madkids empire makes playful synthesizers that invite anyone to explore sound

madkids empire builds Analog circuits like living ecosystems

The interfaces of Madkids Empire’s synthesizers resemble maps, landscapes, or living organisms. Founded by Xam, the experimental practice builds analog electronic instruments whose sculptural forms and intuitive interfaces encourage curiosity. Inspired by lakes, mountains and other natural systems, each synthesizer translates the complexity of analog circuitry into an environment where experimentation leads to unexpected sonic discoveries.

Speaking with designboom, Xam explains that his fascination with synthesizers began with the strange behavior of analog circuits. He saw them as living systems, where every component continuously affects another, producing organic and often surprising sonic relationships. ‘When I was studying circuit design systematically, I found that analog circuits can create unique organic systems like tiny ecosystems where parts affect each other through physical rules,’ Xam tells designboom. ‘When you apply that to audio, you get strange and interesting results. I became very interested in building this kind of audio circuit system.’

The appearance of each instrument follows the same philosophy. Instead of designing a housing around finished electronics, Xam searches for visual metaphors that reflect the circuit’s internal behavior. Natural landscapes become conceptual maps through which users navigate the instrument.

‘For the look and interaction, I first try to find a natural concept that matches the circuit structure, like a lake, a mountain, or a tree, so that the way you interact with it feels connected to that concept. Then I use my background in graphic art to design the shape and patterns on the panel,’ the designer notes.

synthesizers for exploration

The collection of synthesizers resembles interactive landscapes more than technical control panels. Their flowing silhouettes, illustrated surfaces, and unconventional layouts encourage touching, turning, and patching before the user fully understands what each control does. Madkids Empire’s instruments are designed to lower the threshold for experimentation through interfaces that remain structured without demanding previous musical knowledge.

‘I think of my synthesisers as tools for pure sound experiments,’ Xam shares with us. ‘I design the interface to be structured and intuitive, rather than demanding technical knowledge. With this kind of interface, traditional music training is not so important. What matters more is that the player is curious and willing to explore an unfamiliar system, and to create or experiment with their own structures and sounds.’

‘When they hear a sound they like, they have made their own patch, something they came up with themselves. The fun of exploring an unknown system and getting various organic sounds in return is what I want to emphasise in my work,’ they add.

Designing playful interfaces for experimental sound

The interfaces often rely on suggestions without explaining every function through technical language. Symbols, graphics, and Chinese words replace familiar synthesizer terminology, encouraging players to understand each control through experience instead of instruction. ‘I think the playful quality of my work comes mainly from the interface design,’ Xam explains. ‘It gives graphical visual feedback that either hints at or clearly shows the functions and structure of the synthesiser. I usually prefer hinting, because in an organic, integrated circuit you can’t really describe what any single component does using standard synthesiser terminology; every knob and switch works together with the others.’

‘The best you can do is to use a conceptual word to describe and metaphorically explain the effect of a change. That’s also why I like to use Chinese as the annotation language for my synthesiser functions. I believe Chinese has a high information density and often carries multiple layers of abstract meaning.’ the designer highlights.

Instead of reading a manual, users gradually construct their own understanding through trial and response. ‘Users understand each concept by experimenting on the hardware and getting feedback. I find this cycle of playing and responding very close to a game-like exploration, and it also encourages users to discover more of what the machine can do. In that sense, sound becomes something you can dig into, and that makes the whole process feel more exploratory,’ they continue.

How nature shapes analogue instruments

For Madkids Empire, playful interaction becomes a way of learning how an unfamiliar system behaves. Every adjustment changes the relationships inside the circuit, making the instrument feel less like a tool to operate than a landscape to explore. Although the finished objects appear conceptual, the development process usually starts with the electronics themselves. The circuit determines what kinds of interactions become possible before visual narratives emerge around them. ‘In my own process, I start with the circuit itself. I think most synthesiser designers do that first, because it decides what kind of sounds the instrument can make and how the user can interact with it,’ Madkids Empire’s founder notes.

Occasionally, however, an idea arrives first. That was the case with Lake, one of Madkids Empire’s latest synthesizers, whose design began with the image of sounds gathering together like a swarm before gradually shaping the electronics. ‘I was thinking about the idea of sounds gathering in groups, like a swarm. From that basic idea I kept adding more.’ Nature once again provided both metaphor and structure. ‘I got a lot of inspiration from nature; for instance, a lake is made of many water drops. In the circuit, I used eight analogue filters that modulate each other, creating water-drop-like sounds that also match the swarm idea I wanted to explore.’ Even the instrument’s internal modules continue the story. ‘The Starmap module in Lake came from the visual of a starry sky above a lake: stars guide the water drops, just like a quantiser that maps filter frequencies to a chosen scale.’ Not every decision follows strict logic. ‘Sometimes I name things just because they feel right; I can’t really explain why, but they just fit,’ the designer adds.

Why chaos matters in sound synthesis

Throughout Madkids Empire’s work, unpredictability remains central, though Xam distinguishes between randomness and chaos. ‘I see unpredictability in two ways: randomness and chaos. Randomness is a data stream you can’t predict at all. Chaos is the highly complex data that comes from a system where many parameters are tightly connected, kind of like the three-body problem,’ the designer says. ‘Between the two, I prefer chaos, because it responds to what the user does and is very sensitive, whereas randomness takes away all control.’

That responsiveness is precisely what interests him. ‘In almost all my work I use chaos, because it gives feedback but also easily gets out of control, and I like that a lot,’ Xam shares with designboom. Lately, however, their research has begun moving between two sonic extremes: chaotic noise and stable musical tones. ‘At the same time, I’m starting to think about how to control chaos, because it’s one extreme of sound. The other extreme is musical tone, a very harmonious and predictable sound.’ They hope future instruments will allow players to travel continuously between both conditions. ‘If a device only moves a little along that line, it becomes either a noise machine or a tonal instrument. In recent years, I’ve wanted to make instruments that can go from one extreme to the other, so they can do both noise and tonal music.’

The future of musical interaction starts with curiosity

For now, Madkids Empire remains firmly rooted in analog synthesis, a medium Xam still believes contains unexplored possibilities. But they also see each project as part of a longer investigation into how people engage with sound itself. ‘For now, I plan to keep focusing on circuit-based sound synthesis. It’s the medium I’m most familiar with, and I think there’s still a lot to explore. But in the future, I’ll keep learning about other new ways of interacting with sound and other media, to gather ideas and plant seeds for later synthesiser designs.’

Madkids Empire builds environments that invite wandering through objects between synthesizer, sculpture, and game, asking users to slow down, experiment, and discover unexpected relationships between touch, sound, and form. 

project info:

name: Madkids Empire | @madkidsempire

founder & designer: Xam

This interview is part of designboom’s PLAY chapter, exploring what would happen if form didn’t follow function, but pleasure. Discover more stories that celebrate joy, imagination and playfulness here.