The modular synthesizer has always been an integral part of dance music, and ADE Sound Lab will shed a light on its heritage during a three day modular synth bonanza.
If you're planning on visiting ADE Sound Lab make sure to grab the annual ADE Card, which allows you to access MusicTalks and live performances.
Modular synths have been on the rise of late. Their new found popularity boosted the modular market in unforeseen ways. The market has spiked like never before, and there are ever more and more musicians, artists and producers making their own modular set up in search of unique sounds and machinery.
ADE Sound Lab focuses on the history and heritage of synths by inviting sound designers, inventors and even some legends of the modular world to inspire you with talks, workshops, performances and a Modular Market. By exhibiting the latest inventions in (modular) synthesis ADE explores the realm of the development of new electronic instruments, (modules for) modular synthesizer systems and audio installations, as well as innovations in the field of image and visualisations of sound. Amongst other work, ADE Sound Lab introduces the Modular Expo.
Do It Yourself Synth Building Workshops
You can not only play around with existing modules and modular systems, but you can also build your own synthesizer. ADE Sound Lab offers several Do It Yourself workshops, some free of charge, others for a fee. The latter will ensure you can take your brand new, playable synth back to your home studio.
Moog’s Chris Howe will head the workshops on Thursday and Friday. Friday will see a workshop that will be led by STEIM - Hypothetical Instruments, which will focus on the future of electronic music, what instruments will be needed and how we will correspond with those yet-to-be-invented modules. On Saturday, the DIY Workshop will be hosted by Ginko Synthese who will let you build your own synth with their very own DIY kits. They’ll even let you make a case to harness the instruments. Falafular will host on Saturday. If you like to learn more about prices and workshop registration, keep a close eye on our website and the respective event pages.
Workshops
Moog Werkstatt by Chris Howe (Moog Music Inc, US)
Werkstatt Workshop provides a way for synth experts and novices alike to explore subtractive synthesizers. Through hands-on instrument modifications, participants will learn the fundamentals of subtractive analog synthesis and the control voltage paradigm. Analog synthesizers have long had their own maker culture born of curious engineers, physicists and hobbyists who have created and crafted their sounds through electronic experimentation. It is our goal to share our love for learning, music, and electronics by encouraging everyone to create the world they want to hear, one mod at a time.
STEIM - Hypothetical Instruments
In this workshop you can design machines for creative expression. Working with low and no-tech, you’ll build non-functional instruments aimed at inventing the music machine of the future. By taking as a starting point how an individual imagines the experience of playing electronic music, we will spend the afternoon making the perfect machine or instrument for that person. This process is directly informed by the designers and researchers from Native Instruments, Johannes Kepler Universität and STEIM, with the goal of making instruments that are positioned on the bleeding edge of technology.
Ginko Synthese
Ginko Synthese, the braindchild of Jan Willem Hagenbeek, aims to close the gap between the stage and the studio. At ADE Sound Lab they will be presenting easy to build cheap DIY kits. The components are available at a reasonable price. The popularity of these kits is currently spreading across the world fast, meaning that a lot of new user codes are becoming available almost weekly. You can use these modules as granular oscillators, wavetable oscillators, drum synths and even as clock sources just by uploading a different code.
Falafular Synths
Falafular is the SDIY brand that enabled Falafelbiels (Niels Kloet) to build himself a fabulous modular synthesizer. The ’S’ in SDIY stands for soldering, and Niels Kloet will show you the nit and grit of Do It Yourself synth building.
ADE Sound Lab is organised by ADE, in cooperation with Creative Industries Fund NL, the Dutch fund that offers sound pioneers and innovators an opportunity to demonstrate what they are working on, as well as helping them to develop their talents further in a 'hot house' environment.
ADE Sound Lab
Dates: Thursday Oct. 15 - Saturday Oct. 17
Time: program starts at noon
Venue: Compagnietheater
ADE Sound Lab is a free program (except for the ADE MusicTalks series and live performances, free for ADE Card holders, also accessible for 1 & 5 Day conference ticket holders).
Additional info: