colleen

POST WRITTEN LAST SUNDAY 5th JULY 2026 AFTER MOUNTING MY FIRST MODULAR CASE :-)

I swear I did not attempt to recreate that photo of me age 8 receiving my first ever musical instrument for Christmas 1984, as I told Jose @jjos_1 @vostok_instruments to take a picture of me after I finished mounting my first modular rack yesterday at his workshop, and yet, given how I felt – *exactly* like a little kid who’s been given something they’ve wanted for a long time – I guess it’s no surprise I should have the exact same facial expression and even the same hand positions as on that photo.
Over the past 2 years my interest in modular developed exponentially, and as someone who truly believes synthesis has changed their life, going modular was always part of the plan at some point down the line, but I didn’t want to rush it, as I wanted to stay true to my minimalist temperament.
I was lucky to be able to have many conversations with very intelligent and knowledgeable people, I let those conversations sink in while taking very precise notes, and of course I listened to and observed modular setups in person whenever I could. I am particularly indebted to Eric @elevatorsound_eu Jose @vostok_instruments Sam Prekop @1sampre Alexis Delong @alx__dlg and Chelo @31_3h3l0 .
It was clear from the get-go that I wanted to play rhythmical parts with my modular, but it was only during the last shows of my Libres antes del final tour in June that I realized 2 other crucial things: 1) I also want to MAKE these drum sounds 2) I will keep the @moogsynthesizers Matriarch, as it is the perfect expressive tool for the harmonic and melodic approach I want to keep pursuing.
I came back with this idea of a mostly analog no-sample MODULAR DRUM CASE, and after a couple of additional meetups with Eric and Jose, I was finally able to narrow down the list of initial modules that make the building blocks of this case.
I feel extra lucky that in keeping with his super generous spirit, Jose has 1) lent me a case so that I don’t have to decide right now which size and which case to go for 2) lent me his Envelope, Attenuator and VCA/mixer modules 3) let me buy his yet-to-be-released module which was just what I was looking for 🤯🙏

Dear everyone, here I am trying to catch up on all the content I was able to post on Instagram because it’s a way faster platform than WordPress… At this stage I am not even trying to keep this in chronological order! :-))) So here are the posts I wrote when I came back from Waking Life festival last week, as well as the reel of the Public Records show that started my US tour on May 2nd, which I only published last week as I was recovering from a virus.

But first 2 of the very few interviews I did on my last album Libres antes del final, one for Radio Primavera Sound from mid-June which you can watch or listen to on Soundcloud, Mixcloud or Spotify, and one for KLOF magazine – READ HERE from late May

WAKING LIFE, OR THE TOUR ENDING I WASN’T EXPECTING – WRITTEN ON 23rd JUNE 2026.
Yesterday I played my new album Libres antes del final @thrilljockey live at @wakinglife.pt near Crato, Portugal, for around 6000 people, closing a festival that is a unique moment of the year for around 12000 people who gather there year after year. I had been invited to play since 2017, but only last year did I feel confortable and confident enough to go for it, when I started to feel that the new album was going to translate to a powerful live show.
I never would have imagined that the end of the festival, on a Monday evening, is *the* moment of strongest attendance at the main stage, with all other stages closed, everyone exhausted and happy from the previous 5 days. I had such an amazing time and feel so grateful to Ellen de Nys for insisting for so many years and giving me this opportunity to close the festival. I also won’t forget the complete silence before I played the last song, “Amor”.
The heat was brutal, dust everywhere, the site stunning, the architecture blending in, eschewing screens and conspicuous lighting, letting the music, the place and the people be the centre pieces.
The sheep who were allowed to enter the hotel grounds were suffering from the heat too, and the scenery bears the mark of drought, so it is also sad to see this and the consequences for all living things.
I also met people from the Middle East and it was heartbreaking to see their sorrow, and a reminder of how relative my problems are.
Thanks to the whole @wakinglife.pt crew and volunteers for being so adorable and professional and to everyone who felt the music, made me feel you were with me as I played and told me so afterwards 🙏🙏🙏

PS: the festival has a no photo policy which I tried to respect at the maximum, hence no photos of the show or crowd.

MEMORIES FROM LONG PLAY FESTIVAL, PUBLIC RECORDS, NYC, 2nd May 2026 – WRITTEN ON 3rd JUNE 2026
The tour is over, and sure enough, my immune system went down and I caught a virus last week that has made me feel in the flesh how close to an actual burnout I’ve operated for the past few months, especially taking into account the special circumstances of my dad passing away just a couple of weeks before going on tour. 
I did it though, 31 000 kms just for the tour, and today this footage from my show at the mind-blowing  @publicrecordsnyc in New York brought a big smile to my face, because seriously, even with a phone recording, if you put on headphones you can hear how potent that soundsystem is 😍
Thank you so much Francis Harris @francisscissor Sruly Lazaros and Bang on a Can @bangonacan for having me for the second time and this time as part of Long Play festival and Chris Weingarten @octavedowner for the amazing sound delivered with the kind of enthusiasm and good humour one does not forget (and great lighting too!!!)  
A huge thank you if you came to the show and special for the 📷 @glasser_ @daddy_garbage @swbain @wkc.ckw
Gear: @moogsynthesizers Matriarch #moogmatriarch

