Once I’d heard ‘Are Friends’ Electric?” by Tubeway Army, I knew synthesizers would be a huge part of my life. Despite drums becoming my main instrument for many years, I dabbled and lusted after countless pieces of gear and started using computers to help me make my own music with a Commodore 64 and a copy of Electrosound.
Over the years, I eventually progressed to more professional tools and began to truly indulge my love of electronic music making, slowly building a collection of gear that covered most synthesis methods, from sampling to physical modelling and beyond. However, my love of the gear that soundtracked my formative years was strong and I was fortunate enough to be asked to work with the inventor of the Fairlight CMI on their more recent projects. This then led to me restoring Fairlight CMI’s, something I still do to this day.
My home studio is now filled with classic vintage gear of the 80s and 90s, as well as modern classics. In recent years, I have been producing podcasts for Sound On Sound, as well as writing articles for them and I also present a weekly live stream for the Pro Synth Network. I still drum, albeit now on e-Drum kits, which are far easier to move around and a lot quieter when practising! You can often find me delivering seminars & lectures and at various synth shows around the world, talking about and demonstrating iconic synths.
As Arturia's V Collection 11 breaks cover, we check out the updates and new editions and see if it is a worthy upgrade on the previous iteration.
KORG takes us on a trip back in time with Shoulder Pads, whilst Void & Vista give us Frames, another innovative and inspiring library to embellish our productions.
Cherry Audio take on a very British synth with their new Yellowjacket, an homage and reimagining of a much-loved piece of Anglo eccentricity.
The new Intellijel Multigrain leads the way in this week's Synth Journal, but the SynthR10 might just steal the show!
The Orchestra: Colors aims to make scoring easier and more intuitive, and Electric Keys Reeds Duo wants to be your go-to Wurli library.
The Arturia Astrolab crossover hybrid synth and stage keyboard gets its first major update since its launch in April of this year.
If you want great sounds but don't have the room for a big kit, the new Alesis Strata Club might be just what you're looking for.
We check out some sampled samples from the legendary Fairlight CMI along with new patches for the Yamaha TX81Z, Moog Sub Phatty and Subsequent 25
Liquid Sky's new PPG W2.2x4 module, made in conjunction with Cornel Hecht has just received its front panels and they're looking good!
From Thunderstorm Chaser to the delicate sounds of Panorama Acoustic, there's a definite cinematic feel to this week's Sounds and Presets!
EFNOTE expand their X range with the new PRO 500X kit, launched at the Europe Drum Show, a compact but hugely playable and expressive e-Drum kit.
Ten years after the original Deepmind, Behringer release the Deepmind X, a new version of their very first synth!
We mark the sad passing of Paul Schreiber, another synth designer and inspiration to many. And there's great news for 90s PC gaming nerds!
Orchestral Tools delivers us Berlin Free Orchestra and UVI caters for the subscription haters in this week's Sounds and Presets.
After the launch of the Regen, Synclavier Digital have revealed a forthcoming keyboard version, the Synclavier ORK II, with added functionality!
Two legends collide as Moog Music announces the release of a custom Minimoog Model D in honour of Geddy Lee, the legendary bass and synth player with iconic Canadian prog rockers, Rush.
The mighty DX7 lives on. Smackos & Dim Garden have created a new album using one and you can have the sounds for free!
The SONICWARE LIVEN Ambient Ø has just received a major update that delivers heavily requested microtonal functionality.
Expressive E returns with another Expressive Suite, this time for Myth, and a unique violin library, Jasmine Strings, from Wrong Tools.
It might not have the gravitas of its Roland counterparts, but the KORG KR-55 was used on many influential records of the day. Now you can rediscover it thanks to the KR-55C.
Arturia's KeyLab 88 finally arrives for its third iteration. We take a look to see what's changed and what hasn't.
BFD gets a healthy update to version 3.5, but can it cut it against the other big drum plugin kids?
Analogue Solutions TC-5000 is very real & coming soon. We also mourn the passing of Seiki Kato of KORG and the coming together of CHOMPI & Chase Bliss!
IK Multimedia's Pianoverse expands with the addition of the Grand Piano Y7, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 Grand.