MODENV vs. the machine
Imagine the future where machines have overtaken humanity. You can’t tell humans from robots, you don’t even know if you are a human! Seems like all hopes are lost… Until one day two distinctly human-like scientists find the courage to rage against the machine and do what it takes to change the future – go back in time! Running under the name of ModEnv, the duo packs their synthesizers and embarks on a time-travelling adventure that brings them to this specific time and place to tell us, still (hopefully) humans, about their origin and mission.
Before humanity was in need of a futuristic Frisian superhero-synth duo, keyboard enthusiast Remco Hoogsteen and bass master Kyle de la Porte revelled in the neo-soul space with their five-piece band Citrine. After finding shared passion for the 80s music, synthesizers and aesthetics, the two travelled back in time to the decade of limitless fascination with everything-space-related. “It started with “Ode to keys”, the final exam project for my high school,” says Remco. “I wanted to express my obsession for different types of instruments that fall under this category. I gathered a big band and we did the classics aiming for their genuine sound, like using clavinet for Stevie Wonder, Fender Rhodes for Steely Dan, and Hammond for Deep Purple. But then I thought, you can’t have an ode to keys without the hardware synthesizers and Kraftwerk. However, I couldn’t do it all on my own, so I went on a lookout for someone who would share my excitement about the idea of using hardware synths and embracing the full 80s mode. I talked with professional keyboard players who could have done an outstanding job and had enough samples on their instrument, but I didn’t need that. I’d rather have someone amateur but wacky about the idea.” “That’s when I said, yeah, I can turn the knobs,” adds Kyle nonchalantly. And thus, ModEnv was born.
Hiding behind the name of a synthesizer dial, Mod Envelope, the duo (that is actually a trio including the visual artist Jan Herman de Boer) is striving for a modulation in time that would bring them to the 80s, the dawn of the machines, which is what their self-titled EP is about. “The song that tells the essence of ModEnv is “Fight Machine”. That’s where we present our real mission to go back in time and fix the things that went wrong,” tells Kyle. “For example, there was a sunken ship on the Wadden Sea back in 2019. Its contents got stranded on the beach and anyone could have taken a grip on these washed out goods because the rule is that they belong to no one! To reflect on this dikke zee container incident we came up with “Mundo Aqua Vessel” which is somewhat of a protest song against the machinery and industrialism that we envision as a sinister factory stamping all over the earth.” Even though the EP culminates in a party song, the battle is not over. “It’s a cover up, just like the vocoder that I sometimes use to hide my humanness,” reveals Remco. “We are in the 80s and it’s all about the parties, but we need to lay low about our initial goal otherwise we won’t be able to destroy the machines!”
To achieve success in their time-travel ventures, ModEnv ambitiously endorse the 80s aesthetics up to the details even if it brings them a struggle. “It’s not an easy battle as we don’t use computers,” admits Kyle. “There might be one or two software things during the recording, but mostly it’s just the actual physical synthesizer which has its limits, but also excites our imagination.” Nodding to his sidekick, Remco adds: “There are a lot of DJs at the moment who have unlimited choices by using software like Ableton. It’s not bad in any way, but we wanted to set ourselves apart, to be as authentic to the 80s as possible, and that’s why we went with the actual hardware synths.” Even though the duo has full control of their instruments, they both remember some moments when the machine went against their will: “During some gigs, the synth would start doing its own thing instead of what we would aim for by pressing a specific button. That’s why our time adventures are so necessary – to prevent these kinds of shenanigans in the future of mankind!”
The journey of ModEnv has only begun. As they continue to carry on the experimentations launched by Kraftwerk man-machine, ModEnv return to their mundo time-travel vessel in order to come back with even greater achievements from their battles against the machines.
(Fun fact: ModEnv modulation in time gear includes Moog Grandmother, Roland Tr8s, Nord Lead A1, Korg Minilogue, Korg Volca FM, Yamaha DS55, Yamaha SY35, Alesis Vortex Wireless II Keytar, Behringer VC340 Vocoder, Arturia Keystep, and Novation Bass station II)
