Synth historian Oli Freke: New drum machine book and a love for quality bicycles

Oli Freke, a musician and journalist whose works have appeared in Sound on Sound, The Quietus, and Mixmag, has released a new project: 'Beat Gems', a coffee-table visual history of drum machines from publisher Bjooks. Like other Bjooks titles, 'Beat Gems' is filled with gorgeous photos, historical tidbits, and practical advice on using drum machines, from vintage Roland TR-808 to modern oddities like Erica Synths' Pērkons. Freke previously wrote a book tracing synthesizer evolution from 1963 to 1995, charting the analog-to-digital shift.

In an interview, Freke reveals his personal preferences. The first app he installs on a new computer is Ableton Live, a music software he finds remarkable. His most-used social platform is YouTube, where he watches science, math, chess, and electronic music content. The most disappointing gadget he's owned: vegetable choppers, which never work properly. His fondest game memory is 'Elite' on the Atari ST, praising its creative world-building with limited memory.

Asked what he wishes he had created, Freke says as a musician, a song the whole world loves – until he gets sick of it. The best advice he received from his father: 'Say yes to any opportunity – worry about whether you can do it later.' His current obsession is drum machines, researched for 'Beat Gems', reminding him of rhythm's primacy in human music. To focus, he listens to drum'n'bass on www.rinse.fm/kool. When stuck, he recalls the infinite combinations of ideas, once proving 82 quintillion 10-note melodies from eight notes. His last physical media purchase was the vinyl soundtrack to 'Resynator', a film about a rare synth and a daughter's quest. He says it's worth splurging on a high-quality road bicycle, as the difference from a run-of-the-mill bike is vast. His biopic tagline: 'Watch a man type words into a computer. For ages. Then watch him make music on a computer. Also for ages.'