“As early as I can remember I was always fascinated by any record that had a synthesizer on it. The sound itself seemed to have such a strong, purposeful, and intellectual quality about it that tended to cut through everything else. When I was young my Dad bought The Music of Cosmos which was the soundtrack to the groundbreaking Carl Sagan television series. It introduced me to the music of Vangelis as well as classical composers like Toru Takemitsu. The music was just so evocative of the vastness of space and scientific discovery that I just used to sit by the speakers and listen intently to every sound. Later when I heard Kraftwerk and Detroit Techno for the first time those electronic sounds resonated with me. From my home in Australia, Detroit seemed like a vision of an exotic Bladerunner – like future – the crumbling auto industry had left in its wake a decaying urban centre, deserted and boarded up, but out of this environment came a group of pioneers who were making this wild new music with archaic synthesizers and drum machines. For me it just seemed to click. The re-appropriation of urban space was always a strong element in the early Techno movement. Utilizing car parks and abandoned warehouses for all night-parties of machine music just seemed very sci-fi to me at the time, almost post-apocalyptic.”

He also makes lovely models of retro synths

Check out more at his folio – danmcpharlin.com

The Glasgow Craft Mafia is a collective of artist, designers, silversmiths, stationers and all round good folk who make, create and build some exceptional objects. There are currently 33 members in the group and they supply some unique products and handmade alternatives which you can’t get on the high street. It’s about promoting the flourishing craft market currently existing in Glasgow.

You can buy many of these special wares from their website, but between 1pm-6pm on the last Sunday of each month, they have their own market. This changes location and sellers each time, and you can find out more on the next one at their blog.

There is work by Sarey Poppins, Pistol Whip Vintage, Miso Funkey and many more.