About Last Weekend: Solar Vibes Festival @ SuperChill

As soon as i opened my cardoors at arrival and heard the bleeps and chirps from Estroe blown my way by a light breeze I knew it was going te be a good day..

Estroe Live

I had a fun afternoon at the Solar Vibes Festival @SuperChill last saturday. 

The synth-event, organized by Ricardo Verschut (Tectonia), was located in the middle of nowhere on a small and cozy farm just outside Leusden... 

On a small improvised stage under a roof of solarpanels Ricardo presented an interesting lineup, with a good mix of different styles.

There was plenty of room to sit and/or lie down in the dry grass for the small crowd of around 60 spectators/ synth enthousiasts. 

Ron Boots with Harold van der Heijden on drums

Sadly I missed Skoulaman's performance, but I was just in time to see a big part part of Estroe's experimental/ ambient set. 

Synth-legend Ron Boots played some new tracks in his well-known Berlin-inspired style, accompanied by Harold van der Heijden live on drums.

Spectators enjoying the sounds of MAHU's set

After his performance it was time for MaHu's original and inspiring sound-collages.

A crisp and clear solo set by Raaf (RaafModular) on his modular followed.
I found out afterwards that my niece is already a fan of him.

He has a pleasing style, melodic and technical, appealing to most people on the field, from purists to even the random visitors that also stopped by at the festival to have a listen.

The vibe was very picnic-like during the whole afternoon, the location even had decent festival-food for reasonable prices and the people seemed to enjoy themselves a lot.

The Soulmade System and Tectonia (who organized this event) both  delivered solid sets and soundscapes while some darker clouds were getting closer. The swallows even seemed to do a little dance above the captivated crowd but luckily most of the clouds drifted away without leaving much rain.

RobotPoolParty

The day ended surprisingly with an more uptempo and eclectic set from RobotPoolParty.

Some already know Jaïr Darnoud (1998) from his hip-hop act 'Rens, Jaïr & Ome Uncle' and under the name 'Groovegod Jaïr Darnoud'.
Robbert van Zuiden (1988) used to play in bands and has been actively working with modular synthesizers in recent years.
He told me he also designs modules under the name Lucid Modular and working on his first module release 'Hey Bro, help me out!' , a specialized sequencer controller for the Moog DFAM and other 8-step sequencers.

In the past year you could have seen them performing in and around Amsterdam, but it was my first time seeing them.
Jaïr en Robbert have great chemistry on stage and their style is a unique mix of punchy beats, distorted dub, their own alternative groove and influences of Surinamese Kaseko. 

It was good to see how their energy reflected to the audience and finally made quite a few get up and do a little dance...Animistic Beliefs... eat your heart out... this is going to get huge!

It was a perfect way to end the day while the sun was slowly fading away . 

It was a pleasure seeing and meeting some of these artists as well, although I didn't get to speak with everyone. I would like to thank Ricardo for giving some extra info this event at this special location.

There are more modular events like this coming up in the near future.
This next Saturday August the 3rd, for example is Modular On The Spot at an old Bunker/Fort in Maarsseveen

Please follow and support all artists on social media.

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More RobotPoolParty:

Check out their set from last year at Paradiso 

and find them on https://soundcloud.com/robotpoolparty_com

Modular On The Spot, 3rd of August, Maarssen NL

Another modular synth-event that is taking place soon is the Summer edition of Modular on The Spot NL.

Modular on The Spot-NL is the Dutch version of the much acclaimed (open air) event for all modular music performers and their audiences.

Originally Modular On The Spot was an outdoor modular synth performance event that was started in Los Angeles by modular artist and skateboard photographer Eric “Rodent” Cheslak with bass player and modular musician Bana Haffar.

The idea came about on a camping trip to Arizona in 2014 where they set up a generator, speakers, and a modular synth at an off grid location in the middle of the desert. 

Since then, that version has grown into a free, monthly, picnic-style gathering that has been adopted by modular aficionados across the US (...and beyond (red.))

It's open to the public and offers a laid back and expansive listening environment... 

Modular on The Spot events are now taking place all over the world and the community keeps on growing. 

I believe this is already the third edition of MoTS on this location, an old Fortress/ Bunker near Utrecht. A beautiful spot... I hope the weather will be nice.

The line-up will be announced later.

Keep an eye on their social media for more: https://www.instagram.com/mots.nl/

August 3, 2025
Fort Maarsseveen
Herenweg 3, Maarssen

Free Entrance

The aim is at playing in the open air but can move inside if there’s a chance it might rain.

Wanna play? Send an email to (tectonia@live.nl) 

Solar Vibes Festival NL, 26th of July, Leusden NL

There are a lot of interesting Modular events coming up in the Netherlands this summer, and since I recently moved to Hilversum, this event near me caught my attention.

I might go and have a look if I have the time and the right autistic moodset. the line-up looks promising and it's a cool looking location. Well they even name it 'SuperChill'...

Line-up: (Times are subject to changes)

13:00 - Skoulaman
13:45 - Estroe
14:15 - Ron Boots
15:30 - MAHU
16:00 - Raaf
16:45 - Tectonia
17:45 - The Soulmade System
18:45 - Robotpoolparty


Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 1:00PM CEST 

Langesteeg 2, 3831 RZ Leusden, Nederland

Admission is Free! 

More info at:
www.facebook.com/people/Solar-Vibes-festival-NL

and on their Instagram