
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..
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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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