Show Notes
Ivan Doroschuk has been making great synth pop/rock songs for more than 40 years, and as founder of Men Without Hats remains a live performance powerhouse in addition to regular releases of new material. In this episode we chat on Ivan’s career, approach to composition and his favourite synths of all time.
To listen / watch:
Audio-only: click on the play button in the audio player above, or:
Video: watch the embedded video below or check it and previous episodes out on our YouTube Channel
Discussion topics covered during the show (links will open in new tab):
The past 12 months for Men Without Hats
Upcoming Australian tour
Men Without Hats in action in 2026
Men Without Hats’ latest album: On The Moon
Ivan’s musical upbringing
The formation of Men Without Hats as part of the Montreal punk scene
Moving to the synth based Men Without Hats we know
Developing the Men Without Hats sound and the ‘no sequencer’ approach
The Korg MS-20
Origins of The Safety Dance
Ivan’s key keyboard player / composer influences
Ivan’s solo album – The Spell
The evolution of Ivan’s home studio
The 1980s version of Men Without Hats’ keyboard rig to today.
The Yamaha QX1
A Men Without Hats train wreck story
Desert Island Discs: Foxtrot – Genesis, Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield, Obscured by Clouds – Pink Floyd, You – Gong, Autobahn – Kraftwerk
Key links:
Become a member of our YouTube channel and receive extra content
Buy some keyboard related merchandise
Drop us a line via the website, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Threads, BlueSky, TikTok or LinkedIn
Complete our audience survey to help us improve!
Check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations. The post Ivan Doroschuk, Men Without Hats appeared first on The Keyboard Chronicles.
More from The Keyboard Chronicles
Cory Henry is one of the most innovative and dynamic players of the past 20 years, and hot off the release of his latest album Devotion, we were thrilled to spend some time getting his perspective on his evolution as an artist, the challenges of being an independent artist, and plenty of keyboard talk.
Zac Rae has been Death Cab for Cutie’s keyboard/guitar player for more than 1o years, with previous touring or session stints with Macy Gray, Alanis Morrissett, Leonard Cohen and Morrisey to name just four. In addition, Zac has a prolific and ongoing career in film, TV and other collaborations.
Mike Lindup is one of our most requested guests and we were thrilled to speak with him in the lead up to Level 42’s Australian tour. In this initial catch-up with Mike, we do a quick rundown of his amazing career and talk about his keyboard rig , upcoming Australian tour and briefly talk on his stellar solo career as well.
For our 200th episode we couldn’t think of a better person to feature than Tony Banks, a true master of the craft and still creating amazing music to this day. In a little over an hour we cover Tony’s career as the heart of Genesis, as well as his brilliant solo output and some superb insights into composition, soloing and a great deal more.
David Paich is an American musician, songwriter, and producer best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and principal songwriter for the rock band Toto. Beyond his extensive work with the band, where he wrote or co-wrote hits such as “Africa,” “Rosanna,” and “Hold the Line,” David has a prolific background as a session musician. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with numerous prominent artists, including Michael Jackson, Boz Scaggs, Elton John, Steely Dan and so many more. David is a true master of the craft and we try to cover some serious ground in what is a world-beating creative output.