Blog > Synths
Tara Pattenden tour diary
A mystery tour of experimental electronics in Denmark
Galvanise - inspiring young people’s music tech day
Artist Gabrielle Chudi writes about the GALVANISE young people’s music tech day that took place in London on 5th July. Video and pics by Richard Costa.
Women Produce Music launches INKoLAB
Women Produce Music, who champion female music-makers, have launched !N_KoLAB an innovative composer producer collaboration series, featuring some of the most exciting women in the field, including electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani.
NAMM 2017 - Roland SYSTEM-8 synth and DJ-808 Controller
Roland had some great new gear on show at NAMM - I talked to David Ahlund in depth about the SYSTEM-8 and the DJ-808.
Introducing the Spacehorn
The Spacehorn sounds amazing, but what actually is it and how do you make it? Zali Krishna created a new breath controlled instrument and sound, using an electronic wind instrument and an Axoloti board, and reveals how he did it.
NAMM 2017 - Teenage Engineering
Teenage Engineering unveiled some exciting new gear at NAMM 2017 - I talked to them about their new video synth the OP-Z, and also the latest Pocket Operator, the PO-32 tonic.
Teenage Engineering X Prototypa
See inside Teenage Engineering - the iconic synth makers talked prototyping at Prototypa, part of Design Frontiers in Somerset House during The London Design Festival.
ROLI Seaboard Rise - new instrument and MIDI controller
ROLI has just launched the Seaboard RISE and it’s a dream to play. A groundbreaking, beautiful, and sleek piece of design with unique features, that’s the most affordable expressive MIDI controller and instrument yet.
WIN ModeAudio Sound Packs
Sound Designers ModeAudio have launched a competition with Kitmonsters to win some of their great Sound Packs! They’ve had amazing reviews for creating some of the best samples, loops, patches and presets in the business, praised for their quality and style. They’re designed to integrate with your favourite software and include MIDI data and project files.
Suicide: A Punk Mass
Suicide: A Punk Mass, 9th July 2015, The Barbican Centre London, Station to Station.
Rolo McGinty of The Woodentops reviews.
Daniel Miller studio tips
Electronic music legend Daniel Miller is an artist, producer and DJ who launched Mute Records in 1978 with his own 7” single – ‘Warm Leatherette’ under the name The Normal, and went on to work with acts like Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode, Moby, Erasure, Yazoo and Goldfrapp. He recently started DJ-ing again and plays regular techno sets worldwide. Dynaudio met Daniel Miller in his home studio for a chat about music, synthesizers, mixing and production.
BT Interview by Portrait XO
Portrait XO chats with BT at the premiere of Behringer’s DeepMind 12 synth at their synth-a-thon. Includes the making of BT’s successful crowdfunding campaign, tips on breaking through creative blocks, and his contribution to music tech as a developer.
NOISE - new app from ROLI
ROLI launched their NOISE app today to instant acclaim. No wonder - it’s technologically stellar, an intuitive sound-making machine, and unputdownable. It was hard to tear ourselves away from it.
Music Tech Fest Scandi - Day 2
Day Two of Music Tech Fest Scandi - the festival of music ideas - in Umeå, Sweden, included the launch of new music format TJAY, an amazing performance from Graham Massey, Scanner and Jason Singh, plenty of new music tech and hacking. The next Music Tech Fest is #MTFCentral and takes place in Ljubljana, Slovenia 18-20 September.
NAMM 2016 - Portrait reviews
Kitmonsters NAMM Show 2016 Review, by Portrait (Rania Kim).
Synth workshop to celebrate Pink Floyd
Tara Pattenden is an artist and instrument maker based in Glasgow, who performs as Phantom Chips and ran a special workshop at the V&A to go with the museum’s Pink Floyd exhibition ‘Their Mortal Remains’.
Portrait’s NAMM music tech picks
We’ve some special picks from the NAMM Show, by Portrait XO. She’s an Electronic Music Artist, Resident Artist at SAMPLEnHOLD the regular electronic music night in LA, and recent founding member of nonprofit The IASAS (International Association of Synaesthetes, Artists, and Scientists).