Hainbach, Cuckoo & Look Mum No Computer Announce ‘Synthfluencer Supergroup’

Hainbach, Cuckoo & Look Mum No Computer have announced a new ‘synthfluencer supergroup’, Uncompressed.

The group was organized in partnership with Patreon, which followed the trio to LMNC’s museum of electronic esoterica on the British seaside, to document their first rehearsal.

The trio plans to make their official debut at Barcelona’s Sónar Festival in June. Here’s their official Festival blurb:

“As Uncompressed, they’ll premiere a new kind of live show that mixes live demonstration, improvisation and discussion, providing insight on their creative processes as they perform together.

And who wouldn’t be curious to see what happens when the creator of the Furby organ (Look Mum No Computer) meets an electro-acoustic composer working with tape loops (Hainbach) and walking synthesiser user manual (Cuckoo)? A performance that represents everything that Sónar stands for in terms of sonic, creative and performative innovation.”

91 thoughts on “Hainbach, Cuckoo & Look Mum No Computer Announce ‘Synthfluencer Supergroup’”

  1. Who say’s synth & electronic music in general aren’t innovatively & constantly evolving kudos to that trio for their exemplary work folks thanx dude(s)

    1. the evolving part is that they will be selling synths whilst performing or that they are youtubers? I for onw don’t expect any radical musical thinking to happen amongst the three.

      1. Hainbach makes music with electronic devices which aren’t designed as instruments. Look Mum… is an electronics engineer who repurposes old hardware. Cuckoo has been doing the youtube synth review thing since forever.

  5. All 3 of them are nice presenters and hard-workers. I love the fact they are evolving. The music is total crap from all of them. I hope they understand that. We love them for everything but not the music produced. I hope their shows are going to be about how they live and what they do. Not about music they produce.

      1. that’s ridiculous

        not even sure what’s meant by “evolve”

        “embrace the mediocrity presented to you”

        “don’t criticise things – that’s not cool”

        “everyone should just shut up about things they don’t like”

        “if you haven’t anything good to say then say nothing”

        1. Yeah, definitely, why even bother expressing negativity online? Who needs that? If you don’t like it, just ignore it, why even make effort for things you don’t like when it’s just going to be unpleasant for everyone else? How hard is it to understand taste is subjective? One isn’t better than the other, so to express such negativity for making music you don’t like is absurd, no doubt I don’t like the music the person above likes but why would I randomly put effort into being an asshole about it?

        2. wouldn’t putting out your own vastly superior content be a better way to express this sentiment?

          i think what you’re looking for is
          “put up or shut up”

    3. I wish them well, and I have to concur, their music is truly awful. Perhaps they have found their niche in providing insight and breaking news. God knows making music is not their gift.

      1. I am not certain what the uproar is all about, I like their content and their creativity, their music is not my cup of tea! And it shan’t be. That said, I think they are brilliant presenters, educators, and instructors. I hope this new venture proves very successful for them.

    4. I think Cuckoo and Look Mum make some very good music in their videos. Less familiar with Hainbach, pretty sure his music is less my cuppa but his Billions of Windows soundtrack has some very nice bits.

      1. I don’t get Cuckoo’s music, but I have watched several of his quirky videos, and I appreciate his enthusiasm for synths and musical gadgets.

    5. Not sure what you’ve been smoking, but Look Mum No Computer has some awesome performances on his channel. He can definitely make great music in between all his experimenting.

    6. Yeah this is true of almost all synth/music tech Youtubers

      Great video content but awful music

      The filming/editing/uploading of content takes a lot of effort that I guess gets taken away from the music

      There are a few exceptions of course – but none of these guys though

      1. I kind of want to hear more of the Nick Batt jams that he plays at the end of his Sonic State reviews.

        (Hmm, apparently he’s half of DNA so a pretty successful musician/producer in his own right.)

    7. That is completely true. Probably 99.9% of youtubers, influencers out there are at best mediocre at what they present.

      1. Nothing surprises me anymore, especially on youtube where Bach being thumbed down and half naked chicks singing, stripping and dancing in music video promoting black mass getting tens of millions of ‘likes’.

