Swedish tech company Teenage Engineering has developed a beat machine that allows users to create their own medieval-style music by combining samples of lutes, hurdy-gurdies and “rowdy peasants”.
With its unique range of sounds and styling inspired by the Middle Ages, the EP-1320 is described by Stockholm-based Teenage Engineering as the “world’s first medieval electronic instrument”.
“Featuring a large library of phrases, play-ready instruments and one-shot samples from an age where darkness reigned supreme, the instrumentalis electronicum is the ultimate, and only, medieval beat machine,” the company said.
Among the live-recorded instruments that can be played using either the device’s pads or an external MIDI keyboard are bagpipes, flutes and trumpets as well as string instruments like the citole, bowed harp and hurdy-gurdy.
Beats provided by various drums and percussion instruments can also be layered with sound effects including chain rattles, clashing swords, horse hooves, farm animals, “rowdy peasants”, two different witches and a dragon.
The EP-1320 is an evolution of the brand’s PO range of pocket operators, which allow users to create music on the go by sampling tracks or instruments using a built-in microphone.
The device has a straightforward geometric form and layout similar to the firm’s other sampling machines but employs script-style fonts and playful ye-olde graphics in keeping with the medieval theme.
All of the buttons on the EP-1320 feature Latin text and the name “instrumentalis electronicum” is displayed in place of the “sampler composer” description used on the original device in the EP series.
The EP-1320 features comes with 96 megabytes of hardwired sounds and 32 megabytes of additional storage so users can record their own samples using a built-in or external microphone.
Nine demo songs including tracks titled “rocke-de-fete”, “banquet of fools” and “harvest dance” can be used as a backdrop for new compositions.
The brand has also produced a range of accessories to accompany the beat machine, including a quilted carrier bag, a vinyl record of medieval songs and a leather keychain embossed with the EP1320’s medieval crest and “beatmaker monk” design.
Since it was founded in 2007, Teenage Engineering has developed numerous products that reimagine music production by making synthesisers and samplers more accessible and appealing.
Its OP-1 portable synthesiser unveiled in 2010 is used by renowned musical artists and was followed in 2016 by the pocket operator series, which is one of the most affordable devices of its kind on the market.
In 2019, Teenage Engineering launched a modular version of the pocket operator that comes as a flat-pack kit to make it even cheaper.
The company regularly collaborates with musicians and brands to develop new concepts, including a set of mobile speakers and lights created in collaboration with IKEA, and a portable AI assistant for US start-up Rabbit.
All images courtesy of Teenage Engineering.
