Behind the headlines, there is the reality of living through war. Our friend in Kyiv, Kaximia, (part of Tembra Modular, “Let’s explore modular synthesis”) is back to talk about how music can be an outlet. The past days and hours have been horrifying, from Tyre to Odesa, so I’m grateful to Kaximia for her reflections on this in this moment. She also talked about wanting to give back — starting with giving away one of Tembra’s modules.
Kaximia
In the photo are modules from our Ukrainian manufacturer, @tembra.modular 💜
Channeling aggression into music
From my experience of living through wаr and constant emotional prеssure, channeling аggrеssіоn into music instead of reacting immediately has become an effective form of sublimation for me.
When emotions become overwhelming, sound gives me a safe outlet that prevents dеstructіve reactions in relationships. Instead of directing anger toward people, I redirect that energy into creating sound, rhythm, and texture. The intensity of emotions decreases without harming anyone. This is not a cure-all, and I use other ways of working with my emotional state as well.
After several days of tension or another wave of news about shelling, I sometimes notice myself becoming harsher in communication. In those moments, instead of escalating conflict, I turn on my modular setup and groovebox and start working with sound. After a while, a distance appears between the emotion and the reaction, and I can speak more calmly again.
The process of patching also forces a shift in attention. It requires deep concentration and decision-making, which moves the mind away from emotional reactivity toward listening and structure-building.
There are moments when accumulated anger from helplessness and uncertainty becomes physical – tension in my shoulders, a tight jaw, intrusive thoughts. Working with sequences, noise, and repetitive rhythms helps me transform that pressure into movement and sound. Dancing while creating also helps release tension physically and reconnect with the body. The tension does not disappear completely, but it becomes manageable.
I also realized that intense or noisy music does not necessarily amplify aggression. Sometimes it does the opposite: it gives the feeling that the internal state has found its form, bringing emotional validation and reconnection with myself.
What I do in the moment:
- Notice the emotion instead of suppressing it.
- Understand the need behind the reaction – often exhaustion or fear.
- Turn on my modular system and transform tension into sound.
I also realized that intense or noisy music does not necessarily amplify aggression. Sometimes it does the opposite.
Music helps regulate emotions, but it cannot fully replace communication. I learned that the worst conversations happen when I try to speak at the peak of anger. Sound gives me the pause needed to return to dialogue more consciously.
Music is not a replacement for communication, but a bridge between overwhelming emotions and constructive dialogue.
For me, it is important to work with locally created instruments because they create a sense of connection to my environment, my people, and the reality we live in. In times when there is so much tension and destruction around us, I want to support my community and create something alive, human, and honest through sound and creativity.
In those moments, instead of escalating conflict, I turn on my modular setup and groovebox and start working with sound. After a while, a distance appears between the emotion and the reaction, and I can speak more calmly again.
Soldering DIY modules as a survival tactic
During wаr 🇺🇦, everything narrows down to the basics: fеаr, hungеr, and the search for sаfеty. But when strеss begins to аffеct the bоdу, it becomes clear that the mind is also under thrеаt – it can “freeze.”
I did not choose quick fixes or simplified explanations. I chose a process: soldering DIY synthesizer modules (one of them – the hеаrt of the synth, our Tembra Dual Oscillator, I am holding in the photo below) and learning modular synthesis. [The full case is filled with @tembra.modular 🇺🇦]
During the autumn-winter blackouts in Kyiv, when the city was cold and dark, we held workshops with @tembra.modular .
Generators were humming in the background, and dim lamps were often the only source of light. In that situation, outside the usual rhythm of life, a different kind of focus emerged – steady and almost meditative.
Soldering requires full attention. Working with small components leaves no space for anxious thoughts. Focus becomes a practical tool – not only for completing the task, but for staying mentally present. It creates a kind of clarity that helps maintain an internal state.
Here, DIY is not about saving mоnеу or replacing ready-made equipment. It is about engaging with real processes: how sound is formed, how a circuit works, how a signal emerges from silence. Building something with your own hands restores a sense of continuity when everything else feels unstable.
Wаr changes the very meaning of stability. Even a home is no longer guаrаntееd. It can be taken away at any moment — as can the people close to you. Fеаr does not disappear. It remains, together with exhaustion and dependence on others for basic needs.
A stronger-than-before necessity emerges to build a different kind of support – an internal one.
Through this practice, a sense of ground gradually forms. Skills, attention, the ability to work through uncertainty – these are things that cannot be taken away. They do not replace safety, but they help you remain intact.
In this context, soldering becomes more than a task. It becomes a way to preserve depth when everything around pushes toward simplification.
Wаr changes the very meaning of stability.
Kaximia and Tembra are giving away their module
It’s unimaginable to continue a modular business from the middle of a war zone, but Tembra Modular is doing just that. We were talking about how Kaximia wanted to give some positive energy, and in the end that meant sending out a module.
Here’s how to get involved (and maybe get the module) — head to the Instagram post and you can participate from there. Hey, if this does wind up in the hands of a CDM reader, I hope you’ll tell us what you do with it, too! I’d love to hear your music!
Separately from the giveaway, the module looks fantastic. And just as Erica Synths has done from Latvia, Tembra Modular are proving you can reclaim the Soviet-era history and put it in a new context.
This module even has sub oscillator, drive (controllable via CV!), and lots of other figures. It’s a really ingenious design. Plus you can swap chips.
I honestly oscillated (erm) on whether I should put this in a separate article. But this is what war is all about; it’s constant tonal shifts, it’s the need to actually continue to make a living. And what better way to talk about what Kaximia means about putting these emotions into the hardware and sound than to talk about the module? So do go, win one of these (or buy it if you can), and let us know what you make. I remain as committed as ever to finding ways that we give more people access to freedom to just mess around with knobs.
Related
Kaximia shared before how these modular meetups are going in Kyiv:
And Ukrainian makers have contributed to the UkrRack system:
The Beirut Synthesizer Center organizers have also talked about synthesis as a way of dealing with trauma — and how they provided open access to the gear (and free software like VCV Rack). That center I believe is looking for a new home; the organizers are currently focused on providing meals and aid to forcibly displaced people.