Musique Non-Stop: The 2018 Ann Arbor Synth Expo in pictures

MUSIC REVIEW

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Last weekend the Ann Arbor Synth Expo (formerly Mini MoogFest) returned to the basement of the Ann Arbor District Library's downtown branch for an afternoon of hands-on music-making and knob-twisting fun.

Approximately 350 patrons over the course of four hours had a chance to play with various synthesizers in the AADL Music Tools collection as well as talk to instrument and effects creators such as Vintage King, Zeppelin Design Labs, and North Coast Modular Collective. The day also featured performances and talks by Robot Rickshaw, Alex Taam (Mogi Grumbles) and Anıl Çamcı, and companies such as Sweetwater, ReverbPittsburgh Modular, Perfect Circuit, SynthCube, Electro-Faustus, Arrick Robotics, and more provided branded T-shirts, stickers, pens, screwdrivers, and more to the visitors. 

Below is a collection of photos from the 2018 Ann Arbor Synth Expo by AADL staffers Josh Barnhart and Christopher Porter.

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photos by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photos by Christopher Porter (left) and Josh Barnhart (right)

Photo by Christopher Porter

Minnesota's Troy Rogers used his Robot Rickshaw to explain musical concepts and then demonstrate them via human-robot improvisations.

Photo by Josh Barnhart

Photo by Christopher Porter

Ann Arbor's Alex Taam, who records under the name Mogi Grumbles, brought his 1973 Mini Moog for patrons to play with in the Secret Lab and then led a discussion that introduced attendees to the basics of synth music.

Photo by Christopher Porter

Photo by Christopher Porter

Anıl Çamcı, an assistant professor of Performing Arts Technology at the University of Michigan, performed an audio-video piece that featured him reacting in real time to the projected images, which were continually reworked and distorted.

Visit the Concerts & Music section of aadl.org's Events page to see a list of upcoming programs and check out the library's Music Tools page to see the instruments and other music gear in the lending collection. Click here to read the wrap-up of the 2017 Mini MoogFest (now known as the Ann Arbor Synth Expo).