Interface
Launching the innovative Cmpsr earlier this year, Digit Music are focused on creating an inclusive model of music production that allows those with physical restrictions to find their way into the joy of musical expression. We wanted to learn more…
: Firstly, we loved Cmpsr. How long had this controller been in the works, and what prompted you to develop it?
Si Tew: “The initial idea was really in 2018. It was all about recognising the need. I was working with individuals who had reduced access. A lot of instruments that were out there just weren’t really working for them. That was the initial spark. Owain and I have known each other for a long, long time. He was working in a slightly different side of things, but noticing similar issues. We thought we should bring a design to market that met those needs and allows people to get creating. Things really started picking up around 2020, that’s when we incorporated as a business and started to move things forward. By that point we’d already built a prototype and had been out working with people making music with it.” Owain Wilson: “As Si was saying, I came into this from a slightly more commercial aspect. I was working at Native Instruments at the time. Again, it was a similar thing. People were struggling to engage. We both felt that things didn’t have to be that complicated. We didn’t want to water down the experience for people. We talk about AI and things like that these days where you can just hit *do something* and software creates for you. As musicians that’s not what we wanted – musicians want involvement in the journey. So the idea was ‘how can we make something that keeps people completely in the driving seat’? Cmpsr assists with jumping over what might be a barrier for them. Either on a physical level or even on just an understanding level.
Whether it’s keyboard- or plugin-focused.” ST: “Both of us come from a live performance background. We’ve done live electronic music with lots of physical instruments. It was baking that all down to one device where you can control it all with just one finger. Hopefully we’re helping people jump over those barriers and they can see themselves as musicians.”
: Could you give our readers (who might have missed our review) a topdown overview of Cmpsr’s abilities?
ST: “It’s gaming technology with musical capabilities essentially. The way that we describe it is taking the power of a full keyboard – and the knowledge and music theory of someone who knows how to get the best out of that keyboard – distilled into a device you can play with one finger. The
