- Moogfest 2016 assured itself a place among the most ambitious multidisciplinary gatherings of the year in the US. There were a few bumps along the way, as you might expect given the vision and a relocation—Moogfest moved from Moog Music's base in Asheville, North Carolina to Durham after taking last year off—not to mention the controversy generated by a divisive new state law. But that couldn't get in the way of four overwhelming days of exploratory music, art, technology and talks.
In March, organizers were met with a unique challenge when the state's conservative leadership hurriedly enacted a far-reaching—and widely criticized—law that, among other measures, eliminated anti-LGBT discrimination protections. Moog Music and Moogfest condemned the law early and often, and an event already brimming with themes of new tech and new thinking added one more, Synthesize Love. If anything, the unexpected backdrop provided more fuel for the creative fires set across the long weekend.
The festival took place in and around downtown Durham—a city of around 250,000 located in the Research Triangle—at a dozen venues, all within walking distance of each other. Most events ended by 2 AM, a point of criticism if you came to party late, or a relief if you felt the programming was formidable enough. Intertwined with an enormously diverse music lineup, there were over 100 talks and workshops, a weekend-long film festival, fixed installations and exhibits, pop-up shops, and practically nonstop opportunities to gawk at or play with a synthesizer.
Silver Apples helped kick things off on Thursday night at the mid-sized Motorco Music Hall, and his oscillator-laced pop music, trippy and otherworldly, felt like a perfect start to the weekend. Grouper, performing at the classy Carolina Theater, was distinctly immersive—Liz Harris's pensive guitar drones and wispy, barely-there vocals meshed perfectly with a dream-like video accompaniment. At a church later in the weekend, Julianna Barwick's warm choral ambient was made even more transcendent by the early-evening sunshine that poured through the stained-glass windows, her stunning voice at the forefront even as the words themselves were out of reach.
The intimate concert celebrating the legacy of Don Buchla was another clear highlight. Opening the show, Vancouver-based producer Sarah Davachi proved why she's one to watch with an elegant series of drones created on an original Buchla Music Easel. Later on, Alessandro Cortini hunched over the same instrument to deliver a closing set featuring the thick, rhythmic tones and colorful triumphs of his Forse material. Morton Subotnick and Suzanne Ciani worked with more complex Buchla-based setups to immerse the room in deep quadraphonic soundscapes. Subotnick created choppy, cerebral ambiance that gradually swelled into a heaving tempest of noise. Ciani, taking the stage with a warm smile and two raised fists, layered squiggly, vibrant melodies atop resonating bass.
The program also included a series of long-form durational events and exhibits. Robert Rich's first all-night Sleep Concert in the US since 2003 subdued the occupants of a mattress-filled ballroom with a spacious array of hushed tones, quiet rhythms and subtle wildlife samples. A couple of days later, I'd find that room rumbling beneath the weight of Richard Devine's apocalyptic IDM, and Ciani, during her own durational session there, mixed playful synth improvisations with stories from her life as an electronic musician. Antenes, AKA Lori Napoleon, connected the distant past and the present with The Exchange, a daily exhibit and performance featuring old telephone switchboards that the New York-based artist re-purposed for use as synthesizer interfaces.
There were the inevitable schedule conflicts that come with having such a strong lineup, and the throngs of festivalgoers challenged many venues' capacity, leading to some painfully long lines and difficult decisions. (Moogfest reported a total attendance of around 10,000 each day.) My Saturday night conundrum: do I try to head to the classy Carolina Theater for Gary Numan, Ben Frost and Tim Hecker, or go see Sunn O))) and Wu-Tang's GZA outside at Motorco Park?
