Music Music tech
Listening to birdsong — and the instruments that mimic it
Okay, class: today’s reading includes a short but inspiring passage by Estevan Carlos Benson, who has lately been suggesting we treat our musical listening biome in the same way that we do our gut. Along the way, we get birdsongs and whistle bottles from Ecuador millennia ago and Peru today.
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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.
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
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
