Join award-winning music app developer Matthew Fecher for an interview with Roger Linn, a GRAMMY® Award winner for Lifetime Technical Achievement whose innovations have shaped the music industry for over four decades.
This interview is a part of “Music Tech Mondays,” a semester-long interview series open to the public featuring discussions with music tech innovators, Grammy winners, and industry leaders across the globe.
Hosted in the Informatics and Technology Communications Complex room 071, the virtual interview with Roger Linn on September 23 at 7 p.m. will focus on music tech icons.
Speaker information:
Roger Linn, Music Tech Visionary / GRAMMY winner / Creator of the LM-1 (the first digital drum machine), the MPC (Music Production Center) Sampler, Linnstrument, LinnDrum
Linn is best known as the creator of the world’s first digital drum machine, the LM-1 Drum Computer, whose groundbreaking work has left an indelible mark on popular music. His instruments can be heard in the songs of legendary artists like Prince, Sting, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Depeche Mode, and Michael Jackson. Linn’s legendary drum machines, such as the LinnDrum and Linn 9000, revolutionized music production by combining digital sampling and sequencing. Songs like “Thriller,” “Beat It,” and “When Doves Cry” are just a few of the iconic tracks powered by Roger Linn’s drum machines.
His collaboration with Akai on the MPC (Music Production Center) series became the backbone of hip-hop, electronic, and pop music. Hip-hop owes a particular debt to the MPC, with artists like André 3000 of OutKast even naming himself after the MPC 3000 — a testament to its iconic status. Producers such as J Dilla, Kanye West, Flying Lotus, and Metro Boomin have all used the MPC as their main instrument.
Today, Roger continues to push the boundaries with his latest invention, the LinnStrument. This advanced MIDI controller uses MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) technology, providing musicians with an unprecedented level of control over pitch, tone, and expression. It allows artists to play digital instruments with the same expressiveness as acoustic ones, moving beyond simple “on/off switches” in electronic music to a new realm of creativity and freedom.
More about the presenter:
Matthew Fecher is an award-winning music app developer, recognized for creating more #1 charting music apps in Apple’s App Store than anyone in history. His trailblazing work includes the creation of AudioKit Synth One, one of the most popular Synthesizers for iPad. Serving as an iOS AudioKit core-team member, his code powers the audio and music in over 200+ million app installs.
Matthew’s innovations are enjoyed by emerging artists to legends like Herbie Hancock to hit-makers for Sting, Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar, M83, Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Jay-Z, Tycho, and more. You’ve likely even swayed to his code in Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” a Billboard Song of the Year!