Credit: Far Out / YouTube Stilll

Kevin Parker has created a brand new instrument

Tue 26 November 2024 10:28, UK

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker has revealed that he has created a new instrument called Orchid.

The Australian musician and producer announced that he had been working on the idea for his new electronic instrument company, Telepathic Instruments, and that the idea for the instrument was something he had conceived over ten years ago. The official trailer for the instrument chooses to refer to it as “not just a synth, but more of an ideas machine”.

According to Parker, Orchid is an “advanced chord generating hardware synthesiser”, which operates on a single octave keyboard that has eight inputs that allow the user to select chord type and modify keys. The keyboard allows the user to select the root note of the key they wish to play in, triggering the selected chord.

While Orchid’s simple and minimalistic presentation suggests that the instrument was designed with beginners in mind, Parker has asserted that its ease of use will also be practical for more seasoned musicians and producers.

Among its other features, Orchid boasts a polyphonic synth engine with onboard ambience that uses 16 voices, an engine for bass synthesising, built-in dual stereo speakers, modulation effects, tactile keys, and a rechargeable battery. There are several selectable ‘performance modes’ to choose from, including ‘slop’, ‘strum’, and ‘arpeggiator’.

Some of the other effects that are available on the instrument include reverb and delay, looping capability and a MIDI output to allow for easy interaction with digital audio workstations.

Parker has been teasing the release of Orchid via the Telepathic Instruments Instagram page since June 2024, and the announcement of Orchid’s December release is the first instrument that the company has produced that will be available to the public. It is unknown whether there are other instruments that Parker intends to release through the company at this time.

Tame Impala’s most recent album, The Slow Rush, was released in 2020 to widespread critical acclaim. Since then, he has also produced several albums for others, including the third Melody’s Echo Chamber album Unfold, which was released in 2022, as well as Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism, which was released earlier in 2024 and reached number one in 12 different countries. Parker also contributed the song ‘Journey to the Real World’ for the Barbie official soundtrack in 2023.

Orchid will be available to the public starting December 18th, with retail prices being listed at $549 (£437).