Electronic music lost one of its true pioneers last week in the form of American inventor Don Buchla , who is credited for creating the modular synthesizer.
Buchla independently released the first modern synthesizer alongside Robert Moog in 1963. While Moog is often credited as inventing the modular synthesizer, he conceded prior to his death in 2005 that it was in fact Buchla who first fully realized the concept of combining the different modules into an instrument.
“He invented a whole new paradigm for how you interface with electronics—much more human, and a whole new thing,” Buchla’s close friend Morton Subotnick told The Guardian .
Buchla’s first release was 1963’s Buchla Series 100, a modular synthesizer commissioned by Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender; he was designing new synthesizers in the Buchla series right through until the ‘80s. He focused on creating MIDI controllers in the years that followed, before returning to modular synthesizers in the new millennium. His involvement with designing and inventing continued right up until his death.
Watch an extended promo below on the Buchla documentary this is currently in production.
Buchla documentary promo from Clarity Films on Vimeo .
