Suzanne Ciani: The Buchla's Orchestral Homecoming

This week, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on five-time Grammy-nominated composer Suzanne Ciani.

Suzanne has spent decades innovating electronic music on the Buchla synthesizer, an instrument as intimate to her as any acoustic musician's.

Suzanne has multiple projects out this year: CIANI/ORKEST, a live album with the fifty-piece Metropole Orkest, conducted by Simon Dobson; a collaborative live album with British electronic producer Actress; and the score for John Wilson's idiosyncratic new documentary, The History of Concrete.

We talk about why an artist who's needed total control throughout her career said yes to an orchestra, a producer, and a filmmaker all in one year, what it's like hearing an instrument built for one pair of hands answered by fifty more, and her pet peeve about volume at live shows.

(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Suzanne Ciani’s CIANI/ORKEST)

—

Dig Deeper

Artist and Album:

• Visit Suzanne Ciani at sevwave.com and follow on Instagram and YouTube; her catalog is on Bandcamp.
• Purchase CIANI/ORKEST on quadraphonic vinyl from AKP Recordings and digitally from Bandcamp or Qobuz. You can also listen on your streaming platform of choice.

Collaborators:

• Metropole Orkest — the 50-piece orchestra behind CIANI/ORKEST.
• Simon Dobson — composer and conductor of the album.
• Actress and Suzanne Ciani, Concrète Waves (Werkdiscs) — on Bandcamp, with coverage from The Quietus.

Instruments and Makers:

• Buchla U.S.A. — the modular synthesizer at the center of Ciani's work, designed by Don Buchla.

Film:

• The History of Concrete (dir. John Wilson, 2026), which Ciani scored — film page on Letterboxd.

Live and Catalog:

• Age of Reflections — the immersive concert series behind Ciani's cathedral performances.
• Seven Waves — on Bandcamp.

—

• Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com

—

• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

• Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice.

• Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

• Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.