Latest articles by Roland Schmidt
When Angine de Poitrine landed on this planet, the polka-dot-clad alien combo fused prog rock with microtonal jazz and funk, to yield music quite unlike anything we’d heard before…
We create our own transient-heavy synth bass with leanings towards the trance-heavy sounds of the 90s. ‘Drop Dead’ you exclaim? No way! We were Born Slippy!
Setting out her stall as one of the greatest artists of the 2020s, Olivia Dean’s 2023 breakthrough cribbed from the past to evoke the euphoria of falling in love
The reason Gorillaz biggest track lingers in the mind longer than others is down to its tightly-constructed arrangement
We analyse the un-escapable groove of Feels - which knowingly doffed its cap at Earth, Wind & Fire
Is there really any need to fork out for a hardware synth these days? We place a trio of hardware classics up against some immaculate software doppelgängers
We lift the bonnet on a foundational piece of synth genius, and demonstrate how you can achieve its distinctive sound yourself in your DAW
We chart the rise, fall and revival of one of the synth world's true titans
If money were no object, what new synthesizers could you buy? We draw up our wish list of current big-bucks contenders
Don't let your software arsenal overwhelm you - sometimes the best route to creative success is to mine just one instrument
The new Rhodes electric piano is no longer a vintage curio from the '70s and '80s. We play the new MK8, with all of its FX and MIDI finery
The first UK No. 1 to use a drum machine plays host to one of the most recognisable synth parts ever. We re-create its opening 5th riff in all its 80s glory
A track that took 274 attempts to mix must’ve been worth it in the end, right?
Where’s your head at? Because our headspace is deep in Moog territory, as we rebuild a classic Gary Numan bass patch that was famously sampled by Basement Jaxx
We peer into the inner musical workings of one of Kevin Parker’s finest moments
After several attempts at creating the perfect pop production, Take On Me finally became the global hit that A-ha deserved. We build its classic lead sound in software
“He played it to Motown, and they said, 'No way is Jeff Beck getting this song, it's too good’”
Mark Hollis’ masterpiece became an anthem of self-determination, but it was far from an overnight success
They say great things come in small packages, but is Korg’s new miniaturised analogue synth just another victim of shrinkflation? We grab a microscope to find out
Exploring how one of Bruno Mars’ biggest tunes works on a musical level - and revealing its debt to the 1980s
Dissecting one of the big beat heavyweights’ most iconic bangers, and learning how to recreate its sound ourselves
We help you broaden your mixing horizons with some useful tips for panning perfection
Adding small or even large amounts of saturation doesn’t have to be bad for you, as we explore how to singe your sonics
