A New Book, Synthesizer Evolution, Documents the History of the Electronic Musical Instrument

by | Sep 14, 2020 | Culture, Stories | 0 comments

Photo of a Moog synthesizer courtesy of Anton Shuvalov.

A new book aims to chronicle the history of synthesizers from the 1960s through to the present day. Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back) was written by Oli Freke and will be published by Velocity Press in January 2021.

According to the book’s blurb, it will offer a “directory of every major synthesizer, drum machine and sampler made between 1963 and 1995.” Each entry includes its own hand-drawn illustration in addition to statistics and facts pertaining to the device.

“This book has grown out of a life-long obsession with synthesizers and electronic music, and it’s fantastic to be able to share this with my fellow synth obsessives and electronic music fans who celebrate the synth’s role in modern music,” said Freke in a quote obtained by DJ Mag.

Velocity Press has published a number of books about electronic music, including Join the Future by Matt Anniss and State of Bass by Martin James. In December, they will release The Secret DJ Book Two, the follow-up to a 2019 tell-all by an anonymous author.

Pre-order Synthesizer Evolution: From Analogue to Digital (and Back) on the Velocity Press website.

Image credit: Anton Shuvalov

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