Name: Matthew Ryals
Nationality: American
Occupation: Musician, producer, composer, sound designer
Current Release: Matthew Ryals's new album Exalge, a collaboration with effe effe (Federica Furlani), is out via Infrequent Seams.
Shoutout: Synth Library NYC. Providing broader access to music technology is having a major positive impact on all kinds of electronic music making.
Recommendation for New York, USA: Roulette Intermedium

If you enjoyed this Matthew Ryals interview and would like to know more about his music and upcoming live dates, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Soundcloud, and bandcamp.
 
For a deeper dive, read our earlier Matthew Ryals interview.



Many artists have told me that they're in discovery mode when working with the modular. What are some of the things you recently discovered while working with your own set-up?

There’s always some degree of searching and discovery when I’m working with the modular synthesizer.

In certain contexts, like improvising with others, it is oftentimes a more controlled kind of discovery, where I need to respond quickly and have a fairly accurate sense of what might emerge when I activate a sound or change a parameter. In the studio, though, the process is often more open-ended, a matter of exploring sounds and processes I want to to work with.

I’m frequently discovering new things which is probably why I keep coming back to the instrument. Just the other day, while working with a patch I use for improvisation, I realized I could trigger one of my secondary voices with one of the primary ones. I’m always looking for ways to tie sounds and events together, so this was a lucky find.

There are artists who can realise their ideas best with a traditional – or modified – piano interface, others with a keyboard and a mouse, yet others by turning knobs or touching screens. What's your preferred and most intuitive/natural way of making music and why?

These days, the modular is my most intuitive and preferred way of working.

I tend to avoid working with a linear timeline in a DAW, a screen, or a traditional keyboard. I’m definitely more drawn to interacting directly with the instrument by patching, turning dials, flipping switches, using touch controllers, or setting up self-playing generative systems, sometimes combining both approaches.

That said, when it comes to pitch-based music, I’m probably most comfortable with guitar as this was my first instrument and what I went on to study through graduate school. There’s a kind of physical familiarity with it that will probably never leave.

What did your first modular look like? Tell me about the first pieces you produced and performed on it, please.

In mid-2015, I started out with an empty case that sat around for a while before I slowly began filling it with modules. Most of those early modules have since been sold as my process evolved, though I’ve kept a few of them.

With that earliest setup, the modular was controlled mostly by the computer, which was generating the note events via midi. The modular was accompanied by other tabletop synths and soft synths, but eventually everything fell away until only the modular remained.

Some of the first projects with that early setup were recreating previous pieces for live shows that were originally made with software instruments; I remade the sounds on the modular and sequenced them from the computer. I also created new work for Cleveland Public Theatre and a few choreographers.

My release Machine Memory, which I think of as more of a mixtape, features a fairly early version of my modular system.



The synth has undergone many changes since then, but it has stabilized quite a bit the past few years.

There is a worldwide community around modular synthesizers. How would you describe your involvement with it and its role for your creative development especially in the early days of your modular journey?

When I was first starting, I learned a lot from Walker Farrell’s Make Noise videos and DivKid’s excellent module tutorials. I scoured ModWiggler reading about other people’s experiences with modules before I might buy them. I also turned into an obsessive reader of manuals for modules of interest and even other electronic instruments for research and to deepen my understanding.

These days, I teach modular synthesis workshops and lessons, and sometimes have the opportunity to be a guest lecturer or lead a workshop while on tour. Sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas with others is an important part of my practice, and I really enjoy those opportunities.

Modular synthesizers allow for the most diverse and personal set-ups. What were some of the most surprising/inspiring configurations or ways of playing the modular that you've seen?

I don’t seek out modular synthesizer music or listen to all that much of it. That said, I really enjoy Thomas Ankersmit’s work with the Serge. His album Perceptual Geography is one of my favorite records.



He plays mostly very manually, there’s not a whole lot of complex CV routing.

Thomas Lehn’s work with the EMS Synthi AKS (not modular, but has the pin matrix for signal routing) is deeply inspiring as well. His versatility is unlike anything I’ve seen from another electronic musician.

[Read our Thomas Ankersmit interview]

Can you take me through the evolution of your modular system up to your current set-up? What are aspects you consider when buying a new module?

At first, my system was mostly sequenced by the computer. Later, I moved toward using a mix of sequencers; some modular, some external hardware. I’ve always gravitated toward modules that don’t rely on screens or have numerous button combinations. Over time, I shifted to simpler but more open-ended modules, usually analogue, building-block style modules.

I was very inspired by Serge synthesizers and the idea of patching up what you need from fundamental building blocks. I tend to think of what I do as working with voltage as material, and these types of modules let me approach that in a fluid, unhindered way. As my understanding of synthesis deepens, the more I value this kind of design.

[Read our feature on the Serge Paperface]

I also look for modules that are ergonomic, with features like attenuation or attenuverters on CV inputs, and I try to avoid anything with trim pots. I’m a huge fan of Joranalogue modules.

Which modules incisively changed your way of making music – and why?

For a long time, the Make Noise René, Tempi, and Mutable Instruments Marbles were huge for me. Being able to save states on René and Tempi made it possible to compose sectional music while still taking advantage of all the flexibility of their multiple CV inputs and outputs.

