Suzanne Ciani was not only present at the beginning of electronic music, but helped develop the technology that would become the basis of an entire global genre. Born in Ohio, Ciani earned a master’s degree in composition at UC Berkeley, where she met synthesizer designer Don Buchla and became one of the first people to master the Buchla modular analog synthesizer.
In 1974, she founded Ciani/Musica, where she developed sounds for brands including AT&T, General Electric and Coca-Cola. (The soda’s “pop & pour” sound logo was her creation, as was the Columbia Pictures intro score.) She’s released more than…
