Group signalling sonic socialisation

SOUNDWAVES pulsate through the air and with the turning of a dial, hushed ambient sound shifts into jagged, droning noise.

Three men stand around the console at the source of the sound, and their eyebrows raise with the changing sonic character.

This is a common scene when members of the Ballarat Synth Enthusiasts get together, though founder Michael Groth said it’s more of a loose network than a traditional group of electronic musicians.

“It’s sort of a place for people to talk about gear, sell their stuff, show off their new toys or music,” he said.

“There’s a lot of guys with modular equipment and hardware synths, keyboards and different software, so we’ve all got a bit of a collection going on.

“There’s not much of an experimental scene in Ballarat or venues here for noise music so it’s about making those spaces ourselves at places like galleries and outdoors.”

Since forming in 2016, Ballarat Synth Enhusiasts has over 90 members, many of whom, Groth said, joined during the pandemic.

A local for about 20 years, Groth established the group after the disillusion of a similar initiative in Melbourne that he was part of.

Many members are part of other synth groups in the region like SMAM in Daylesford and the Castlemaine Electronic Workshop.

Phil Coyle is one of the intersecting members, and said an aim of the group is to be part of a wider network between the groups.

“Between us, we’re sort of trying to bring all these communities together of regional electronic musicians,” he said.

“It’s about breaking down the barriers of what people think music is. This is abstract music but it’s very varied in what you can do with it.”

Upcoming events for the Ballarat Synth Enhusiasts include a workshop at Ballarat Art Space on Saturday, 24 September and a November performance at the Hepburn Sound Shell.