Canadian musician Angie Coombes produced music with brainwaves on the massive analog synthesizer TONTO

Canadian musician Angie Coombes produced music using brainwaves on the famous synthesizer TONTO, produced 52 years ago.

According to the statements of Coombes, who participated in the podcast program of the Canadian broadcaster CBC, the artist’s brainwaves were transformed into voltage by means of an equipment placed on his head and transmitted to TONTO with the help of a computer to activate the parameters. The recordings of the successful trial on TONTO at the National Music Center in Calgary will be used in the artist’s new album. Coombes described the trial made on an analog synthesizer TONTO, produced more than 50 years ago, as a “world first”.

Brainwaves formed by different emotions and thoughts manipulate the volume, note frequency and tempo in the synthesizer. The more intricate and complex the thoughts are, the stronger the effect on the resulting sound.

TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra), produced by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, was purchased by the Calgary National Music Center in 2013 and worked through an extensive restoration.

Click to listen to Angie Coombes’ detailed explanations about the trial on the CBC podcast.