Marbles was incredible to use in a variety of ways too. I loved finding interesting patterns with its locking feature and then pushing those patterns further by modulating the parameters. Most of the music on Voltage Scores and impromptus in isolation use those three modules extensively.

Frap Tools’ Brenso also deserves mention because it taught me so much about FM, AM, and wave shaping. It was how I began exploring many of the FM techniques I still use when improvising today.

The first track on Exalge, “Knots”, opens with Brenso’s two oscillators engaging in cross-frequency modulation and oscillator sync tricks, creating rhythmic threads that are quite unusual.



More recently, Joranalogue’s Generate 3 has been one of my favorites.

The flexibility, wide ranges, and openness of the entire Joranalogue line allows such freedom while working. It’s opened a lot of possibilities that I’m still uncovering.



Portability has been one of the main drivers for music production over the past years. What importance does mobility have for you when it comes to production – and what strategies for making the modular portable have you developed?

I’m not interested in cramming everything possible into the smallest footprint, which is often a concern for Eurorack players. However, it’s important to travel with a setup that allows you to do what you need, is as comfortable as possible to lug around, and helps minimize additional travel expenses.

I use an Amalgamod travel case with four rows of 104hp. It folds up with the patch still intact and fits into most U.S. airplane overhead bins. That case, along with the modules inside, a touch controller/sequencer, and a few foot pedals, makes up my dedicated improvisation setup, which I use almost exclusively in concerts.

With a keyboard and a traditional synth, I would instantly know what something would sound like if I pressed down the keys a certain way. Would you say the same is true for the modular and certain patches and modules? How does working with wires, cables, and plugs change your perspective on music?

With my improvisation patch, which has been in development since around fall 2022, I generally have a pretty good sense of what the sound will be when I turn up the level or unmute a voice. But rarely do I know 100%, which is kind of wild if you think about it.

I imagine it’s similar to some extended techniques on acoustic instruments. Overblowing or extreme resonances can be quite unstable, and I’m assuming you might have a general sense of the sound that will emerge, but not all of its details.

Working this way feels like I’m sculpting electricity in real time with my hands. It’s also shifted the way I think about music, leading me to focus more on sound itself and less on traditional musical hierarchies or structures.

Modulars suggest a more immediate relationship with sound. In how far does this hold true from your point of view and what has working with them taught you about sound in general?

Working with the modular has made me consider every aspect of sound: the overtone spectrum, signals below, within, and above our hearing range, how speakers move air, and how sound travels through space.

It has completely changed the way I view my practice; I now think of working directly with electricity and voltage as my material, with the speakers and surrounding space serving as the resonator.

In which way does the modular influence musical results and what kind of compositions does it encourage / foster?

For me, it has encouraged non-linear composition, unfixed tempi, and thinking in terms of frequency rather than pitch, which opened the door to microtones, atonality, and more. It invites one to think from the most elemental aspects of sound to the macro.

Of course, which of these pathways and others open up depend on the individual working with the instrument.

Describe the creative process for Exalge, please.  

Exalge was recorded live in concert, a fully improvised set at the venue of the same name in Milan, Italy. I was on tour there in November 2023 in support of Generative Etudes Vol. 2.0, released by SØVN Records, a label based in Turin.



Opening the concert was violist Federica Furlani. I really enjoyed her set, and feeling tired of playing solo, I asked if she’d join mid-set after giving her a nod, and she kindly agreed. The full performance was fortunately documented by the venue, and the album presents the unedited, complete set.

The vinyl edition also includes a solo modular bonus track, an improvisation I recorded at home.

Many modular set-ups still do not support saving patches or quickly switching between them. What possible benefits or inspiring consequences does this quite severe limitation have for your own music and creative practise?

The inability to reproduce a patch or even a piece of music exactly encourages one to embrace unpredictability and rethink live performance beyond reproduction or perfection. Alongside improvisation, it has taught me to listen deeply and to approach what emerges in the moment not judgmentally, but as material to shape.

These limitations often lead to unexpected moments and creative surprises that might not arise in a perfectly reproducible system. I also think this limitation has pushed me to learn my system thoroughly so I can reach the sounds I want efficiently.

For those curious about saving functionality, there are ways to do it at least partially: preset modules, multi-output sequencers, Make Noise’s state system in René and Tempi, hybrid computer-modular setups, and so on. Even so, there will always be challenges and limitations.

I am under the impression that choosing the modular is not just a musical decision, but somehow extends into other parts of one's life as well. Can you reflect on this a little bit?

Well, what I can say is that I’m fairly technically minded, I enjoy working with my hands, and I like engaging with tactile materials in daily life. I try to approach life as much as possible as an experiment, within my means. I don’t feel the need to have an answer for everything, while still relishing the depth of understanding I can gain about something that truly interests me.

The modular and my approach with it seems to align well with all of these tendencies.

For you personally, is the goal to become as proficient and fluent on the modular as others might get at the piano – or to keep discovery mode on forever?

I would say both, actually. I want to become as proficient as possible, but I also want to keep discovering new ways of working with the instrument and new sounds.

Stagnation is of no interest. To me, experimentation, discovery, and proficiency are all part of the same kind of fluency.