Yesterday was one of those days that will live on in memory; I found myself thinking back to 1977, when my first polyphonic synthesizer arrived. That’s the only experience I’ve had with a new instrument that comes close to the flood of impressions from this first encounter with a Seaboard of my own.
I’m not sure yet how long the Seaboard will remain in the living room before I move it into the studio; I want to dedicate some time to beginning to get used to playing the instrument. While it’s out in the open, I need to improvise a cover that can protect the playing surface from tiny cat claws when I’m not around to supervise playtime. The keywave surface is very tough and durable, but as all cat owners know, humanity has yet to invent a material that can withstand the razor-sharp ministrations of Milla, my dear little Destructo Kitty.
So that’s the first order of business. There’s so much I want to share now that the Seaboard is here, but for the moment I’ll just say that I’m still more than a little stunned by the presence of a tool that’s clearly an artifact from the future.
Visionary writer William Gibson has said “The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed.” An impressive chunk of future just materialized in my living room, and it’s a genuine shock. A spectacular, challenging, dizzying joyride of a shock; I’m going to try to balance getting my thoughts together with (to paraphrase Frank Zappa) shutting up and playing my Seaboard. So please be patient with me; I’m planning to share daily updates for a while, as this initial tsunami of change subsides to normality.
For now, here’s a heartfelt “thank you” to Roland and everyone else at ROLI who are giving their all to bring something extraordinary into the world. You made it real!
