Espen Kraft

32 Original patches for the Roland D-50. These patches are created by me to emulate classic analoge synth sounds for use in all kinds of electronic music.

Have you ever wondered why 80s pop music sounds so different from pop music made today? I show you why and I explain how you can make your own tracks the same way.

I wanted to make something in the ballpark of Jan Hammers more slow , dark, beautiful and melancholic themes from the show. I came up with this track called "Sheeba", and I rely heavily on digital synths and samplers from the mid 80s. Some analogs too!

The Roland TR-626 is one of the best 80s drum machines out there. It's also way cheaper than the 707.

The smash 80s hit "Forever Young" by Alphaville is a prime example on how the simplest of chords, pretty much repeated throughout the whole song, can be the most beautiful and effective way to make a great song. With a great singer on top and the vocals going higher in register as the song progresses the impact is of an epic journey.

The Yamaha RX11 drum machine from 1984. This is the drum machine Erasure used for their live gigs after their debut album "Wonderland". The RX proved itself to deliver the sound they were going for and it's also very easy to use and setup for both live and studio applications.

The Roland S-550 sampler is one of the best sounding vintage samplers out there. It has a really present sonically character and it "degrades" the sound in a very musically way that's pleasing to the ear.

The Casio RZ-1 drum machine from the mid 80s was soon forgotten, but today I revive it and take a look at the very smooth internal groove, its 8 bit sampling capability and how it sounds together with some synths.

Roland MSQ-700 - The worlds first MIDI sequencer. I use this for more pattern based grooves, fast sketches and arpeggios. No hidden menus, chuncky "good-feel" buttons and a cool futuristic (in 1983) look that today has gone full circle and it looks cooler than ever.

Akai X7000 sampling keyboard in module form. A stripped down S900.

Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard from 1985. Is it just a retro toy these days? Is it possible to make a full production using only sounds and samples from the SK-1?