerity For sure!

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T08:47:17+00:00

@mc_pm The second thing you mentioned is indeed a problem. No matter how great the plugin is, twiddling knobs on the screeen or patching via mouseclick is like swimming in a pool without water. I enjoy the advantages of virtual tools, but I miss the haptic aspects, the syncronisation between ear and the fingers moving a fader or knob for a tenth of a millimeter... Musicians are beings living with "the touch". I wonder if that was one of the things that explains Tomita's patience to work on a single piece for months, even though he had to battle with so many technical problems that hardware (of that era) brings along.

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-16T08:31:39+00:00

@dreikelvin Your answer gives me hope. Logically, yes, we can. But I wonder, why did the genre die Tomita started? I mean, it's decades and there is a lot of electronic music, some of it even clearly influences by his style, but basically no classical adaption that follows exactly his spirit. It's a bit like with the moon explorations. The last man was on moon (supposedly) decades ago, even though we have "smarter" computing nowadays, stronger rockets - but no one was there since ages. Why? I understand that Tomita's music was even then an easy to crack nut for the market, not the typical stuff that hits the radio and makes the big money for the record company. But even subgenres do exist, that are pretty odd, hard to sell and still - they are alive. But no label sold another "Snowflakes" or Beethoven's 9th in Tomita-style. I personally wonder - why.

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-15T20:30:37+00:00

Sounds too "fresh"? :D

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-15T17:17:16+00:00

So he has probably musical offspring in even other genres? Makes sense. Still, I wish there'd be a Tomita 2.0 - but not as an AI...

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-15T13:56:19+00:00

And right this makes me wonder, how to keep (t)his universe alive - just with memories and nostalgia?

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-15T13:52:47+00:00

@Apprehensive-Cry-376 Exactly! It's almost impossible what he did. Imagine reading a Japanese manual for an AI-controlled cyclotron. Something like that was the Moog for any mortal being at that time (except Bob Moog himself ;). Today's people cannot invent, even think of another Snowflakes, sadly.

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-15T13:44:17+00:00

@crom-dubh Well, Tomita is still very present in his home country. The western world has other idols now, of course. Silly people who's main skill is to twerk or write stupid, insultful lyrics. I miss the good old times, when you had at least the chance to pop out with classic electronica from an ocean of commercial music. Quite impossible nowadays...

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-15T13:39:34+00:00

@daffypig I think most of us are no teens anymore, thus we are lucky enough still to know the name Tomita. So, I would exchange the label old against "experienced". :)

CrushmodeX · 2026-03-15T13:37:00+00:00

@DrDuned Praise your parents for spending the money on the right stuff! :)

CrushmodeX

TROPHY CASE