Contributors

Ari is Sr. Manager, Brand Storytelling Copy and Editorial for Roland. He lives in Seattle with his wife and dogs and enjoys the woods, rain, and coffee of his region.

In addition to being a DJ and music producer, Alexander is key writer for Insomniac.com, the editorial arm of North America's largest dance music event producer.

Arielle Silver is an LA-based singer-songwriter, literary writer, and yoga teacher. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets. Her latest album, A Thousand Tiny Torches, is out now.

Heywood is a lifelong Californian who now splits time between Los Angeles and the high desert. He is co-founder of the record label Chain Letter Collective and founded Chain Letter Press as a publishing home for both his creative output and copywriting. He lives with his spouse and their dog, Scully.

Brian Lamb AKA Unit:E is a Roland Cloud Academy instructor and admin of the MC-707 and MC-101 Facebook user group. As a DJ, he's participated in countless events across Hawaii and the West Coast.

Charles “BLVK Samurai” Burchell is a music producer, rapper, multi-instrumentalist, and educator from New Orleans, Louisiana.

An MI veteran, Clint was one of the founders of Emagic North America and worked at both Apple and Line 6. A passionate music fan, he heads The New Music Collective.

When Daniel isn't giving tutorials or leading workshops, you can find him spinning at venues around Southern California.

Darren is Percussion Product Manager for Roland Canada. He loves motorcycles, loud drums, and the great outdoors.

David is Music Marketing Leader for Roland Australia. Through his experience as a radio programmer and DJ, he brings quick thinking and instinctive market knowledge to build strong connections.

An LA-based booking agent with This Is Who We Are Now, Emily organizes Record Club Los Angeles, Presence, and many other events. Her work appears in L.A. Record and Razorcake .

Eric is a freelance pop culture blogger with bylines in Rolling Stone, Vice, Pitchfork, and Nylon. He is also a DJ, producer, and pro-wrestling critic.

Evan's work has appeared in a host of print and online publications, including Rolling Stone, Wired, The Fader, and Tenderly.

Francis Preve is an Austin-based music technology consultant and veteran producer whose discography includes Top 10 releases on Beatport and Billboard. His work as a professor includes developing curricula for the Texas state school system and serving on advisory boards for SXSW and The Moog Foundation.

Gino Sorcinelli is the writer, creator, and editor of Micro-Chop, a Substack newsletter that dissects beatmaking, DJing, music production, rapping, and sampling. His articles have appeared on Ableton, HipHopDX, Okayplayer, Passion of the Weiss, Red Bull Music Academy, and Reverb.

Greg Phillips is the editor of Australia’s longest-running musician magazine, Australian Musician. Greg has also worked as a freelance music writer for publications such as Guitar and Bass and Bass Player .

Harold Heath is a former DJ and producer who writes about music for DJ Mag, Mixmag, Attack Magazine, and others.

Web media on the topic of synthesizers and music production tools.

Jack is Digital Marketing Assistant at Roland Corporation Australia. He is passionate about video games music production and composition, so outside of work, you'll likely find him holed up somewhere playing games or making music.

Jake Uitti’s work appears in Interview, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, American Songwriter, The Seattle Times and other publications. The son of Ivy League professors, Jake grew up amidst tomes of French literature, but soulful meals, compelling conversation, and thoughtful music are his true loves.

Jamie is Artist Relations Manager for Roland Europe Group. A walking musical encyclopedia, he's also an avid trivia fan with interests in numerous areas.

Jason is the Editor-in-Chief of EDM.com. He also DJs and produces electronic music under the moniker Fluencee.

Jessi Brown is a writer who lives in Seattle and online. She’s been tinkering with technology for over 25 years and never stops thinking about how it’s made and how it affects people.

Jessica Roemischer is an award-winning pianist and storyteller, and a beloved teacher. In unique performance events, podcasts, and writings, Jessica uplifts the human spirit through the evocative power of word and music. New York-born and raised, she lives in Sydney, Australia. Find out more at www.pianobeautiful.com.

