meet the orchid, a synthesizer by tame impala’s kevin parker

Retro-futuristic sounds with ‘the orchid’

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and his co-founded Telepathic Instruments release The Orchid, a synthesizer that can produce sounds from jazz and guitar chords to synth and retro-futurism. It’s the latter that resembles the sounds of the moon, which may be likened to tracks played over sci-fi movies. Out of these sounds, The Orchid’s design looks retro with its compact size, tiny round button controls, mini keyboard, wheel knobs, and the vintage-radio style. Onto the technical parts, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and his team add 12 velocity-sensitive keys to The Orchid.

This means that the small keyboard can still generate sounds like an 88-key piano by using these controls because they ‘spread’ the chord notes to make them sound like a real piano. Depending on how the musician presses on the velocity keys, they can also change how quiet or loud the sounds they want to produce (softer pressing for softer volume). The Orchid also comes with a ‘chord logic system’ so that the musician can mix and match nearly an infinite variety of chords. In this way, they don’t have to manually play each chord, but just hold and switch the pitch.

all images and video stills courtesy of Telepathic Instruments

Features of synthesizer co-created by tame impala’s kevin parker

Speaking of changing the pitch on The Orchid synthesizer, the musician can use the large knob beside the keyboard to switch it. It’s also the dial that can position the notes in the chords to create different voicings and arrangements, meaning the user can play with variations of a chord in seconds or by rotating it. Telepathic Instruments says that the voicing system they’ve put in allows the user to arrange or voice the chords. If they want to play all the notes close together, they can do so; if they want to spread them out instead across the piano keys, that also works.

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker – along with his co-makers Ignacio Germade, Chris Adams, Charl Laubscher, and Tom Cosm – add other tools to The Orchid for the ‘Performance’ modes. These can mimic the effect of guitar strums, loosen the timing or pitch of the sounds, break the chord into individual notes so they can be played in repetition, create a pattern of sounds, or replicate the effects of a harp. Musicians can also produce multiple notes at the same time, so they can create textured music. If they want to add more effects, they can make their songs sound like old-school analogue or more like vintage electric pianos. To produce the ‘moon’ sounds, they can fire up the ambient effects and throw in the modulation FX for layering.

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and his co-founded Telepathic Instruments release The Orchid

Portable and rechargeable synthesizer with MIDI port

The Orchid by Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Telepathic Instruments is also portable, given its compact size and also tangle-free wiring. For those who want to play it on the spot, the device comes with a built-in speaker, so they can jam out anywhere they go. It is also equipped with a rechargeable battery that can ‘last long,’ as the group describes, and the instrument can be charged using USB-C.

It is through this port that the musicians can also send chords in MIDI form straight to the digital audio workstation (DAW) without any changes, or even to a traditional 5-pin MIDI. Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker first conceived the idea of The Orchid over ten years ago. In December 2024, 1,000 units are set to be released for pre-sale of the then-just-an-idea synthesizer, with an expected delivery in 2025.

this Orchid synthesizer co-created by Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker can also produce jazz and guitar sounds