Buchla and Friends 2026: Embodme showcased a synth engine (ERAE SOUND) that will turn the ERAE II MPE touch controller into a Synthesizer.
Two years ago, the young French company announced the ERAE II, the successor to its innovative MPE Touch Controller. It’s more sensitive, more expressive, but also packed with I/O (24 outputs) and a built-in looper.
According to a new photo/info from Buchla and Friends 2026, the ERAE II will soon become an MPE Synthesizer.
The image shared by the French YouTube channel Les Sondiers shows a synth editor for a new ERAE sound section of the ERAE II MPE touch controller.
We can see a two-layer synth engine, each with two oscillators and filters. Each oscillator features coarse, fine, shape, fold, and volume control. Between the two oscillators, you can then also do through-zero FM and XMOD.
Then, in each filter section, you can find a multimode filter with frequency and resonance. On the modulation, you have four ADSR envelopes, four LFOs with speed, wave, and skew controls, a slide curve, and other modulators.
Apparently, there’s also an FX section, as you can see from the UI. This is exciting for Embodme ERAE II users. I’m curious to hear what the engine sounds like and when it will be ready. Stay tuned for more details.
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Update from December 11, 2024
The wait is over. Almost a year after its announcement at NAMM 2024, the new Embodme ERAE is being delivered to supporters. The team says the first large-scale production of 1000 units is in full swing.
In a new statement, they wrote:
We’re excited to share that shipping officially started last week! As this marks our first large-scale production of 1,000 units, we’re proceeding step by step to ensure everything meets the highest standards.
Our commitment to quality control is thorough, but we did encounter a minor hiccup with the first 10 units. The thread lock securing the mount on the back was too tight, making it difficult to swap out the fabric/silicone skins. Rest assured, we’ve addressed this issue to ensure smooth functionality moving forward.
Every day in December, units are being assembled, tested, and shipped in chronological order of purchase. Our trusted manufacturing partner, Picca, has been instrumental in this process. With years of collaboration on products like the Erae Touch and Norand Mono, we have complete confidence in their dedication.
We even spent a week on-site with their team in Shenzhen to fine-tune every step of the production process. We thought you’d enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at production—check out this short video to see the process in action!
Regarding your shipping notification, you’ll receive an update as soon as your package is picked up from the Picca facility. Shipping itself is quite fast, typically taking 2-3 working days once dispatched. Our goal is to fulfill all orders in December so you can enjoy your unit during the holiday season. However, for some, delivery may occur in the first weeks of 2025.
Thank you for your patience and understanding! We can’t wait for you to start creating and exploring with your new unit!
Update From April 26, 2024
At SynthFest France 2024, Alex from Embodme showcased the Erae II. Here is a first look.
Update from February 29, 2024
Embodyme, announced at NAMM 2024, is now on Kickstarter. It’s already fully pledged. All the 200 units for 575€ are sold out, but you can support the development of it with a pre-order for 669€.
Article from January 26, 2024
NAMM 2024: Embodme ERAE II, the second generation of its innovative MPE touch controller, dives deeper into modular worlds with more I/O and more.
Dedicated MPE or MIDI polyphonic expression controllers are still a little less common on the market in 2024. The Seaboard, Linnstrument… to name a few stars. One of the recent ones comes from France, the ERAE Touch from the young company Embodme. This is a fully customizable touch controller with full MPE compatibility, modular templates, and more.
You could recently see many of them in Jean Michel Jarre’s live setup at his Versailles concert. Embodiment is also at NAMM 2024, and a big surprise for the second day: they are announcing the ERAE II. A big further development of the Erae Touch, initially introduced in 2020, and shipped in 2021.
Embodme ERAE II
The ERAE 2 is the successor to the Erae Touch. You can immediately see the revised design. It now has physical buttons, a big rotary knob, and more on the interface. The look of the oversized iPhone is history.
They not only revised the look but also took the hardware and user experience further. ERAE 2 features 16.000 force sensors that benefit from its newly patented Force Multi-Touch™ technology, which offers ultra-responsiveness, down to less than 20 grams of pressure.
It ensures high dynamics and high-velocity strikes for finger drumming or drum sticks. There are also significant enhancements for the spatial section. Now with sub-millimeter XY accuracy in both relative and absolute modes and improved sensor linearity for a more stable, continuous finger sliding.
Interchangeable Skins & New Screen
ERAE 2 also ships with a new, interchangeable skin. The second generation features a unique fabric skin, offering a perfect glide sensation while improving light diffusion for a brighter and sharper look, promises the developers.
Interestingly, you can simply change the skin overlays of the ERAE, enabling compatibility with black silicone skin material for percussive techniques. Plus, there the entire surface can also be simply changed.
Emodme also revised the UI, including a new high-resolution LCD screen dedicated to all the menu settings and live mapping configs. Something that was missing on the Erae Touch. So, there are no longer settings on the playing surface itself.
MIDI Looper & Revised Arpeggiator
Another big new feature in the ERAE 2 is a MIDI looper. Thanks to an upgraded architecture, you can now record any X/Y/Z gesture in polyphonic mode in the unit. On top, overdub all the MIDI (MPE) loops in real time.
Those loops can be recorded and played back in parallel over all 16 Layouts and give the ability to build up your tracks live. That sounds like an excellent feature. Then, the user interface also benefits from a new button to access the revised 3D arpeggiator.
It’s now possible to map all the arpeggiator settings (rate, octave, range…) to expressive gestures like aftertouch, slide, and pitch bend. I’m pretty sure this unlocks some very wild performances.
More Modular Connectivity
The new hardware also has space for much more connectivity. So much so that the ERAE II becomes an MPE controller made for analog gear and modular setups. It now incorporates up to 24 analog outputs configurable as CV, gates, or triggers.
Further, Embodme added two extra MIDI jack connectors and a USB host socket for easily connecting external USB MIDI gear. In total, you get the following connections:
- 1x Dedicated USB power plug
- 1x Dual role USB (host & device, PD-ready)
- 2x Midi Out, 1x Midi In (3,5mm ⅛” TRS jack)
- 24x configurable analog outputs (Gat, CV, trigger)
- 2x Midi Out & 1x Midi In/Thru 1/8 inch TRS jack
And! Embodme promises that existing Erae Touch users will benefit from future firmware updates with new features and more.
First Impression
This is a very impressive surprise for the second day of NAMM 2024. I thought we had already seen all the new things. But then Embodme came along with the ERAE II—a very nice further development of the Eare Touch. I’m glad that v1 users continue to get updates.
Embodme ERAE 2 will be available for support and pre-order via a Kickstarter campaign, starting on February 15th, 2024 and with an estimated delivery in June 2024 for the first batch. The early bird price (100 units) will be 549€ and 649€ for the regular Kickstarter price.
The official MSRP will be 799€ + VAT. A special white edition will also be limited to 200 units for 699€.
More information here: Embodme
no musical talent necessary!
good to see that you don’t know the product 😉
Neither talent nor knowledge are and should be required to enjoy making music, so stop gatekeeping and let everyone use the tools that resonate with them.
How do you figure that? The whole thing is based on using your musical ability to enable you to perform with as much subtlety, flair and nuance as any “real” musical instrument.
does this synth run on the hardware or as a plugin?
it looks like on the hardware. They are also teasing it on their website
doesn’t look like that to me, seeing the photo of the interface. Maybe the synth will indeed run the ERAE but the editing on a laptop. Let’s wait and see.
the ERAE has 12 stereo CV/gate outputs so technically they can route audio as well.
On their website they write: “instant expressivity, no setup” which could indicate towards a standalone instrument