The Pop Corporation

Tame Impala are a band that annoys post-punk kids and we think that’s because Kevin Parker makes the kind of psychedelic rock that R&B fans also like, so they should sort that out and stop being whiny babies about it. They’re a fun band.

Anyway, small rant aside, Parker has teamed up with some pals to form Telepathic Instruments – the pals in question are Ignacio Germade, Chris Adams, Charl Laubscher, and Tom Cosm.

They’re releasing a limited edition synth called the Orchid which looks lovely and, judging by the video (below) sounds very nice too. Want one? You will be available to buy one from December 18th.

We got sent a press release so we’ll put some of that in big text here, for impact. If you don’t want to read all that, there’s a video of the new tech below it.

The instrument works by employing a unique chord logic system, combined with a multitude of ways to shape and alter the chords to maximize creative musical expression. All this is brought into sonic existence by a lush and powerful 16-voice polyphonic synth engine with onboard ambience and modulation FX, plus a separate bass synth engine solely for bottom end.

Physically designed by product designer and Telepathic Instruments co-founder Ignacio Germade, the Orchid boasts a beautiful aesthetic form, with dual stereo built-in speakers, a single-octave fully velocity sensitive keyboard and rechargeable battery for complete portable usage.

At the heart of Orchid is its innovative chord generating system. The layout consists of a matrix of 8 chord-type selecting and chord modifying keys, together with a single-octave keyboard to choose the root note and trigger the chord. The chords are then voiced with the unit’s patent pending voicing system, using a rotary encoder to re-pitch and re-position chords. This process effectively expands the potential of the chords to an entire piano’s key set, not just the 12 keys found on the unit.

Orchid offers a range of methods to bring the chord to life that are referred to as Performance modes. These consist of Strum, Slop, Arpeggiator, Pattern and Harp, the latter of which mimics a harp being strummed to the sound of a given chord across a four-octave range. While other chord generators deliver a static and rigid outputting platform, Orchid paints a new landscape.