Two masters of Buchla modular synthesis team for RVNG’s long running series.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has become one of the defining contemporary artists to use modular synthesizers, never more so than on her recent album EARS, and she’s chosen the perfect partner for this year’s installment in RVNG’s FRKWYS series.

This September, Smith will team with electronic pioneer Suzanne Ciani for Sunergy, the 13th installment in FRKWYS ongoing experiment in teaming young and old experimental artists. An innovator of electronic music starting with her 1982 debut Seven Waves, Ciani is known for her work with the curious Buchla modular synthesizers, which Smith has helped shine a light on once again.

Longtime friends, Ciani and Smith both work with Buchlas on Sunergy, using the 200 E and the Music Easel as their respective weapons-of-choice to create two side-long soundscapes inspired by the small coastal community of Bolinas, California. Recorded in Ciani’s home overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the recording aims to capture the tidal beauty of the area and the tension presented by threats of climate change and the increasingly aggressive grip of Silicon Valley real estate.

Below you can listen to a staggeringly beautiful excerpt from ‘Closed Circuit’ and pre-order Sunergy before its September 13 release. Afterwards revisit our recent look inside Smith’s studio.