Woodpecker Project

Another incredible Superbooth is behind us and, once again, we’re leaving Berlin full of ideas, inspiration, and gratitude.

A big thank you to everyone who visited our booth this year: artists, industry partners, press, collaborators, and the ever-passionate synth community. These three days of conversations, feedback, and shared excitement are what keep us moving forward.

This year we introduced something special- HexDrums, an analog drum machine born from the fusion of Erica Synths' techno tools and Hexinverter’s mutant circuits. With 10 powerful sound sources, individual outputs, stereo processing, and a kick-driven sidechain, it brings the raw energy of analog percussion into a compact, performance-ready format.

It was a pleasure to see so many of you try it out in person, ask questions, and share your first impressions. We’re polishing things up and getting ready to launch it at the end of summer.

More on Hexdrums >> HERE

Jachin Edward Pousson is a composer, performer, and researcher specializing in Brain-Computer Music Interfacing (BCMI) design. Originally from the USA, he has lived in Singapore and Copenhagen before settling in Riga, Latvia in 2012. Over the past five years, he has conducted extensive research on electroencephalography (EEG) to explore brain dynamics during music interaction, applying these findings to develop tools for harnessing brain signals in live performance.

With a background in composition, systematic musicology, and experimental music, Jachin's work spans academic research, free improvisation, electronic music, and folklore-inspired projects.

In this interview, Katrina discusses Jachin Pousson’s journey, the intersection of neuroscience and music, and his experience at the Erica Synths Residency, where he explored the potential of controlling modular synthesizers using brain signals.

Girts Ozolins, founder of Erica Synths, sat down for an engaging conversation with acclaimed French musician Yann Tiersen. He is known for his extraordinary approach to sound and music, Tiersen’s work has been widely used in film scores - including the cult classic Amélie. Tiersen has built a remarkable career blending classical and contemporary instruments - ranging from the electric guitar and piano to synthesizers and violin. His experimental work also feature unique instruments like the melodica, toy piano, and even a typewriter.

Povel Olsson's and Kaspars Roga’s musical journey began many years ago when Povel produced for Kaspars' band, BrainStorm. This collaboration marked the beginning of their partnership, but it wasn’t until recently that they decided to formalize their work together under the name LORO_DROP.

Back in 2006, before the two even knew of each other, Kaspars, alongside his bandmates, was touring non-stop. His band, BrainStorm, had already received an MTV award as Best Baltic Act and had toured as a support act for iconic artists like The Rolling Stones and Depeche Mode. Meanwhile, Povel was locked in a small shed in the middle of a forest, practicing jazz drums.

As time went on, Kaspars started side-hustling as a screenwriter and director for numerous concert films, music videos, and documentaries, meanwhile Povel was still locked inside his shed in the forest. Spring came, and Povel eventually tried his luck, successfully moving to Stockholm to become a composer and platinum-selling music producer, starting to work with Sweden’s crème de la crème such as Robyn, Loreen, Mando Diao, Molly Sandén, and forming his own band, The Royal Concept.

However, fate had a hand to play. One cold winter night, Povel met a mutual friend who introduced him to Kaspars, and the two instantly clicked. Making music together for the band for a long time, they started to realize they had to do something about their obsession with electronic music. Povel has recently developed a deep love for synthesizers and electronic instruments, which has led him down a very deep rabbit hole. Thankfully, Kaspars picked him up just in time to help him focus on making music, not just weird sounds!

French-born LA-based musician, Hugo Paris started from modest beginnings in Provence and defied early challenges by excelling both artistically and academically. Just over the last 10 years, Hugo contributed to the Nobel-winning LIGO project, invented the Spherical Wavetable Navigator synthesizer with 4ms company and released four critically acclaimed albums. Today, Hugo dedicates his time to writing, touring, crafting wellness music under various monikers to help reduce stress related issues, while he strives to empower others through weekly Patreon calls and Grammy U mentorships.

Our day with Hugo was a rollercoaster of unexpected events! We started off late due to a pretty bad injury on two of his fingers. Amidst an quick photoshoot, soundcheck, and a visit to the urgent care, we managed to squeeze in a quick swim in the Daugava river, before finally sitting down for our chat.

Kontaktor Records presents a new vinyl release from KODEK, titled 'Rīgas Elektromašīnbūves Rūpnīca (RER)'. This album is not just another record; it's an exploration of sound in an extraordinary setting.

