What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?
Here we have a vintage 1980s Omnichord! It’s a musical instrument, kinda like a cross between an Autoharp and a Casio.
How did you come across this particular item?
My friend Dean Manning was playing one in his band Holidays On Ice. I heard that distinctive, jangly glissando and fell in love instantly. My boyfriend bought me this one on our first Christmas together (he knows the way to this girl’s heart: obscure vintage electronic instruments!).
What is it that you like so much about it?
There’s so much to like! There is a touch pad that you swipe with your finger to generate the strumming glissando sound of the chords. There are keypads for each chord in the 12 tone scale, including major, minor, minor 7, major 7, dominant 7, augmented, and diminished – so like it says in the accompanying brochure: “now you can play all the chords.” Its battery operated and not much bigger than an A4 sheet of paper, so it’s a fun and portable addition to my solo set.
How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?
I use it sparingly in my live shows, because it has such a unique sound and I think it benefits from being used just a couple of times in key spots. Also, not enough research has been done into the overuse of Omnichords in live performances – there is always the chance that the sheer awesomeness of it could cause a small fissure to appear in the time/space continuum, and this would have devastating consequences for life as we know it in this dimension.
Any other interesting points about it?
The sound of the Omnichord was a big influence on the production palette for my forthcoming second album Astral Debris. I played it on a lot of the early song demos.
When’s the next show?
I’m launching Astral Debris at The Toff In Town on Thursday 25 August.
For more info and tour dates, head to the official Georgia Fields Facebook Page.
