First teased in a cryptic and cosmic-themed Instagram post last week, Soma Laboratory has now revealed its latest device, Messeiver.
In typical Soma fashion, Messeiver is an oddball creation that’s hard to categorise – part shortwave radio, part ambient soundscape machine, its creator describes it as “an irrational device for exploring the world of primal, wild radio reception.”
Essentially, Messeiver is a shortwave radio receiver, capable of receiving frequencies from around the world. Where it differs from a classic analogue radio, however, is in the fact that it lacks a tuning circuit at the input stage – ie the thing you would typically use to focus on a specific signal or radio station (readers under the age of 35 may need to ask a grownup to explain this).
Instead, Messeiver ‘tunes in’ to a wide range of frequencies simultaneously, creating a soundscape from the combined results. As Soma explains in the introductory video – which you can watch above – the transmission of radio waves around the globe is influenced by a vast array of parameters, from clouds, pollution and geographic features, to solar activity and cosmic radiation.
This results in constant variation in Messeiver’s concoction of radio signals or, as Soma puts it, “signals from radio stations become ocean waves” that rise and fall based on “global and local phenomenon”, all mixed together by a “non-human cosmic DJ”.
Messeiver itself comes housed in a classy-looking wooden body tooled out with ‘luxury vintage’ components including brass inlay, wide range old school speaker, custom coil, NOS germanium diodes and vintage neon bulb. Whether you’d find it sonically useful or not, it would certainly be a stylish addition to any living room.
Its interface features a central volume knob, four antenna inputs and an array of switches. The device’s manual is somewhat cryptic about what these switches actually do, choosing to make references to Roman and Sumerian gods rather than specific functionality, but they appear to alter the tonality and blend of antenna inputs.
On that front, it’s worth noting that Messeiver doesn’t include an antenna in the unit itself, but attaching and experimenting with different DIY antennas – which can be created with any piece of wire or even household objects – is intended as part of the fun.
Soma has form when it comes to these kinds of esoteric music-making tools. The company has previously released devices including Terra, a synth built into a tree stump, looping soundscape machine Cosmos, and another radio receiver called Ether, which is like a compact precursor to Messeiver.
Despite the eccentric designs, Soma gear has no shortage of fans – the brand’s ‘organismic’ synth and drum machines Lyra-8 and Pulsar-23 are seen as modern classics, with fans including the likes of Surgeon, Floating Points and, as of last week, Four Tet.
Messeiver is priced at €520 excluding tax. How appealing this all sounds will likely depend on personal taste; you may well be thinking this sounds like exactly what you need to finish your next ambient album, or that €520 is a lot of money for a half-functioning radio. Either way, you can find more information and fill out an order form at the Soma Laboratory site.
