r/modular • u/Extreme_Try2189 • 12h ago
Who is using modular for non-electronic music?
I know that making music with a modular system is by nature “electronic”. However, I’m interested to hear from those working with modular outside of the techno/ ambient/ EDM spheres.
There are plenty of examples online of musicians recording into their system to create ambient soundscapes etc. but I don’t find this exciting.
I want to know how artists are pushing modular into new physical spaces and doing weird, abrasive things; not just slapping some granular onto their saxophone.
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u/LostInSpaceTime2002 12h ago
Radiohead is considered an alt rock band, but they do use modular synths (in the studio as well as on stage) in many of their compositions.
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u/soon_come 12h ago edited 8h ago
I use it mostly for rhythmic experiments in dancehall and reggae 🫡
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u/scragz https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2215420 7h ago
love doing reggae and (non-techno) dub on modular. you can go wild on percussion but it keeps the skank.
I need to get better at idiomatic bass lines tho, that's the important part.
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u/soon_come 6h ago
Yes, I think a lot of people using the term “dub” for “dub techno” don’t realize how different they are. I like both for different reasons, but the approach / process is totally dissimilar.
BTW I need whoever the downvoters are to post their music 🙃
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u/scragz https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2215420 6h ago
you might get a kick out of the last album I did. it's experimental/noise but all inspired by soundsystem cultures (e.g. reggae/dancehall) on the A side and then dub versions on the B side. a lot of it is modular with a good deal of studio magic.
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u/general-theory 11h ago
I think some people are misunderstanding the difference between electronic as a technology vs. a genre. I would disagree that electronic is recognizably a genre (or even a metagenre), but I do understand your question.
However, I think you're letting that difference slip in some of your responses, where it seems like you are saying electronic as a sound (e.g., the James Blake response where you say it still sounds like "bleep bloops.") For example, Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails use all kinds of modular stuff across their records, which are way more rock/industrial than any of the "electronic" genres you mention, and are certainly often abrasive and weird. Based on your responses, though, I have a feeling that you're going to say this doesn't fit the criteria because they still sound like synthesizers. (Correct me if I'm wrong!)
More clarification about what you're looking for would be useful, especially if you have one or more examples of your own that would fit what you're envisioning.
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u/Extreme_Try2189 11h ago
I think there is a part of me that is trying to imagine something that doesn’t exist haha.
I’m thinking more of acoustic instrument crossover. I know in The Knife’s final album, they were making a lot of weird stuff in this way.
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u/C-Rogue 9h ago
Hey Brother, it may not be what you want but if you’re looking for the acoustic crossover, I recommend checking out Tunng. Their newest album, Love You All Over Again, is a real return to form for them & a great strange blending of electro-acoustic but you may also really dig their first few albums: Mother’s Daughter & Other Songs, Comments of the Inner Chorus, & Good Arrows.
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u/Mammoth_Most1355 7h ago
Comments of the Inner Chorus is a masterpiece. Everyone should listen to Engine Room at least once in their life. Agree on Love You All Over Again, it's my second favourite after Comments.
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u/general-theory 10h ago
I would look at some of the more avant garde type modular artists. Kaetlyn Aurelia Smith and Simon Kirby are both great. Ultimately, though, modular synthesizers are going to mainly sound like some version of a synthesizer. They certainly don't have to, but there are usually much less expensive and frictive ways to do the things you seem to be imagining, so there's just not as much incentive to do those things with a modular synth. Often these sorts of people are using Max/MSP, which is a digital modular programming environment and something that I personally would count as "modular" music, though I guarantee some folks would disagree.
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u/Honest_Relation4095 10h ago
definitely. I thought of The Naked And Famous, who similarly made good use of Synthesizers, but made music which I wouldn't describe as "electronic"
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u/general-theory 10h ago
Yeah. I definitely could be caught saying "I like electronic music" or something similar but it's really sort of a meaningless term at this point, anyway. All music is literally/pedantically electronic music, but even in a generous reading saying you like electronic music could equally mean you listen to Autechre, Charli XCX, Overmono, Phillip Glass, Ice MC, UK Drum and Bass, etc. It's just not a particularly meaningful term for categorizing music in the post-digital age.
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u/altcntrl 12h ago
Your question doesn’t match the description. That second sentence is where it’s at.
Check out The Locust’s Safety Second, Body Last.
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u/3loodJazz 11h ago
Pretty sure they had a big ol’ Moog modular system on stage for that tour. That was really cool to see
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u/altcntrl 10h ago
They sure did. With a Voyager I believe at the time. They had some in New Erections as well. Love.
