Artist Bio
The slap-bass of Mark King might have taken top billing, but British new wave legends Level 42 would never have exploded without the thrilling keyboard work of Mike Lindup. As the band lit up the late-’80s with all-conquering albums like Running In the Family, Mike marked himself out as one of the scene’s most adventurous players, forging new sounds on a rig that included everything from the Roland MKS-20 to the JUNO-6. Times change, and Mike has moved with them, returning to the studio with Level 42 for 2013’s acclaimed Sirens release, and recreating the classic hits live using the Roland RD-800 and the crossover-tech Roland JD-XA. For this iconic synth man, it’s all about “lots of colours”, and his palette has never sounded so full.
Mike Lindup on the JD-XA
"What I love about the JDXA is the fact that it is in effect a hybrid of analogue and digital, so that you can blend and effect classic Roland analogue synth sounds with DSP to create unique effects, or go completely digital which offers a wide soundscape. Having a built-in vocoder brings yet more possibilities to the party, and I look forward to spending time creating sounds for use with Level 42 as well as solo projects and collaborations. I also love the way it looks!”
Mike Lindup on the RD-800
"The piano is where I started, and being a long time user of the classic MKS20 and more recently the RD-300, the RD-800 has some exciting possibilities to further move the game on in terms of personalisation. I love the fact that each individual note can be adjusted for pitch, tone, attack & sustain, making it possible to go beyond the often clinical sound of other digital pianos. In addition there are lots of other quality sounds to play with and combine-it's time to play!”
— Mike Lindup
Artist Video
