Hi. I am Keith McMillen and have been designing musical instruments for 35 years. I am responsible for the electric violin (Zeta Music), first programmable audio mixer and router (AKAI MPX820 and MB76), Mirror 6 MIDI Guitar, SoftStep 3D foot controller, K-Bow Bluetooth sensor bow, QuNeo 3D pad controller and the QuNexus & K-Board keyboards, among other things.

These were all instruments I wanted. Actually, I needed. I really want to advance us to a 21st century music. This requires new instruments and technology. Most of what we design is hard to do but we keep getting better at it.

We have the opportunity to make the 1st new music of this century. It is amazing how many musical revolutions have happened at the beginning of centuries.

My love of electronic music started when I was 11 and got a copy of Switched on Bach. Having heard most worldly sounds by that age, it was shocking – in a good way. After that I started hearing synths everywhere, until they really were everywhere. And then I got bored.

While the sound of synthesis is remarkable, the subtlety and nuance of tight performance control was missing. And traveling with electronic instruments was a real nuisance. What a shame. But we are fixing this.

I also want to have instruments networked so they can influence the players, the score, and each other. Acoustic instruments “network” by blending in the air. Electronic instruments can “blend” at the network control level, live on stage. What can this sound like? I really want to know.

KMI exists because I am lucky enough to have gathered an incredible crew of talented, like minded people. Everyone at KMI is a musician and thinks / works / cares about new instruments and how they can influence and help today’s artists make tomorrow’s music.

Please look around our site, check out our instruments and videos and hear what artists are doing and saying. You’ll likely discover that no one is innovating like we are.

Thanks – Keith