October 4, 2026

Retro-futurist homage to Wendy Carlos on new Jean-Marc Lederman album ‘The Bad-Tempered Synthesizer’ with sleeve notes by Daniel Miller (Mute Records)

Retro-futurist homage to Wendy Carlos on new Jean-Marc Lederman album 'The Bad-Tempered Synthesizer' with sleeve notes by Daniel Miller (Mute Records)
🇺🇦 Side-Line stands with Ukraine - Show your Support

Jean-Marc Lederman has recorded a retro-futurist homage to an iconic 1969 album by Wendy Carlos: “The Bad-Tempered Synthesizer”. The physical release holds a rather interesting 21x21cm 3D cover which you can check out below. The album features 12 tracks, all original except the last one, “that one is by some random guy called JS Bach or something” says Jean-Marc Lederman. Daniel Miller (from Mute Records) has also penned the sleeve notes.

We asked Jean-Marc what is behind the concept: “”The Bad Tempered Synthesizer” idea came after seeing the sleeve of the iconic 1969 Wendy Carlos album called “The Well Tempered Synthesizer”. I began to think about it and came with a concept that was both funny and interesting to me: how about making an album where every song would be one semitone and 4 bpm less than the previous one? That meant starting from C at 92 bpm and finishing at C# nearly one octave lower and at 48 bpm…Intriguing, no?”

Lederman also re-created the artwork as you can see below, but there is more…

The release is out as a download and as a physical release via Bandcamp, the later is holding the below 3D print.

You can check the full album below.

Side-Line also covered Jean-Marc Lederman’s ‘Night music for seahorses and manatees’.

Support Side-Line

More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.

Select a Donation Option (USD)

Enter Donation Amount (USD)
Why we ask

Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.

Handled by PayPal.