Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker just announced a musical instrument called Orchid. It’s a nifty-looking chord machine with some modern bells and whistles. For the uninitiated, a chord machine is a device or plugin that allows users to simplify the process of playing chords.
To that end, Orchid lets players initiate full melodic chords by pressing a note on the tiny one-octave keybed. They can be manipulated by using a handful of buttons on the left. Holding down one of these buttons while playing a key changes the chord in all kinds of ways, like transforming something from a major to a minor.
There are a handful of sounds to choose from, and some emulate playing chords on a stringed instrument across multiple octaves. The internal FX and arpeggiator allow for even more unique compositions. Orchid is battery-powered and boasts dual built-in speakers for portable play sessions. The creators are calling it an “ideas machine” and, yeah, that tracks. Most chord machines I’ve fooled around with have been tied to a computer or instrument via MIDI and this one works standalone.
I would be remiss if I also didn’t mention the attractive design, which was whipped up by co-creator Ignacio Germade. This thing has retro-futuristic vibes to spare. It looks very pretty and I want to stare at it lovingly.
Orchid is the first device launched by Telepathic Instruments, a company founded by Parker, Germade and others. There will be just 1,000 of these little beauties available for purchase this December. The initial rollout is being described as a beta test of sorts, with the company saying that “these owners will have the chance to shape and refine” the design before a wider release. It costs $550. That’s a lot of money for a chord machine but, again, it’s standalone and is particularly easy on the eyes.
