China's Electronic Instrument Renaissance
And a modern approach to Synths 18/02/26

This TED talk on Chinese adoption to Synthesizers holds lots to learn - including a discussion of the Synthesizer as something without an inherent cultural bias, being made in similar forms all over the world. Taking a look at the Chinese approach to electronic music from the 1970s onwards, we learn about indie devs and massive corporations - including the first Chinese synth to enter the global market with the ASM Hydrasynth!

Here's more from the video...

Yukes uses an electronic organ to play "the sound of the future." He looks at how synthesizers have found new life within Chinese culture-moving from imitating the sounds of traditional instruments to creating entirely new auditory languages.

As he puts it: "Technology shouldn't replace tradition; it should become an extension of it." In his eyes, every synthesized waveform is a rebirth of culture. Today, Chinese musicians are using technology to reshape a "sonic ethnography," allowing tradition and the future to move forward side by side through electronic resonance.

Yukes is a commercial video producer, multi-instrumentalist, and expert in electronic music equipment. Active at the intersection of traditional Chinese instruments and contemporary electronic music equipment, they have been instrumental in the development of "Chinawave" and the growth of the electronic music production equipment industry in mainland China.

With a background in commercial documentary video production, Yukes has expanded their practice into the exploration of audiovisual ethnomusicology. They regularly perform across China and are currently pursuing a master's degree in Market and Retail Science at NYU Shanghai. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
More from Yukes https://www.youtube.com/@yukesmusic/videos

Source: https://sonicstate.com/news/2026/02/18/chinas-electronic-instrument-renaissance/