Today, we sat down with Oskar Moore and Leo Novus to discuss their collaborative project, Cilpa & Dzinējs (Loop & Engine), a movement performance set to electronic music that traverses the themes of routine and flow. Oskars, a contemporary dance artist and choreographer, is known for his innovative performances and active work in theatres across Latvia. Leo, a Riga-based electronic music artist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist is a seasoned live performer, particularly fond of experimentation. Together, they blend movement and electronic music to create a powerful and fun interdisciplinary experience.

More info about the live performance in Riga - HERE.

After Eraldo’s performance at Erica Synths garage, we all went to a listening bar in Riga, where the local legend Visvaldis was putting on some records, as we walked in, Eraldo said, “That's me! That's me on the guitar.” I was totally amazed, the track playing was a vibrant blend of jazz-funk and drum'n'bass, we sipped our drinks and exchanged looks of amazement - me, thrilled by the newly discovered sounds, and Eraldo, rediscovering a forgotten piece of his own musical history. Later on my way home I found the same record and took some extra laps around the block just to finish it all, delaying my return to the mundane rhythms of the real world.

Eraldo Bernocchi is an Italian composer, producer, and guitarist, widely recognized as a versatile sonic architect. Beginning his career in the late 70s with punk bands, he co-founded the avant-garde audio project Sigillum-S in the mid-80s, which gained international acclaim. His collaborations span a variety of influential artists, including Bill Laswell and Harold Budd, and encompass diverse roles from scoring films for Academy Award winner Gabriele Salvatores to crafting soundtracks that have won national awards. In 2008, Bernocchi established RareNoise Records in London, promoting cutting-edge music and his own projects. Notable works include scoring 'Cy Dear', a documentary on artist Cy Twombly presented at prestigious venues such as MOMA and the Louvre.

Katrīna had a chat with Eraldo on his last day here, in Erica Synths studio.

Meet Dāvids Kļaviņš, a master piano builder whose life's work has redefined the boundaries of acoustic piano design. From his early days in Bonn, Germany, to his innovative creations that challenge conventional norms, Dāvids' journey is one of passion, persistence, and pianos. His story unfolds a blend of personal history, technical mastery, and visionary ambition. Read Ģirts Ozoliņš' conversation with him to to discover how traditional craftsmanship meets innovative design in his world of pianos, making waves from Latvia to concert stages worldwide.

Matheus Souza, born in 1997 in Rio, Brazil, is a composer, improviser, and performer specializing in electroacoustic music. He combines live electronics, acousmatic, and mixed music, utilizing instruments like the Buchla Easel Command and laptops with Max or VCV Rack. Souza holds a Bachelor's degree from Instituto Villa-Lobos - UNIRIO and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Contemporary Performance and Composition at CNSMD de Lyon. His debut album, 'Terra,' a 34-minute solo work recorded in one take, showcases his mastery of the Buchla 200/200e system. He has also contributed to the Buchlaïsms series with a piece using the Buchla 208c, underscoring his innovative approach to modular electronic instruments.

All photos by Linda Dambeniece-Migliniece

Erica Synths launches a residency studio at the headquarters in Riga, Latvia.

Take a look inside Erica Synths booth at the biggest annual electronic music technology fair - SUPERBOOTH!

Throughout his career with the English indie pop band London Grammar, Dot Major’s love for underground dance music has been an informing factor in the group’s sound and his long-running and — until now — private solo music. In co-founding the group while studying at university in Nottingham, alongside vocalist Hannah Reid and bandmate Dan Rothman, Dot Major drew from his Guildhall training in classical piano and his passion for electronic music to assume the role of multi-instrumentalist.

Moving between modular hardware, keys and drums, he experimented with organic instrumentation and computer-centric beats, warping studio and live techniques to help create the group’s tender-yet-punchy sound.. And as the band shot to stardom, Dot Major started collecting modular synths to develop his solo material. Girts Ozolins talks synths, bands and cars with Dot Major.

Gareth Jones has always found transformative inspiration in recorded music and has dedicated his life to the form. An initial training at the BBC in the late 1970s led to this 40 year arc exploring the art of capturing and creating magical vibrations inside and outside the recording studio. In the early 80s, the British producer and musician moved to Berlin for 10 years and worked at the legendary Hansa studio, where he continued experimenting with recording the space around the music (making, amongst many other projects, the “Berlin Trilogy” with Depeche Mode).

