MOOGFEST 2019. Festival announces.

Moogfest 2019 reveals the latest additions to its performance lineup plus details of its daytime programming for its 15th anniversary celebration in Durham, N.C., April 25–28.

Inventor, composer and 2012 Moog Innovation Award winner Thomas Dolby joins the lineup for three rare appearances, including a live performance and a two-way interview with Buzzfeed News Sr. Investigative Reporter and 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist Jason Leopold. Dolby and Leopold will converse on their shared passion of truth seeking among creative topics. A professor at Johns Hopkins University and digital audio pioneer, Dolby will also perform a musical set on Saturday evening at the Carolina Theatre combining his stylized use of set, visuals and music for enhanced storytelling. Dolby will open the evening with a visual chronicle of how his songs came into being through live projections of his audio workstation as the individual layers are added to form the entire song as its performed.

Moogfest is renowned for fostering interactivity between its attendees and participating artists and is proud to unveil its daytime programming in much greater detail. Following the initial announcement of Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore leading its conversation series, Moogfest has also added Daniel Miller, founder of seminal synth-pop and industrial label Mute Records, for both a conversation and a DJ set. Tim Heckerwill participate in a conversation about his most recent record which incorporates Japanese gagaku music. Topics to be explored include his particular approach to hybridized music, the concepts behind his recording process, and the implications of two cultures colliding creatively.

Also included in today’s announcement are legendary composer and arranger Craig Leon who will hold a joint conversation with William Basinski, discussing their new records and their respective composition processes. LP Giobbi, Drum & Lace, Suzi Analogue, and several other women performers at Moogfest will participate in a discussion moderated by scholar Dr. Tiffany Naiman on empowering more women to choose the behind-the-scenes work of producing, sound designing, engineering and mastering. Plus Wolf Eyes cofounder and noise artist Aaron Dilloway and techno experimentalist Bergsonist will join in daytime engagements as well.

Moogfest is also proud to present cutting-edge workshops and presentations led by its top-tier artists. Renowned for his work at the intersection of visual art and live performance, techno artist Max Cooperwill hold a lecture on integrating these concepts into the new A/V project he’s performing at Moogfest. Wolfgang Voigt, the mastermind behind minimal techno project GAS and the founder of Kompakt records, will share his philosophies behind his seminal project.

Sound designer Richard Devine will explore synth design with renowned author of modular synthesis techniques Kim Bjørn and various instrument designers. Topics include the philosophies behind different electronic instruments and discovering new ways of interfacing with electronic music. Bjørn will also teach workshops on modular synth patching techniques at the festival. Kimbra will discuss her creative process, her career, and her production work. Mount Kimbie’s Kai Campos will be in conversation about the contrasting expressions between a live set and DJ work.

Several performers, technologists, and leading academics will host workshops on a variety of subjects including programming controllers, software/hardware interfacing techniques, sound manipulation, circuit bending, and spatializing sound. A Place to Bury Strangers member and Death by Audio founder Oliver Ackermann will lead a workshop on building your own oscillator. Los Angeles-based experimental electronic musician Baseck will lead a workshop on how to turn any sound into a percussive beat. Spellling will hold a workshop on overcoming creative blocks in the style of Eno’s “Oblique Strategies.” Ela Minus will conduct a workshop about the process for live mixing outside the computer and making electronic music more human.

Longtime Beastie Boys collaborator Money Mark will demonstrate the Echolodeon, which converts player piano rolls to MIDI and can be performed live with any polysynth module or modern keyboard. Multidisciplinary artist Lula Mebrahtu will demonstrate the use of gesticular musical gloves. Music technology company Sunhouse will host an introduction to sensory percussion and examine expanding the drum set with computers and synths.

Bryan Noll’s Lightbath project will take attendees on a Soundbath immersive experience. Film composer and experimental artist Felipe Valencia will lead a workshop on using sensors in interactive sound environments. His interactive sensorial sound installation Nucleo Concordia will explore the auditory cortex of the human brain via a multichannel sound system that surrounds the audience. Performance artist Kristel Jax will guide audiences through a drone therapy session. Filmmaker, writer, and political organizer Astra Taylor will present a visual lecture on imagining and reimagining “the people” through art and activism. Drum & Lace and Patrick Gleeson will explore the “Psychology of the Score” as well as “Sound Manipulation Techniques for the Modern Field Recordist.” Plus workshops from several leading universities will teach circuit bending, WebVR and more.”

Moogfest is also excited to welcome Ash Bowie of Polvo and Helium fame, who will perform a very special set with a band of his friends and close associates. Poèmes Électroniques will lead the final Church of Space installment, a ritual of esoteric synthesis, virtuoso percussion, live video, jazz improv, and occult knowledge.

