MESS is an electronic instrument archive charity for artist workshops in Melbourne

My favourite find on the internet this week is MESS. MESS stands for Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, and it’s a registered charity workshop and collaboration space full to the brim with electronic musical instruments. There are all kinds of rare and unusual synths and technologies from the 60s onwards that have been donated to the charity, and artists can learn about them and create sound and music with them. It seems like a wonderful, open space designed for play and wonder. What a fantastic idea.

Alongside its studio space, there are teaching workshops (not accredited) and collaborative events. MESS has also started a video series called Oral Histories to explore Australia’s pioneering approach to electronic music. Australia introduced sampling into music and created the first digital musical workstation, too. Oral Histories dives into various sound engineers’ and composers’ lives as they charted new territories with the new instruments. A personal favourite is Warren Burt, who discusses his Aardvark series and its origins from watching mating aardvarks climax in front of some nuns at a wildlife centre. Not the crescendo I was looking for, but a hilarious one nonetheless.

I love discovering all of these wonderful new ways to spark imagination in future musicians and creatives. If you run initiatives or spaces dedicated to this, get in touch and tell me about them. I’m considering creating a global directory of them.

For more information about the synths, booking sessions, or supporting MESS, visit MESS’ superb website.

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