Electronic / Modular Synthesizers

Warped, asynchronous, mid-80s FM Synthesis assemblages, captured at the absolute cusp of the Analogue-Digital transition, from Czech-Swiss Composer Jan Beran. Ages dormant on the Creel Pone shortlist, endlessly vetoed by yours truly for breaking the cardinal rules of comprising a total sum of post-1984 activity (pending a rewrite of the foil-stamp copy) and, specifically, explicitly incorporating the "Devil's Xylophone" amongst its tonal palette. But ah, the times, the times. After a few caref…

Temporary Super Offer! A key figure during the birth of Turkish rock and roll, a founding father of Anatolian Rock and the studio brains behind the first Turkish electronic pop records, Gökçen Kaynatan's influence runs like the lifeblood through Turkish pop and rock. Having shunned the recording industry early in his career he remained a driving force behind the scenes and on TV screens, spearheading the explosion of synth technology in Turkish music with his pioneering use of the EMS Synthi AKS…

*20 copies limited edition* New release on Econore by Nils Quak. Xeroxed covers on 40-year old recycled paper.

Huge Tip! The very first Buchla synthesiser performance by revolutionary composer Suzanne Ciani finally makes its fifty year journey from its switch-on New York art gallery to its long deserved and discerning global phonographic audience. With this previously unheard vinyl pressing, Finders Keepers Records are proud to present an archival project of ‘art music’ that not only redefines musical history but lays genuine claim to the overused buzzwords such as pioneering, maverick, experimental, gro…

A pair of mid-70s Finnish Experimental Electro-Acoustic gems featuring "Suomalaista Elektroakustista Musiikkia" 's Antero Honkanen, masquerading as 1). a picturesque "Music To Accompany Paintings" affair and 2). a straight-ahead jazz-fusion session. The first disc here covers "Reidarin Sähköiset Kuvat," a wonderful set dovetailing pieces by Honaken & Åke Andersson, composed after paintings by Reidar Särestöniemi at the Experimental Studio of Yleisradio. With a production style owing to the forma…

Double CD version. Bureau B present a reissue of Heldon's third album Third (It's Always Rock 'N' Roll), originally released on Disjuncta in 1975. Third album from the French space-rock electro combo masterminded by Richard Pinhas. Heldon's darkest work lays another stone in their sonic mosaic: synths, drones, fuzz, and trippy improvisations. There's something wicked happening on Heldon's third album It's Always Rock And Roll. Richard Pinhas's essential attack of searing guitar and space-bound s…

**2020 stock** This 1976 Folkways release by David Cope presents modern music based on Cope’s intensive research into—and respect for—Navajo ceremonies, and Navajo music in particular. Ranging from pieces for large chamber ensemble to a work scored for a single performer, the four compositions are unique interpretations of Native American Indian myths and culture. The liner notes include detailed explanations of the inspiration, organization, and arrangement of each of these complex works. This …

**2020 stock** This 1979 record is a five-movement composition for large chamber orchestra by David Cope. First presented by the Santa Cruz Chamber Symphony in 1978, the work attempts to demonstrate the relationships between sound and physical space and to translate them to recorded sound as well as performance. The tapes in the piece were composed at Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and were “spliced” digitally rather than physically. Liner notes contain drawings of the way that Co…

**2020 stock** Electro-acoustic musician/composer Jon Appleton plays a variety of digital instruments which, in his words, “obtain timbres and textures which convey expressive character through my work.” Instruments used in this recording are the Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer, the Synclavier, and the MUSSE of Sweden’s Stiftelsen Elektronmusikstudion Stockholm. The five pieces span the years 1974 to 1977 and include Appleton’s first digital piece “Zoetrope.” Liner notes include short introduction…

Francesco Gennari is trained as a classical pianist and he commits himself to sound exploration through modular synth practice as further evolution of his musical journey. Gennari's origins are with black and white keys, noise-punk bands and DIY instrument building. This stunning debut, titled Frammenti, is the culmination of all of Gennari's interests. Through simple ideas developed with classical techniques like counterpoint and harmonic expansions, Francesco uses the modular setup as a virtua…

