Legowelt will release Unconditional Contours, his new album, in October.

Unconditional Contours is a probe into the Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments (SMEM), a collection of more than 5000 synthesizers, organs, drum machines, and effects that have been collected over a 35-year period by Klemens Niklaus Trenkle.

Legowelt, real name Danny Wolfers, visited SMEM in Fribourg, Switzerland, in early 2019 to become the institution’s first artist in residence.

Across the album, Wolfers used hand-picked synthesizers from the museum’s archive, including the rare Farfisa Synthorchestra and the EVS-1 Evolution, the “shittiest rompler ever made,” he says.

“When I first saw this collection, I was truly flabbergasted. Endless rows of synthesizers—some so obscure I had not ever seen nor heard of them. This place will probably turn into the world’s most magical place for synths.”

Leaving ample space for new sounds to unfold, Wolfers invokes gentle trips, brooding excursions, and bleep-heavy soundscapes, we’re told. You can read more about the setup here.

As Legowelt, Wolfers has been a key figure in the Dutch electronic music scene since the early ’90s, steadily releasing timeless music that merges the pioneering sounds of Detroit and Chicago with idiosyncratic sci-fi fascinations. He released Tips For Life, his latest album, earlier this year, also on his own Nightwind Records.

Read more about Wolfers in his XLR8R Artist Tips feature here.

Note: A limited edition of this album was already sent out to early supporters of the exhibition. This is its first public release.

Tracklisting

01 / A1. Unconditional Contours Memory Moog
02 / A2. Châteaux dans le ciel Farfisfa Synthorchestra 2
03 / A3. Swiss Fairytales
04 / A4. Little Music with a Big Synth
05 / A5. Evolution EVS-1 Promars and Prophet 5
06 / B1. Prophet Vector Synth Dazzling in the Sun
07 / B2. These Phenomena Are Not Well Understood
08 / B3. SMEM23 Digital Clap Trap Promars Prophet
09 / B4. Roxannes Magic Watch
10 / B5. FBT Synther 2000

Unconditional Contours LP is scheduled for October 2 release. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream “Unconditional Contours Memory Moog” below.