The answer to the question “what if Oblique Strategies, a synthesizer patch sheet, and Magic: The Gathering had a love child?” — revealed.
Moog’s mission to become the industry standard for being twee / hipster / kawaii continues, with a cutesy set of playing cards that you can actually use to suggest patching ideas. It’s all part of the announcement of the new three-level Sound Studio, but I kind of imagine you’ll be able to pick these up separately, if at least as a promotional item. (I’ll ask when we’re all at the new office today if folks are interested.)
The artwork for this – as with the rest of that new package – comes courtesy illustrator Kate Dehler of Austin, Texas, whose work “explores ideas, atmospheres, and states of being through whimsical line, colors, and textures … influenced by illustrators from the 1960s and ’70s.”
The company describes this as “a synth exploration card game designed specifically for these instruments,” and says the idea evolved at Moog HQ in Asheville, North Carolina and around the gaming community there. They’re dubbing it “Circuitous Connections.” I say it recalls Oblique Stragies by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in that it appears some of the cards also suggest creative instructions.
I am a little disappointed we don’t get full gameplay, though, so – gaming minds, we have to make that happen. Berlin already has “Techno: The Gathering,” which is one of the most long-running and elaborate Instagram jokes ever, but as far as I know hasn’t yet been played as a trading game. (The detailed in-joke designs come courtesy of experienced selector and Berghain veteran DJ Vincent Neumann – don’t miss his other Instagram account ID.) So we need to get on that.
Oh yeah, if we can drag ourselves away from the synths and card games and just listen to music, Moog also have a new compilation out – Explorations in Analog Synthesis, Volume II. (I get the sense Dehler really likes Ron Campbell of Yellow Submarine / Beatles animation fame.)
This time you get Boy Harsher, Hannah Peel, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Galcher Lustwerk, Ya Tseen, Tygapaw, and Paula Temple. Of course, the list of artists to choose from using Moog stuff staggers the mind, so no wonder. They’re releasing through SoundCloud. (No Bandcamp, Moog?)
Of course, if you’re making some Moog music, send it our way.
And those of you in Berlin for Superbooth, see you soon. We’ll be looking of course at all those names that are less known than the mighty Moog, too.
Plus maybe discussing new card games. (A version of “Life” where you try to amass all the gear without going bankrupt? Or uh… okay, maybe not that, something… more escapist.)