In his latest video, Alex Theakston of Mylar Melodies talks with Vlad Kreimer of SOMA Laboratory about the design philosophy behind the ‘organismic’ synth design and ‘Romantic Engineering’ concepts found in the Lyra-8, Pulsar 23 and other instruments.

“It’s an important subject,” notes Theakston. “Useful if you’re a user, a fellow synth designer and someone who makes modular patches.”

The master class, The Psychology of Synthesis: The Art of Romantic Engineering, was filmed at Machina Bristronica in Bristol September 2023.

Topics covered:

00:00 Opening thoughts
1:50 What is ‘Romantic’ Engineering?
5:28 The need for imperfections
9:46 Static digital oscillator
10:22 …vs analog oscillator
12:30 …vs a violin.
15:47 Musician vs The Sound They Want
22:15 The secret of Lyra-8
25:12 Triggering Emotional Resonance
27:39 What is an Organismic synth?
31:08 Organismic: The Visual Analogy
32:31 Linear Synth vs Organismic
36:10 Vlad’s Challenge to Synth Brands
37:19 Q&A: Macro controls vs Organismic
40:23 Q&A: What synths does Vlad admire?
41:47 Q&A: What is TOO MUCH ‘organismic’?
43:02 Q&A: How do you know when a synth is done?
45:16 Q&A: Can we truly perform synths that aren’t organismic?
48:19 Q&A: Beyond touch, what other ways can we control synths?
50:29 Q&A: Will people commit to learning to play instruments?
51:47 Q&A: Vlad’s Dream: The brain-to-music interface!
53:10 Q&A: What is the Soma design ‘difference’?