The Four-Sided Note

An immersive album by Doug Lynner performed live on the Mystery Serge, EuroSerge and Cyndustries modular synthesizers.

A Sonic Journey in Space and Time

They say there are two sides to everything. But that is so last century. The notes in this piece have four sides. 

Like sonic cinema for the ears, The Four-Sided Note swirls around the listener depositing them in unexpected places ranging from melodic grids, to alien whistling long tones, to frenetic rhythmic melodies, to kamelanesque ensembles. 

Simply put, The Four-Sided Note is a journey.

The title, The Four-Sided Note, alludes to the quadraphonic environment in which the piece was performed and recorded, and, to the idea of spatial location as an actual compositional element. Will we recognize where the sound is located one day as we are sensitive to what the pitch is now? Let’s start training our ears with The Four-sided Note!

The Four-Sided Note, a solo piece by Doug Lynner, was performed live through a quad sound system on December 10th, 2023 at San Jose’s Anno Domini Gallery. The 4-channel recording of the performance was co-produced and mixed for 4.4.1 Dolby Atmos by Franck Martin.

Tracks

• Alternation - 04:29
• Tonality - 06:28
• Timbre - 06:20
• Construct - 10:18
• The Four-Sided Note (Complete) - 27:30

Recorded Live at Anno Domini Gallery, San Jose, on December 8th 2023 as a quadraphonic piece on the Mystery Serge and Cyndustries synthesizers. Remixed to 4.4.1 channels in Dolby Atmos format.

Release Date: June 14 2024

Credits

• Composition: Doug Lynner
• Performer: Doug Lynner
• Immersive Mixing: Franck Martin
• Producers: Doug Lynner & Franck Martin
• Cover Photo: Erica Albornoz

© Composition Owner Doug Lynner
© Year of Composition 2023
© Master Recording Owner Doug Lynner
© Year of Recording 2024
Label PeachyMango

About Doug Lynner

American modular synthesist, Doug Lynner, performs experimental electronic music internationally, teaches music composition and synthesis, and creates modular synthesizer tutorials for the electronic music community.

Doug is known for his intimate, “In-The-Circuit” performance style. That style has given birth to his  “Living Synthesis” compositions - part fixed composition, part improvisation, and part circuit immersion.

His process is to create unique instruments for each performance that are self-active and cross-influencing in which he participates through direct interaction with each instrument’s autonomic activities through their knobs, switches and patch cords.

Basing his aesthetic upon the notion of “sound for sound’s sake” he explores the intrinsic value of sound through mixtures of ambient, avant-garde, rhythmic and soundscape genres.

Doug received a BFA in Music Composition from California Institute of The Arts where his mentors were Morton Subotnick, Harold Budd, James Tenney, Leonid Hambro, and Nicholas England.

He was the editor and publisher of Synapse Magazine, a Los Angeles based magazine from the late 70s focused on electronic music.

About the Mystery Serge

Featured on this performance is Doug’s Mystery Serge, the first commercial Serge Synthesizer. Doug was a composition student at California Institute of The Arts when Serge Tcherepnin was invited to CalArts by Morton Subotnick to create a synthesizer that students could afford, in contrast to the ultra expensive Buchla 200 used in the CalArts synthesizer studios.

Serge synthesizers departed from norms by using stackable banana plugs, ending the segregation of AC and DC voltages, and offering modules in smaller, musically agnostic building blocks giving way to the unique Serge concept of Patch Programmability.

Doug’s original Serge received a major refurbishment and upgrade a decade ago and was then named The Mystery Serge because of modifications not represented by the Paperface graphics. It has been featured in a myriad of recordings and performances in its 50+ year history ranging from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles to the Serge 40th Anniversary Concert in San Francisco.