A slightly belated round-up of Synth Evolution activities from 2022. (Had a bit of flu at the end of last year which somewhat knocked me for six, hence the delay.)
Sill, last year was quite productive, now I look back at it - so a big thanks to all Synth Evolution customers whose support, interest and purchases keep me motivated to make and sell the best synth related products I possibly can. I love you all!
POSTERS
A refreshed set of colours to my best-selling core product - the Greatest Hits of Synth poster - now in blueprint blue, racing green, alongside re-prints of the black and white versions. I do love the green version! :-)
Synth Evolution are proud to announce an updated, silkscreened edition of Synths Greatest Hits in British Racing Green - a radical, but stunning colour!
This new edition is silkscreened onto high quality 270gsm paper, making it a treat for the eyes as well as the synth-obsessed brain!
The poster is an intricately researched and painstakingly designed A1 poster featuring exactly 99 of the most iconic, important and interesting synths of the 20th century.
Featuring the same illustration style as the original A0 Synth Evolution poster, it now includes a selection of drum machines such as the Roland TR-808, TR-909, LinnDrum and samplers such as the NED Synclavier II, Fairlight CMI, Akai S1000 and Ensoniq Mirage.
Each synth is accompanied by a short description explaining it’s importance - for example how the Arp 2600 was used for the voice of R2D2, or that the Eminent 310 was the string sound used by Jean-Michel Jarre on Equinoxe I. Not only that, but the synthesis type is indicated, along with maximum polyphony and numbers of oscillators per voice.
All-in-all, it is a cornucopia of information and connections, guaranteed to keep any synth fan occupied for hours, and will provide a fascinating talking point for the studio or home.
A1 Green poster with white print 54.9 x 84.1cms (23.4” x 33.1”) on 270gsm paper
Dear European customers - due to post-brexit customs, please order from my etsy shop to avoid paying extra import duties:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SynthEvolution
I was hugely honoured to be asked by the Alan R Pearlman Foundation to design the 50th Anniversary poster for the beyond-legendary ARP Odyssey. I was only too happy to oblige, basing this design on a vintage advert, but updating it with some great quotes from selected artists, musicians and producers declaring their love this instrument. A lovely project to work on and resulting in a splendid celebration of this classic synth:
North American and Canadian customers can pay less shipping costs by visitng the Alan R.Pearlman website and ordering there:
alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/product/arp-odyssey-freke-poster/
UK & European customers will pay less shipping ordering here on the Synth Evolution website.
Commissioned by the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation, this 18x24” poster celebrates 50 years of the ARP Odyssey (1972). Following their semi-modular synth in the previous year, 1971 (the Model 2600), the Odyssey was a fully integrated monosynth and won a huge following of artists too long to list - but iconic players included Herbie Hancock, Gary Numan, Kraftwerk and many, many more.
This poster is a twist on the marketing materials of the original, but instead of featuring a list of features, each link quotes the most famous artists in their praise for the synth.
I branched out into posters featuring a single synth for the fans of any one particular synth. Available in A4/A3 sizes or as digital downloads, I can produce these to order to feature any of the 500 or so synths I have illustrations for!
T-SHIRTS
Following 2021’s highly successful and enjoyable ‘World Cup of Synths’ collaboration with ‘We Are 1 of 100 T-shirts’, I approached them with a new idea focussing on synth oscillators. I think we came up with super-cool designs celebrating both the synths themselves in a novel and - splendidly nerdish way!
Did I mention we got a cease and desist from Moog Music by not thinking through the implications of using the Moog logo? Whoops! Luckily we got permission from the ARP Foundation to use the logo on this glorious artifact below:
https://weare1of100.co.uk/clothing/all-t-shirts/t-shirts/oscillator-champion-2022-oli-freke/
We also made a splendid ARP Odyssey t-shirt to accompany the poster:
https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/product/50-year-odyssey-tee-shirt/
Calendar
Following of from the collaboration with the Alan R Pearlman Foundation with the Odyssey’s 50th Anniversary poster, it was great to see the illustration used in their 2023 Calendar - available to purcahse right now for the year ahead…
SYNTHfest uk
The first in-person SynthFestUK since lockdown took place in October 2022 and it was wonderful to catch up with old friends and make new ones after a two year hiatus. As ever Synth Evolution hosted a stand and sold plenty of books, posters, mugs and t-shirts. Thanks to all those customers and it was great to chat with everyone there, customer or not. I was able to slip away to see Paul Wiffen’s splendid talk featuring the Elka Synthex (Jarre’s laser harp) and the E-Mu 50th anniversary talk by Tony Wride of Exclusively Analogue.
Synth Evolution stand at SynthFestUK 2022
synthtrax.net
I created a Wiki site to log all the verifiable uses of synths in every track ever made. Yes, that was a bit crazy ambitious, but it’s up and running and I had some enjoyable research sessions fleshing out the Moog Minimoog, ARP 2600, Roland Jupiter 8, and many more. Check it out, and help out - it’s an open Wiki and I would welcome any dedicated collaborators :-)
Music
As well as all the Synth Evolution products and activities, I also produce electronic music with synths (unsurprisingly!) In 2022 I released three techno EPs which I think get the balance right between hardness, funk, groove, melody, arrangement and is in-keeping with the genre’s heritage. Well, I would say that of course, wouldn’t I?
2023
So, what about 2023 then? Well, all things being equal, it’d be great to create a new poster or two. I haven’t really thought what that could be yet, but I’m sure it will be some combination of hand-illustrated vintage synthesizers combined with a view of their place in musical and tech history.! I’d also love to follow up 2020’s Synth Evolution book, and I have some ideas that could similarly grab the imagination of synth fans everywhere. And of course, bang out some more banging techno! Hopefully get to do some PAs too…watch all these spaces, and more!