This long-gestating box set of Scottish electronic pioneer Drew McDowall’s solo work takes its title from a technical term meaning ‘plate’ or ‘layer’ most often used in contexts either geological or anatomical: Lamina. He speaks of the compiling process similarly: “Digging into my archives felt like a mix of psychoanalysis and archaeology – uncovering buried things.” The six CD collection includes expanded editions of his four most recent Dais LPs (Collapse, 2015; Unnatural Channel, 2017; The Th…

Drifting, hanging, holding. Hoping, seeking, searching. And then finding. Mark Van Hoen's ninth album as Locust is a cosmic whisper, a tender touch, where candid songwriting commingles with the afterimage of trip-hop and jungle. Across eight tracks, spectral melodies dance between languid breakbeats, and a formless murmur drifts through the ether, seeking a common thread. Layered in strata, "The First Cause" reveals itself anew with each listen. Delicate tones share space with bass weight. Drums…

Edition of 300. Some time ago, Lennart Heyndels sought refuge in modular synthesis after injury prevented him from playing the double bass. In 2019 he continued this research into the physics of sound in a small hut in Norway and came back with this album. Recorded at EMS Stockholm and realized during a residency in the Norwegian countryside, the title of the album refers to the Hallingdal region, as well as the local traditional dance 'Halling' (in which the main goal for the dancer is to kick …

Delight, Arushi Jain’s follow-up to 2021’s seminal Under the Lilac Sky, out March 29 2024 on Leaving, carries, at its core, the simple proposition that delight is accessible and that the practice of cultivating it is a necessary endeavor. Weaving together emotions, imagery, and a sense of yearning for beauty, Jain aims to instill belief in the ever-present nature of delight, asserting the need to actively seek it when not readily found. The enhanced perception of this elusive emotion, Jain asser…

This month’s Electronic Sound lifts the lid on the secret world of Modular Synthesis and we’re bundling the issue with a double CD featuring 31 modular tracks, many of which have never been available on a physical release before.  Our cover feature is a pick ’n‘ mix of modular goodness, including an interview with 1960s pioneer Morton Subotnick, who created his legendary ‘Silver Apples Of The Moon’ on a Buchla. We talk to contemporary talents Loula Yorke, Andrew Ostler, Philippe Petit and Vicky …

Seth Price’s suite “Coinos Driftos“ announces itself with the sound of a rolling coin – a punctuation that repeats throughout the record – before dropping the listener into a storm of harsh winds and far-away bells. When the storm abates we find ourselves in a desolate field of stuttering electric harp and electronic sub-bass. Side B emerges from a mist of gentle tones that soon give way to a juddering contraption of dropped coins and clacking noises, which itself seems to summon the arrival of …

Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music. Following the success and critical acclaim of the first six Tone Science compilation albums, 
DiN label boss Ian Boddy has collated another nine tracks from musicians of varying backgrounds working in the realms of modular synthesis. One of the things that is so delightful about artists working with modular synthesisers is the sheer variety of styles on show. These instruments more than any other can…

Tip! Arbitrary presents »Delirious Cartographies« by composer, improviser and synthesist Richard Scott. Part of the Danish imprint’s Framework editions, this release includes three pieces on 12” vinyl and 6 printed drawings – as well as a text by Scott – published as a limited edition portfolio folder. "These compositions capture aspects of my personal sonic experience of specific times and places. Extending beyond my usual work with analogue synthesizer, these pieces open the doors and windows …

Electronic Sound magazine is celebrating 60 years of 'Doctor Who' with the help of The Radiophonic Workshop in the new issue of Electronic Sound. We have a silver vinyl Radiophonic seven-inch to accompany the magazine as well, the material including two Dalek tracks taken from early episodes of the sci-fi TV show. Click here to buy your magazine and vinyl bundle now  Our cover story boasts an amazing cast of Radiophonic Workshop members, with Brian Hodgson, Dick Mills, Paddy Kingsland, Roger Lim…

