You can read more on about Don Buchla here... www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/don-buchla-passing-the-acid-test

Amazing to see Don Buchla giving this interview. Too bad there wasn't someone with more pertinent and informed questions.

Don Buchla deserves a better topic index (also a biography, someone please get on that). 0:00:00 - Early history, 100 series, 200 series. Tape music experiments. 0:05:03 - Don describe's performing and running sound at the Acid Test parties. 0:08:05 - Don describe's working at NASA 0:10:00 - Back to SF Tape Music Center and the original 100 series. 0:13:14 - Torsten: "I mean it's basically a ring modulator" :facepalm: 0:13:47 - "I never studied electronics, I just picked up a lot of it just building my own projects with NASA"" 0:16:25 - Torsten: "At this time your just tinkering more or less on a hobbyist level right?" :doublefacepalm: 0:17:44 - Don on Moog and East vs West coast design aesthetic 0:22:40 - Buchla physical panel standards 0:26:00 - Fascinating story of using tape in the absence of sequencers 0:30:40 - Beginning of discussion on piano keyboards and alternate interfaces 0:33:00 - Beginning of Don's slideshow on the history of electric music instruments 0:41:00 - Sal Martriano (I'd not heard of this guy before) 0:49:30 - Torsten diverts Don from his slideshow to ask about sending chimps to space. 0:54:44 - Awkward conversation about polyphony 0:56:56 - Leadup to discussion about Marimba Lumina 1:01:50 - Don talks about his inventions, influences, etc. with regard to string instruments. 1:08:22 - Don talks about his working relationship with David Rosenboom and EEG/EKG as music controller 1:11:00 - Don on fluorescent lighting 1:14:28 - Don discusses his attempts at technological solutions to improve the lives of blind people 1:21:55 - Don on MIDI 1:23:53 - 700 series ~10 of them made 1:25:30 - Lightning, Wind, Thunder 1:29:50 - Thunder II 1:37:11 - (still Thunder II) "I forgot I was playing an electronic instrument" 1:41:35 - Dead Presidents Society (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d7N_iZCKtrKocXk.html) 1:45:13 - Don discusses more alternate controllers (Lemur, Beam) 1:49:00 - Video of lightning being used in a therapeutic context. 1:52:00 - Performance with Lightning @ Stanford in 1991 2:02:00 - More discussions of controllers! (Max Mathews / Radio Drum, Palmtree Airdrum, E-Beam, Wind, Wii, var. wind controllers, other weird midi controllers etc. Don was clearly still very passionate about this) 2:18:00 - Juggling act w/ Lightning 2:19:28 - Slightly bizarre digression into animal based control systems. 2:24:43 - "I'm not reducing myself to practical applications. That's your job." 2:26:00 - Just... one question from the audience?!?

Never thought I could love one hat so much while also hating another hat so much at the same time.

You can you really tell that Don was not vibing with the interviewer. I don’t think he had a clue who was sitting next to him, very arrogant and disrespectful! Anyway, Don is a genius and we got to get a little glimpse into his brilliance in this interview. This mans legacy and his contributions to modern music and technology need to be remembered for ever. RIP Don Buchla.

Interviews like this are hard to watch - they can never summarize or encapsulate the speaker's feelings and experiences. This man needs his own Netflix mini-series documentary.

the interviewer is like an ali g character. love don buchla and all he did

RIP: Don Buchla, modular synthesizer pioneer, dies aged 79. You made a difference.

Incredible how bored the interviewer becomes with one of the greatest instrument designers of all time.

Red Bull: Vet your interviewers. This Euro with the flat bill DJ hat just isn't cutting it with Don Buchla. Fortunately, he managed to talk over him and ignore DJ Boy's attempt at humor.

Interviewer has the enthusiasm of a wet paper towel Don had so much to share such a shame

You would hope the interviewer at a Red Bull Academy lecture would know his subject matter and would know how to engage with his guest.

So he ends the interview with, "So umm,,,, yeah." Not even a thank you. BRILLIANT.

I feel so bad for Don Buchla who spent his precious remaining time with these idiots. Rest in peace.

i really hope someone recorded a conversation between Buchla and Cortini, that would be great

Fascinating man Don Buchla. The topics are not for the DJ'ing EMD crowd though. It's just passing over the interviewer's head.

it's like ricky gervais and sacha baron cohen combined into one person to play this interviewer

The interviewer gets visibly more and more bored… Not very professional. And sure, Don sort of rambles, but he is a doer, not a talker. A good interviewer would help keep him in in pace and on track. Thumbs up for Don. Thumbs down for the least professional interview to date. And also thumbs down to the camera men / editor, who so seldom shows us what Don is showing on the screen and talking about.

Love what Don is saying but wtf is the interviewer on lol. I thought it was just me 🤣

One of the worst interviewers ever! Don Buchla is great and makes the best of it.

I hope the interviewer has been lambasted over the years for ever doing interviews. What a shame seeing the guy attempt intellectualizing with this very down to earth genius.

what a legend

how is this the only in-depth video interview with Don Buchla online?! My labradoodle could have conducted a better interview.

Buchla does a great job of taking these moronic questions and saying something interesting.

Was the title of doctor for the interviewer an honorary kind of thing? It certainly couldn't have been due to his interviewing prowess. I guess I shouldn't expect more from the purveyors of liquid crack.

