Monthly Event - The Modular Cafe Aldershot

bchampion96 · September 7, 2022, 4:42pm

UPCOMING DATES:

7:30pm West End Centre, Aldershot

2023 Dates!

11.01.23
08.02.23
15.03.23
12.04.23
10.05.23
14.06.23

13.09.23
11.10.23
08.11.23
13.12.23

Hi All,

I’ve mostly been a lurker here on the forum, but I think the time has come to make a thread to share the community I help to run. I’m so proud of what we do!

ModCaf is a community interest company formed around the Modular Cafe Aldershot to advance the cause.

Our mission statement is below:

The Modular Cafe Aldershot is a monthly, electronic and experimental music meet up with performances, seminars and a jamming session in Aldershot (Hampshire UK)

MODCAF’s mission is to develop and encourage an inclusive community of people with a passion for electronic and experimental music.

In doing so it seeks to provide a dynamic, supportive environment for sharing knowledge, experience and skills for the performance and promotion of live electronic music, focussing on the use of technology as a live instrument. It also seeks to advance the art of performance of such music with a view to engage with and stimulate a wider audience.

I’ll keep this thread up to date with our latest happenings, but for now please see the videos from our last two events! If you’re in the south of the UK or anywhere within shouting distance, we’d love to meet you at one of our evenings!

Facebook - The modular cafe - aldershot
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/modcaf
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/modular.cafe.aldershot/
Discord - MODCAF

georgie · September 7, 2022, 5:10pm

Thanks for posting @bchampion96

Summer Session was ace

bchampion96 · September 8, 2022, 8:08am

The outdoor ones certainly are a blast!

I’ve added the upcoming dates to the original post up top!

Blackdown · September 8, 2022, 9:36am

It is an epic community. Very proud to be a part of it.

Cementimental · September 8, 2022, 10:43am

Looks great, will see if I can make it over there any time

bchampion96 · September 8, 2022, 8:13pm

20 odd characters of Great to hear!

unsounded · September 8, 2022, 8:53pm

You have been lurking in lines Mr Champion …nice idea!

bchampion96 · September 9, 2022, 7:35pm

Passing on a message from our own Ian:O:

‘Just a little update for you guys on Q121.
The funding application, despite a certain amount of torture, has now been submitted. Cross all of your fingers…and those of all your friends and relatives. ACE say that it may take up to 12 weeks to process.
Onwards and upwards!!!’

But the question is: ‘What the hell is Q121?!’

In short, a UK Arts Council funded project, old, abandoned wind tunnel, ambisonic experimental album, Adrian Utley wil be there composing and performing with our community. For more info, you can see the video and document below:

BIG STUFF!

AlGonzo · September 10, 2022, 5:22pm

Hi Ben, I will eventually attend one of the monthly meets, November looks to be the first I can make. Quite happy to do something about the Benjolin if the group would be interested. Cheers, Alan

bchampion96 · September 10, 2022, 7:36pm

Great to hear from you Alan! We’d definitely love to hear some Benjolin from you, especially considering its impact on your synthesis journey!

AlGonzo · September 11, 2022, 6:55am

Okay I will prepare something for November, a Benjolin demo.

FeltTrip · September 11, 2022, 8:06am

These look like brilliant nights! Will try and make it over from London for one sometime

bchampion96 · January 8, 2023, 4:46pm

New dates added on the original post! Hope to see you at the West End Centre soon!

bchampion96 · January 8, 2023, 5:16pm

Huge news!

WE HAVE SECURED FUNDING FROM A.C.E. FOR THE Q121 PROJECT!

For those who havent heard yet, ModCaf is embarking on a huge project, thanks in no small part to the brilliant mad ideas of my co-founder Ian. With the amazing support of the Arts Council England, the ball is beginning to roll!

20 or so of our woundrous community are joining us in an historic wind tunnel (giant, epic-sounding concrete box) - Q121, in Farnborough UK to record (ambisonically no less) an album of experimental music with the legendary Adrian Utley!

The simplest form of our brief to the 20 or so of our community who are involved is ‘Record your response to this amazing space’. Q121 is an incredibly special. I’m lucky enough to have spent quite a bit of time recording in Canterbury Cathedral in the dead of night when it’s completely empty. Something about the reverberation, silence and the sense that you’re not really supposed to be there produce an effect on me that’s almost physical. Q121 does this same thing, possibly to an even greater degree with the addition of something slighlty unsettling (in a cool way) - it’s an absolute privilege to experience it. I’m confident people will have similar feelings once they’ve been there too.

There are several outputs of the project:

YouTube videos for parts of the process
An album on Bandcamp
A limited release vinyl, tracks selected by Mr Utley
A documentary of the project
An academic study on our community and what makes it tick
A live performance at the wind tunnel

This project is coming together in 4 distinct phases:

Stage 1 (mid February): Testing the PA we’re using, recording example tracks, selecting the speaker locations to produce the most interesting spacial effects and producing impulse responses for our artists to use to begin their compositions.

Stage 2 (likely April): Armed with the knowledge gained from the video and their tests using the impulse responses, the artists then come to Q121 in to explore and test their ideas.

Stage 3 (probably May/June): The artists record their pieces in the wind tunnel.

Stage 4 (probably autumn): Live show at Q121 supported by Rushmoor Borough Council

This is the biggest and most exciting project of any kind I’ve ever been involved in. The support and passion from everyone involved is incredible to behold! I can’t wait to see what our talented friends create in response to such a special space!