Modulate This! just turned 6!. Thanks to all you readers out there for your continued support. I also want to thank fellow artists and electronic music bloggers who have supported this blog through reblogs and RTs, and who have educated and inspired me through their wonderful work. Finally, I want to thank my wife for her endless support of my blogging shenanigans – especially on those days when an idea for a post turns into a 5 hour exercise.
It’s Been a Great Year With Many Highlights
- I was able to travel to play some shows which allowed me to meet some readers face-to-face and as a result I got to highlight their work through interviews.
- I released the free “Sounds from a Distant Outpost” Themed Live Pack which was downloaded over 2,000 times to date and has yielded some cool compositions by other readers.
- I went deep for you Blofeld and UltraNova owners with some super geeky posts.
- I launched a companion Mindmap Mindmeister channel for you visual thinkers with some popular maps like the Blofeld 411. The channel has had over 24K views.
- Videos continue to be popular and my combined artist/Modulate This! YouTube channel is about to cross 570,000 views.
- I released the open knowledge “9 Box Method for performance, improvisation, and spontaneous tribal jams with music, sound, and light” based on AudioCubes and Ableton Live. This has turned into a music/science student outreach program with an install in a Denver K-6, as well as a jumpstart for some of you Ableton AudioCubes users.
- I launched Patchlab as a Modulate This! Microsite. My original idea with this was to do a stream of consciousness patch library for you with individual patches. Unfortunately my schedule became too busy; and while I’ve left the patch stream up, I’ve repurposed this to be the root site for my larger free sound libraries. I consider it a success nonetheless as I got feedback that the patches in the patch stream and sound vignettes on soundcloud inspired some to go deeper with their instruments.
To Celebrate the 6th Anniversary I’ve Done a Site Refresh
- Improved Search: Promoted the search box into the top nav bar. After 5 years of posting my categories were getting a bit out of control so now you can just search for items.
- New Layout: Clean and less cluttered. Went from 3 columns down to 2 with a wider content column to make room for HD videos and bigger photos.
- Social Footer: I simplified the social footer making it obvious how to share posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.
- Right Column:
- Hot Categories: Rather than list every category I’ve crated a list of “hot” categories. These are topics that I’ve written a lot about or are getting a lot of traffic.
- Social Badges: I’m quite active in social media which I find perfect for micro blogging. Rather than try and incorporate that content back into this blog I’ve offered social badges so we can friend up quickly. I’ve also linked to my artist sites and music.
- Banners for Friends: I’ve placed banners for other organizations I support – like the Bob Moog Foundation and Electro-Music Radio. I’ll be adding more banners in the months to come.
- Recommended Sites: I’ve kept this in the right side to highlight great blogs, friends of Modulate This!, and super heroes in the world of experimental and electronic music and sound.
What’s Next?
You’ve probably noticed in the last year that I’ve started doing more classic blog-like “diary” posts focusing on the technical side of my personal journey through the world of electronic and experimental music and sound. In some ways, Modulate This! has become the technical companion to some of the activity on my artist blog. I’m going to continue down this path as the feedback I’m getting is that this more personal viewpoint is helpful to fellow artists. I will continue to find ways to use Modulate This! as a platform to support artists and developers who are shaping the future – including indie artists and small companies. I’ll also continue with more behind-the-scenes posts on synthesis and sound design as a way to give back and inspire other artists.
Onward to Modulate This! 6
Here is to another year. Thanks for being part of Modulate This!
Mark Mosher
Electronic/Experimental Music Artist, Boulder, CO
Synthesist | Composer | Keyboardist | Performer
Synth Geek Blog: http://modulatethis.com/
Artist Site: www.MarkMosherMusic.com
Mark Mosher 
3 responses to “Modulate This! Turns 6”
Thanks for another year of wonderful posts, Mark. Your blog is always a good read.
LikeLike
Happy ‘birthday’!
Congratulations on six years and hope to see many more to come!
LikeLike
I have to say, this was one of the first synth blogs I started reading, and it’s been a daily stop for me, Mark. Always great information and I appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge and experience. Congrats on six years!
LikeLike