He's very professorial in how he scoops everything happening today into a big mush and delivers it back, slightly re-arranged. It makes for a fun style, even if I forget everything immediately.
I was aware that the Italians made synths, of course, like Crumar and Siel, with the latter being a key part of Sequential's (failed?) plans to crack the 80s low-end market.
When I worked in music retail in the mid-90s, we were a dealer for Generalmusic, another Italian company that's since faded away. Generalmusic actually had some noteworthy products. My store carried the Pro 1 and Pro 2 (yep), which were amazing digital pianos. These pianos realistically simulated sympathetic resonance, with the sound of sustained keys ringing proportionately as other notes with shared overtones were played later. The Pro 2 had more polyphony (128) than keys (88). These features made for an unusually rich piano sound. Keith Emerson was a Generalmusic endorser, and my store acquired a one-of-a-kind workstation that they made to his specifications, specifically for him.
So, when it comes to Italy, they certainly do have a strong, but largely forgotten, synth tradition grafted onto their more-commonly-acknowledged accordion tradition.
Thanks for sharing that!
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