Dutch Modular Fest 2026

Dutch Modular Fest 2026 will be held this next weekend on the 28th of August.

Dutch Modular Fest is a one-day event dedicated to modular synthesis and DIY electronic music culture. 

Artists, instrument builders, and enthusiasts from the Netherlands and abroad gather for live performances, hands-on workshops, and a curated market of gear, makers, and independent creators.

When: Saturday, 29 August 2026
Where: WORM, Boomgaardsstraat 71, 3012 XA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Opening hours:12:00 – 22:00

There will be live performances by modular and electronic artists throughout the day. The musical program features Titanic Ambient with T.Raumschmiere ( I once saw him perform a raw Techno-set at the Eindhoven Klokgebouw, but this will be completely different), and performances by Raaf and Estroe, KROON, Numbers Station, Alberta Balsam, and Colloid.

In the DIY area there will be workshops & talks by Jeroen Visser and This is Not Rocket Science, workshops by Jan de Block, Roey Tsemah and Lavendel Kranz, and a curated market with modular synthesizers, electronic music gear, DIY projects, makers, and independent creators.
Full list of exhibitors: https://www.dutchmodularfest.com/market-2026/
This is your annual chance to connect with the community and hang out with builders, artists, and fellow enthusiasts.

More info at https://www.dutchmodularfest.com/

and even more on Instagram: http://instagram.com/dutchmodularfest/

Check the WORM website to get your tickets HERE!

 

The new DMF logo 🧐 

For the first time, Dutch Modularfest will also host a pre-party on August 28 from  19:30 – 23:30.

This evening brings together people involved in the festival for a program of short sets, demonstrations, experiments, and encounters, featuring Synthux Academy / Roey Tsemah, Casperelectronics / Peter Edwards, Sonoscopia / João Ricardo, Schreibmachine, Jeroen Visser, Klemtoon, and Yapace & Pakkadej.

The preparty is free for everyone with a ticket for the Saturday festival, without a festival ticket, entry is only 6.00 €

Tickets and full info on this event are available at

https://worm.org/production/preparty-dutch-modular-fest/

 I will (sadly) not be attending this year again.... I'm a year in recovery now, and still not fit enough for a full day/weekend out and meeting too many people at once... 

SOMA Laboratory Announces New Colors for LYRA-4 and Limited Edition 'Rusting Soma' Edition

Polish SOMA laboratory was founded by Vlad Kreimer in 2016 after success with the LYRA-8 synthesizer, an interesting concept that he called“Organismic”, meaning that LYRA uses some principles that lie in the base of living organisms.
"The way how LYRA’s modules interact between each other and the behavior of the instrument resembles a live digital conversation."

New colors added to the original white and black versions

While LYRA-8 was based on eight generators, Soma re-launched this as LYRA-4 as a 4-voice version and the latest news is that they added a bunch of flashy colors for the fans...
They now added green, pink, orange, and Zanzibar blue to its cast of colors.

Their design is not like any traditional subtractive synthesis VCO. 

Instead of having a linear or logarithmic dependency on control voltage, they resemble the tone generators in old electric organs. Hence the use of the term “voices” instead of “VCOs”. 

Lyra uses non-linearity a lot, and the voices are constructed in such a way that allows for non-linearity to express itself.

It even comes in pink now! <3

The voices are divided into two pairs (12, 34), creating tree-like structure.

The voices can function either in an electric organ mode or in an FM synthesis mode with each of the voices and its envelope acting as a separate FM operator. The voice’s impact on FM synthesis will decrease along with the decay of its envelope.

LYRA-4 also has the next blocks:

The HYPER LFO is a complex low-frequency generator, whose waveform is synthesized from two simple LFOs by summation or multiplication of their frequencies. It also has a sync mode. The LFO can modulate the selected pairs of voices and the MOD DELAY.

The MOD DELAY consists of delay with feedback. The delay has a unique possibility of self-modulation where the output signal modulates the delay sample rate, creating cool effects.

The DISTORTION is last in the chain, after the delay. It enables the delay to also influence the distortion.

For all its experimental character, LYRA is a professional instrument. Its output dynamics and frequency response are balanced and ready for a live performance or studio recording without any additional processing.

Video: The Power of 2 x LYRA-4 (SOMA labs demo)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/@somasynths

On the other side of the color spectrum, the company is offering a special “Rusting SOMA” limited-edition bundle containing the PULSAR-23, LYRA-8, and COSMOS.
Not just another color, the special bundle's housing utilizes the highest level of production by using a unique technology and not just an artificial aging of each product.

While each product is being offered individually, each order of a complete set of the Rusting SOMA bundle comes with matching serial numbers for each product.

Each new color variant, including Rusting SOMA, is already shipping.
LYRA-4 is priced at €360
The PULSAR-23, LYRA-8, COSMOS bundle is priced at €2,700 (add €300 for Turret version)

To learn more, visit https://somasynths.com/cosmos