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Johann’s Production Notes

In Linux, there is a highly complex and useful synthesizer called ZynAddSubFX. This synth is currently released as version 3.0.5, but Linux Multi-Media Studio can only use 2.4.0. My first idea for writing my song, Zynspiration, came to me when I was messing around on LMMS with Zyn. I had never attempted to use Zyn before, and there are no guides online on how to use it, so this was all an experiment. I discovered Zyn to be highly organized and user friendly even though it was complex. I created my first sound for the song, the organ, that day. The next day, I went back to my song project and added another sound.

And so Zynspiration started. Its working title was ZynAddSubFX Project. Every single sound is a Zyn synth. All music was wrote by me, except for the lead part, suggested by E-Sandy. Originally I used audio samples for the drums, but then I realized it would be way cooler to use Zyn. The drums were the most difficult to program. I had to use filters, white noise, and envelopes to get the sound right for the five drumsynths. When the song was ripe enough to post, I was suggested the name “Zynspiration” for the name of the song. I accepted, even though I still have no idea what is so inspiring about the song.

LMMS is free to download, and can be used on Windows and Mac OS too, which is kind of ironic, considering it was named Linux Multi-Media Studio.

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SKULLTOASTI have some musically talented kids, and I wanted to give them a place to post their tunes for all the world to admire. So I made them an album page on this site called SkullToast, and we will post their songs as fast as they can finish them.

Where did the name “SkullToast” come from? Here’s Heinz Sander to explain:

“I was in German class, and I was doodling on my notes. I was drawing skulls. I noticed that some of them looked like pieces of toast, so I drew one that was shaped like a piece of toast, and I wrote “SKULLTOAST” above it in big letters. The teacher came along, and he wrote the German translation below that: Schädel Toast.”

So there it is. SkullToast. I think it’s a fantastic band name, certainly better than most.