Techno original Sean Tate, aka The Butcher, has died

It’s a painful year for techno’s originators and Detroit. News is spreading today that Sean Tate, aka The Butcher and an iconic techno originator, has died.

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

Cook every day: read Suzanne Ciani’s 1976 Buchla Cookbook, for free

In 1976, Suzanne Ciani reported back to the USA’s National Endowment for the Arts with a report on her compositions, in the form of a modular cookbook. Now you can read her notes and follow along using entirely free software, complete with sound examples. I love overusing the cookbook metaphor, maybe just because food is […]

Peter Kirn - September 21, 2026

Kevin Saunderson teaches a free 909 workshop, online and in Detroit

Peter Kirn - September 10, 2026

Nuclear test equipment inspired this new Eurorack module

Peter Kirn - September 2, 2026

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

Peter Kirn - September 2, 2026

The Soft Pink remembers — and more Dolly Parton

Peter Kirn - August 26, 2026

A $5 modular drum circuit, a free online course, and how it grows into more

Peter Kirn - August 21, 2026

The Bob Moog Foundation Archives just added 4489 items from inMusic

Peter Kirn - July 27, 2026