10 albums, one finger

East Lansing's Lee Abramson was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2005, but that didn't stop him from using his talent for making music.

Using a computer and music notation software, Abramson fashions music with energy and life using the ModelTalker voice synthesizer, a computerized speech program, to speak and sing the notes.

Abramson is on his tenth studio album, "Safety & Conversion," a high-octane, thought-provoking collection of tunes as original as the process by which it was made.

Abramson filled the LSJ in via email on his latest musical adventure and how he uses different technologies to create music.

On his favorite song on the new album, "Safety & Conversion."

Abramson: "'Traveling.' This EDM has all the best elements of the album. Driving bass and electronic drums, Fender Rhodes harmonies, electric guitar and Hohner clavinet bouncing off each other, and a sprinkling of arpeggios from an old-school synthesizer complete the background. The melody is from another composition, but the flute sound I assigned it makes a natural mashup. Everyone says it's great video game music."

On how he uses ModelTalker to create his music.

The ModelTalker voice synthesizer music method is a complicated process. These are the steps, according to Abraham: "Change spelling of the lyrics into phonetically sung text, paste text into ModelTalker text-to-speech interface, capture OS X system audio of the sound, drag the captured audio file into Logic Pro, slice the audio track into single syllable chunks and normalize each one individually, cut each chunk and paste at the beginning of the corresponding midi note, time-stretch the audio chunk to the length of the midi note, and assign a EVOC 20 PolySynth instrument to the midi track where the vocal melody is and assign the side chain to the audio track where the chopped and stretched audio chunks are."

On the other tools he used to create "Safety & Conversion."

Abramson: "I migrated to Logic Pro X for 'Safety & Conversion.' The two new functions in this software are the Drummer and Arpeggiator. These made it incredibly simple to make sound patterns like the opening of 'Baba O'Reilly' but much more harmonically complex and bouncier and make a completely realistic drum pattern that could be used to power both natural and electronic drum kits."

On how his sound and approach to music has changed since his first release in 2009.

Abramson: "Every album I've made has its own sound, because I use a new technology or technique each time.

"'Rumi Music' uses Anteres vocal processors to make my singer sound like a chorus, or sing ethereal harmonies with herself. 'Vow to Silence' has the totemic 'Shalom' and features lots of Apple Loops in Logic Pro. 'Spices' is the first use of ModelTalker to 'sing' and has more complex instrumental music with tempo changes. 'Abramsonium' is my most sonically diverse album… It has the critically acclaimed tryptophan-laced 'Pardoning Courage,' two versions of 'C is for Cookie' and a 'Bionic Mouth' version of 'Star Spangled Banner' that I've seen kill conversation in a crowded bar. 'The Antarctic Wars' has a surround sound electronic version of Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' and my first use of Logic's Delay Designer for a unique stereo transposition effect... 'Maize and Bluebeard' uses Ultrabeat drum machine automation. 'Saul Et Al' took me way out of my electronic comfort zone…"

On his future efforts.

Abramson: "My arms are too weak for another album. I'm using a computer controlled by eye movements to write country songs."

You can find Lee Abramson's albums on iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play and all the usual subscription music streaming sites.

More information: www.leeabramson.com; Twitter: @LeeAbramson.

We the Kings at MSU

Florida pop-rock band We the Kings are in town, playing a University Activities Board (UAB) event Sunday at the Wharton Center's Cobb Great Hall. The five-piece's melodic, hooky tunes caught on in the late-2000s, with songs like "We'll Be a Dream," "Check Yes Juliet," "Just Keep Breathing" and "Heaven Can Wait" gracing the charts. Since then, We the Kings have played the Vans Warped Tour and shows around the world.

More information: www.wethekingsmusic.com.

Show details: We the Kings, doors 7 p.m. and show 8 p.m. Sunday, Wharton Center Cobb Great Hall located on Shaw Lane, MSU Students receive free tickets (limit two per MSU student with ID present) which can be picked up at the UAB Office located on the ground floor of the MSU Union. Public tickets are $10 and available via the Wharton Center Box Office or online at www.whartoncenter.com.