Most synth-based music performances happen indoors in dark clubs or within cramped art spaces. By contrast, Modular on the Spot, a traveling event takes place Saturday July 16 (6 pm-9 pm) at Gas Works Park, brings these wild sounds into the outdoors, where synths every rarely bleep or gurgle. (This event’s also been held in Atlanta, San Francisco, and at Asheville, North Carolina’s recent Moogfest. The Seattle show is being presented in cooperation with Microsoft program manager Bradley Millington.) Performers for Modular on the Spot include Dark Side of the Tune (Shawn Shirey), Infideltek (Daniel Miller; not the Mute Records boss who recorded as the Normal), Donald Crunk (Jason Degeleman), Høltech (Seán Liam Hølt), Astro Warrior (Kevin Meyer), Swedish Movements (Steve Harmon), Andrew Tomasello, Carl Farrow, and Kyle Hola. Shirey explained in an email the appeal of these instruments. “Modular synthesizers let the artist mix and match function modules to create their own personal instrument. Hands-on control and the ability to be re-routed by patch cables in whichever configuration the user chooses creates a personal sound. The results of the complex patches are often experimental by nature.” Between Modular on the Spot and the upstart retail company Patchwerks, Seattle’s awareness of and enthusiasm for modular synthesis appear to be soaring like the climax of Kraftwerk’s “Airwaves.”
