Synthesists Ed Ball and Ben ‘DivKid’ Wilson have launched a new podcast, Esoteric Modulation, focusing on “synths, modular and the wild and wonderful world of esoteric electronic instruments”.
For each episode, they plan to include a new round-up, a segment on modular synthesis, a look at an esoteric instrument, a look at multimedia art projects, listener questions and music from a featured Bandcamp artist.
You can preview the current episode below:
You can also subscribe to the RSS feed (https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/361115.rss) with a podcast client, or via dedicated podcast services via the EM site.
Seems like it will be fun.
I hope you find it enjoyable!
Ed (Esoteric Modulation)
I hope they focus more on techniques than specific modules. Talking about specific gear is really boring in podcasts, based on why we bleep & podular modcast — not that they’re bad overall, just gets dull when describing setups or gushing over modules.
Hi Kevin,
Ed here from Esoteric. We do talk about equipment, and yes I did gush over the Pulsar 23.. Sorry!… But the way we want to shape the podcast is to add more value than just that. So, we focus on the more unusual gear and will be having guests on that are experienced with that gear to tell you how to get the best out of it. We also a have listeners questions segment, and Ben is really good on production techniques, so we are hoping for more of that! We also talk about art projects that combine sound and music and feature a Bandcamp artist every show. I’m hoping you will find it interesting and please drop us your listener question at our website and we will talk about it on the show! On top of that, I’m always looking for ways to improve the show so your comment is noted, I’m not saying we will be all about techniques alone, but it will be part of the fabric of the show. have a great weekend. Ed
Enjoyed s1e2. (Should listen to the “pre-show” as well but ep. 2 is the one which first came up when I subscribed.)
IMHO, the format affords a bit of tweaking. For instance, an events calendar mostly makes sense in a podcast anchored in a specific geography (unless it’s about large events which bring people from “all over the World” and which are announced a long time in advance). In fact, it’s not clear that news items are that important for this podcast. There’s already a pretty good coverage of what different manufacturers are releasing. Gushing over gear isn’t too much of a problem, for me, but it can become a bit redundant if it’s about something discussed in Sonic Talk. So, discussion of the Pulsar 23 is pretty cool but “what were your picks from Superbooth?” won’t be “what I tune in for”. Then again, to each their own. Other listeners might thoroughly enjoy such a segment and tune in for that.
The connections between synthesis and other arts could lead to something rather unique. It’s so easy to get stuck in a sonic bubble, thinking about sound all the time without expanding our minds to encompass “audiovisual”, let alone fuller sensory experiences. The comparison between tools of the trade in painting and musicking was quite striking in this sense. It’s not really about “can you produce something different with other tools”. It’s much more about feeling inspired by the tools we use.
In fact, there might be a big difference between musicking and other technologies. There’s a whole lot of talk in electronic music about “can you achieve this result with that kind of synth”. But maybe other artists are less obsessed with that?
At any rate, it’s a cool addition to my podcast list, especially as we get close to the time during which many podcasts go on hiatus.