Wizards of Sound

Sound. Music. Electricity. The extraordinary collision of these elements lies at the heart of modern music.

From the end of the nineteenth century onward, there were no more discoveries to be had in the fields of sound and electronics, only inventions. The science was settled; it was time for business. Each inventor built on the work of those who came before them, with the aim of making commercial products to patent and sell. When it came to music, the potential was seemingly limitless.

As they navigated between art, science and money, some built empires, some died penniless; all lived lives that were beautiful, generous, and headstrong, with a boundless devotion to the miracle of sound, that magic putty that holds whatever shape we choose to give it. Among those whose ingenious work is explored in Wizards of Sound include Thomas Edison, Thaddeus Cahill, Maurice Martenot, Robert Moog, Peter Zinovieff and Ikutaro Kakehashi. Thanks to their inventions – from the Theremin, to the Telharmonium, the Ondes Martenot to the MIDI protocol – each of them transformed our sonic world; each of them, a wizard of sound.