Jordan Blum resides in Philadelphia and holds an MFA in Fiction. He’s Editor-in-Chief of The Bookends Review, author of Jethro Tull: Every Album, Every Song and Dream Theater: Every Album, Every Song­, Associate Editor at PopMatters and a contributor to CoS, Kerrang!, Metal Injection, and PROG.

Joseph's work appears in NPR, VICE, Bandcamp, Noisey, SPIN, Consequence of Sound, and more. He is also a curator at Northwest Terror Fest.

Kaori is a music teacher and ex-Roland designer of digital pianos and auto-accompaniment systems.

Kat is a music and culture journalist with a decade of digital and print experience and a career emphasis in electronic dance. Bylines include Billboard Dance, Spin, MTV News, Discogs, Mixmag, Miami New Times and more.

A writer by fate, journalist by passion, and storyteller by vision. Bylines at: REVOLT, Grammys.com, Complex, Discogs, Vibe Magazine, Okayplayer, REVERB, and LEVEL Mag.

Kirsten Spruch is based in Los Angeles and works in creator partnerships, with a focus on entertainment and technology. She is also a journalist who has written for Billboard and more, covering stories from emerging trends to new music. When she's not writing about music, she's making her own under the alias Kirsten Izer.

Kristin Michael Robinson is a freelance music journalist, musician, entrepreneur, publicist, and graduate of USC's Thornton School of Music. Her work appears in Variety, Ones to Watch, Lady Gunn, and The Noise.

Lisa is Global Retail Relations Manager at Roland. She's also a lifelong musician with an extensive touring history and discography.

Lyle Crilly works with Roland's Global Artist Relations team and lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife and new puppy. He enjoys a good shot of caffeine in the morning, yurting, and Cumbia.

The unofficial poet laureate of Tacoma, WA, Martin Douglas is an essayist, critic, and longtime music journalist. He has written for Pitchfork, KEXP.org, Seattle Weekly, respected hip-hop blog Passion of the Weiss, and many others.

Matthew Presley is a Product Manager for Zenbeats and Roland Cloud. He lives in Austin, Texas where he plays with his band Bali Yaaah.

Mike is a musician, composer, and writer from Seattle. He is guitarist/vocalist in Reader and creates solo experimental music as Noonmoon.

Paul is SVP, Research & Innovation for Roland. Previously VP of Customer Experience for Roland Corporation, VP of Global Marketing, and with Roland Canada, he served in the roles of President & CEO, COO, Product Manager, Marketing Communications Manager, and more. Paul is a family man, composer, IT enthusiast, and science fiction fan.

Peter Kirn lives in Berlin and is editor of CDM.link. He is an electronic musician and technologist with a background in composition and musicology, producing both experimental and club music and speaking around the world about new expressive technologies.

Shay Leonia is a singer and songwriter from Englewood, NJ. She is a music industry consultant and social media manager at 44th Minute Media. Shay is obsessed with great music and decent coffee and hopes to one day perfect the art of Szechuan cooking.

Born and raised in Istanbul and now living in New York, SIRMA is a singer, songwriter, and music producer who blends alternative pop with electronica. She is the creator of the Modern Pop Vocal Production course on Soundfly and has a degree from Berklee College of Music. Find out more at sirmamusic.com.

Based in Bath, United Kingdom Stuart is a veteran music tech journalist for outlets like Music Radar, Total Guitar, and more. In addition to his many publication credits, he was the editor of Rhythm.

Christian is Director of Global Digital Marketing at Roland Corporation. If he had a professional memoir it would be titled, From Organic Chemistry to Organic Engagement. He lives in LA with his wife and daughter.

Hannah Lockwood is an audio engineer/electronic music producer from Sydney. Her live sets are a collision of noise and harmony centered on modular synthesis. Hannah co-founded the Deep Seeded collective, showcasing the local live electronic artists and DJs actively breaking the boundaries of contemporary music.

Mark is Roland Keys & Production Product Manager at Roland Corporation Australia. He has written and produced music for Universal Music recording artists, TV, theater, live shows, and theme parks, as well as being a successful recording artist himself.

Simon is a musician, drummer, software designer, sound engineer, and V-Drums Specialist for Roland Australia.