At this time in the Swedish island of Gotland Medeltidbekkanor “Medieval Week”, as it’s called, is the country’s biggest historical festival. According to its official page, visitors can “watch knights on horseback, sip a cold drink, take a craft course, practice archery, listen to a concert, have a picnic on the beach, or wait for a ruins show or performance by the moat.” If next year’s Medeltidsveckan also incorporates electronic music sessions, it will definitely be EP-1320 sampler, or Electronic InstrumentsIt was recently released by Swedish electronics manufacturer Teenage Engineering.
Billed as “the world’s first medieval electronic musical instrument,” the EP-1320 is modeled after Teenage Engineering’s hit EP-133 drum sampler/composer, but comes preloaded with a host of playable medieval instruments, from frame drums, battle toms, and coconut horseshoes to bagpipes, a bowed harp, and of course, a hurdy-gurdy.
Users can also imagine complete medieval worlds, or at least ones that aren’t tainted by fantasy, complete with swords, farm animals, witches, “wild peasants” and “real dragons.” To see how it works, check out the video at the top of the post. B&H Photo Video Pro Audioprovides an overview of its many technical and aesthetic features.
“Even the design of the sampler and music composer is medieval, from the font style to the colors, presentation, packaging and imagery.” Latin, or Latin-like characters are often used for the labels of buttons and other controls. Written by Matthew Burgos for Designboom“The electronic instrument is also portable, and the design team ships it with a quilted hardcover case, a t-shirt, a keychain, and a vinyl record with songs and samples.” Clearly, the EP-1320 is more than just a novelty piece of studio equipment, it’s a symbol of its owner’s gratitude for the transference of all things medieval into the modern digital world. It’s worth considering as a Christmas gift for the electronic music creator in your life. Imagine how you could use it to reinterpret classic holiday songs, wielding not only lutes, trumpets, and sytles, but also “torture chamber reverb.”
Via Kottke
Related content:
Meet the Hurdy-Gurdy, a medieval hand-cranked musical instrument with 80 moving parts
Classic Latin rendition of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
On medieval instruments, the band plays classics by The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and Deep Purple.
The Medieval Ban on the “Devil’s Tritone”: Exposing a Great Myth in Music Theory
The Flute of Shame: Learn about the instrument/device used in the Middle Ages to publicly humiliate bad musicians
A Brief History of Sampling: From the Beatles to the Beastie Boys
Based in Seoul, Colin MaOnershall Writing and broadcastingHe has written papers on cities, languages, and cultures, and his projects include the Substack newsletter. Books about cities And books A city without a state: Walking through 21st-century Los Angeles. Follow us on Twitter CollinhamOnershall or Facebook.
