Featuring Jess Chambers, Peter Hobbs, Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa, Sonya Waters and Ed Zuccollo
Modfest is a series of gigs and workshops celebrating the exploration and performance of live electronic music using modular synths and other electronic hardware and musical instruments. It started 5 years ago as a series of free modular synth concerts beside the Zoo in Tamaki Makaurau, but as the popularity of modular synths has grown it has expanded to regular events in city venues.
Jess Chambers is a composer, musician, and educator currently based in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and working under the moniker Dream Chambers. She experiments with sound as a practice of attention: to a room, an outer world, an inner feeling. It's in that space of beholding where transformation and connection occur, and Chambers is a master alchemist. Her sound weaves textures of modular synthesizers, voice, and deep intuition – crafting gorgeous movements that refract natural patterns and brim over toward the ineffable.
Peter Hobbs composes spacious and emotive music for film, dance and immersive art installations. He enjoys exploring the terrain between the sounds of nature and electronic music and is frequently found in the wilds making music with modular synths and hardware.
Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa (Ruawaipu, Ngāti Porou) is a chameleonic drummer, percussionist and composer, who works in Te Whanganui a-Tara, Aotearoa. He studied improvised music in the Black American tradition at Te Kōki (the New Zealand School of Music) and has brought his dark, warm and esoteric sound to Aotearoa and the world with his many musical collaborations.
Sonya Waters is a solo synth artist playing soundtracks for imaginary Mid- Century films. Her music is underpinned by lush layers of synth orchestration crisscrossed with tessellations of West Coast Moog and vocoder vocals. Semi- modular cutups build into rich textural soundscapes reminiscent of 1960-70s British TV themes, old library music, and the mysterious drones of Folk Horror.
Ed Zuccollo combines complex beats, rich textures, and ethereal harmonies to produce a sonic experience that is both immersive and evocative. He draws inspiration from a variety of musical styles and transports listeners on a trip that inspires reflection and serenity.
Special thanks to Creative New Zealand for supporting Pyramid Club's programme