Ģirts Ozoliņš visits the music technology aficionado in his London studio and digs in the past, present and future of Gareth's inspiring path in music.

As a multi disciplinary artist and a 95% blind individual, Oğuz Büyükberber aims to raise awareness to the wide spectrum of disabilities and their affect in people’s perception of reality. Previously featured on Erica Synths Garage about his exhibiton and live performance PROCESSING, in March 2024 Oğuz Büyükberber was invited to participate in Erica Synths residency program. In the aftermath of the residency, he performed a live set that is now featured on Erica Synths Garage accompanied by an interview on his process and time in Riga. The interview was held by Ģirts Ozoliņš. Later in 2024 Oğuz Büyükberber will release an album made with sounds predominantly recorded during his residency.

France Jobin is a sound and installation artist, composer and curator residing in Montreal, Canada. Her audio art can be qualified as “sound-sculpture”, revealing a minimalist approach to complex sound environments where analog and digital intersect. Her installations express a parallel path, incorporating both musical and visual elements inspired by the architecture of physical spaces. Her works can be “experienced” in a variety of unconventional spaces and new technology festivals across the globe. Since 2009, her focus has been related to Quantum mechanics with many of her projects being inspired by theories related to topics such as vacuum decay, string theory and more recently, what she feels to be the most perplexing phenomenon in the world of the quantum , entanglement.

Jobin’s work continues to evolve as technologies enable her to create new environments and in the fall of 2023 she was the first artist to have a 5 day long residency at Erica Synths headquarters in Riga, Latvia. Eliza Aboltina met Jobin in Berlin right after her residency to learn about her experience and work process that resulted in an unlikely artefact - a drone music composition performed only with a drum machine, the Pērkons HD-01 .

As a multidisciplinary artist and 95% blind individual, Oğuz Büyükberber strives to create a safe space for exploring personal trauma through expressive art, while also raising awareness about the wide spectrum of disabilities and their impact on how people perceive reality and communicate. Drawing from his own distorted and limited vision, Büyükberber weaves gestures, textures, and ideas together in an ever-evolving narrative, rich with layered meanings and juxtaposed references.

Just hours before his PROCESSING show at Berlin's Spreehalle, Eliza Aboltina and Girts Ozolins sit down with Oğuz to delve into the evolution of his creative journey, the accessibility of tools for expressing himself as a visually impaired artist, and how he has navigated an industry that isn’t always easy to manoeuvre in, even without the weight of disability.

BLUSH_RESPONSE is the vehicle for Cuban/American musician Joey Blush's research into the sonic dimension. With a unique approach in sonic experimentation and a penchant for defying conventions, he seeks to both influence and harness the unpredictability of complex electronic instrumentation, with an effort to create a direct expression of his emotions. This sonic ritualism is exemplified in his prolific reporting of fractalized audio sculpture.

Eliza Aboltina interviews BLUSH_RESPONSE to explore his past-presence-future in music, the role of interplay between technology and artistry, and his process behind the upcoming full length album DIMENSIONAL RESEARCH, to be released this summer on Erica Synths and Kontaktor Festival record label KONTAKTOR RECORDS. The label is a further extension of showcasing boundary-pushing artists who fearlessly challenge the status quo of contemporary electronic music.

Erica Synths launches artist feature series 5 questions with... Self-explanatory, we speak to breakthrough artists, pioneering musicians, creatives from all walks of life and ask them 5 questions. These questions might just spark a few more, diving into rich, thought-provoking and in-depth conversations along the way.

Audible patch examples & explanatory patch notes for the Erica Synths SYNTRX II, created by Andris Indāns - also known as Gas Of Latvia.

Come back for a fresh dose of inspiration - patch notes will be updated on regular basis.

Erica Synths launches artist feature series 5 questions with... Self-explanatory, we speak to breakthrough artists, pioneering musicians, creatives from all walks of life and ask them 5 questions. These questions might just spark a few more, diving into rich, thought-provoking and in-depth conversations along the way.

With holidays around the corner, get inspired with Erica Synths Gift Guide. 8 ideas for perfect holiday gifts from the Erica Synths crew!

