Patch cables, driving rhythms and the pleasure of discovering a sound you did not expect. Jessica Kert brings her love of modular synthesis to Sonic Days this November, with a musical practice that connects performance, experimentation and teaching.
Born in Pegnitz and based in Berlin, Jessica is an electronic musician and techno producer who enjoys playing improvised live sets with her modular synthesizer. Her work combines insistent rhythms, psychedelic textures and hypnotic melodies. There is a physical side to it, too: the connection to the instrument, the patch cables and the act of shaping sound in the moment.
An instrument to explore
Jessica has developed her knowledge through her own experiments and her work at Berlin’s synthesizer store SchneidersLaden. That curiosity runs through a career that has taken her to Atonal, Ars Electronica and Superbooth, with releases on labels including Detroit Underground, Atmophile Electronics and Associated Paraboloid.
Her music offers a way into modular synthesis through listening. Repetition can give you something to follow while the sounds around it become unfamiliar. It is an invitation to pay attention to texture and movement as much as to melody and rhythm.
One night with a Buchla
Her latest album, I Am Not Kind, was released by Detroit Underground on 4 September 2023. Recorded with a Buchla System 200e in a single night of isolation, its nine tracks move through repetitive rhythms and surreal soundscapes. Patterns offer a foothold, then shift the balance again.
It is a good place to start if you are new to her music. Give the sounds time to unfold, and listen for what changes around the repetition.
Open I Am Not Kind in Apple Music.
Sharing the way in
Learning to express yourself through a modular system takes time, and sharing that knowledge is an important part of Jessica’s work. She teaches synthesis, performance and production, including workshops for women, trans, inter and nonbinary participants.
At Berlin’s UdK Summer University, she teaches alongside Kim Feser. Their modular music course brings practical patching together with artistic questions: when does complexity open up new possibilities, and when does a simpler approach better serve the music? It is a balance many musicians will recognise, whatever instrument they play.
Artistic exploration into modular synthesis
How much control do you need to make the music you have in mind—and when is it worth letting the instrument surprise you? In Artistic exploration into modular synthesis, Jessica brings artistic experimentation together with a closer look at how a modular system works. The session welcomes all experience levels.
Through short live demonstrations on a Eurorack system, Jessica will show how modular hardware can become part of a modern production setup and an expressive instrument on stage. She will explore essential patching techniques for routing and modulating sound, then show how smaller patches can be layered into more complex sonic textures.
The lecture also looks back at the traditions of synthesizer design. Running through it is a practical artistic question: how do you leave room for “happy accidents” while still making deliberate musical choices? Jessica will explore how giving up some control can open up possibilities, and how aesthetic decisions help shape those discoveries into the music you want to make.
The final 30 minutes are dedicated to an open Q&A and a guided hands-on segment, giving participants the opportunity to try the modular system themselves. Bring your questions, whether you are taking your first steps with patch cables or looking for a different way into your own practice.
Artistic exploration into modular synthesis
Thursday 19 November 2026 · 10:00–11:30 CET
0.42 — Yamaha · Sound Synthesis
Sonic College, Kolding
Free to attend. Register for Sonic Days and add Jessica’s session to your programme.
Follow Jessica on Instagram for more of her work.