Magazine only. This month’s Electronic Sound lifts the lid on the secret world of Modular Synthesis and we’re bundling the issue with a double CD featuring 31 modular tracks, many of which have never been available on a physical release before.  Our cover feature is a pick ’n‘ mix of modular goodness, including an interview with 1960s pioneer Morton Subotnick, who created his legendary ‘Silver Apples Of The Moon’ on a Buchla. We talk to contemporary talents Loula Yorke, Andrew Ostler, Philippe P…

Tip! *300 copies limited release* "Fallen Sun, the noise/industrial moniker of Reverse Image from Malaysia, approaches the creation of noise music through the layering of sonic textures aligned with a sense of space and movement. Using Harsh Noise Wall as distant inspiration, she takes the seed of an idea and expands and contracts it, before further compressing and then twisting it, layer upon layer, until the idea has morphed into itself. 'Beyond the Flat Earth’'s ten concise tracks explore thi…

Veteran experimentalist, Marcia Bassett, returns with "Midnight Xpander", easily one of the most exciting entries into the field of drone and contemporary minimalism that we've encountered in a good while. Predominantly recorded with a Buchla 200 system at EMS in Stockholm, Sweden, and imbued with abstraction and the bristling tension of punk and noise, its subtle structures and intertwining harmonics immerse the mind in a deeply organic, hallucinatory realm that places Bassett at forefront of t…

NPVR is the avant garde duo made up of the late Peter Rehberg and Nik Void. Editions Mego is proud to present their second and final release. No this is not some kind of Beatles synthetic AI that raises the dead reconstructed recordings but rather a new album made by the humans and their machines. The initial meeting of Rehberg and Void was in London in 2016 and despite or due to their mutual awkwardness found solace and compatibility in the fact that they both had a similar electronic modular s…

*100 copies limited edition* Latest release on La République des Granges by Sarah Terral. Joué, enregistré, mixé par Clément Vercelletto en 2022 à Naxos Bobine, La Muse en Circuit, Piriac sur MerSarah Terral : Eurorack et 4U synthétiseursArtwork Johann NöhlesGraphisme et Typo Valentin BigelMastering Giuseppe Ielasi

*2023 stock* Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music. Following the success and critical acclaim of the first three Tone Science compilation albums, DiN label boss Ian Boddy has collated another nine tracks from musicians of varying backgrounds working in the realms of modular synthesis. One of the challenges for Boddy in compiling the Tone Science albums is to get the track order flowing to reveal a musical structure. There’s a certain amo…

Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.

Depeche Mode. Yazoo. Erasure. The connection between these three electropop giants is, of course, Vince Clarke, who we are delighted to have on the cover of the latest issue of Electronic Sound. We have an exclusive clear vinyl seven-inch by the legendary synthesist to accompany the magazine too.

Tip! “Everything we know, from the stars and planets through to the fundamental, sub-atomic particles that make up all matter, is vibrating - oscillating at its own frequency. The known universe is a symphony. Ancient scientists and cosmologists such as Pythagoras, and later Kepler, postulated 'the music of the spheres' and they were right. “It is theorised that at some point in the far, far distant future, we may reach a state of maximum entropy - the 'heat death' of the universe. All this move…

Tip! Something Strange In The Mountains is a new step ahead in the sound of Giron. Ambient soundscapes with hard references of the late 70s kosmiche vibe with a twist taste of modular approaches. Something Strange In The Mountains was recorded at Cosmic Electric Sector Studio during some sessions between June and November 2021. Gear used: Korg Lambda, 900ps, Electribe 2, Microsampler, Monotribe, Dreadbox Abyss, Hades, Erebus, Make Noise O-Coast, Behringer Model-D, Vermona Perfourmer mkII, Novati…

