Magnetic Fields May Explore Brave Newer World Of Synthesizers

Soon after completing his magnum opus, 69 Love Songs, The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt abandoned the use of synthesizers in his music, an instrument that had become as ingrained in the band's sound as Merritt's own baritone and irony-laden lyrics.

But now, after completing his self-described "no synth trilogy" with the release of Realism (2004's i and 2008's Distortion made up the other two-thirds) earlier this month, Merritt is dropping hints that synths might find their way back into his music.

"As a synthesizer player I was always expecting a new sound, to be able to make a new sound," he says, explaining his original reason for dropping the instrument. "I think the technology in synthesizers had stopped changing and there was nothing new to work with."

Now, Merritt says there are new synths out on the market.

"I'm buying them and really enjoying them," he says. "They don't sound like the old ones."

Merritt doesn't chalk up the changes to new, more advanced technology but cites Reed Ghazala's Circuit Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments book instead. Ghazala's described as "the father of circuit bending," and explains how to turn any circuit into a makeshift musical instrument.

"They're being designed by artists and not by manufacturers," he says of the new models. "[Ghazala] is showing people how to tinker together something that has a manufactured basis but is itself handmade."

Only time will tell if these new artist-made synthesizers will find their way onto future Magnetic Fields albums, or if fans unhappy with the band's recent efforts will like what they hear. But it's certainly a step in the right direction.

You can see The Magnetic Fields here:

Feb. 13 Brooklyn, NY @ Gilman Opera House at Brooklyn Academy Of Music
Feb. 21-22 Portland, OR @ The Aladdin Theater
Feb. 23-24 Seattle, WA @ Town Hall Seattle
Feb. 27 Oakland, CA @ The Fox Oakland
March 1 San Francisco, CA @ Herbst Theatre
March 2 Los Angeles, CA @ Wilshire Ebell Theatre
March 4 Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
March 5 Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk Chumley Theater
March 6 St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
March 7-8 Chicago, IL @ Harris Theater at Millennium Park
March 10-12 New York, NY @ Town Hall
March 19 Manchester, England @ Manchester Cathedral
March 21 Leamington Spa, England @ The Assembly
March 22 London, England @ Barbican Centre
March 24 Stockholm, Sweden @ Filadelfiakyrkan
March 25 Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
March 27 Berlin, Germany @ Babylon
March 29 Hamburg, Germany @ Fabrik
March 30 Frankfurt, Germany @ Mounsonturm
March 31 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ De Duif Prinsengracht 756