I chose neither. Instead, I found myself at Pinhook, a bar that couldn't have held more than 150 people, which was bumping with the festival's strongest run of dance music. Veronica Vasicka kept it heavy and hypnotic, dropping tracks like Maelstrom's "Lithium" and Room 506's Nico-sampling "Drop Out"; Laurel Halo's live set grew from scattered syncopations into a brainy but more readily danceable groove; Karen Gwyer and Via App played especially intense, the former laying down high-BPM acid right from the start; and Heathered Pearls closed the night with a free-for-all techno and house workout. During the weekend, Pinhook's sweaty scene was also home to sets from Paula Temple, Patricia and Kyle Hall, whose summery selections were made even sweeter by the smell of a burning incense stick next to the turntables.
The much bigger Armory served as another key venue for dance music, with The Orb and DJ Harvey the main draws. On Friday night, Robert Hood put the pedal to the metal with a set of big, booming techno, while The Black Madonna dropped a few BPMs and spun more playful cuts. The house visuals often seemed dull and disconnected but the wide-open space, which came complete with a balcony, offered a bit of room to stretch out and sit down if necessary.
The festival's rough patches could largely be attributed to settling into a new location, but for such a high-caliber event (and correspondingly pricey ticket) the issues with long lines and under-sized venues need to be addressed next year. Still, Moogfest 2016 felt exhaustive in mostly good ways, which bodes well for its future in Durham. Few other US festivals can claim to be this thoroughly adventurous.
Photo credits /
Lead - Tommy Coyote
Laurel Halo - Alex Kacha
Julianna Barwick, Kyle Hall - Ian Clontz
The program also included a series of long-form durational events and exhibits. Robert Rich's first all-night Sleep Concert in the US since 2003 subdued the occupants of a mattress-filled ballroom with a spacious array of hushed tones, quiet rhythms and subtle wildlife samples. A couple of days later, I'd find that room rumbling beneath the weight of Richard Devine's apocalyptic IDM, and Ciani, during her own durational session there, mixed playful synth improvisations with stories from her life as an electronic musician. Antenes, AKA Lori Napoleon, connected the distant past and the present with The Exchange, a daily exhibit and performance featuring old telephone switchboards that the New York-based artist re-purposed for use as synthesizer interfaces. There were the inevitable schedule conflicts that come with having such a strong lineup, and the throngs of festivalgoers challenged many venues' capacity, leading to some painfully long lines and difficult decisions. (Moogfest reported a total attendance of around 10,000 each day.) My Saturday night conundrum: do I try to head to the classy Carolina Theater for Gary Numan, Ben Frost and Tim Hecker, or go see Sunn O))) and Wu-Tang's GZA outside at Motorco Park?
I chose neither. Instead, I found myself at Pinhook, a bar that couldn't have held more than 150 people, which was bumping with the festival's strongest run of dance music. Veronica Vasicka kept it heavy and hypnotic, dropping tracks like Maelstrom's "Lithium" and Room 506's Nico-sampling "Drop Out"; Laurel Halo's live set grew from scattered syncopations into a brainy but more readily danceable groove; Karen Gwyer and Via App played especially intense, the former laying down high-BPM acid right from the start; and Heathered Pearls closed the night with a free-for-all techno and house workout. During the weekend, Pinhook's sweaty scene was also home to sets from Paula Temple, Patricia and Kyle Hall, whose summery selections were made even sweeter by the smell of a burning incense stick next to the turntables. The much bigger Armory served as another key venue for dance music, with The Orb and DJ Harvey the main draws. On Friday night, Robert Hood put the pedal to the metal with a set of big, booming techno, while The Black Madonna dropped a few BPMs and spun more playful cuts. The house visuals often seemed dull and disconnected but the wide-open space, which came complete with a balcony, offered a bit of room to stretch out and sit down if necessary.
The festival's rough patches could largely be attributed to settling into a new location, but for such a high-caliber event (and correspondingly pricey ticket) the issues with long lines and under-sized venues need to be addressed next year. Still, Moogfest 2016 felt exhaustive in mostly good ways, which bodes well for its future in Durham. Few other US festivals can claim to be this thoroughly adventurous. Photo credits / Lead - Tommy Coyote Laurel Halo - Alex Kacha Julianna Barwick, Kyle Hall - Ian Clontz