Flexur and Chill, with this Trautonium-inspired DIY synthesizer

I missed this when it dropped earlier this month — Synthtopia was there! But now is a perfect time to chill out to the smoothly gliding sounds of this original Trautonium-inspired synthesizer design in progress. Flexur can cool down an overheated Europe.

jumango made a synth you can tuck in so it goes to sleep

Soundmaking and music can fill you with energy, so much so that you might miss out on the importance of a good night’s sleep. jumango has engineered a solution: tuck this DIY synth into a blanket, and it falls asleep.

Peter Kirn - May 17, 2026

Devious Pocket: standalone, simple digital vinyl from any turntable

Skip the laptops and loads of proprietary hardware with an ultra-simple, portable, affordable add-on that turns any turntable into a digital vinyl turntable. That’s the pitch from NAP Works for crowdfunded, compact hardware built on open-source tech. It might do more than just impress digital vinyl DJs: this has the potential to win over even the CDJ crowd.

Peter Kirn - April 16, 2026

In the sound of Wukir Suryadi’s kentongan, a world warning

Peter Kirn - March 25, 2026

Ukraine’s Tembra Modular continues workshops, gear despite attacks

Peter Kirn - February 2, 2026

Cosmolab, open DSP development kit, in final hours of crowdfunding

Peter Kirn - January 29, 2026

Casio’s expressive guitar strap controller was inspired by a chopstick case

Peter Kirn - January 23, 2026

KORG’s phase8 “acoustic synthesizer” is now a product for sale

Peter Kirn - January 22, 2026

Bastl’s Kastle 2 and Citadel Eurorack are now DIY kits, open source platforms

Peter Kirn - January 21, 2026