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Aphex Twin interviewed Korg’s Tatsuya Takahashi and it reads like fan fiction for synth nerds

Bona fide synth maniac Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin has a known soft spot for Korg gear. He even played a part in designing and patching their recent analogue synthesiser, the Monologue.

So when we heard the news that James had interviewed the company’s former chief engineer Tatsuya Takahashi, we knew if would be a good read. What we got was the fucking holy grail for synth nerds.

tatsuya takahashi aphex twin warp records
Photo: Warp Records

Tatsuya Takahashi and Richard D. James have interviewed each other, dissecting the nuts and bolts of synthesis like no two other humans could.

Takahashi’s legacy at Korg is extensive, having worked on the Volca series, the Monotron, the Minilogue as well as the compact reissues of their ARP-Odyssey and MS-20 classics. These days he serves as an advisor, rather than a hands-on engineer.

During their chat, hosted on the Warp Records website, the pair go deep on what makes a truly great synth, gaps in the market, and the benefits of microtuning, not to mention some weirder shit like dreams, the perfect cigarette and… a new Aphex Twin track!

Composed entirely on Korg gear, nonetheless. As per the article, here’s the James used for the above bad boy:

Korg Monologue x3
Korg MS-20 kit
Korg Poly-61M
Korg Volca keys
Korg Volca beats
Korg Volca sample
Korg Minilogue
My son on vox

Check out the full interview here. For any fan of Aphex Twin, Takahasi or Korg, it’s an absolute must-read.