Matt Berry – Music for Insomniacs

Listed on the back cover of Witchazel and visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs and the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV. It is also mentioned in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.

Among Berry’s workhorse synths are his Minimoogs, Korg MS‑20, Prophet 6, ARP Odyssey and Solina, and Roland Jupiter‑4. Meanwhile, in the newer analogue synth department, he’s the proud owner of both Korg’s ARP 2600 FS and KMR’s Antonus 2600, along with the Arturia MatrixBrute. His latest acquisition is a Roland Jupiter‑X, which he clearly loves.

Mentioned in this March 7, 2011 Roland & Boss TV interview at 4:59. It can also be seen in this picture used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs.

So, I've got a Promars now, but that's just from seeing them, you know, on like, Top of the Pops as a kid... and a Jupiter-4, I haven't got a Jupiter-8... But yeah, you know, I love their keyboards.

Mentioned in this March 7, 2011 Roland & Boss TV interview at 4:59. It can also be seen in this picture used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs and this picture from this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview and the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV.

So, I've got a Promars now, but that's just from seeing them, you know, on like, Top of the Pops as a kid... and a Jupiter-4, I haven't got a Jupiter-8... But yeah, you know, I love their keyboards.

Visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs and the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV. It is also mentioned in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.

Around the same time, Berry began collecting then‑unfashionable analogue synths, picking them up incredibly cheaply through classified ads. “I got a [Yamaha] CS‑60 for 200 quid,” he marvels. “I got a CS‑10 and a load of analogue synths. What was always quite funny was that there’d be things like ‘Jupiter‑8. Will swap for a DX7’. You think, ‘Well, you fucking wouldn’t do that now.’

“But for me it was amazing. I wanted analogue synths because I’d seen Jean‑Michel Jarre surrounded by these keyboards that had loads of knobs, dials and sliders. That was the coolest sound. I didn’t think there was anything cool about a DX7.”

Visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs and mentioned in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.

Among Berry’s workhorse synths are his Minimoogs, Korg MS‑20, Prophet 6, ARP Odyssey and Solina, and Roland Jupiter‑4. Meanwhile, in the newer analogue synth department, he’s the proud owner of both Korg’s ARP 2600 FS and KMR’s Antonus 2600, along with the Arturia MatrixBrute. His latest acquisition is a Roland Jupiter‑X, which he clearly loves.

“It’s gorgeous,” he enthuses. “I’ve got a Juno‑6 and I thought, ‘There’s no way this thing is going to be able to do that stuff and the kind of Jupiter‑8 stuff.’ But it honestly does. I can’t tell the difference. It is basically like having all those early Junos and Jupiters in one synth. I know that sounds like some cod advertising speak, but it is… and that’s what I wanted.”

Two can be seen on the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV, while one is visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs.

Visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs and the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV.

Two can be seen on the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV, while one is visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs.

One is visible in this October 2, 2010 photo from Future Music and this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs, while two can be seen on the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV. It is also mentioned in this December 2020 Sound on Sound interview.

Berry had in the ’90s also collected similarly unfashionable drum machines. “One of the first things that I wanted was a Korg Mini Pops [7] because of Jean‑Michel Jarre,” he recalls. “And I got two of those, for like, 100 quid. And I got a [Roland] CR‑78 [CompuRhythm] for, I think, £250. ’Cause back then no one wanted that. It was this big sort of wooden box, it wasn’t portable and it kind of looked like a microwave, I suppose, compared to small drum machines then.” The appeal for him of these beatboxes, he says, was the warmth of the sounds. “Yeah, they’ve got natural compression and stuff. You don’t need to add a lot. They kind of have all their warmth.”

Visible in this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs and the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV.

One is visible in this October 2, 2010 photo from Future Music and this photo used for the back cover of Music for Insomniacs, while two can be seen on the back cover of Music for Insomniacs Part IV.