Erica Synths launches artist feature series 5 questions with... Self-explanatory, we speak to breakthrough artists, pioneering musicians, creatives from all walks of life and ask them 5 questions. These questions might just spark a few more, diving into rich, thought-provoking and in-depth conversations along the way.

This music is intentional.

Girts Ozolins speaks with Kris Vanderheyden - the man behind aliases like Insider, Atomic Fusion, Techno Jesus & Hank Style among others. With more than 20 million record sales & a career spanning over 3 decades, Vanderheyden is considered to be one of the leading pioneers of the Belgian electronic dance music scene.

Electronic music production competition for independent, underground and adventurous electronic music producers based in Latvia.

Insider performs live for Erica Synths Garage Special.

Premiere 11th of June 2021 6PM CET

Erica Synths' Eliza Aboltina spoke with Kristaps Puķītis - the founder of Dirty Deal Audio, Gustavs Lociks and Platon Buravicky to learn more about the past, present & future of spatial sound.

Audible patch examples & explanatory patch notes for the Erica Synths Black System III, created by Andris Indāns - also known as Gas Of Latvia.

Come back for a fresh dose of inspiration - patch notes will be updated on regular basis.

Anna Jordan - better known as The Allegorist is a musical storyteller creating auditive visions. Known best for her full length album Hybrid Dimension I 2021 promises to be a year full of vivid releases and a new era in the artist's catalogue.

Erica Synths' Eliza Aboltina talked to The Allegorist about overcoming the fear of creating, ideas that have to live in the shadows and her roots in Eastern Europe. The Allegorist transparently shares her journey towards Berlin, music production and finding one's purpose through art.

Feature photo: Anna Jordan Project

Audible patch examples & explanatory patch notes for the Erica Synths SYNTRX, created by Andris Indāns -also known as Gas Of Latvia.

Come back for a fresh dose of inspiration - patch notes will be updated twice a month!

ConCord – sinfonietta for 16 well-tempered oscillators was composed and performed by composer Platon Buravicky during his residency in Erica Synths Studio n November 2020.

The first artist residency at Erica Synths studio with multichannel meta-artist kiwanoid.

JakoJako is a Berlin-based musician who primarily performs live and extensively uses modular synthesis in her music.

Feature photo from Telekom Electronic Beats

Wall of Fame contest & giveaway has come to its end! We are grateful to everyone who participated and contributed to improve the further development of the new Erica Synths Garage platform.

Erica Synths Garage returns in the club for a two day get-together to showcase diverse live electronic music

Andreas Tilliander - the Swedish producer whose extensive and diverse catalogue of music includes his work under monikers like TM404, Mokira, Rechord and Lowfour can easily be considered one of the contemporary maestros of analog gear.

Feature photo by SOTARN

Your chance to win Pico System III, Erica Synths merchandise & vinyl records!

Enigmatic yet bold, astonishing yet persistent - one of the foremost techno live acts of the recent years in an arguably the most in-depth interview out there.

Feature photo by Mino Kodama.

Erica Synths' Ģirts Ozoliņš visited Martin Gore in his Los Angeles' studio in January 2020 to talk about early influences, production & song writing process, life changing documentaries & what Martin finds to be the biggest threat for the future of the music.

Photos: Travis Shinn

‘All Flesh is Grass’ is a collaborative project by: Una Hamilton Helle, Eltons Kūns, Uma Breakdown, and curator Erik Martinson. Sound of the project is created by Erica Synths

From principles of Musical Phenomenology, to Improvisation, to other relevant practical aspects for ALL musicians - a lecture & workshop by Pedro Eustache.

As Erica Synths have just released the vacuum tube based eurorack system Fusion System II we collaborated with MIXHELL's Iggor Cavalera to showcase the sounds and capabilities of the latest incarnation of Erica Synths signature audible realms of unprecedented pressure.

Erica Synths' Eliza Aboltina virtually sat down with the two producers to talk lockdown creativity, synths, prejudice in the electronic music scene among other things.

Erica Synths team visits Jean-Michel Jarre in his studio in Paris to talk about inspiration, creativity, synths and future of the electronic music and to play a live modular jam.

Future Follows Us was premiered in the concert hall Hanzas Perons on fourth of February 2020. Commissioned by Artes Liberales, composed by Platon Buravicky it was performed by Pedro Eustache, Sinfonietta Riga & Normunds Šnē. The project was initiated and produced by Erica Synths.