What is The Signal Path?

The Signal Path is a Melbourne/Naarm group covering all things related to hardware based electronic music production and performance.

Expect live hardware electronic music events, synth meets at Howler Brunswick and radio shows (interviews/jams/rig rundowns) on Area3000.radio and our YouTube channel.

Modular Theme Time is a modular synth collaborative. Online and live in person. More than 100 artists from around Australia & New Zealand (and sometimes other places) have produced 27 albums together since 2019. It has now been closed to the public to concentrate on the other elements of TSP. You can listen to all the albums on most streaming services and listen/download on the MTT Bandcamp page.

TSP is a not for profit group. Everyone involved volunteers their time.

How did TSP come about?

In 2019 I was getting good enough to confidently jam on my modular synth with friends. I really loved jamming with others as I tended push myself and experiment more. I though this would be great for other modular artists as well, so I started Modular Theme Time. MTT has now been closed to the public as I concentrate on TSP, but 27 albums later, a wonderful community grew out of it, who very much appreciated MTT, and will always be something to cherish.

In 2024, I started the TSP radio show. Sindy of Area3000 put a callout for shows at the end of the 2023 season. Different types of shows were being prioritised. Live hardware is different! I applied, and was successful.

Marcus Newman asked if he could help in the first session with Shay Doe, and videoed some of the first interview. It went well and he suggested we video the show and put on it YouTube. Super! TSP radio show and YouTube was formed. Quick thanks to Boris Divjak for taking up the video mantle.

Later that year Guy Urban Spaceman asked for me to look for a venue for Vicmod, as after covid he needed a new space. I spoke to Kevin of Stable Music who offered Howler on a Tuesday night. I thought about it and decided to put a 'less exclusive' meet on under TSP. Instead of making it just modular synths, we could welcome the electronic hardware music community at large. I ran it by Guy and he was all for the idea. The TSP synth meet was born.

In 2025 Gregor McNish offers to make a website for me, as he is now retired. How awesome is that! I hope you like it. We chatted about what we can put in it. As well as links to all things TSP and MTT, we put a guide to upcoming live hardware events in it. I start a Facebook message chat so that all the people I know that are live hardware can share their upcoming gigs and chat live hardware. Makes it easy for me instead of having multiple threads or asking people individually, or chasing things up. So for upcoming live hardware gigs all you have to do is drop in on the index page. Helps for those that are moving away from the social apps as well. (I would be off them as well if I could!)

Finally, I have decided to run events. Because I think that is a wonderful thing to do, and give more opportunity for artists to play and improve their live performance skills. So keep an eye out for TSP events as well.

In summary, The Signal Path was born of a passion for live hardware electronic music. Here we are, at this present moment. Who knows where it will take us next.