Next up in the Recommeds Series is Jock Nowell-Usticke, better known as BAYNK, a producer and songwriter from New Zealand. Below, he ..read more

The legendary engineer and instrument designer, Roger Linn, needs no introduction - especially if you're on a website dedicated to ..read more

Had the pleasure of catching up with the incredible Belarusian post-punk band from Minsk, Molchat Doma. Questions answered by primary songwriter, Roman Komogortsev. Photos provided by Molchat Doma / Korshun Yauheni. Synth History: How did you guys meet? Raman: We [Raman and Yahor] met in college when we were studying together. We were in parallel groups, but our entire cohort communicated with each other. We became friends, hung out a lot, and shared the same views on music. We started the band, and later Pasha joined us. After changing bassists one after another, Pasha came along, and t ..read more

Liam and I go back a ways, so I was really excited to learn about his upcoming record ...And His Splash Band. Today, his new single, "Other Guys" is out, feat. Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange. Without further ado, we catch up and talk about writing, 'curating a band' 1970s-style, and more. Synth History: How have you been? Liam: I've been good. I live in Ridgewood. I live in a studio apartment and that's where this makeshift studio exists. Synth History: Did you record your new record there? Liam: I mean, it was all demoed at home, yes, but I wasn't living here yet. When most of the writi ..read more

The amazing pianist, record producer and composer John Carroll Kirby answers three questions (plus a couple extras!) John has collaborated with a number of artists, like Solange, Frank Ocean, Connan Mockasin and more. In 2023, his album Blowout was met with critical acclaim and I highly recommend it! Synth History: Yourself, along with The Mizuhara Sisters (Kiko and Yuka), recently covered Haruomi Hosono. Can you tell me about some of your favorite Japanese pop records? John Carroll Kirby: Yellow Magic Orchestra and all the solo projects, side projects, side productions, film scores, etc ..read more

Released by MPC Electronics, started by Mike Cox and Clive Button, the British born company, based in Willingham, Cambridgeshire, was sold off to Akai in 1984. Akai would release the legendary MPC60 several years later in December of 1988, a collaboration with engineer Roger Linn. Here's a little tidbit on the company. This machine combined analog and digital technology and could be played in one of three ways: as a stand alone instrument, as a drum machine using the onboard processor, or by linking it to a personal home computer like the Timex Sinclair 1000 or the Sinclair ZX81 for step ..read more

Sparks, the cult-beloved pop band consisting of brothers Ron and Russell Mael, recently unearthed Noël’s 1979 music video for "Dancing Is Dangerous”, from her record, Is There More To Life Than Dancing? Sparks wrote and produced the album, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary alongside their album No. 1 in Heaven. The Sparks & Noël 45th Anniversary Collection is available here. One of the biggest Sparks fan I know is Synth History's longtime collaborator, director Ambar Navarro. As a director herself, I thought it'd be neat to have her conduct this interview with Noël about the video ..read more

Got a chance to catch up with synth legend, Karl Bartos. In the 1970s and 1980s, Karl helped propel the use of the synthesizer with Kraftwerk on albums like The Man-Machine and Computer World. Along with Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Wolfgang Flür, Karl would inspire an entire generation of electronic musicians.. In the 1990s, Karl would leave Kraftwerk and embark a solo career, continuing to collaborate with a number of musicians, like Bernard Sumner of New Order and Andy McCluskey of OMD. His discography is vast and spans decades. Below, we talk about his latest release, The Cabinet ..read more

Synthesist, artist, and graphic designer, Jeremiah Chiu, recommends some studio essentials! In 2023, he released In Electric Time on International Anthem - a record improvised and composed from a two-day session at Los Angeles’ Vintage Synth Museum (Lance's place!). He'll also be opening for legend Suzanne Ciani next month in Chicago. Tix. 1. Yamaha CS01 The CS01 has been with me for almost 20 years and has become my go-to-synth for finishing records. I sort of know that when I’m at the point of using it, an album or track is in its final stage. The simplicity and sheer ripping sound is som ..read more

I met Rikard Jönsson a few years ago when he was working at Ableton. The company came to my home studio to research how musicians were using the DAW. We became good friends and stayed in touch over the years - bonding over our shared affinity for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Suffice to say, when he told me he was working on a new plugin with his friend, Svante, I was really excited for him and his new adventure in music. Without further ado, Rikard Jönsson and Svante Stadler talk about Forever 89 and Visco. Synth History: Both of you have experience working at Ableton and Teenage Engineering ..read more