Synthesiser

Synthesisers are machines that can make any sound whatsoever, so, naturally, musicians have been using them to try and make the worst sounds imaginable. This competition has variously been known as ‘krautrock’ (1968–1979), ‘synth-pop’ (1979–1987), ‘acid house’ (1987–2000), and ‘dubstep’ (2000–present).

History

Synthesisers were invented by Leonardo ‘the Rock’ da Vinci between 1600 BCE and 1600 CE, when he realised that, instead of learning to play an instrument, he could just think about a sound really hard and synthesise it out of thin air. This concept would later inspire Michael Plastics in his invention of plastic.