Thereminist Carolina Eyck shared this arrangement of The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers, a song written by jazz pianist Steve Kuhn.
Eyck calls the song “A beautiful jazz standard I’ve fallen in love with.” Her arrangement features wordless vocals and theremin lead(s).
The song, originally released in 1972, was inspired by the name of a piano player advertised in the back of a Down Beat magazine. Kuhn was intrigued by the name, which inspired the composition.
Lambda Synthetics’ PolyPulse could be the instrument that finally breaks you out of the 16-step grid.
Way back in 2023, Lambda Synthetics debuted the PolyPulse at the Superbooth trade show, a hefty groovebox and “algorithmic performance workstation” with an even heftier spec sheet and a starkly industrial design that isn’t what we’d call easy on the eyes – It’s giving ‘control panel at a Soviet-era nuclear power plant’.
PolyPulse was launched on Kickstarter the same year, and 34 backers have since pledged over €50,000 to make the instrument a reality. Two years later, the instrument is now in production and available to order.
Aesthetics aside, PolyPulse looks like it could prove an immensely powerful tool for live electronic performance, thanks to an innovative and unfamiliar approach based around an algorithmic workflow.
The instrument is equipped with five tracks, each with its own algorithmic sequencer, polyphonic sound engine, audio effects chain and dedicated XY touchpad on the interface, which also features 32 encoders, 13 pots and 65 keyboard-style buttons, 25 of which make up a two-octave keyboard, alongside its OLED display.
PolyPulse’s sequencer is not your average 16-step affair; unconventionally it treats rhythm and pitch independently. Rhythms are programmed via an algorithmic system with four independent ‘pulses’ on each track, each modified by a number of pattern-shaping parameters that can create complex and evolving polyrhythms.
Pitches are then assigned to these rhythms via a global ‘note list’ shared by all tracks, a sequence of pitches that can be reversed and randomized. Since launching, PolyPulse has been updated with a song mode that allows for the arrangement of patterns via a unique algorithmic cue system.
Each track can hold one of PolyPulse’s five sound engines, which span classic subtractive synthesis, FM, additive, granular and physical modelling; these are joined by a ‘quad engine’ made up of four configurable slots that can host a number of mini sound engines capable of drum synthesis and stereo sample playback from its 26GB onboard memory.
Sounds can be processed by a comprehensive range of effects that includes compression, reverb, delay, EQ, filter, drive and tape emulation; each track gets four effects slots, and so does the master bus. Modulation comes courtesy of a per-voice modulation system that can assign a multi-waveform LFO, AD envelope, 16-step sequencer or randomizer to any destination across PolyPulse’s sound engines, effects and even other modulators.
PolyPulse is well-equipped on the connectivity front and has everything you’d need to incorporate it into a wider set-up: you’ve got a stereo headphone output, four audio inputs, eight audio outputs, 5-pin DIN MIDI in/out and trigger in/out, along with an Ethernet port for updating firmware and uploading samples.
Despite its unusual visual design, PolyPulse looks like one of the most unique instruments we’ve come across in a minute. There’s tons of potential for creative sound design here and more hands-on control than you could ask for, but the real draw is a refreshingly innovative take on sequencing and arrangement that could open up a whole new world of performative possibilities.
PolyPulse is priced at £1999. Find out more on Lambda Synthetics’ website.
Today is August 8th – also known as 808 Day – and Roland is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its iconic drum machine, the TR-808.
Since its launch in 1980, Roland’s TR-808 Rhythm Composer has inspired musicians, shaped genres and featured in some of musical history’s most memorable tracks across pop, hip-hop and electronic music. After almost five decades at the heart of music culture, the 808 and its instantly recognisable sounds remain as popular as ever.
As usual, Roland is marking the occasion with special releases and promotional events that “pay tribute to the 808’s enduring legacy”. These include an eight-part animated video series, The Rhythm Creators, that shines a light on untold stories from artists that have been inspired by Roland’s TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines in their work.
Featuring animation by Detroit artist Vaughn Taormina and narration from the artists, the series kicks off with an episode focused on Egyptian Lover, a rapper, producer and DJ that’s made liberal use of the 808 across his five-decade career since playing a foundational role in L.A.’s hip-hop and electro scene in the early ’80s.
In the video, Egyptian Lover recalls his first encounter with the drum machine: “When I first heard the 808, I did not know it was the 808. It was on a song called Planet Rock. The next day I went to Guitar Center and I saw the 808 for the first time, and programmed Planet Rock in it.”
A week later, the 18-year-old Egyptian Lover delivered a performance to a crowd of 10,000 at the L.A. Sports Arena with his new instrument. “This is L.A., and I had no idea what thugs and gangsters would do if they knew they were dancing to a drum machine. I was like, ‘OK, I’m kinda scared.'”
“I went home and programmed it full of beats. I’m in the Sports Arena in front of 10,000 people, on the breakdown of Planet Rock, I pushed play on the drum machine and turned the volume down on the turntable, and all they heard was the 808 playing the Planet Rock beat.
“They danced for two minutes, then I changed the beat on them. They were partying even harder, and I put on an even better beat. Man, everybody was screaming out, ‘what record is that?!’, but it wasn’t a record – it was the 808.”
Alongside the premier of The Rhythm Creators, Roland has announced a relaunch of its collaboration with New Balance on the Tiago Lemos NM808 x Roland sneaker. The shoe takes design cues from Roland’s classic drum machine with a white, orange and yellow colour scheme, along with a Roland logo and TR-808 badge on the tongue.
Roland has also made the TR-808 Software Rhythm Composer plugin available for a generously discounted price of $49 until September 9, and Roland Cloud Pro and Ultimate members can enjoy a new 808-themed sound pack from hip-hop legend and founding member of N.W.A. Arabian Prince.
The Tiago Lemos NM808 x Roland sneakers will be available starting on August 8 at 10:00 a.m. EDT for $114.99 on newbalance.com
