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 […]

Throng, a 3D BlueSky interface, imagines social media as a mob

You’re just relaxing by a peaceful campfire. You hear voices in the distance. Then, like a really chatty zombie invasion… they come. And keep coming. It’s a 3D user interface for BlueSky, but it says something poetic — and hilarious — about the absurdity of social media.

Peter Kirn - September 5, 2026

A patchable solar-powered synth with a speaker; birds, hot dogs, and more

What a strange and wonderful bird this is: the Forever Grouse from MONAD comes with its own loudspeaker, banana plugs for patching, and solar panels for power. But maybe you’d rather watch a film about a heron. Or music with some hot dogs. Or set fire to electronics under an interstate overpass. Come along.

Peter Kirn - September 2, 2026

From sushi pianos to Yoko Shimomura, Square Enix Music TV is the best TV

Peter Kirn - April 27, 2026

Watch as a telephone is transformed into a DIY analog drum machine

Peter Kirn - January 9, 2026

Mudjaq TapeLeap, a freaky tape/lo-fi looper that can blink, be broken

Peter Kirn - December 11, 2025

Make doodles in Ableton Live, then animate them, with Klottra

Peter Kirn - November 21, 2025

Boards of Canada played in lightbulbs: restored 1959 PDP-1 performance

Peter Kirn - October 13, 2025

The best Microsoft Songsmith mash-ups, from an age before generative AI

Peter Kirn - May 30, 2025