Nuclear test equipment inspired this new Eurorack module

Boxcar averagers, used in vintage nuclear test equipment, inspired the latest creation from AI Synthesis. What you get is the AI250 BXR: it’s an oscillator, a voltage generator, and an audio mangler all in one. And it’s a pathway into DIY modules, even on tight budgets.

Laurie Spiegel interview offers a way of thinking about community, imagination

What could community and imagination in music making look like? Laurie Spiegel’s reflections on the 70s and earlier decades, recorded in 2014, offer some clues, even for a very different time today.

Peter Kirn - April 7, 2025

Watch as GLASYS uses a MIDI keyboard to paint pixel art live

Draw a synthesizer with another synthesizer with MIDI by playing a keyboard and… well, GLASYS surely just won the music nerd Internet for the summer, no?

Peter Kirn - August 2, 2021

Explore sonic inspiration, via this artist’s approach to Novation’s Peak 1.2

Peter Kirn - December 24, 2018

A haunting ambient sci-fi album about a message from Neptune

Peter Kirn - November 30, 2018

Roland’s new SYSTEM-500 modules, and why you might want them

Peter Kirn - May 3, 2018

The Monolith is a huge synth powered by Teensy, shown at Maker Faire

Peter Kirn - May 24, 2017

The Arcane Arts of Experimental Instrument Design: 3DMIN [Videos, Gallery]

- December 8, 2014

For Allhallowtide, Here Are Hours of Brilliant Underground Music to Make You Feel Undead

- October 31, 2014