Expressive E has added Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman to its ongoing series of artist collaboration videos, putting one of film music's most recognizable voices behind the keys of the Osmose MPE keyboard synthesizer.
A Composer Known for Blending Worlds
Rahman, best known internationally for his scores to Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, has spent decades moving fluidly between orchestral writing, Indian classical instrumentation, and electronic production. That background makes him a fitting voice for a conversation about MPE, a technology whose whole premise is dissolving the line between the mechanical precision of a keyboard and the continuous, breath-like control of an acoustic instrument.
In the video, Rahman walks through how he approaches musical expression and how playing the Osmose has changed his instincts at the keyboard. He demonstrates the kind of subtle glides, bends, and per-note dynamics that a standard MIDI keyboard simply can't transmit — the same techniques a violinist or vocalist would use instinctively, but rarely available to a keyboard player without a controller built for it. "The boundaries between electronic and acoustic sounds are blurring," Rahman says of the instrument, a line that doubles as a fair summary of where MPE technology is headed generally.
Part of a Wider Artist Push
Rahman's episode joins earlier installments featuring artists J3PO and Tarik Azzouz, part of a deliberate strategy by Expressive E to show the Osmose — and MPE more broadly — being used in real musical contexts rather than just demoed in a studio setting. It's a notable move for the MPE space, where marketing has traditionally leaned on spec sheets and controller comparisons rather than artist storytelling.
It also continues a pattern of high-profile composers publicly adopting MPE hardware. The technology has already found fans among film composers looking for more organic-sounding electronic textures to sit alongside orchestral recordings, and Rahman's inclusion signals that MPE is gaining ground well outside the electronic-music and modular-synth circles where it first took hold.
Why Artist Endorsements Matter for MPE Adoption
For newer players still deciding whether an MPE controller is worth the learning curve, seeing an established composer demonstrate real musical use cases can do more than any spec comparison. MPE controllers like the Osmose ask musicians to unlearn some habits — velocity and mod wheel gestures get replaced by continuous per-note pressure, glide, and slide — and that adjustment is easier to justify when there's a clear musical payoff on screen rather than just a technical one.
Expressive E's video series is available on the company's official YouTube channel and through the Expressive E website, alongside technical resources for musicians considering an Osmose or the company's newer controller-only Osmose CE.
The Bigger Picture
Artist adoption stories like this one matter for the health of the MPE ecosystem as a whole. Every composer or producer who picks up an MPE controller and finds a genuine musical use for it — rather than treating it as a novelty — helps build the audience that justifies continued MPE investment from DAW makers, plugin developers, and hardware manufacturers alike. Rahman's episode is a small but useful data point in that broader trend of MPE moving from a niche performance technique toward a standard tool in a composer's kit.