The Wire’s monthly series of salon events returns after an extended Christmas and New Year break with an illustrated talk by the magazine’s former hiphop columnist Dave Tompkins on the history of the vocoder.

The talk will be based on Dave's acclaimed recent book on synthetic voice phenomena, How To Wreck A Nice Beach: The 
Vocoder From World War Two To Hiphop (available from Stop Smiling Books)

In anticipation of the salon Dave and Monk One have made an exclusive edit of their How To Wreck A Nice Beach mix for The Wire. You can download it here. Also, click here to read Dave's extensive annotated track list for the mix in all its unexpurgated glory.

The Wire Salon: 
How To Wreck A Nice Beach: The 
Vocoder From World War Two To Hiphop takes place at London's Cafe Oto, 15 February, 8pm, £4.