Landscape Moon is a new passively powered analog drone and rhythm synthesizer based on the concept of Noon.
Synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines all require electricity to produce sound. What if the control voltage and gate alone provided this power without the need for an active power source? The Noon synthesizer from the US company Landscape has been pursuing this idea since 2021.
Noon is an analog drone and rhythm synthesizer passively powered by CV signals. Moon is a smaller version of the larger Landscape Noon with a modified analog circuit.
landscape moon
Say hello to Moon, the little brother of the Landscape Noon synthesizer. Moon is a new 4-channel version of the analog drone and rhythm synthesizer. To achieve this, Landscape has once again teamed up with Eurorack module developer Eli Pechman from Mystic Circuits.
Moon uses the same technology as its larger 8-channel brother Noon. External CV and gate signals activate/power and momentarily modulate the circuit, causing it to oscillate and move naturally.
Depending on the source used (sequencer CV, LFO, envelopes, gate length, etc.) this will affect the behavior and sound of the instrument.
According to the developers, Moon has a darker tonality than Noon and features modified analog circuitry and voltage attenuation. So not just a smaller version, but also an independent instrument.
Every channel is unique
There are four channels that can be independently powered via dedicated inputs on the side. Each of the four channels is a unique analog circuit with its own characteristics and controls.
They are described as hybrid, consisting of a drum voice and a chaotic synthesizer voice, depending on how you drive and use them. For example, because each circuit has unique power loading characteristics, they respond dynamically and organically differently to longer or shorter gate lengths.
Things get more interesting and wild when you start combining the channels. Then the channels begin to communicate with each other. They grow, inform and process each other in complex rhythmic ways.
The four controls allow you to alternate sounds very quickly without patching, strengthening or weakening the connections between voices.
Additionally, Moon features touch plates that can be used to change the pitch or texture of the voices, making it a playable drone synthesizer.
Just like Noon, Landscape Moon is not an ordinary synthesizer at all. It is an original instrument that invites experimentation and is capable of producing incredibly beautiful drone tones to crazy, rhythmic organic structures.
On the connectivity side, it has six 3.5mm CV inputs, two audio inputs and six audio outputs.
First impression
The fact that this news was released on Halloween night is quite fitting. The experimental sounds that Noon and now Moon can create are sometimes so wild and outlandish that they would fit perfectly into an electronic Halloween soundtrack.
Noon and Moon are polarizing instruments as many users struggle with their chaotic sounds. However, if you're looking for sparkling analogue drums, organic drones and textures that feel at home in the void, you'll find an original instrument that captures this perfectly.
I'm glad there's now a sister version of the Noon that makes the concept more affordable and user-friendly.
Landscape Moon is available to pre-order now for $390. It is made in the USA and is expected to ship in winter 2025-2026.
Further information here: Landscape FM
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