*200 copies limited release* Imposter Syndrome is the new album on Artificial Owl Recordings from Michigan based musician and artist, Orbital Patterns (Abdul Allum). The third installment on our record label is a magnificent sound journey, full of emotions, created by a modular synth workflow that describes Abdul’s signature sound and vision. "A psychological phenomenon where a person doubts their own abilities, internalizing a deep fear of being revealed as fraudulent" As an artist, one of the …

*2023 stock* Bureau B present a reissue of Heldon's second album Allez-Teia, originally released on Disjuncta in 1975. Before making his own music in the early '70s, Richard Pinhas was a King Crimson fan. The British group has buzzed in Pinhas's mind for decades, but their greatest impact came early. When he first saw them play, Pinhas was struck by music played during intermission. "When I saw (King Crimson guitarist) Robert Fripp and Brian Eno perform in Paris later, I realized that the interm…

LP version. Red vinyl. Italian composer Caterina Barbieri has spent the best part of a decade breaking apart the rigid structures of electronic music, using advanced, idiosyncratic techniques to build bridges between academic experimental, dance and pop landscapes. Her breakthrough moment came in 2017 with the Important Records-released "Patterns of Consciousness", a confident fusion of analogue synthesis and algorithmic compositional methodology that defined her unique voice. And when she follo…

Black Vinyl edition. Three years after the original release date of Caterina Barbieri’s career defining album Ecstatic Computation, the Italian artist reissues the record on her newly found own label light-years. The re-issue features previously unreleased music (on CD only), as well as a beautifully reworked version of the original cover art. Caterina Barbieri is an Italian composer who explores themes related to machine intelligence and object oriented perception in sound through a focus on mi…

Specifically written and recorded by Tony Rolando to be paired with Absent In the Void, a California grown, direct pressed, native yeast fermented Chardonnay wine.

Specifically written and recorded by Brett Naucke to be paired with Conjured In Shadows, a Mendocino grown, carbonic macerated Nouveau wine from the 2022 harvest.

"This album features just one synthesizer - a Buchla 208C Easel Command, processed with various effects pedals. It enabled a minimalist approach, focusing purely on tone and atmosphere. Something about the raw sound of this amazing instrument led to thoughts of moons in our solar system: there's something utterly otherworldly and yet oddly familiar about the sound of the Easel - it often sounds more organic than electronic and is simultanously beautiful and mysterious, huge and delicate. Working…

*80 copies limited edition* Music and artwork by Valérie Magisson. Recorded with modular synth from January to February 2022. Mastered by Pentti Dassum

*2023 reissue* Now available on classic black vinyl. The inventor of exotica/cocktail music goes electronic/Moog. Originally released in 1969, "Exotic Moog" is a much sought after title in our Martin Denny reissue series. Great music for hunters of synth, exotica, experimental, 60's rock, and psych. "Exotic Moog is the glittering grail for both Martin Denny collectors and Moog fans. There really is nothing else like it, and the LP is very much in short supply. The Moog in this case is one of the…

*Edition of 200* Singapore ’90s electronic music pioneer makes his extraordinary comeback on modular synth. Inspired by the writings of Paul Virilio, the figure of the liu bai yuan 柳白猿 (archer-assassin) in wuxia (martial arts) films, and the global information war we are all experiencing, George Chua’s Smokescreen is a bold piece of electronic music with a no-wave sensibility. It is filled with abstract beats, eclectic samples and blistering noise – not exactly dance music, not quite modern comp…

NNA is proud to present our 50th release, Matt Carlson's All Moments long-playing record. Where 2011's Particle Language LP acted as a study in texture and density within experimental synthesizer music, All Moments finds Carlson engaging with the more traditional musical materials of melody, harmony, and rhythm, calling to mind his work as one half of Portland, OR duo Golden Retriever. The pieces on this record range from shorter pop études to longer, more open improvisatory synth studies, r…