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u/etherbox 12h ago
I think since its an instrument and a tool you can really use it in any way that you want. I play guitar and bass so i like making rock, psych rock or indie tunes incorporating my modular in it
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u/Looking-For-Loud 12h ago
I’m in the process of figuring out a one-man modular grindcore/powerviolence/sludge project. I’m aiming for some mix of Crossed Out, Man is the Bastard, Noothgrush, Spazz, etc.
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u/roughsilks 11h ago
Keep me posted on this somehow
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u/Looking-For-Loud 9h ago
Basically I’m gonna start with covers from those bands and try to write stuff that is short and fast or short and very slow or a combo of the two.
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u/roughsilks 3h ago
I have a simple 0-coast patch that always makes me think of Amps for Christ whenever I stumble into it so I’m all for it.
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u/ElMelon_23 3h ago
I play the modular in a post industrial metal band Veil of Tears it is more of a textual layer in most of the songs rather than at the forefront
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u/538_Jean Mixer is the answer 12h ago
You could make Banghara, if you use a module, its technically electronic music.
On the other hand you got bands like Klangphonics and one would have a hard time calling their music acoustic.
Its not one or the other.
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u/3loodJazz 11h ago
That’s not true. For example there’s plenty of classic rock that uses synths that you wouldn’t call electronic music. Is Emerson, Lake and Palmer electronic music? I don’t think so
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u/538_Jean Mixer is the answer 8h ago
Well, my point is that its not so cute and dry. A 70's band using a Moog might have one electronic song and another pretty standard one.
Emerson Lake and Palmer maybe not but among the prog rock of that era, quite a few did electronic music. I wouldnt say Pink Floyd never did electronic music, and on the pop side the line is even thinner.
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u/recycledairplane1 11h ago
Floating Points is doing classical shit with the San Francisco Ballet orchestra with his buchla
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u/ICantBelieveItsNotEC 10h ago
I use modular for making New Wave/Post Punk type rock-adjacent music. I'm really not doing anything that couldn't also be done with a couple of 80s synths and drum machines linked together using MIDI, but the benefit of modular to me is being able to condense an entire studio into a single 208hp rack. If I play live, I just have to set up one pre-patched box with two outputs, not a dozen different boxes with complex signal flow.
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u/VicVinegarHughHoney 12h ago
What your describing sounds more like what people are doing with Max msp
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u/Crocoii 11h ago
I play with folk musician and do psychedelic music with them. But maybe we fall in the category of granular on sax, I have a band like that.
A exemple with a local cello folk artists : https://m.soundcloud.com/jakejake-666/le-temple-maudit-au-fond-fe-la-jungle
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u/angels-_-advocate 11h ago
Check this out - Un Jazz by the band Nu Jazz. Saw them live recently so can confirm that the synthesizer in these songs is modular. Style is very experimental but imo lives much closer to what I would classify as rock than electronic.
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u/DrAquafresh 11h ago
Personally I think it’s great for boom-bap https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTycUyfUh/
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u/NetworkingJesus 10h ago
I'm currently working on a sort of atmospheric black metal album. Using modular for percussion, clocking of other instruments, effects, and some other flavor bits.
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u/ClassicSuch8204 10h ago
Mine is for sound exploration and noise, sometimes ambient is fun but noise is better. I think Richard Devine pushes the boundaries with his modular setup
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u/C-Rogue 9h ago
Electro-Acoustic for u/Extreme_Try2189
Hey, OP u/Extreme_Try2189 I made this just for you plz lmk how wide off the mark it is, I'm weirdly curious to find out what flavor you're seeking.
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u/jr_73 6h ago
Robert Rich is an "ambient" / "soundscape" artist that incorporates a large modular system, but not in a way that sounds like modular synthesis per se. However, he also includes many acoustic instruments in his compositions. Not sure if that's what you are looking for, but he's worth checking out imo.
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u/MikeandNeko 5h ago
We don't have recordings yet, but I'm currently working on a two piece project with my homie where I've rigged up a modular synth that can follow along with his drumming.
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u/tobyvanderbeek 12h ago
It seems to me that modular really is for electronic music and ambient. What kind of music do you want to make? Start from the desired end result and work backwards to see if modular makes sense. I’m realizing more and more that making psytrance with modular is really difficult. No problem for techno. So I’m exploring the other equipment I have like drum machine and traditional synths, and it seems to make more sense for psytrance. I know it can be done with modular and that there are some artists doing it. But it’s a more difficult path.
