Synth Designer Tatsuya Takahashi Leaving his Role at KORG

The man who brought the boutique magic back to KORG will be transitioning from his role on February 17. In his message below, he mentions a few key points, one, it's been 10 years since he started at KORG, two, he will be switching to an advisory role for KORG, but will not being going to competitors, and three, he will be moving from Tokyo to Cologne to explore new endeavors. I may be wrong, but the way the following is written, it sounds like he will be switching from being a full time employee of KORG to an independent contractor for KORG.

Here is his message:

"THANK YOU!!!

It's been a good ten years at Korg!

A few years after starting at the office, Tada and I, over a cigarette break, started shooting ideas around for a battery powered pocket analog synth. The monotron was the humble beginnings of what became a mission to make synthesizers fun, exciting and accessible again. To give synthesizers back to the people. To make synthesizers less snobby. To open up creative opportunities. To get people interested in electronic sound and see some kind of light in creating their own sound using technology amidst a world that is inundated with it.

monotrons, monotribe, volcas, minilogue, monologue, some reissues, SQ-1, littleBits synth kit - we put out a lot of gear.

After a blur of 21 products we released over seven years, I look at the world of synthesizers and it's a pretty cool place. I see kids getting their first taste of synths with the volcas. I meet people who have their dormant synth passion rekindled by the minilogue. And it's not just Korg. The whole industry has set out to achieve this common goal.

The name volca comes from the German word Volk: 'the people' or 'crowd'. Like Volkswagen 'the people's car', the volcas are 'the people's synth'. I have fond memories of meeting Mike Banks and being told how the volcas reached poverty-stricken youths in Detroit. That manufacturers have to take responsibility for the social implications of putting out gear.

On the 17th of February I will be leaving my full time position at Korg and will sidestep to advisor. I will also be moving out of Tokyo to Cologne to explore new areas where sound and technology can have positive social implications. I won't be going to any of the competition, but rather will be shifting direction of my main line of work while at the same time guiding the now super team at Korg venture into the future.

I am hugely indebted to everyone in engineering (my super duper team will keep designing the best of the best), production (love you all in Vietnam we did this together!), sales (job well done), marketing (fun times making those movies), distribution / dealers (essential work the world over), media (you guys got the word out) and most of all the musicians out there who are creating music with our synths - without you our work is meaningless.

THANK YOU

it's been a ton of fun. more to come.

Tats"

KORG's Tatsuya ‘Tats’ Takahashi Returns to KORG as CEO of KORG Germany

via https://korg-germany.de

"KORG Germany is the new Berlin subsidiary of KORG.

Our instruments will be developed not only by the core team we are building, but also through per project partnerships and collaborations.

We are the flux, and the fabric it passes through.

TATSUYA TAKAHASHI
CEO"

They are hiring.

Tats is credited with bringing back analog at KORG, so this will be interesting. It's worth noting Behringer recently hired KORG's Hiroaki Nishijima.

Check out previous posts featuring Tatsuya Takahashi here.

Korg - New Music Always OKGO contest - "Tats up the Volume"

Published on Apr 7, 2016 Arrayzable

"This is my entry for the Korg - New Music Always OKGO contest.
The trackname is 'Tats up the Volume'
As always live play with synths and sequencers.

Used in this track:
Korg Volca Bass
Korg Volca Keys
Korg Electribe EMX-1
Korg Minilogue
Korg MS-20 mini"

A Synth Cookbook for Actual Food?

Apparently so. You can find a free download at the top of https://korg-germany.de (permalink)

The Pyjama Cookbook A guide to self-feeding by KORG Germany and friends.

Learn out to make a mean Margarita from Sequential's Dave Smith, and a cheese toasty from Korg's Tats, amongst others:

- Alison Tavel: Smokey Maple Whiskey Quarantinis
- Alison Tavel: Do-It-Yourself Dumplings
- Alva Noto: Japanese Cucumber Salad
- Afrorack: DIY Yet To Be Named Breakfast
- Carys Huws: Orange-Infused Cold Brew Coffee
- Dave Smith: Margarita
- Deradoorian: Palak Paneer
- Dorian Concept: Potato-“Sterz” With Oven-Roasted Radish
- Fumio Mieda: Raw Egg On Rice
- Ģirts Ozoliņš: Spring Chicken In Vegetable Pyjama Under Couscous Blanket
- Gudrun Gut: “Widerstandskräftebrei”
- Hiele: Boon Bootje 34 Interstellar Funk: Dutch Apple Pie
- Joan La Barbara: “Available Ingredients” With Morton Subotnick
- Loopop: Dark Chocolate Cookies With Face Melting White Chocolate Core
- Lydia Glup: Gomasio (Japanese Seasoned Sesame Salt)
- Marco Passarani: Pasta e Fagioli
- Mark Verbos: Carnitas Tacos
- Matias Aguayo: Original Panamericano Fish Taco
- Maximilian Rest: Sunday Raisin Buns
- Peter Kirn: Lebanese Mujaddara with Riz
- Piotr Raczyński: Polish Sour
- Solitary Dancer: Pasta Vongole
- Solitary Dancer: Smash Burger
- Suzanne Ciani: Special Sunday Dinner – Pasta Alla Genovese
- Tatsuya Takahashi: Cheese Toasty
- Thomas Fehlmann: Swissy Spicy Pizza
- Objekt: Lightning Fast Soda Bread
- Václav Peloušek: Sunflower Gnocchi With Dried Tomatoes For Two
- Verena Glup: Golden Soup


Intro from Korg's Tatsuya Takahashi:

"The Pyjama Cookbook A guide to self-feeding by KORG Germany and friends.

