Meng Qi Cricket at a glance

​​​​​​​Cricket by Meng Qi is an experimental noise synthesizer that defies categorization. Its shape resembles a beetle, with a hexagonal black surface primarily housing the solar power supply - meaning no need for mains cables or batteries. Played via four capacitive touch surfaces, you control pitch, modulation, speed, and glitch. Three adjustment screws on the back let you fine-tune the behavior of the three oscillators and noise generator. Audio is output through a small piezo speaker. Musically, Cricket is quite unconventional - it's not tonal or harmonic but produces chirps, screeches, pulses, and ticking sounds. A fun extra: you can wear Cricket as a brooch or fashion accessory.