The Clark x New England Synth Fest
Saturday, January 11, 2025
6:00 PM–8:30 PM
Michael Conforti Pavilion
(See the event location map)
Get directions to the Clark
Join us for an evening of immersive audiovisual performances featuring electronic musicians from Massachusetts and Upstate New York, presented in collaboration with the New England Synth Fest.
Experience the transformation of the Clark’s Michael Conforti Pavilion as artists hissquiet, NXOR, Michael William Gilbert, OrangePeelMystic, and Architrave blend dynamic electronic soundscapes with vivid projections, pulsing light displays, and real-time animations. The evening promises a fresh glimpse into the world of contemporary audiovisual art.
Performance Schedule
6:00 pm | hissquiet
6:30 pm | Michael William Gilbert
7:00 pm | NXOR with VJ Zombie
7:30 pm | OrangePeelMystic
8:00 pm | Architrave
Synthesizer Petting Zoo
Unleash your creativity at our synthesizer petting zoo! Enjoy a relaxed space to explore, play, and craft your own electronic sounds using a variety of synthesizers. No experience needed.
Free. Seating will be available in the performance area, but visitors are encouraged to wander, interact with synthesizers at the petting zoo, and immerse themselves in the evening’s evolving atmosphere. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524.
6:00 pm | hissquiet
hissquiet, the moniker of Western Massachusetts-based sound designer and musician Ash Farrand, crafts moments of eerie nostalgia with shimmering tones and dark ambient soundscapes. Rooted in the region’s deep appreciation for introspective and experimental art, hissquiet’s music explores the balance between comfort and chaos, offering a uniquely local perspective on electronic sound design.
6:30 pm | Michael William Gilbert
Michael William Gilbert, hailing from Amherst, Massachusetts, is a composer with deep roots in electronic and world music. Having shaped the soundscape of the Pioneer Valley as a technical director and educator at institutions like Amherst College, Smith College, and UMass Amherst, Gilbert blends jazz, ambient, and global musical traditions. His latest album, Voice Ping Strum, showcases his mastery of electronic and acoustic arrangements.
7:00 pm | NXOR with VJ Zombie
NXOR, a Pittsfield native, brings his distinct voice from his Western Massachusetts roots to Boston’s thriving hardware scene. Known for blending hypnotic percussion and moody downtempo soundscapes, NXOR’s music carries the industrial and introspective tones of the Berkshires into the wider electronic music landscape.
Joining him is VJ Zombie, a Boston-based visual artist and stage designer from Madras, India, who transforms spaces through light and geometry. Over the last decade, he has collaborated with musicians worldwide, creating live visuals for artists like Four Tet and Skrillex and showcasing his work at festivals such as Magnetic Fields and Pettah Interchange.
7:30 pm | OrangePeelMystic
OrangePeelMystic, originally from Western Massachusetts, brings avant-garde psych pop to life through driving electronic anthems and a cosmic flair. Her self-described sounds—“extraterrestrial,” “psyche pop electronica,” and “experimental noise-trance”—offer a fresh and boundary-pushing voice from the region.
8:00 pm | Architrave
Architrave is the Ballston Spa-based synth-pop project of multimedia artist Jennifer Maher Coleman and bassist Paul Coleman. Drawing from darkwave, 1980s new-wave, and sci-fi soundscapes, Architrave’s post-punk basslines and lush synths set the stage for themes of isolation, love, and dystopian unease.
The New England Synthesizer Festival, based in Boston, is a welcoming community of synthesizer enthusiasts. Since 2004, they have supported exhibitions, meet-ups, performances, and educational events, embracing all technologies, styles, and levels of expertise related to synthesizers.
Image: OrangePeelMystic by @mtrigphoto
Experience the transformation of the Clark’s Michael Conforti Pavilion as artists hissquiet, NXOR, Michael William Gilbert, OrangePeelMystic, and Architrave blend dynamic electronic soundscapes with vivid projections, pulsing light displays, and real-time animations. The evening promises a fresh glimpse into the world of contemporary audiovisual art.
Performance Schedule
6:00 pm | hissquiet
6:30 pm | Michael William Gilbert
7:00 pm | NXOR with VJ Zombie
7:30 pm | OrangePeelMystic
8:00 pm | Architrave
Synthesizer Petting Zoo
Unleash your creativity at our synthesizer petting zoo! Enjoy a relaxed space to explore, play, and craft your own electronic sounds using a variety of synthesizers. No experience needed.
Free. Seating will be available in the performance area, but visitors are encouraged to wander, interact with synthesizers at the petting zoo, and immerse themselves in the evening’s evolving atmosphere. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524.
6:00 pm | hissquiet
hissquiet, the moniker of Western Massachusetts-based sound designer and musician Ash Farrand, crafts moments of eerie nostalgia with shimmering tones and dark ambient soundscapes. Rooted in the region’s deep appreciation for introspective and experimental art, hissquiet’s music explores the balance between comfort and chaos, offering a uniquely local perspective on electronic sound design.
6:30 pm | Michael William Gilbert
Michael William Gilbert, hailing from Amherst, Massachusetts, is a composer with deep roots in electronic and world music. Having shaped the soundscape of the Pioneer Valley as a technical director and educator at institutions like Amherst College, Smith College, and UMass Amherst, Gilbert blends jazz, ambient, and global musical traditions. His latest album, Voice Ping Strum, showcases his mastery of electronic and acoustic arrangements.
7:00 pm | NXOR with VJ Zombie
NXOR, a Pittsfield native, brings his distinct voice from his Western Massachusetts roots to Boston’s thriving hardware scene. Known for blending hypnotic percussion and moody downtempo soundscapes, NXOR’s music carries the industrial and introspective tones of the Berkshires into the wider electronic music landscape.
Joining him is VJ Zombie, a Boston-based visual artist and stage designer from Madras, India, who transforms spaces through light and geometry. Over the last decade, he has collaborated with musicians worldwide, creating live visuals for artists like Four Tet and Skrillex and showcasing his work at festivals such as Magnetic Fields and Pettah Interchange.
7:30 pm | OrangePeelMystic
OrangePeelMystic, originally from Western Massachusetts, brings avant-garde psych pop to life through driving electronic anthems and a cosmic flair. Her self-described sounds—“extraterrestrial,” “psyche pop electronica,” and “experimental noise-trance”—offer a fresh and boundary-pushing voice from the region.
8:00 pm | Architrave
Architrave is the Ballston Spa-based synth-pop project of multimedia artist Jennifer Maher Coleman and bassist Paul Coleman. Drawing from darkwave, 1980s new-wave, and sci-fi soundscapes, Architrave’s post-punk basslines and lush synths set the stage for themes of isolation, love, and dystopian unease.
The New England Synthesizer Festival, based in Boston, is a welcoming community of synthesizer enthusiasts. Since 2004, they have supported exhibitions, meet-ups, performances, and educational events, embracing all technologies, styles, and levels of expertise related to synthesizers.
Image: OrangePeelMystic by @mtrigphoto
