Music Stories
Watch what Herbie Hancock had to say about technology in 1984
It’s time to dig into the archives. I’d seen this before, but it hits differently now. Herbie Hancock jams out in the studio with Quincy Jones in a 1984 film. It’s notable for what Herbie says with his music, with his approach to the machines, and with how he thinks about humans.
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Enjoy Monty Python’s Argument Sketch on two vintage speech synthesizers
A DECtalk Express stands in for Monty Python actor Michael Palin, with an Intex Talker (Votrax SC-01A) voicing the role of John Cleese. Retro speech synthesis just sounds better. Not more intelligible, necessarily, but absolutely better. And it’s hilarious. Eat your heart out, Transmediale / Ars Electronica / etc.: If all of this sounds familiar, […]
Peter Kirn - September 27, 2026
DIY + Unusual Music tech Tech
Oldest recorded voices, haunted dolls, and more from Tempest Instruments
New sound technologies? Sure, okay, I guess. But haunted dolls of the 1890s as made by Thomas Edison? Oh, now you’ve got my attention. So in case you haven’t discovered this before, Tempest Instruments, a “small team” led by TV/film and video game composer Alex Davis, has been collected strange sound ephemera of the 19th […]
Peter Kirn - September 22, 2026
DIY + Unusual Music Tech
Cook every day: read Suzanne Ciani’s 1976 Buchla Cookbook, for free
Peter Kirn - September 21, 2026
Modular-Analog Music Music tech Software Tech
Kevin Saunderson teaches a free 909 workshop, online and in Detroit
Peter Kirn - September 10, 2026
Gear Music Music tech Tech
808 Day: free Roland e-Bjook, NTS Radio jams, animation
Peter Kirn - August 8, 2026
Gear Music Music tech Tech
VST is 30 years old, and Steinberg is giving away some of its earliest plugins
Peter Kirn - August 4, 2026
Music tech Software Tech
