ATEM Step Sequencer Prototype
This is where the adventure starts...
On the left is the first CGI rendering of what would become the ATEM protoype step sequencer, created towards the end of 2002 using Bryce 2.0. The pilot design was as simple as possible - just eight knobs, one each for changing the pitch and controller values, a small number of buttons to deep-dive the sequencer menus, a data wheel and a display.
The enclosure was hacked together on our bedroom floor with a hand drill and a big file over the course of a long weekend. It was as rough as hell but it worked.
The software was very simple - turning the knobs would change the pitch for that step. Turn the knob fully anti-clockwise and the step would become a rest. Turn the knob fully clockwise and the step would be 'skipped'. You could also change the note velocity, the gate length and the controller values. An LFO gave you a source of modulation and a Midi Effects routine would generate echoes and repeats.
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ATEM Protoype |
ATEM Protoype @ Synth DIY, Cambridge, September 2003 |
By now, we'd already decided to christen our instruments ATEM, ZEIT and Phaedra after my three favourite Tangerine Dream albums but we didn't want to run up against copyright problems with Tangerine Dream. I sent a message to TD headquarters, told them what we were doing and nervously awaited a response. A reply arrived a few days later. Yes, they were interested and they wanted to know more. An invitation to visit Edgar Froese in London in person arrived a few days later.
Jules and I drove down to meet with Edgar and Jerome at their rehearsal space in Camden, where we were invited to sit in whilst the boys ripped through several pieces including a reworked version of Hamlet that made th hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Afterwards, we demoed the prototype sequencer to Herr Froese and he seemed impressed. And, yes, Edgar was okay with our use of the names ATEM, ZEIT and Phaedra so long as we didn't infringe on their trademarks.
That afternoon remains a career high for me. To get to talk sequencers with not only one of my favourite musicians but also a talent I genuinely admired was very special indeed. I must confess to being a little tongue-tied when we first met. I was a little like a star-struck school boy but Edgar was kind and forgiving. A smashing bloke who is greatly missed.