A Postcard from Moogfest 2016

Last week I flew out to Durham, NC to attend and perform at Moogfest 2016. I knew I was in for a special week when I got to the gate at LAX and saw a large cluster of modular cases and smiling people all gathered together. It was like traveling with a high school volleyball team to some big game. I was sent to Moogfest by my video label Undervolt & Co. to provide live projections for 2 of the Durational shows, (Greg Fox and EMA w/ Jana Hunter) as well as give a workshop on Software and Creative Process. The festival was a big mix of conference-like workshops and panels with a very well-curated selection of musical performances around the downtown Durham area.

I have to really shout out the Moogfest organizers for creating an incredibly diverse program, and for featuring a broad variety of voices that included people of color, LGBT+, and women in a rich way that didn’t feel forced. I have never encountered so many distinct versions of the future on display and being discussed in one place. By connecting the spirit of inclusion with the history of electronic music, Moogfest created a space that stood in stark contrast to the impressions I've gotten from North Carolina in recent political news.

The Durational performances were held in the Main Gallery of the beautiful 21C Museum Hotel in downtown Durham. Greg Fox's Thursday set was an epic 4-hour drum solo accompanied by Eli Crews and Ed Bear, running Moog-supplied and DIY synths that were being triggered by Greg's sensor-connected drum set. The tech was supplied by Sunhouse's Sensory Percussion, which is some very interesting machine learning enabled drum triggering technology. I was locked in for the full 4-hour onslaught of noise and blast beats, pressing my Jitter-driven video instrument to its fullest. While I have done multi-hour shows before, none required the level of focus, stamina, and intensity of that one.

EMA and Jana Hunter did a slow, evenly timed, drony performance that recalled Dream Syndicate and featured lots of processed vocals, synths, violin, and guitar pedals. They maintained a very steady and unending stream for the 4 hours. I split the video duty with Rea McNamara, so Friday was a bit less mentally taxing than Thursday’s show.

For both sets I used the video synth Jitter patch I've been slowly building since 2009, with the recent addition of a Leap Motion sensor for some abstract puppetry and paint effects. As expected, I was adding new tweaks and features the night before in the hotel room, and after 6 hours of visual performance, I've got about 10 ideas in my sketchbook for how to make the patch better.

The rest of my time in Durham was spent having great conversations with other artists and attendees, all of whom seemed thrilled to be there, seeing some legendary live shows and dancing to some really amazing techno. There was so much going on that I easily could have had 5 completely different festival experiences. The final act of Moogfest for me was Suzanne Ciani's inspiring Durational performance which was part lecture/Q&A part modular performance accompanied by JJ Stratford and Stephi Duckula running analog modular video. I left Durham on Sunday night with a hoarse voice, tired limbs, and a head full of ideas.