Don Buchla—who created the first modular synthesizer in 1963, the same year that Robert Moog was inventing his modular synth—passed away September 14. He was 79.

Buchla's instrument helped musician and composers, such as Morton Subotnick, Suzanne Ciani, Silver Apples, Bob Ostertag, Alessandro Cortini, David Rosenboom, and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, to formulate many unusual and exciting dialects of electronic music. With its live-performance capabilities, the Buchla let musicians unleash Jackson Pollock-like splashes of tonal chaos or vibrant pointillism in otherworldly timbres. “He invented a whole new paradigm for how you interface with electronics—much more human, and a whole new thing,” Subotnick told Guardian writer Geeta Dayal. In Dayal's obituary, she also quotes fellow synth inventor Roger Linn. "Don was very much a rebel, defying convention at every turn. It’s so nice to see the innovative ideas he developed 50 years ago being embraced by so many young electronic musicians.”

Below hear some outstanding examples of music created using the Buchla synthesizer and the Music Easel. RIP, Donald Buchla.