Kevin Parker, of Tame Impala fame, has set up a new company and is teasing a new instrument — the Orchid — as the realisation of a decade of an idea.
Orchid is described as “an advanced chord generating hardware synthesizer developed for songwriters, producers and musicians to expand the possibilities of songwriting and musical exploration.”
It’s touted as an ‘ideas machine’ — a beginning, if you like, of the composition/creation process. We get to see a little of what the unit is capable of thanks to the rather quirky, glitchy, ’70s-inspired promotional video:
Chord creation is simple thanks to the controls — you don’t have to play an entire chord on the keys but instead use ‘modifier’ buttons on the left to unlock chords from simple majors and minors to more complex ones — including those which may lead to “too much jazz”… (too much jazz? No such thing!)
Chords can be voiced at various pitches and inversions and effected with the turn of a single dial. Performance modes include strum, slop, arpeggiator, pattern and harp, while the trio of polyphonic synth engines — virtual analog, FM and reed piano emulation) and FX bring it all together. The inbuilt keyboard features 12 velocity sensitive keys: C to B.
As you’d expect, there’s connectivity options so you can control other things or dump your inspiration into something easier to progress an idea with, such as your DAW.
The Orchid can also be used portably, thanks to built-in stereo speakers and rechargeable battery.
Expected to retail at $549 and available this side of 2025, we’ll bring you more info when we get it.
