Its creators are award-winning company nu desine, which is based at the Pervasive Media Studio and is a member of the University of Bristol’s SETsquared business incubator centre. Its team has been taking orders since a prototype of the innovative instrument was demonstrated at a trade fair last year.
The first batch of AlphaSpheres has now been produced and models, which cost £1,000 each, are due to be shipped as far afield as Japan and the US, while a third will remain in the UK.
It’s the brainchild of Adam Place, who set-up nu desine to move music production away from the computer and back into the instrument. The AlphaSphere works by connecting to a computer or digital audio workstation (DAW) which plays music that the user can then manipulate through the 48 pressure sensitive pads.
Its unique shape and integration with responsive LED lighting has revolutionised the experience of electronic music, bringing together the realms of traditional instruments and technology.
Adam said: “We were overwhelmed by pre-orders pretty much as soon as we announced the device, and had to move quickly in order to satisfy them. Just a single prototype was enough to sell the concept to the world, so it’s going to be really interesting to find out what happens when there are a few more out there.”
Among the first high-profile musicians to use the AlphaSphere is Mercury award-winning composer Talvin Singh, who described it as ‘an incredible universe of an instrument which gives you the feeling to tailor-make tones, aesthetically and sonically, as well as allowing you the capacity to invest in more indigenous and rebellious scale systems’.
Talvin, who this year is releasing his first new solo album since the acclaimed ‘OK’, first met the team behind the AlphaSphere in late 2012 as part of a user testing program held at Pervasive Media Studio on Bristol's harbourside.
The first production run has taken place entirely in Bristol, though components have been sourced from across the world. The company is now transferring the production process to a facility in Hartlepool, which has a higher capacity than their Bristol headquarters.
Nick Sturge, Director of the Bristol SETsquared Centre, said: “The AlphaSphere has been an exciting project to work with over the last couple of years and we are delighted to see this shipping globally. Most of the companies we work with are 'born global' and this confirms it."
The AlphaSphere was played at BBC Radio 4’s More Than Words Listening Festival last year when MA Music student Victoria Bourne previewed four new pieces of music she wrote especially for the instrument.