Earlier this year, we were graced by one of the best news item ever. Ray Kurzweil, the original founder of Kurzweil Music Systems has been asked by Hyundai to come back helm Technology strategy at KMS.
Hyundai has appointed Ray Kurzweil as Chief Strategy Officer of Kurzweil Music Systems. Hyundai, one of the world’s largest corporations, plans to work with Ray Kurzweil to “build Kurzweil Music Systems into one of the largest music instruments brands in the world,” Kurzweil stated.
At the last NAMM, Ray Kurzweil was given a Life Achievement Award by Young Chang North America, with fellow recipients Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel. Congratulations to all.
Kurzweil Music Systems has the technology and the know-how to be revolutionary, just as V.A.S.T (Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology) was. They were the first synthesizer manufacturer to have a web presence, and to provide such power in their synthesizers. Music-making friends are still amazed when I explain how I can build a synthesizer within my Kurzweil.
I have been a long-time contributor to online Kurzweil mailing lists (that’s about 13 years counting from my initial contact to now), advocating and explaining the use of the Kurzweil K2 series synthesizers. They are extremely powerful, but with power also comes complexity for some users.
I wrote three very well received tutorials about Advanced Programming on the Kurzweil K2 series. Fellow users were extremely happy that I not only knew the synthesis architecture so well, but also that I was sharing the knowledge with them, showing them advanced ways to put their synths to great use:
0. Advanced Programming on the Kurzweil K2 series synthesizers – An overview.
1. Interactive Phrase Sequencing
2. Vector Synthesis & WaveSequencing Emulation
3. Faking effects
I won a contest for programming the synthesizer and I also wrote software to remote control the Kurzweil synths’, both at the panel level and at the internal synthesis architecture level, and transfer sounds to and from them in SysEx format.
One of these software, KurView (which you can also see in the header for this blog), enables me to get high-quality images of the contents of the LCD screen, which I have integrated into these new blog versions of my old tutorials.
Kurzweil Music Systems has a very advanced new DSP chip called Mara which should be the heart of forthcoming products.
There are some obstacles and some past occurrences that should be avoided for future success not just technologically but for the community as a whole. As a composer, repeat Kurzweil user (I have owned a K2000 and I now have a Kurzweil K2500XS with KDFX), long-time recognized contributor on the mailing lists, sound synthesis expert and software developer for the machines, I have a few ideas that I would like to tell Ray about.
Kurzweil synths are used by Mike Garson (David Bowie), Alicia Keys, New Order, Jean-Michel Jarre, Dream Theater (Jordan Rudess), Pink Floyd (Jon Carin) and many others.
In the meantime, that’s the best thing that could happen to Kurzweil Music Systems.
Welcome back, Ray.
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