GForce Software announced today the release of a new Bright Sparks episode dedicated to American inventor, instrument designer and electronic music pioneer, Tom Oberheim. Recorded at the end of 2021, you can watch it freely via the GForce Software TV YouTube channel.
From his involvement in the emerging electronic music industry of the 1960’s to the present day, Tom Oberheim has been a leading figure in synthesiser design, helping to pioneer many notable innovations in the electronic music sphere which have subsequently become universal. With Tom, this episode explores his life, creations, collaborations, and innovations. Bright Sparks – Tom Oberheim also features contributions from Marcus Ryle, former Oberheim Developer and co-founder of Fast Forward Designs and Line 6, who contributed to the OB-Xa, DSX, DMX, OB-8, Xpander and Matrix 12.
Oberheim synthesizers have been ubiquitous throughout the last 50 years of recorded music, appearing on countless genre-spanning records. Tom’s products have been integral to the sonic identity of countless artists, including Lyle Mays, Prince, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, and Jam & Lewis.
When the GForce team produced the original, critically acclaimed Bright Sparks documentary with UK band I Monster in 2015, they reached out to Tom, but for a variety of reasons it wasn’t possible to include him at that time. However, last year, after releasing GForce Software OB-E, an emulation of the Oberheim 8-Voice, they became reacquainted with Tom… and to their delight he agreed to feature in a dedicated Bright Sparks episode.
Bright Sparks was originally recreated to complement the I Monster album of the same name, and has been freely available via the GForce Software TV YouTube channel since February 2021. Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight (now nine) musical instrument pioneers, – Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla (Buchla), Harry Chamberlin (Chamberlin), The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS), Ken Freeman (Freeman String Symphonizer), and now… Tom Oberheim.
Here’s the Bright Sparks video featuring Tom Oberheim:
You can find more info on the documentary on the GForce blog.
P.s: stay tuned, the GForce team is on a roll lately, so you can expect some more juicy news in the next few days…
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