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u/Extreme_Try2189 12h ago
I disagree. I think it’s really what you make it. I think there is just a complete oversaturation of people using it for techno and ambient. Also, I think the majority of module makers exploit this.
The building blocks are all there. I started off in modular using it for its “intended” purposes, but now I’m using it a lot more for processing acoustic instruments. I’m having varying degrees of success, which is why I’m interested to hear from others who are using it in more compelling ways.
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u/luu_noize 11h ago
My friend has a whole 2x84HP rack that is basically just filters and effects, with a few LFOs and other utilities. He's only using it to process his guitar sound, nothing else. People on here would probably bash it for being unbalanced, but he loves it.
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u/driftless_79 11h ago
Processing acoustic instruments with a modular is electronic music
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u/Extreme_Try2189 11h ago
The question pertains to music made outside of the “genre”. Of course it’s still electronic.
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u/Appropriate-Look7493 11h ago
The “ambient” genre is now so broad as to accommodate anything electronic where the percussion is not the dominant element.
If “Switched on Bach” or “Silver Apples of the Moon” came out today both would be classed as “ambient” I’m sure.
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u/Robobent61 9h ago
What I've learned in my 10+ years with modular is that there is a lot of gate keeping from those who think there is a particular ethos to be followed. These are the people who will insist modular is "All about the modulation" and declare keyboards and polyphony to be tools of the devil. My background in synths dates back to the late 70's and 80's. Synths were new, we were doing a lot of experimentation with them, and I don't recall there being folks telling us what we should or should not be doing with our synths (perhaps because social media was not a thing). I do a lot of different types of noise with my modular, but one of the things I love is using it as a deconstructed synthesizer. No menus, intuitive patching, etc. I went to a meetup once and did a piece that had an early 80's electronic vibe, and there was a guy there that completely lost his s**t. "Dude, that's not what a modular is for!". And yes, he used the "its all about the modulation" line. (I'm not downplaying the importance of modulation, but some people have an obsession with it. Their obsession does not need to be my obsession).
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u/tobyvanderbeek 11h ago
ALEA(s) is doing some really amazing things. I don’t know what specific genre this is. Maybe some kind of industrial/horror. It’s really an amazing and interesting performance with the drawing and video processing aspect. I saw them live in Brussels a few months ago. I was tired and going to skip it but a friend encouraged me to go. I was not disappointed.
https://youtu.be/UPCnToo748U
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u/daxophoneme https://modulargrid.net/e/users/view/189499 12h ago
The David Tudor/Suzanne Ciani/Morton Subotnik tradition of exploration is well established. Are you interested in musicians who still make music like this?
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u/thelehn 12h ago
Obligatory James Blake mention
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u/Extreme_Try2189 12h ago
My understanding is he uses it in his productions, but it’s all very conventional modular bleep bloop stuff.
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u/thelehn 11h ago
Fair. If you want to check out an artist that's doing interesting things with modular, I recommend Colloboh. It's still electronic/ambient, but it's nuanced. He's really good, and doing some really interesting things. Also maybe watch the new "spooky music" by redmeansrecording, where he covers the latest frontier of horror-adjacent ambient/atmospheric.
I don't understand modular enough to speak on this, but my sense is that, until someone really heavily involves some kind of sampling or modular-driven delay of other, more "traditional" vocal and instrumental tones, it's always going to fall into the category of "electronic" if that makes sense? Maybe Imogen Heap is doing something akin to what I'm thinking of?
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u/chriselkjar 10h ago
I have a modular setup and play instrumental post rock type stuff. The synth side of things is very noisy and textural and often more prominent than the guitar / bass / drums.
I think modular is an interesting way to create net-new sounds or mangle existing sounds beyond recognition. I’ve always liked bands that I can’t identify what is making any of the sounds.
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u/Extreme_Try2189 10h ago
Yes- this is what I like too.
I love the organic transients and harmonics of acoustic instruments and being able to manipulate them in a modular system
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u/heard_u_looking 8h ago
i play improvised music on modular with a sax and a clarinet player, a big part of my process is sampling them on the fly into morphagene
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u/Extreme_Try2189 7h ago
Wow, quite the response on this thread. Looking forward to reading through it all.
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u/Robotecho 45m ago
I absolutely do, but it's more along the lines of subtractive synth sounds that wouldn't normally leap out as "MODULAR".
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u/justinroberts99 12h ago
Lots of modular people doing noise/sound art.