Making electronic music can be incredibly intimidating for beginners: What's the best hardware to buy? How do you use it? And all those cables!
To give budding musicians a little guidance, this weekend's Tokyo Festival of Modular at SuperDeluxe in Roppongi offers an opportunity to geek out on equipment, see some performances and pick up a few tips on music engineering.
The festival brings together professional and amateur musicians, plus several specialized sellers, and is sponsored by more than 30 related manufacturers, including big names such as Roland and Korg. There will also be people on hand to demonstrate and share their knowledge of the equipment, as well as offer advice to novices.
If the music is your priority, Saturday night features American musician Richard Devine, who has been experimenting with electronic music for about 20 years, followed by Singapore-based conceptual artist Black Zenith. The night ends with Japanese musicians Axonox and Dreampusher.
Sunday welcomes veteran Keith Fullerton Whitman and experimental artist Omei, both from the United States, and closes with the Japanese trio DenshiKaimen.
"Tokyo Festival of Modular" takes place at SuperDeluxe on June 7 and 8 from 5 p.m. on both days. Headlining acts play live at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are ¥2,500 per day (¥4,000 for both days) in advance or ¥3,000 at the door. For more information, visit www.super-deluxe.com/room/3619.