A living museum of electronic instruments - the likes of those used by Brian Eno and The Prodigy - is opening to the public in the heart of Melbourne.
Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) looks after a collection of more than 1000 electronic instruments, many of them rare and historically significant.
MESS houses the largest publicly available collection of electronic instruments in the southern hemisphere, including analogue synthesisers such as the EMS Synthi AKS from the 1970s, an instrument famously used by Brian Eno.
There's also the Akai S950 digital sampler from the 1980s, favoured by musicians such as Moby and The Prodigy.
The studio first opened in 2016, in a hard-to-find bluestone basement of North Melbourne's Meat Market, with visitors able to book a session and compose their own tunes.
There wasn't much foot traffic, but with MESS moving to Fed Square's The Atrium, opposite NGV Australia, that's about to change.
At a preview of the new venue on Friday, music collective STATHIS//DAVEY//KIM was on hand to try out the gear installed at its new location.
MESS will offer workshops, courses and artist residencies, as well as events for the public.
The studio takes bookings and opens in the afternoons and evenings from Wednesdays to Sundays.