    8. Understand what? I love hainbach’s drones and experimental stuff, be’s great at it and does a lot in terms of teaching the origins of electronic music.. I don’t like Cuckoo’s stuff either but he’s talented, with his own sound..It sounds more like “I’m jealous they get free gear and views” type post. It depends on what you like.. You probably think Stockhausen, Xenakis or Delia Derbyshire are shit.. What do you know?

    9. You are entitled to your own opinion, and if you don’t like their music that’s okay. But please speak for yourself and not all of us, because obviously many people enjoy their music. All three have successful releases, streams and music videos out there, so clearly their music is not too crappy for some of us.

          1. I have, there are many wonderful and gifted artists on Youtube. See, I am trying to be gentler for size, rather tight at the moment.

            Cheers!

  11. So change the drummer, put them in suits, comb their hair, get 9 other people to write the songs, cover 60’s and 70’s hits that millennials have never heard of, load the chord finder, tune finder plugin, …… auto tune on. We’ve Got the next big thing.

        2. Hard to say – I listen to a lot of stuff

          I guess my standard for what I think is good comes from growing up listening to “IDM” from mid 90s onwards

          Autechre, Plaid, Squarepusher, Aphex, Boards of Canada.. other Warp/Rephlex records stuff

          Just last night I listened to a recent Tipper releases – Jettison Mind Hatch

          Sure it’s not everyones cup of tea – but the production quality is absolutely next level – incredible

  14. This place is becoming a toxic cesspool. Some of you are truly just awful people. Come on.

    Isn’t the world shitty enough without you having to be this way?

    1. Gotta agree that Synthopia has the worst comment section. Must suck for the people running it. Doesn’t make me want to continue reading. I think it would be best just to remove comments altogether.

    2. Agreed. Been slowly transitioning to other synth websites. This is where you come to take a dump on things and be unhapy. Fun for a while but it gets old quick. I dont like any of their music either but I wouldnt call it crap, its just music I dont like. Spotify has a ton more. Cuckoo did do this one song on his Una Corda looping with an octatrack that I love, its so pleasant. But yeah, I remember years ago coming to the site and reading debates and interesting critiques of different gear and learning about others. Not its just Behringer post, everyone on a pedastal when the price is too high, politics and just garbage humans complaining. Go succeed in life so you have something good to say, whatever your definiton of success is.

      1. I gave up synth message boards and music blogs. I come here to remember WHY.

        literally EVERYWHERE people have become crappy. all in the last 6 years. go figure.

  15. Personally, I enjoy the work of all three artists and find inspiration from their music. I have learned much about synthesis, electronic music, creativity, and the pleasure of new music from all three. As I get older I find my musical tastes growing in scope, rather than narrowing. I am really looking forward to hearing their concert.

  17. Good for them! Collaboration with others can be fruitful. I think we all just want to play the thousand oscillators. 🙂

    1. Are you sure synthesizers are the right hobby for you? You might want to try your local Klan chapter instead.

  20. I can imagine LMNC providing the searing scratchy fuzzy furry leads, Hainbach , eerie, Lofi wobbly wiffly pads and Cuckoo, the blippy bloopy blobby tinkly bits. Could be v interesting in the right venue.

  21. Synthopia fails hard at ensuring their comment section is a safe discussion space for their readers. I see openly racist and homophobic comments in this thread, and I saw them before. But still no registration process, verification system or anything is introduced that could help avoid this kind of abuse. I guess as long as the advertisement customers are happy we have to accept being abused and insulted by strangers for being interested in synthesizers.

    1. it’s a feature of the Lewin Group and the RWNJ type personalities the post here.

      I don’t watch video’s. give me a PDF.

    3. I think your over reacting a little bit.
      This thread has over 50 comments. Only Dave’s comment was both homophobic and racist. That’s 2% off all comments.
      I think we can all agree that sometimes your going to get people being a bit of a nob. That’s humans for you.
      I also believe that the people who run this site probably have a life and are busy doing other things too. They are probably equally exasperated by this.
      Whilst I believe Dave’s comments to be inappropriate, I’m adult enough to let them go. You give people like that enough rope and eventually they’ll hang themselves as the saying goes.
      Anyway, happy synthing people.

