Automat is an album of instrumental electronic music composed by the Italian musicians Romano Musumarra and Claudio Gizzi. It was produced in 1977 and released in 1978 by EMI Italy, through its Harvest label. All the sounds in this album were generated by the MCS70, a monophonic analog synthesizer designed, built and programmed by the Italian engineer Mario Maggi. Automat was Musumarra's initiative – after learning about the new instrument, he proposed to EMI Italy that he produce an album of electronic instrumental music. Although at the time such a project was considered risky, the answer was positive. EMI suggested, however, that Claudio Gizzi, a more experienced composer that already worked with them, also participate in the project. The composition work was divided: Gizzi contributed to side A, who filled it with a long suite with 3 movements, and Musumarra contributed to side B, who composed three shorter pieces. They had very little time to complete the project with only four weeks in the studio. As a result, the last track, Mecadence, was left somewhat incomplete. The sound engineer in charge of the project was Luciano Torani. Tracks Side A (by Claudio Gizzi): 01 – Automat (The) Rise (6:07) (The) Advance (4:06) (The) Genus (6:31) Side B (by Romano Musumarra): 02 – Droid (5:30) 03 – Ultraviolet (6:44) 04 – Mecadence (4:00) Production Automat was the result of an unrepeatable sequence of events. The final result did not please either Musumarra and Gizzi nor the producers. They never collaborated on any other project nor had the opportunity to use the MCS70 again. Automat has only been released on CD once. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) the album achieved a "cult" status among many fans of electronic music. Musumarra and Gizzi subsequently had successful careers as movie soundtrack composers. Musumarra also had many partnerships as a songwriter and/or producer with famous pop artists, among them the Canadian singer Céline Dion. His remarkable style of electronic arranging and composition can be heard, for instance, in the track "Je Danse Dans Ma Tête", from the Céline's 1991 album Dion chante Plamondon. Equipment Besides the MCS70 they also used: Sequential Circuits 3 row by 16 steps analog sequencer synced to a 16 track recorder for overdubs, EMT digital reverberation unit, Horban parametric equalizer (x2), 30 band graphic equalizer, natural echo chamber for reverberation, a 2 track recorder for delay effects. The condition