SYNTH HERO
The DNA of Electronic Music
In 2009 I had a killer idea for a video game. At the time, Activision’s Guitar Hero was massive, but I craved something that featured electronic music and taught me something new about the artists and their instruments. I wanted to play Synth Hero.
My idea was that you could buy a mini MIDI-type controller with the same colour coded keys as Guitar Hero, but instead of axe wars with Slash you could battle legendary Synth Heroes with different skills and powers such as Giorgio Moroder, Wendy Carlos, Vangelis, Delia Derbyshire, Robert Moog and Kraftwerk — and learn how to play the keyboard too!
So I was very surprised when I was able to purchase this URL. Sadly, I don’t know how to code and was editing Dazed at the time, so the game idea and tech fortune never panned out.
I still loved the idea though, so when NTS Radio launched in 2011, I pitched the idea of The Synth Hero Show. I wanted to interview different Synth Heroes about their electronic music influences and play their favourite tracks. I had some great guests, but it aired very late and took a lot of organising, so after a few years I gave it a break.
I came back to the station in 2015 with a streamlined idea — to ask my favourite Synth Heroes to mix together an hour of their formative electronic music influences, and also write track notes explaining some personal context behind each song.
I stopped broadcasting on NTS in December 2019 to focus on Synth Hero as a music discovery platform in its own right.
So here we are. What I love about Synth Hero is that it is a constantly evolving historical document, an audio DNA chain of electronic music made by the artists who have helped to define it. My aim is for it to entertain and educate in equal measure. I hope you enjoy exploring.