This interviewer is a joke. Thank you Don Buchla for giving this interview. Legend

Gonna start referring to the Nintendo Wii a Yamaha Y2 from now on. RIP Don Buchla

WORST INTERVIEWER EVER!!

Please enable subtitles!

This interviewer is an absolute joke. However, I could listen to Don all day. So I'm glad this exists.

never let this guy interview anyone ever again..terrible everything about his whole approach is off. smh

This is golden..... anyone else getting aroused looking at those Megalith speakers???

RIP Buchla

What a pleasant genius --- who reminds me of Mike Love of The Beach Boys here.

This interviewer doesn't seem too interested.

Acid Test - build me a time machine !!! I want to play in the opium den 🎸

makes me a bit sad that red bull of all places was the one to interview Don Buchla. really cool to see and listen to this but dang! why didn't something more relevant ask him to do something similar? in the age of podcasts especially. i guess cheers to redbull (hate to say that). it's just weird to see something so unrelated to a sugar drink. what a strange place to leech advertising from.

the bob ross of electronic music

the interviewer acts inappropriate, incompetent, rude and quite arrogant, he lacks even of basic elementary manners.

I can barely hear it! You think such content would have a better sound guy 🤔

Around 50:00 things' get rather hilarious!The interviewer is completely-arrogant-acting! "Don Buchla" is great,as usual! ; )At least you can derive some (pertinent information) from what "Don Buchla" has to say,about his (personal history)!The whole interview is hard to watch! Sad!!! RIP "Don Buchla"! I'm fairly sure that "Don Buchla" is having a (Cosmic-Laugh) at these comments'!

the interviewer has no idea at all 😂

It's like Ali G. doing the interview.

Should have been Trent Reznor interviewing Don. There is a NIN Easter egg, anyone see it?

It's interesting that Buchla remembers first meeting Subotnick at a Tape Music Center event. This doesn't exactly jive with Subotnick's memory of placing a help wanted ad in the paper.

Wish they've had a better microphone setup and that we'd seen more of the slides.

Don's a cool bloke.

So now we know where Sacha Baron Cohen got the idea for “Bruno” character. Close your eyes, and it’s HIM!! 🤣🤣

Who the hell is this interviewer

Awful interviewer, acting totally bored and disinterested, should've just been a Don Buchla lecture/presentation with a proper Q & A at the end. What a wasted opportunity.

I don't know if it's Don or the host or both, but this is one of the most lifeless interviews I've ever heard.

This is very sad to see the interviewer so uninterested in what Don is talking about. I find this extremely rude and disrespectful towards one of the greatest instrument designers of all time. RIP Don.

Too bad Morton Subotnik wasn't the interviewer.

the interviewer should be Biden's running mate - bring the campaign to new energy lows.

Just watched this…. WTF?

Buchla rocks, the interviewer is not skilled in music technology. The setup, angles and lighting is not Red Bull quality.

that thing on the wall is so ugly. the audio is at 1/5 volume. there is a boominess in the mic. wtf red bull wtf

33:38 Antonio Meucci invented the telephone way before Gray or Bell.

The interviewer is dressed like a child

This interview is so difficult to watch, whoever choose that interviewer for this episode should be fired. First, there is a language barrier, that is probably the biggest issue with the interview, there is nonstop miscommunication between them. Second, the guy is either misinformed or did a crap job researching, either way it's inexcusable. It's a real shame that one of the few lengthy interviews with Buchla is simply unwatchable. Like I keep saying, there is this disconnect between the new fans of synthesizer technology and the history of the technology and the musical movements that it has spawned, and there is no excuse for it, just spend a little time reading, I mean I know reading is an antiquated activity but just grin and bare it, kids, you well look much less ignorant to the educated among us if you do.

WTF are Buchla so bloody expensive? Every demo with the exception of maybe Alessandro Cortini or Suzanne Ciani sounds like bloopy bloopy video game farts that I can make for free.

Doesn't seem like there are a lot of interviews with Don.. Sucks Redbull botched it lol

Yikes. Terrible interview. Had someone like Subotnick been there to ask questions, this would stand as a legendary document.

Rewatching this I'm over the pretentious notion that the interviewer was being overly arrogant. With the benefit of hindsight, and seeing other interviews with great minds, it's not an uncommon technique to pair them up with someone less deep in the weeds on their focus areas. In the bit about ring modulation, he was trying to appeal to folks in the audience who may not know what on earth Don was talking about. We're quick to assume that just because we're here, we're an audience that already knows every reference he mentions, but that's a severe confirmation bias. It's not my favorite interview by a mile, but it's also my favorite interview because Don is in it going through a whole chronology of his career. The one thing that DOES BOTHER ME is that it's only 360p. Really??? Was this shot with a 1999 webcam? If there's better source footage, please re-upload.

shameful choice of an interviewer

Great interview, but the interviewer is AWFUL. Dude I could do better and ask better questions, be more attentive and actually ask good questions. “What questions were asked on the grant?” What. Who gives a fudge. Talk about music, the legacy, what’s going on now.

I got 45 minutes into this interview and had to stop it. zzzzzzzzzzz......crappy interview. I feel like he wasn't asking the questions that would open Don up more....get him more excited to talk about the craft and tech.

An interview is not a lecture ..