Photo courtesy Steven Zydek
Nicholas Elert
Nicholas Elert
With the 2020 release of the Milwaukee anthology LP Wired Explorations Vol. 1, coproducer Steve Zydek documented a loose subculture of electronic music artists from our area. Since then, Zydek has taken the concept onstage with a music series, “Wired Explorations,” at X-Ray Arcade.
Zydek grew up in the ‘80s when Eurythmics ruled the charts. Always open minded to music, he recalls how he tried “to recreate Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rockit’ with any electronic sound devices that I could get my hands on. I had access to some of this stuff as a kid because my dad was an electrical engineer by trade and also a part-time musician.”
Of course, electronic is a 10-letter word with a universe of definitions. Zydek’s boundaries for the music are “pretty loose,” he says, including “mixing electronic instruments with acoustic instruments and sounds that might be considered more organic such as field recordings of birds. For me, it’s really defined by employing electronic instruments to the point that these electronically produced sounds are the primary focus.”
Electronic music has existed long enough to have grown deep roots. “I think the younger generation of electronic musicians, at least those who I interact with,” Zydek says, “are just as influenced by the forerunners of this music like Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, Wendy Carlos, Suzanne Ciani, Brian Eno and Kraftwerk as the older musicians are. It also seems that most contemporary electronic musicians and fans of this music have universal respect and appreciation for artists such as Richard David James (Aphex Twin) and Autechre. That being said there are certain younger musicians who are drawn to electronic sound designs for the sounds themselves without being connected to any sort of electronic music history or related scene.”
By curating the Wired album and organizing the live Wired series, Zydek hopes to foster a sense of community in Milwaukee around electronic music. “I get quite excited and passionate about connecting with people who appreciate the many facets of this art form—especially the more experimental sides of it,” he responds. “I spent much of my youth involved in the DIY punk scene, so I think it’s fair to say that much of my inspiration is also somehow rooted in that experience. A couple of other Milwaukee-based organizations with similar goals that I’m also involved with currently are the Ableton Live Meetup group and Golfshoe Studio in Riverwest which host monthly synth meets. I encourage people to check them out!”
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The next installment of “Wired Explorations” will feature performances by Racine’s Jay Mollerskov and Milwaukee’s Brandon Logic and Nicholas Elert. There will also be a swap meet with tables where people can bring gear for trade.
“What has drawn me to electronic music for much of my life is the seemingly endless possibilities in sound design and an inherent openness to computer-aided composition,” Zydek explains. “As a software engineer myself, I have a fascination with how computers have been involved with music-making in general and continue to challenge our ideas of what's possible.”
“Wired Explorations” will be held 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 24 at X-Ray Arcade, 5036 S. Packard Ave., Cudahy. Admission is free for the all-ages event.