      1. If anything, Synthtopia is under-reacting. They run the website like it’s 2002 and negligently take into account that part of their readers are repeatedly being exposed to racist, sexist and homophobic harassment. This is both unacceptable and avoidable, as websites like CDM and many others show. On a personal level, I am just sick of it. It’s not fun to visit this site anymore when you always have to suspect a hateful comment aimed at you around the corner.

    4. “Safe place” is an abused word. I agree there are some hateful comments, but hateful comments do not pose a threat. Actions do. People should work more on themselves and stop demanding that all of us are put in a “Brave new world bubble”. .

    5. Got to agree with Dongleboob

      The term ‘Token Black Guy’ is not racist, it can be used inappropriately by people, but there is actually a really good reason for the ‘term’

      Also the word ‘Gay’ is used by lots of young people, and doesn’t necessarily have homophobic intent.

      I’m with you dude, and wish people would be a lot nicer to each other or people they don’t know !
      but
      ” I see openly racist and homophobic comments in this thread ”

      I don’t yet mate, but I’d be with you when it happens.

      1. Used as it was in Dave’s post I think the word gay was mas meant pejoratively. Back in the first half of last century gay meant jolly or happy. Since the word has been used to refer to sexual orientation it has also been used to slur or demean. When I hear the term ‘that’ so gay’ the meaning isn’t that it’s jolly or fun, rather that it is to be looked down on. When I’ve been called gay by some thug, I’ve been told they want to kick my head in. The word gay as used in Dave’s post has roots in homophobia, whether he realises it or not.

        And as for token black person with a sock puppet, I don’t think that was coming from a place of peace and love.

    6. Yeah, not sure why this has gotten as bad as it has. C’mon Synthtopia guys and gals. When I chatted with you at Superbooth a few years ago, you didn’t seem like this was what you were aiming for with the site. When someone poops on your floor, you clean it up. You don’t just leave it lying there, making the other house guests feel somewhat uncomfortable and a bit awkward about why they decided to visit.

      1. ProckGnosis

        Thanks for the feedback.

        You say “When someone poops on your floor, you clean it up. You don’t just leave it lying there, making the other house guests feel somewhat uncomfortable and a bit awkward about why they decided to visit.”

        We agree 100%. The reality of the Internet, though, is that someone will visit your house a dozen times and seem quite reasonable. And then the next time they visit, they ‘poop on the floor’.

        Unfortunately, the only way to ensure that no commenter ever posts something toxic would be to watch everybody 24 hours a day and police what they say. Nobody wants to go to that party. Pre-screening what everybody is allowed to say doesn’t scale and completely kills conversation.

        There is no perfect solution to the toxicity of some people on the Internet, but we do try to take it seriously and avoid being an amplifier for toxic people.

        1. Or, crazy idea, but registration combined with moderation like many places use to solve these issues for dozens of years now rather than allowing anonymous comments

          Alternatively, no comments works perfectly, too.

      1. Sounds like something Henry Rollins would say as he was coming off stage after drinking 2 litres of his own sweat, rung out from his clothes.

        No bad Karma friend – just thought it was funny

    8. Yeah I think you need to shorten your toes a little. The internet is a harsh place. But the only way we can stay pure and truly ‘free speech’ is not to censor this crap. Just don’t get insulted so easily. I don’t like it, just as much as you, but censorship is never the solution.

    9. you’ll need to take responsibility for your own life and go ahead and move along somewhere else if you dont like what you are seeing here, considering you are alone in your outrage

      its much more logical and sensible for you to go away instead of expecting everyone else and the entire world to change simply to suit your personal preferences for social interactions

    10. Dacci Pucci

      Thanks for the feedback.

      Synthtopia has, for more than a decade, had one of the most active comment sections of any synth news site. This is because we do a good job of posting news that synthesists care about, and because we don’t require people to jump through hoops before they can comment.

      We also do not think that requiring registration and verification does anything to improve the quality of discussions. Sites like Facebook and Gearspace require registration and authentication and can still be very toxic.

      The idea of a ‘safe discussion space’ is very challenging to achieve with the Internet, because some people show their worst sides online. The Internet empowers everybody and, unfortunately, it empowers many people to be terrible. So we don’t say that will make the Internet a safe place, simply that we will address personal attacks as they arise.