As our small team of Verena, Lydia, Max and I clamber to get KORG Germany off the ground, we occasionally swap cooking recipes. What a lifesaver. Because who isn’t tired of their own cooking by now? And why not collect more and share? The aim of The Pyjama Cookbook is to share the favourite concoctions from our friends from all parts of music, in the hope of instilling solidarity and encouraging friendship during these extraordinary times. Well. It’s also just for laughs. Have fun."

Tatsuya Takahashi

And Dave's Margarita :)

Designing Joy: an Interview with Korg.Berlin CEO Tatsuya Takahashi

via Perfect Circuit

"Tatsuya Takahashi, widely known as 'Tats', is a name that resonates loudly among sound synthesis enthusiasts and professionals. Over the last decade, his innovative mindset has been instrumental in resurrecting the popularity of analog synthesis, crafting a unique sonic landscape that blends tradition with novelty. Takahashi was been the creative engine behind some of Korg's most celebrated modern instruments, including the Monotron, the Volca series, and the Monologue and Minilogue synthesizers."

You can find the full interview at Perfect Circuit.

The following a few excerpts.

"I do have a guiding philosophy. I need to talk about the values that are present now, and how different they are from when I started. Obviously, I was naturally drawn to music tech, I have always loved circuits, instruments, and synthesizers. So initially, when I started working at Korg, which was my first "real" job after working in restaurants and bars, I was entirely focused on doing my job well.

As you mention, this period coincided with the revival of analog synthesizers, and I like to think that I played a role in that amongst other members of the industry. However, back then, it was more about doing well in my job and fulfilling my passion. The vision or the philosophy wasn't as defined then as it is today.

Now, at 40, I have a different perspective. I look back at the 23 products I worked on while in Tokyo and try to understand what made my job fulfilling. Apart from my affinity for design, art, music, and the very act of creating—of being and doing, I realized that there was also an important external element that stimulated me, and that was the joy that the users derived from my designs." "If you look at the MS-20, there were very few people involved in that project. The people responsible for the specs, the electrical design, the mechanical design, and the manual were probably the same two or three people. They just operated using general design principles.

Such an approach brings a certain consistency and purity to the product. Of course, if you are working on a complex product like a workstation keyboard, you need a large team to cover all the layers. However, I romanticize this early era of hardware design where everything was unified. If you look at an old Siemens mic pre, everything from the latch that takes it out of the rack to a three-dimensional puzzle of transformers and vacuum tubes to electrical, mechanical industrial design—all these considerations combined together. It is the same idea here, we try to break the boundaries between different disciplines and just see it as one thing."

"Korg.Berlin is nearly three years old, and we are a subsidiary of Korg Inc. Our function is to conduct R&D for new musical instruments. We diverge from the main office in that we have a different product planning procedure. We work directly with things, and we try in physical form what ideas might work. By the nature of that, we are a bit more explorative.

Our operation specifically aims to do things differently from the way it is currently done in Tokyo and Asia as a whole, including the manufacturing infrastructure. Having spent a wonderful decade building mainly analog synthesizers, it was important for me personally to do something different here. The team in Tokyo carry on with that work, and they are super good at it. So there is no point in us doing the same thing. That is why we need a different approach, a different technology, a different appeal, and consequently, we need a different branding. That is why we have our own logo, and we identify ourselves as Korg.Berlin. These are some of the things that make us different.

Looking into the future, we feel that some form of this acoustic synthesis that we unveiled at Superbooth this year will be at the core of our forthcoming products, or even multiple product lines."

Superbooth 2023: Korg Berlin - Prototype Acoustic Synthesizer

video upload by sonicstate

"Tatsuya Takahashi (Tats) continues to innovate from his labs at Korg Berlin, he revealed their latest innovation - acoustic synthesis. Tats explained that Korg Berlin has developed metal resonators that are designed to contain frequencies that are pleasing to the ear. The resonators move in complex ways when stimulated, with the fundamental frequency creating a sense of pitch. Korg Berlin uses an electromagnetic system to move the resonators, similar to the hammer in a piano. The company then uses capacitive pickups to capture the movement and feed it into a feedback control system, allowing them to manipulate and sustain specific overtones and frequencies. Korg Berlin showcased an early prototype of the technology, which they called the acoustic"

A Conversation With Tats of Korg Berlin - Acoustic Synthesizer

video upload by True Cuckoo

"Learn more about Korg Berlin
https://korg.berlin"

Meet The Makers: Tatsuya "Tats" Takahashi

Published on Feb 28, 2017 sonicstate

"If you're into synths on anything more than a casual basis, chances are you've heard of Tatsuya 'Tats' Takahashi. His involvement with the rise of the affordable analog cannot be underestimated. During his time at Korg, he has been instrumental in the new wave of affordable mass produced analog synthesizers that we've come to expect."