68000

68000 / Jeremy C. Wells, Ph.D. bio

You can reach me at dr.jeremy.wells@gmail.com

My 68000 music project (1991–1993; 2026–)

I created the techno music project, 68000, in 1991 in Portland, Oregon (USA). In the shifting cultural landscape of the Pacific Northwest during the early 1990s, which was known more for grunge than electronic music, I carved out a niche that balanced the cold precision of European industrial sounds with the soul-infused rhythms of Detroit techno. I had earlier worked with David Duddleston in the synthpop group, Digital Black, and while I composed the tracks, he continued to contribute his adroit synth programming and production skills in 68000.

The name 68000 was a direct nod to the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, the hardware heart of the Macintosh and Amiga computers that were instrumental in the production of early electronic music. (The music I made in 68000 was sequenced on a Mac Classic using MOTU Performer.) My fascination with technology permeated my early techno work, beginning with my self-release (on the EinProdukt label), in 1991, of the vinyl 12-inch, Vivid. Kim Cascone from Silent Records, who, at the time, was starting up his affiliated techno label, Pluse Soniq, heard Vivid and convinced me to sign a record deal with his label, which led to the full-length album, Technocolor, in 1992. Critics characterized the album as Kraftwerk-inspired melodies layered over industrial-tinged beats, featuring tracks like "Mind Machine" and "Technohead" that became staples on college radio stations and in dance clubs across the United States and Europe. Other critics compared 68000 to IDM (intelligent dance music), utilizing modal structures and complex synth lines that offered a more cerebral experience than the mainstream rave music of the era.

When 68000 was active, David Duddleston and I would play live, on a regular basis, in the underground Portland dance clubs and open for major label acts that toured through the region. I have a particularly poignant memory of opening for the major-label act, Information Society, and meeting Kurt Harland and bonding over the technical nuances of electronic music production.

By the mid-1990s, as the initial fervor of the rave movement began to morph and commercialize, I took another path that was more ambient and trance, co-creating Violet Arcana along with David Duddleston.

At the end of 2025, I started getting offers to re-release existing 68000 tracks on vinyl and create new tracks. For the first time in several decades, I started composing again, in a now retro-techno vein. Some of this work is due to be released in 2026. In January 2026, a remastered version of Technocolor will be released on all the major streaming services and is also available on Bandcamp.

—Jeremy C. Wells, Ph.D., Washington, DC (US)

The synths I used to make 68000

I am often asked what synthesizers I used to make 68000. I have always had a fondness for analog synthesis, which went back to my early teenage years of listening to Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, and Kraftwerk, so, not surprisingly, with the exception of a sampler, everything was analog:

Oberheim Matrix 1000
Oberheim Matrix 6
Oberheim Xpander
Sequential Circuits Six-Track
Roland Juno-60 (with MIDI to DCB converter)
Roland Juno 106
Rhodes Chroma Polaris
Korg Mono/Poly
E-Mu Emax II

All this was sequenced into MOTU Performer, with the synths being controlled by a MOTU MIDI Timepiece (absolutely essential when dealing with this older gear that would often overload and glitch with too much MIDI data). The sequencer, and anything I was playing in real-time, was recorded to DAT tape.

68000 Discography

Vivid 12-inch vinyl on EinProdukt (self-released, 1991):