Hello everyone,
I was wondering if anyone could help suggest potential modules for a Keith Fullerton Whitman-style modular synthesizer.
I know like most people he's always tweaking his setup but I would like to explore some potential options inspired by him.
He mentioned in this old lecture he has a clock powered by an Atari 2600 chip and it sounds amazing.
And here's a video of one of his live performances:
Thanks for posting this. It took me down a rabbit hole. I saw KFW perform ~generators in SF in 2011 or so... and it blew my mind. Funny, it took me another eight years to get into physical modular synths. And I'm only realizing now how impactful that performance was on me; he's improvising lines, like a jazz solo played on a clock divider or driving an entire system from simple gestures. What's amazing to see is his comfort around chaos and how well he navigates to disparate plateaus of sound, one after another.
KFW makes it clear in this video[1] that he's using a combination of a few modules based around a concept or abstraction (e.g. chaos/feedback in clocking via OP's link). It's so refreshing, and this approach appeals to me because you get to hear the boundaries of the sonic character of his voice(s).
I think if you build a system around his approach, you'd be well served by complex voices like those from Industrial Music Electronics (he mentioned Zorlon's Cannon), Schlappi Engineering, many others. Importantly, would be to pick a "shape" (e.g. clock feedback) that integrates chaos/feedback and develop gestures. I've been working with XAOC Drezno for sometime and use it to transform simple CV into arabesque pitch and gate information that drive an entire generative system.
Something that's brilliant about KFW's work is how he utilizes control that feeds-back with audio. It's something that I've been working with recently and can be rewarding but challenging to contextualize. I think this approach may lend itself better for compositions that use on a single line/single voice.
Curious to see what you come up with. Please post a system, as it happens.
[1] Resonant
KFW was by far the largest inspiration for me getting into modular and I always find myself returning to his work to pilfer ideas. I figured I'd revive this thread to collect some more info in one place for later reference.
A 2016 version of "Generators" as a patch from scratch:
A photo of his live rig from a 2018 tour:
