An ES&CM exclusive... At home with top synth pioneers Tangerine Dream, in their own recording studio - a three page special.

A contemporary composer drawing inspiration from the classics

'Are Friends Electric?' and 'Cars' will go down in the musical history books as classics of their genre but the writer of those hits, Gary Numan, has yet to match his early successes. Mark Jenkins met up with him during sessions for a forthcoming album at Rock City studios, Shepperton, only to discover that the Numan of today is finding it tough to get airplay for his recent work...

Since heralding in a new musical era in 1976 with the release of his innovative synthesizer-based opus, 'Oxygene', Jean-Michel Jarre has gone on to sell almost 34 million records worldwide. Currently embarking on a new album project, as well as planning a series of concerts to welcome in the new decade, Richard Buskin visited Jarre in his home studio to talk about the technology behind his music.

A chorus line or two

Readers' replies to the second half of our survey, analysed by David Ellis.

Will the new-look ABC find success as easy as 1-2-3? Or will their latest Lexicon of Love lose something in the translation? Philip Bashe finds out.

PPG

PPG designers interviewed

At last - the instrument with a name on everybody's lips receives an in-depth examination of its European version. Man-on-the-spot is Paul Wiffen.

We look at how electronics, synths and a PET computer have influenced this versatile British composer.

Bill Nelson talks Synths Vs Guitars with Gary Cooper

Klaus Schulze & Rainer Bloss, Tim Souster

Martin Russ breaks off from his 20th century studies way in the future to report on some alternative goings-on which may soon materialise in the form of a new generation of powerful sampling synthesizers.

The Art of Sampling

Part 1: The Art Of Sampling. Keyboard programmer Paul Wiffen offers valuable advice on squeezing the most out of your sampler.

A fresh look at the production model of the Akai S612 MIDI controlled sound sampler by Steve Howell.

Axxess mainman Patrick Mimran and one of the most remarkable custom-designed synthesisers ever built. Report by Dan Goldstein.

Although expensive, digital audio workstations are a pointer to the kind of features we can expect to see on the next generation of 'affordable' hi-tech instruments. Craig Anderton takes a look at one of the very latest workstations to appear, the AudioFrame.

Keyboard player Tony Banks has been the foundation stone of Genesis' music for almost two decades now but has not experienced the same level of success in his work outside Genesis as past and present members of the band, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Peter Gabriel. With two solo albums and numerous film scores behind him, Banks is set to bounce back into the limelight with a fresh, new solo project. Brian Jacobs poses the questions...

Clever keyboard clacked

MuProc software

Tony Reed talks to Somerville and Coles, the Morecambe and Wise of agit-Pop

Asia's illustrious keyboard player

In a rare interview, Asia's illustrious keyboard player talks synths, samplers and Mellotrons with David Etheridge.

Eight top pop players and producers discuss the necessity of notation. Richard Walmsley chairs the debate

preview for the Commodore