Technology

Posted on November 3, 2017 by staff

Music tech firm hopes to strike right note with investors

Technology

A Barcelona-based music technology start-up has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £500,000 as it gears up for worldwide expansion.

Oval Sound provides innovative music tech solutions and tools for professional musicians, music therapy applications and musical entertainment/education.

The company’s first product is the Oval, a new electronic musical instrument connected to a smartphone app, which is designed to revolutionise music creation, learning, and live performance.

It is said to be the first electronic handpan – part of a family of percussion instruments inspired by the ghatam and steel drums – available on the market.

Co-founder and chief executive Alex Posada said the start-up has already pre-sold 1,000 units, with more than 70 per cent of those orders already delivered.

He added: “There is a huge opportunity in the music market for the Oval, beautifully designed and easy to play. As first in the market we have tested real traction and the readiness for scale-up manufacturing.”

Oval Sound was born in 2014 when touring handpan performer Ravid Goldschmidt met creative technologist and engineer Alex Posada.

Goldschmidt was looking for a portable alternative to his heavyweight handpans and a tool to teach his students, mostly children. Posada used his expertise in design and electronics to create a flexible and expressive musical instrument that is designed to unite the best of the physical and the digital worlds.

The funds raised through the Crowdcube campaign will be used to enter new markets, begin mass production and to invest in software development and marketing.

The company is also applying for loans totalling €300,000 from public Spanish funds ENISA and ICF, and may take on further debt from a bank to accelerate growth if needed. It hopes to secure combined debt and equity funding of €1m.

Oval Sound said it has already had conversations with several large retailers including Saturn, Amazon and Guitar Center, and received letters of intent from Gears4Music and Microfusa.