When electronic synthesis started, the aim was to use electronics to realistically replicate organic instruments. Cheat Sheets would be released explaining how to patch a Moog modular to emulate instruments from the orchestra. Sometimes they were realistic and other times they didn’t quite match up for many reasons.

But these sounds that were slightly disjointed from their original goals were still used and became the basis of a lot of synthesis we know today. Experimentation to create sounds that have never been heard before became a key element in developing a new genre in electronic music.

It is this experimentation in sound design which is my favorite part of electronic music, as it stops it from stagnating. Fashions for particular styles of synthesis/sampling come and go, developing new genres, or breathing fresh air into older ones.

Subtitles from Throwing Snow fits into this mold. The track is based on a sound that sits somewhere between a vocal and a woodwind. Is it an electronic instrument imitating an organic sound or an organic recording being manipulated electronically? In the past I would have said it was the latter. However, the more I delve into learning synthesis and becoming more aware of what you can achieve with good programming, the greater these lines blur.

This ambiguity continues my interest in electronic music; driving me to learn more about it is what attracts me to this piece. But Throwing Snow has cleverly wrapped their experimentation in more mainstream elements of electronic music and in doing so has created a track that can be enjoyed by all fans of the genre.

Bandcamp:

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist: