I spent an enjoyable Friday night with my 3-year-old son watching I Dream Of Wires, a documentary about the modular analog synth. The recently released “Hard Core Edition” clocks in at 4 hours! Highlights include a complete history of Moog and Buchla modulars, interviews with electronic music icons including Vince Clarke (of Depeche Mode, Yaz, and Erasure fame) and Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), and a glimpse into the current state of Eurorack modulars. Also, happy to hear everyone in the film pronounce Moog correctly! (It rhymes with “vogue.”)
I was pleasantly surprised to find that my son was interested in the sights and sounds of these electronic beasts. We’ve got a Moog Voyager at home, which is basically a digitally-controlled Mini Moog, and he loves pressing the keys and twiddling the knobs and listening to the results. There was one humorous moment when he turned to me and asked, “Are these guys talking to us?” I suppose it’s an appropriate question for a kid who never watches anything but cartoons! A word of warning–there are quite a few f-bombs in there, so parental guide is definitely suggested.
Anyway, this was timely viewing for me because we’re currently shopping for an analog modular for the Music Tech Department at Foothill. We’re leaning toward a basic Doepfer starter system with a sequencer. Doepfer is the company that started the Eurorack movement and they’re still the 800-pound gorilla of the modular scene. You can check out Doepfer here.
