Curved Air – Second Album
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 2005 album Second Album.
Music from Second Album
Artists on Second Album
Gear Used On Second Album
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of Curved Air – Second Album (2005). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Keyboards and Synthesizers used by Francis Monkman on Second Album
In this video still from a Curved Air TV performance, Monkman is seen with a VCS 3 Mk 1 (and DK-1 keyboard).
Interview with Francis Monkman (Source: http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/interviews/fmonkman.html ) "I was fortunate enough to have had the use of a VCS3 since 1969, when my flat-mate Robin Thompson (who was in "Intermodulation" with Andrew Powell & Co) got hold of one of the first. My experience with Moogs has not been so good -- I always thought the Minimoog far too limited after the VCS3, and even the big modular affairs fail to impress me, though it's true Keith E. got a monster sound out of his. I heard some good sounds out of a Polymoog, once, but I've no idea how they were programmed. The VCS3 did fine on the road, considering the inevitable tuning problems; after all this time, it still strikes me as a 'minor miracle', I even had mine refurbished and midied."
Francis Monkman interview from March 1983 edition of "Electronics and Music Maker" magazine (Source: http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/francis-monkman/5930 ) "The first keyboard I started using in Curved Air was a Hohner piano, but by the second album I was using a VCS3 with the Cricklewood keyboard. The first album, 'Air Conditioning', also used the VCS3, but just for a few sweeps and effects, including a crazy violin solo through a ring modulator."
In an excellent and comprehensive article on the history and use of the VCS 3 here: https://musicaficionado.blog/2020/10/14/ems-vcs3-in-the-1970s-part-2/ they have an entry on Monkman's use of the VCS 3 in Curved Air:
We are lucky to have footage of the band playing live in the studio from a 1972 performance for the French TV. At the end of the set the band played their signature track Vivaldi, including a section of otherworldly sounds from the VCS3 with great close-ups of the instrument. Watch: https://youtu.be/M_Vghn3EVcI?t=1462