      We include a Feedback link at the top of every page of the site and encourage people to let us know when they think comments cross the line.

      The biggest challenge for sites like Synthtopia is that some people will post reasonable comments for a while and then suddenly post something hateful. This happens whether you require registration or not. We delete personal attacks and ban commenters that repeatedly make personal attacks. This keeps spam and hate speech off the site, but will not make it a ‘safe space’.

      If you think that the comment section has become more toxic recently, this may be a reflection of the fact that there have been several highly divisive topics in the synth world in the last few years. A prime example is Behringer entering the synth market and focusing their efforts on copying other company’s designs. While we understand that this topic is divisive, the things that make it divisive also make it newsworthy.

      We’ve seen periods with higher levels of controversy periodically over the years. If you look back at our coverage of early iOS music making applications, you’ll see views that are just as divisive as any shared today.

      I hope that you’ll understand that Synthtopia tries to deal with personal attacks professionally, but that our comment section will always reflect the realities of the Internet.

    1. Patreon is their employer in this little endeavor

      i doubt they would be getting paid to be a supergroup without them

  23. I think the outrage here comes from the use of the term “supergroup” when the vast majority of people haven’t listened to a full track despite consuming hours of their content. Not everyone in a supergroup needs to qualify a career of multiple successful albums, but there should be at least two that have released multiple top 10 albums in their perspective genres for this term to be considered. I think the only one I’ve heard a single from is LMNC.

    An outstanding retort found in the comments here towards less articulate naysayers is wishing them success, which would be a sensible thing to say if this was just an announcement of a debut group. a supergroup has already had success, there is no reason to wish a supergroup well. I consider the members of Majorlazer, WTF?, Sweedish House Mafia, Duck Sauce, Jack U all extremely proficient at programing synths, their solo work is what qualifies the “super” WTF? certainly qualifies for “super” synth nerds even if you disqualify the rest on this list as pop-edm or laptop vst/dj nerds.

    patreon producing content is weird. They branded self-publishing, and are quite successful in facilitating it. it seems this overstatement “supergroup” comes from an unwillingness to be humble about them becoming a publisher, why is a service that is meant to green light what the people actually want throwing their relatively new found weight into attempting to counter the service they built? just get some influencers with die hards who will bully anyone with half articulated questions with calls for civility. Because of this, I don’t blame this on the members of this debut group, which I truly hope they release a debut, and not just a show about producing a live multi-creator experience, which certainly would not be the first of.

  24. I haven’t watched much of Hainbach’s or Cuckoo’s content

    I do like Sam though, head in the clouds sorta guy !
    Somehow manages to be quite down to earth.
    Quite like some of his tunes.

    Wish them all the best !
    See what happens.

  25. Barf, that‘s a double whammy, „synthfluencers“ and „supergroup“…. Repulsive marketing stunt…. I bet they’re gonna play the op1 field

  26. Hmm. Not fans of Euro products here, are we? And now it’s the turn of European musicians to get the full force of ‘Murican hate, even before they’ve produced a single item. Bye.

  29. Certainly jealousy and envy are the motivating forces behind all the hate comments.

    I don’t watch these guys’ videos or listen to their music but whatever, good on them for making money while having fun.

  30. As of now on Synthtopia, the Andy Fletcher orbituary has 11 replies. This story about LMNC, Heinbach and Cuckoo – over 80 posts of a heated discussion. Think about that for a second. Where these 80 posts really worth your while?

  31. Fletch dies: 11 comments
    3 YouTube influencers join in a patreon thing: 82 comments

    it’s a sad world indeed

    1. I do not think you understand social interactions. Controversy creates discussion. This apparently is a controversial topic. Andy Fletchers death is generally accepted as a tragedy, no controversy, no discussion. Stop trying to say something that isn’t there.

  32. I love how excited they are to collaborate together. There’s nothing quite like starting a band with your buds. I hope they keep it up!

  33. Ha ha, that’s a really good business idea of the three clever self -promoters. But watch out and fingers crossed that Cuckoo doesn’t become the lead singer. Nobody would stand that :-))

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