Our contact at Yamaha, Peter, sent some info on the first Tenori-On album:

Audio conceptualist Norman Fairbanks has always remained at the cutting edge of music production, so when he first heard about Tenori-on back in 2005 he felt compelled to investigate the myriad possibilities of this hybrid instrument.

The result is 7 Days Microsleep, a stunning collection of beautiful down-tempo soundscapes that showcase the depth and complexity that lives within Tenori-on, beneath that wholly intuitive interface. Norman reveals exactly what it is about Tenori-on that’s revolutionised his approach to music production.

“I borrowed a Tenori-on since I didn’t manage to get one through the limited UK sales, so I had a two week window… and I had no plan to make an album. At first the sound seemed to be more like a sketch, a drawing, very minimal and almost a bit simple. But it’s exactly this simplicity that’s the key.

“It’s almost ten years since I bought my last hardware synthesiser. I’m completely software-based now, simply because nothing in the hardware domain has really attracted me. But then Tenori-on appeared.”

“All the ‘regular’ interfaces that come with a single knob and a few sliders – they simply don’t fit the way I work. But Tenori-on is exactly the opposite. The design is well thought out, making it very straightforward to use – everything is always right at your fingertips. Essentially anyone can start to create complex sound structures immediately, and without any formal music training.”

“I’ve recently put out some music dominated by field recordings and sampling, so I thought it would be a good experience for me to focus on just one instrument as the centre of my production world. With Tenori-on small melodies quickly turn into absorbing musical structures that set a completely new energy level within my music. It’s wonderful – I haven’t missed my laptop or all the effects and other tools for even a single second.”

Download the album at the Norman Fairbanks site.