Chris Meyer's Alias Zone + Learning Modular

Chris Meyer's Alias Zone + Learning Modular Chris designed synths and digital audio recorders for Sequential, Roland, and others. Welcome to Learning Modular! Hope you enjoy the ride!

He now performs cinematic electronic music under the name Alias Zone, and shares with others how he uses modular synthesizers through Learning Modular. This page is intended to be a resource for those just getting into hardware modular synthesis. I know making the jump to modular synthesis can be daunting. Therefore, I've created a series of online courses that teach modular synthesis, using Eurorack systems, the Moog Mother-32, and Arturia Modular-V. I also co-wrote with Kim Bjørn the modular synthesis bible Patch & Tweak. The LearningModular.com web site also contains other resources, including a modular synthesis glossary. I learned synthesis in the late 70s on a Steiner-Parker Synthasystem; a PAiA modular was my college dorm-room companion. I went on to work for Sequential Circuits (where I created Vector Synthesis), Digidesign, Marion Systems, and Roland US, wrote for Keyboard and Music Technology, and taught synthesis at UCLA Extension, before taking a long detour in the video and film industry. Since then, I've coming back to my first love: electronic music. I hope that sharing my experience will ease the transition for new users today. I also perform electronic music under the name Alias Zone. News and links for upcoming and past performances will be posted here as well. The Alias Zone Bandcamp page is: https://aliaszone.bandcamp.com/releases

Please feel free to use the Visitor Posts section to share your own questions, experiences, videos, and music. I’ll be answering questions, moderating those posts to keep out spammers, and promoting the best posts to the main message thread here.

I appreciate all of the positive feedback on the chilled-out "tribal downtempo" pieces I've been writing lately. I went ...
08/25/2026

I appreciate all of the positive feedback on the chilled-out "tribal downtempo" pieces I've been writing lately. I went ahead and uploaded the entire rehearsal "We Continue On" to YouTube. Hopefully Facebook will allow me to actually share it with you without turning it into a "messaging ad"...

August 30 I will be playing during Sonic Sacred Sunday as part of t...

08/22/2026

A longer excerpt from the first portion of my set I'm rehearsing for the Soundquest Festival at La Rosa in Tucson next weekend.

08/21/2026

A little late-night rehearsal of the first half of my set for Sonic Sacred Sunday during the Soundquest Festival at La Rosa, Tucson, Arizona at the end of next week.

08/21/2026

While I was at the Museum of Music Technology last year, I spent a little time going through their collection and telling stories about several of the synths there. In this one I talk about the Steiner Parker Synthacon, which is one of the instruments I learned synthesis on. Why is its front panel laid out "backwards" compared to most other synths? Nyle Steiner told me...

08/19/2026

The opening three minutes of a new piece - We Continue On - that I've been composing for the Soundquest Festival at La Rosa in Tucson August 28-30 (I'm playing as part of Sacred Sonic Sunday on the 30th).

For those curious about the geeky details, the pad is the Dune soft synth; the slowed-down rattles and bells were recoded by me; the Diné (Navajo) narration is by elder Harry James from Voices of Native America (with permission, of course), the rhythm is Robert Rich on udu through a Mutable Instruments Rings clone, the initial sitar-like lead is another Rings, the following twangy guitar is the Strymon SuperKar+ through a virtual Minimoog filter, the echoes are courtesy of the Intellijel Sealegs module, and sequencing is done with the Five12 Vector.

Do you have your tickets yet for the Soundquest Festival at the beautiful converted church performance space La Rosa in ...
08/11/2026

Do you have your tickets yet for the Soundquest Festival at the beautiful converted church performance space La Rosa in Tucson, Arizona the last weekend of this month?

Curated by Steve Roach, it includes progressive metal and similar minds on Friday night (Blood Incantation, Pallbearer, Soriah), Steve playing one of his classic extended sets Saturday night, multi-artist showcases Saturday afternoon (Zack Hansen, Karima Walker, Morris Kolontyrsky, Tony Obr) and Sunday afternoon (Paul Riedl, Serena Gabriel, Nathan Youngblood, myself, Jeff Greinke, and Linda Kohanov with Steve Roach), plus DJs in the evenings. I’ll be playing a pair of brand-new “tribal downtempo” pieces for my set Sunday.

You can buy whole event tickets, or “a la carte” to see just the portions you want. For example, if are just interested in ambient/space/Berlin School music, buy tickets for Saturday afternoon (Ambient Showcase), Saturday evening (Steve Roach), and Sunday afternoon (Sonic Sacred Sunday).

Here is the link to all of the ticket options: https://wl.eventim.us/event/soundquest-festival-full-festival-passes/690001?afflky=LaRosaTucson

I look forward to seeing some of you there!

08/02/2026

Sunday August 2 Robert Rich and I will be co-hosting a listening party for my new album Passage, on which Robert played on every track. Not only will you get to zone out for an hour listening to this unique dark ambient recording, you’ll get to ask us questions about how it was created! (For example: The Five12 Vector Sequencer's external trigger inputs and chance operations were used to select the pitches used when I played the Folktek Nano Garden.) Please join us: noon PDT, 3 PM EDT, 8 PM BST, 9 PM CEST. RSVP to the link below to get reminders plus a link to attend:

Listening Party from Chris Meyer's Alias Zone.

I'm on the cover of the latest issue of Cosmic Chart Magazine, including a brief interview and a lovely album review of ...
07/30/2026

I'm on the cover of the latest issue of Cosmic Chart Magazine, including a brief interview and a lovely album review of Passage, my latest album which features Robert Rich:

Out Now: Explore the July Issue of Cosmic Chart Magazine!

Inside the July Issue: Top 30, Interviews, Reviews, Featured Artists.

Read and download free:

Website: https://cosmicchart.wixsite.com/cosmicchart
Bandcamp: https://cosmicchart.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-chart-magazine-03-pdf-audio
Download: https://payhip.com/b/TKtyZ
Read online: https://online.pubhtml5.com/yuhtz/ensy/
Thank you for being a vital part of our cosmic community and journeying through sound with us.

It was very nice for Steve Sheppard of One World Music Radio to include Alias Zone on his most recent playlist!
07/29/2026

It was very nice for Steve Sheppard of One World Music Radio to include Alias Zone on his most recent playlist!

Join Chrissie Sheppard on One World Music Radio as she brings you an hour of music sponsored by Steve Sheppard www.oneworldmusicradio.com

Definitely the most personal interview I've given so far.
07/23/2026

Definitely the most personal interview I've given so far.

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