Erkki Kurenniemen sähkösoittimet

The article presents early electronic music instruments designed by Erkki Kurenniemi in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Kurenniemi’s instruments were influenced by digital logic and an experimental approach to user interface design. The first half of the article presents an historical overview of Kurenniemi’s career as a synthesizer designer and his instruments. The second half concentrates in detailed description of technology used in these instruments. Kurenniemi’s instruments are also compared with other contemporary synthesizer designs, such as Moog and Buchla. Suggested topics for further studies include detailed study of music composed with Kurenniemi’s instruments and Kurenniemi’s user interface design from historical and technological point of view.