I know, ‘modular synth albums’ isn’t really a music genre, but I think you know what I mean: albums wherein the modular synth played a central role in its creation.
Here is my list, in no particular order:
Generator by Keith Fullerton Whitman (2010)
“Proper digital release of this 2009 suite of “Automatic” Electronic Music, the recorded debut of the “Generator” concept, recorded during September 2009 on a Doepfer Modular system with a few key Plan B circuits, now in the permanent collection at MESS in Melbourne.”
This was released on Bandcamp on June 1, 2010. KFW recorded and released other instances of the Generators patch during this decade.
Cascade symmetrie by @rbeny (2017)
“Cascade Symmetry is the culmination of an intense and transformative year-long period. It is an ode to new beginnings and the disintegration of the past.”
Water Memory by @stripes (Emily A. Sprague) (2017)
“Water Memory began as an imagination of the feelings that are floating through the natural world around us. It morphed and cycled and gained memories of my own which are now contained like those in all bodies.”
EARS by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith (2016)
“…nothing compares to the sound of a Buchla. In my mind a Buchla synthesizer has the most human sound in it. I wanted to show the Easel’s versatility and range of motion within a live set. I also wanted to spend as little time as possible in front of the computer during the creation.”
A year of time by Matthias Puech (2017)
To quote myself on this album:
“The different timbre’s are beautifully layered. It’s sounds synthesized but at the same time organic. There is some ghost in Matthias’ modular system that wants to be heard. There is lots of movement and tonal changes, and yet there is always that calm, richly colored and slowly moving drone underneath it all. I highly recommend to give it a listen, or two, or more.”
Selected Public Works, Vol. 1-4 by Lightbath (@fourhexagons) (2019)
“Selected Public Works Vol. 1-4 collects four years of modular synthesizer performances by composer/improviser Bryan Noll with his Lightbath project. The majority of these works were originally presented in video form showcasing—in real time—the physical act of coaxing music out of a mercurial box of colorful wires, knobs, and lights.”
No Sound Without a Misunderstanding by Fousek / Hansen / Tellier-Craig (@analogue01) (2016)
"Karl Fousek: modular synth, electronics
Devon Hansen: computer
Roger Tellier-Craig: modular synth, electronics, computer "
“Dreamy lines resting on rich textures, echoes of musique concrète, quasi-pop harmonic progressions, hypnotic percussive dark patterns, and again, nervous micro-time structures and a strong sense of construction, with a predilection for circularity.”
Collected Works Vol. 2 - New Process Music by m. geddes gengras (2014)
“eight pieces for modular synthesizer and multivox tape echo. originally conceived as a follow-up to ‘THE EMPTY SPACE’, using many of the techniques first explored in that album to create a more condensed & organized work.”
Which Way To Leave by John Chantler (2016)
“The self-reflexive sequencing that tracks the sub-harmonic series in the opening blast of 'Falling Forward’positions the record as Chantler’s most explicitly melodic. These melodies however do not exist in a mono-dimensional vacuum, rather they co-exist in a meshed framework of dynamic timbral layers.”
and also in my mind theres an element of “from the community” that i’m taking into account that wasn’t in the prompt *shrug.
)