http://monome.org/

Synthesizers and electronic devices have always excited my imagination. Maybe it comes from watching too much sci-fi, and loving a good wall covered in nobs, but I can’t seem to shake the bug. A good synthesizer is a well designed, holistic system, where all the parameters directly effect the overall experience [the sound] in real time. Essentially, you are able to author the voice you want to perform with. For me, however, they keyboard interface you need to access the voice on most synths bores me.

Defined on their site as a “Simultaneous input / output device” the Monome is a creative tool of awesome potential. It’s a box of buttons with lights, that “can be configured as toggles, radio groupings, sliders, or organized into more sophisticated systems to monitor and trigger sample playback positions, stream 1-bit video, interact with dynamic physical models, and play games. button press and visual indication are decoupled by design: the correlation is established by each application.” {website} It uses, USB, Serial, and midi, so it works with a range of software, from Java and Flash to music/sound production apps…

Virtual synths have come a long way on the computer, but most external controllers try and simulate the analog control of vintage synths, ie, a keyboard. This is where the Monome comes in. The fact is, this box re-imagines our relationship to the computer as a creative/performance tool. Thislittle box of buttons lets the user define how they intend to interact with the synths themselves. If you can author any voice you can imagine in a synth, this device lets you author experience of playing it as well.

-D