Keyboards

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking E-mu Systems Emulator II sampler, Dave Rossum, Kevin Monahan and Paul Wiffen share inside stories of the development and manufacture of the instrument.

Nick Rothwell learns about the Augmented Instruments Laboratory, a music technology research team lead by Professor Andrew McPherson, whose ongoing projects include the Magnetic Resonator Piano and the Bela open-source platform.

Richard James Burgess talks about the recent release of ‘Landscape A Go-Go’, a comprehensive 5 CD anthology of their work covering their entire recorded output between 1977 and 1983.

Roland Lamb talks about the inspiration behind the ROLI Seaboard, the challenges faced when creating a new type of instrument and the three product ranges from ROLI: the Seaboard, Block System and LUMI.

From co‑founding cult band Jellyfish to writing with Brian Wilson and touring with Beck, Roger Manning has enjoyed an extraordinary career — and a remarkable collection of vintage instruments.

As part of Japan, Richard Barbieri soon became the thinking person’s synthesist, famous for his rich and textural electronic backings that beautifully complemented the work of other band members to forge what is still a unique sound to this day.

Back in November 2020 Don Lewis discussed his time programming the Yamaha DX7’s factory sounds. In the wake of Don’s passing, we decided to publish this excerpt and put on record his important contribution to this iconic synth.

Best known as the keyboardist and co-vocalist for Brit-Funk legends, Level 42, we caught up with Mike Lindup ahead of his new solo release, Changes 2.

For Spike Edney, touring with one of the biggest bands in the world has meant keeping up with the very latest in stage keyboard technology.

It is with increasing sadness that we note the passing of this legendary synthesizer pioneer.

It's fair to say that keytars have had bad press over the years. It's my view that this malicious campaign was started by...

Ernst Zacharias invented the Clavinet and has spent a lifetime perfecting electro-mechanical instruments. We talk to him about his life and explore his classic designs.

Running the keyboard rig for one of the UK's biggest bands is always going to be nerve-wracking — especially when it's all centred on a laptop computer...

In these days of sampling, DSP and physical modelling, you might think that building your own electronic instruments would be a daunting prospect. According to Reed Ghazala, however, it's a piece of cake — you don't even need to know how they work. Sam Inglis finds out more.

The Godfather of German electronic music, Klaus Schulze favoured an all-digital approach to recording the '80s. The last few years, however, have seen a radical revision of his former philosophy. Paul Tingen meets the man for whom old working habits die hard...