Moogfest 2011

On October 28-30, Brian Eno, Flaming Lips, Flying Lotus, Crystal Castles, Moon Duo, Tangerine Dream, Suicide, and dozens of other artists will switch on Asheville, North Carolina for Moogfest 2011.

Moogfest celebrates Bob Moog’s legacy as a sonic pioneer, which will be the thread that unites the festival’s rich array of musical offerings. While the wide range of Moog instruments – the Minimoog Voyager, the Little Phatty, the Etherwave Theremin, Moogerfoogers, and the Moog Guitar – will play prominent roles throughout the festival’s events, the artists performing will certainly not be limited to those who create their work on Moog instruments. Instead, artists will be chosen for their role in creating unique and groundbreaking musical experiences that embody the essence of Bob Moog’s visionary and creative spirit.

In addition to fantastic concerts by renowned performers of all kinds, Moogfest offers opportunities to engage with the artists in panel discussions, question and answer sessions, and workshops. There will also be interactive experiences for the audience to explore their own musical creativity with a variety of Moog instruments. The festival also offers visual art exhibitions, installations, and film screenings throughout the weekend.

Moogfest 2011 (Thanks, Vann Hall!)

• [Doctor McFacekick]

  I lived in Asheville when Moogfest started… glad to see it’s finally hit the bigtime!

• [mtnplatypus]

  Going to be so much fun!

• [mtnplatypus]

  Woops, and I should add that they are doing a moogfest room on turntable.fm so you can heard the various artists coming to moogfest, and get a chance to win tickets and merchandise.

• [Guest]

  OH! I wish I could go! That sounds AMAZING! 

• [Guest]

  Holy F**k, I wish i could go to this… there are a lot of amazing but kinda obscure bands on this ticket. As a matter of fact, Holy F**k, The Naked + Famous, and Passion Pit are three I love that David didn’t mention.

  Oh yeah, and TV on the Radio. I’m kinda amazed Bloc Party isn’t playing here.

• [Pope Ratzo]

  Back in the ’70s, I remember when I got my first Moog modular synthesizer.  It was my second synth, my first being a Serge “suitcase”-style with no keyboard and a bunch of patch cord jacks an a few knobs and switches.  I remember cobbling together some crazy controllers to allow me to have something like a keyboard, though there was no way it was close to being in tune.  But those filters were so deep and resonant that it felt like I could make an audience poop its collective pants. 

  Since I was one of maybe 3 synthesizer players in town (the other two being academics) I got a lot of studio work where I was basically asked to make “science fiction noises”.

  The Moog took a beating over the next 15 years, and eventually became a pile of junk (I’ve still got the Serge downstairs, though).  It started a lifelong relationship with Bob Moog’s equipment and even something of a friendly relationship with the man himself after being introduced to him by the composer John Eaton at the University of Chicago where I was involved with building their first real “computer music” lab.

  I’m really looking forward to being in Asheville in October.  If I meet any of you there, I’ll sport you a drink. 

• [Spitty Sumo]

  no wendy carlos?

  i mean, she “only” had a hand in developing some of moog’s instruments and helped legitimize synthesizers as real musical instruments capable of being used to make real music/art.

  i’d go if only to see her perform, let alone see her on a panel discussion et cetera.

  • [sdnative1958]

    “Switched on Bach” by (then) Walter Carlos, was the first album I ever bought, back in Junior High School. Changed my life – from there, I spent years at the alters of Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, and many others. Seeing Ms. Carlos at such an event would be nirvana, and historically relevant.

• [Rob Beschizza]

  Who needs one of these things when you can slap a $80 M-Audio controller into a laptop and download a load of samples?

• [Michael Taft]

  Where are the permalinks hiding these days?

• [UncaScrooge]

  I had an opportunity a while back to help somebody record a Moog theremin.  I was amazed at how loud and clean the signal was coming out of that thing.  Moog is “Made In The USA” in the best sense of the phrase.

• [Doug Sharp]

  Self-pimp warning.

  I recorded an album of Moog wankery – Boogafoo Music – in 1974 on a modular at St. Olaf Electronic Music Studio. It was released by itsu jitsu this year: http://itsujitsu.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/boogafoo-music/

  I loved plugging in patchcords to make whacked-out sounds.

• [derin devlet]

  wow, I cant wait to see whose music crystal Castles brings! Hopefully the actual artist used a Moog on it too!

• [Lee Coleman]

  Really excited about the new lineup.  Last year’s Moogfest was ridiculously awesome, and compared to this list, had very few shows I wanted to see.  To mention a few more: Amon Tobin, YACHT, Childish Gambino, Chromeo, Flying Lotus, and Oneohtrix Point Never.

  See you in October!

  P.S. @derin devlet HELL YES. That’s the first thing I said when I heard Crystal Castles was coming. “Oh great, can’t wait to see whose music they’re gonna pawn off as their own this time!”

• [Neal Ross Attinson]

  The Moog, the merrier.