Funding Boost for CLIP’s Next Phase of Innovation
We’re delighted to share that CLIP has received support from Essex County Council’s Creative Industries Development Project Fund, to support the growth and innovation of creative businesses across Essex.
It will enable us to undertake a major new phase of community led research and development into experimental musical hardware and software. We’ll be building on the success of our ground-breaking Photon Smasher microphone, while growing the technical skills needed to develop the next generation of creative instruments.
Since its launch in 2022, the Photon Smasher has found its way into the hands of more than 300 musicians, sound designers and artists around the world — appearing in installations, performances and sound-design projects across music, film and interactive media. Thanks to this funding, we will now begin building prototypes of new Photon Smasher inspired devices, including more microphones, and for the first time effects units and synths.
Alongside hardware development, the funding will also supports a significant new strand of software skills growth, enabling us to design and deploy custom “digital sound processing” for embedded systems. Allowing us to design the software and hardware we would want to use in our education environments.
Central to our development process is our commitment to inclusive and community-led R&D. Throughout the project, young people, Disabled musicians and local creative technologists will be invited to test early-stage prototypes and contribute feedback through workshops across our MiniCLIP, Academy and DMLab programmes.
This next phase of growth strengthens CLIP’s long-term sustainability and supports the wider development of Essex’s creative hardware and digital-music technology ecosystem – nurturing new skills, widening access, and supporting future innovation across the county.
We look forward to sharing updates, R&D insights and, eventually, new instruments and tools shaped by both our team and our community.