Dear everyone

As usual, going on tour has meant I have had to leave this website to the side, as it has been so intense: travelling, soundchecking, playing, logistics and admin, posting stories from the live shows on Instagram before they disappear, as well as a couple of posts while on the road, all going on simultaneously… It – predictably – took me a long time to recover from the West Coast jetlag when I got back on 13th May, and I am ready to leave again for the last 4 shows.

I am keeping the custom I started on the last tour of joining people’s stories together to create reels on Instagram and I am also posting them on Youtube, in spite of the images’ vertical format: I love having these as memories, and hopefully some of you too will be happy to see them, whether or not you were there.

So here are 3 reels from the Barcelona shows in Casa Montjuic and Laut, with the third reel focusing on the new song I now play at the end of every show, entitled “Amor”. I will record the song this summer and release it as a Bandcamp exclusive for future fundraising for animals, so more soon on this.

I will try to post my adventures in Chicago and the West Coast, where I celebrated my 50th birthday, soon.

As usual THANK YOU so much for your support, it means so much to me!

Next 4 shows: 10 June @icalondon – LONDON, UK – 11 June @botanique_bxl – BRUSSELS, BE

– 20 June @infinitodelicias – MADRID, ES – 22 June @wakinglife.pt  – CRATO, PT

MEMORIES FROM @rewirefestival , CONCORDIA, 11TH APRIL 2026 Part I: LIVE PREMIERE OF “LIBRES ANTES DEL FINAL” @thrilljockey
Officially entering my “I prefer to play standing venues” era: I have proof people moved their bodies, and this made me sooo happy as I was hoping this would happen 😀😀😀
Heart also full now from the two shows in Barcelona @foggyhexbcn @casa.montjuic @lautconcert last Sunday 

US tour starts this Saturday and goes on in Europe
2 May Long Play @bangonacan @publicrecordsnyc – NEW YORK, NY
3 May @makingtimeisrad @johnnybrendas – PHILADELPHIA, PA
6 May @constellationchicago – CHICAGO, IL
7 May @beacon_sound @friendsofnoise – PORTLAND, OR
9 May @thelabsf – SAN FRANCISCO, CA
11 May @pehrspace @2220arts – LA, CA
26 May @silent.green – BERLIN, DE
10 June @icalondon – LONDON, UK
11 June @botanique_bxl – BRUSSELS, BE
20 June @infinitodelicias – MADRID, ES
22 June @wakinglife.pt – CRATO, PT

LIBRES ANTES DEL FINAL REAMPING @casa.montjuic with @owt_taller_de_sonido : PART II – 📷 Morgiane Rebouh @gigi_storming

Playing tomorrow in Barcelona at @casa.montjuic and @lautconcert with @foggyhexbcn loops the loop for me in so many ways. 
2 years ago, on 20th April 2024, I decided to overcome my fear of water by learning to swim in the sea here in Barcelona. This decision opened up a whole new path for me mentally and physically and seeped into my vision for the album: compositions and synthesis were directly shaped by the idea of bodily movement, physicality and fluidity. 
I also decided very early on that one of the things I would do for this album would be to reamp it in my favorite venue in town, Casa Montjuic: Mexican sound engineer Oswaldo Terrones @owt_taller_de_sonido came with some of his own microphones and we rented the famous binaural Fritz head from @joelcondal , and assisted by Joel’s assistant @xeniafontt and the venue’s sound engineer Oriol Estu, we spent Sunday 19th October 2025 recording the album’s finished stereo tracks in the venue.
It was a peaceful and yet intense atmosphere: peaceful because we had chosen a Sunday due to the massive road work happening near the venue, plunged in darkness most of the time as we switched off the lights to minimize sound pollution; intense because of the music sounding way more foreboding once amplified.
Thank you so much Morgiane Rebouh @gigi_storming for being there and capturing the atmosphere with your beautiful photos.

Tomorrow I get to play 2 shows presented by my dear @foggyhexbcn: @casa.montjuic 7 pm now sold out, with @takiononqoy opening with a DJ set, @lautconcert next door 9 pm with @franciscososa closing the night. I had some amazing time dancing at the club, and this experience of dancing also shaped the album, so I’m super excited to be playing in the middle of the room tomorrow with everyone standing and – hopefully – moving to the music.
Playing in Barcelona also means I get to give back a little bit of what I received through the town’s active modular scene and the numerous events organized by @barcelonamodularsociety and @elevatorsound_eu
Muchas ganas de veros alli! :-)