Returning to the festival is Moogfest official sound partner Meyer Sound Laboratories, who will provide Spatial Sound to various venues at the festival including The Armory, Fruit Co., the Carolina Theatre, and 21c in collaboration with Virginia Tech Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT). This year’s spatial sound system at the Armory will feature Meyer Sound stereo line arrays, twelve high impact, full range surround positions and six discrete channels of low frequency support. Afternoon spatial sets will be tailored for this venue by Jim Lang, Patrick Gleeson, and Max Cooper.

Also performing at the Armory will be Matthew Dear (live), The Field, Kimbra, Jlin, Stephan Bodzin, and Mount Kimbie (DJ set). 21c’s Main Gallery will use a six-channel system to enable an immersive sound experience for durational performances by A Place to Bury Strangers, Richard Devine, and Greg Fox, as well as the Sleep Concert led by avant-garde composer WIlliam Basinski who will also be performing an additional live set including select songs from his acclaimed new album. The Fruit Co. will include a quad system to provide new spatial opportunities for DJ sets by Daniel Miller, Matthew Dear, nd_baumecker, Mor Elian, Bergsonist, Ouri, Minimal Violence, Brooklyn English, and the afterparty with The Floor. All three systems will leverage Meyer Sound’s Spacemap processing for these live performances.

Moogfest invites music enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels to explore instrument design via the Moog Pop-Up Factory, the Modular Marketplace, and the Engineer Workshop. Moog Music temporarily moves its production to the Moog Pop-Up Factory at Moogfest, where the company live-builds Moog synthesizers from the ground up. The Modular Marketplace is a free interactive pop-up featuring boutique electronics, experimental effects, and eurorack synthesizers that showcases the future of electronic music while giving attendees the opportunity to meet instrument designers and play, test drive, and take home the next generation of musical devices.

The Moogfest Engineer Pass provides VIP access to the festival and the unique opportunity to work alongside Moog Music Engineers during a two-day synth-building workshop. Participants learn the foundations of analog synthesis and are guided through the process of building their own unreleased analog Moog synthesizer — no experience is necessary. This behind-the-scenes experience gives attendees the opportunity to engage Moog engineers while gaining insight into the art of electronic design. This year’s unreleased Moog design explores how electronic instruments can create an analog of the human experience, speaking directly to the way in which physical circuits can resonate within oneself, creating a “Spectral Shift.”

For more information and to purchase tickets visit Moogfest.com.

General Admission $249.
This pass grants you access to all festival venues for performances and conference programming: conversations, workshops, and installations. Workshops are available via limited-capacity RSVP (Engineer and VIP Moogerfooger festival passholders receive first priority on a limited basis).

VIP $499.
This pass grants you priority access to select festival venues, exclusive events, lounge with complimentary snacks and beverage, an exclusive Moogfest gift bag, and more. Workshops are available via limited-capacity RSVP. (Engineer and VIP Moogerfooger festival passholders receive first priority on a limited basis.)

Engineer $1500.
This two-day synth-building workshop, led by Moog engineers, invites a select group of enthusiasts to build their very own unreleased Moog analog synthesizer. The workshop is conducted in two, multi-hour sessions. No experience necessary, but basic soldering knowledge is recommended. Participants in the Engineering workshop also receive priority access to select festival venues, exclusive events, lounge with complimentary snacks & beverage, an exclusive Moogfest gift bag, and more. Workshops are available via capacity-limited RSVP. Engineer Festival Pass holders receive first priority selection on a limited basis. Engineer Festival Passes available for a limited time, while supplies last. Scheduling of Engineer Workshops are prioritized by the order of purchase.

Moogfest Press Accolades.
“Moogfest has emerged as the opposite of typical electronic-music festivals. It largely ignores so-called ‘big room’ dance music in favor of sounds that stretch boundaries and explore sonic phenomena.” – New York Times.

“The most diverse music and culture festival I’d ever been to.” – Wired.

“Technology at the service of music and art” – PBS Newshour.

“Moogfest isn’t just a festival to lose yourself in, it’s also a place to find yourself”
– Consequence of Sound.

“At Moogfest, I learned a lot about where music is going and how innovation is pushing it there.” – FastCo.

“A heady mixture of complex artistry, innovation, controversy and sonic madness”
– MixMag.

“Moogfest has become an essential beacon of electronic music in North America.”
– Resident Advisor.

“Moogfest is more than just a bunch of artists doing their things on stage. It’s an educational opportunity to explore and experiment with some of the wildest and most daring minds in electronic music.” – Billboard.

H/T Magnum PR.