The DNA of electronic music has roots in Europe, including influential West German bands Can, Kraftwerk, Neu! and Tangerine Dream. It should come as no surprise then, considering Milwaukee’s European immigrant heritage, that this compilation of local artists connects the historical dots. Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood seems to be something of a nexus for this music with the Starling company manufacturing modular synthesizers, Modular Addict, a shop that sells DIY modular synth kits and parts, and neighborhood resident Grant Richter, synthesizer pilot of experimental band F/i.
Wired Explorations Vol. 1 is a buffet of concise tracks by Milwaukee artists. The sound of modular synthesizers dominates the aural landscape from full-on compositions (Tarek Sabbar’s “By Night” conjures the ominous sound of footsteps approaching) to nightmarish soundscapes (Masturbating Ape’s “Ape Shall Touch Ape” is a miniature noir recalling The Residents.
Sequenced and looped musical phrases, found-sound vocals, delayed signals – anything is fair game in this free ranging genre. Valcove’s “Supplicant” and Marc Ferch & Kevin Kosmeder’s “Cash Cow” whoosh and shriek like birds to a propulsive motoric beat. Nicholas Elert’s “Through Supersonic Years” is an interstellar side-trip recalling Giorgio Moroder’s influence and Pressboard’s “p and q” turn jitterbug agitation into video game repetition. “Edible Tuxedo” by Hot Science delivers up-tempo shenanigans nodding to dubstep and “Sights by Wavefiler—is a prime example of how to combine simple elements—drum machine, keyboard wash, a drum machine and a melody into a haunting piece of music. The final track, ontonomy’s “teenage lullaby,” is the sound of a 21st Century music box.
