Workshop Notes: January 2026
Toronto, Lisbon, London and so many new things
One thing I’ve noticed doing events with the Workshop System is how fast people get into it. In December I spent a day with post-gradelectronic music students at Goldsmiths, then an afternoon with designers at The Guardian. With both groups, people were very quickly playing with sound with their hands and ears, not worrying too much about their brains. The Workshop System is so deep and complicated, but I’m very pleased people can get enjoyment from it so easily.
Toronto, Canada: March 2–6, 2026: Sound Maps Retreat. The first Dyski event outside Cornwall. It’s residential, immersive, some rooms are still available and the deadline for grant-assisted places is 1st February. Full details.
Vincent’s utterly 🤯🤯🤯🤯 playable online Workshop System has been upgraded in many ways since launching in November. It now has a 4 track recorder, an oscilloscope, a full set of stompboxes, a number of working Program Cards and lots of under-the hood improvements (thanks Chris for the nicer FM algorithm). And the random button is still the best thing ever. Patch Notes Workshop Emulator.
Blackbird is finally here, and now I finally understand it. Dune Desormeaux (of Goldfish and Sheep), has made this feature length and wonderfully clear explanation of the card and the deep ecosystem he’s building around it. If you’re interested in coding (or live-coding) and want to make cards for the Workshop Computer but you don’t want to learn C++ or Python, this could be a great way to start. Learn more and download Blackbird here
Brian has made an incredible 3D-printed case for his Workshop System, including his excellent-if-bonkers labelling system for program cards. Details on the Discord.
Lisbon: January 10th 2026: João Pimenta Gomes is a Portuguese musician and artist who uses modular synths and amazing loudspeakers in gallery installations. On the 10th I’ll be joining him at the Boavista Gallery in Lisbon to run a Workshop Workshop (and hopefully to play the system through that massive Western Electric speaker!). The workshop sold out in an hour, but I’m in Lisbon for a few days so get in touch if you want to catch up.
This Program Card talks: Last year Chris Johnson released a new program card every day in December. This year he combined all (but one) of those cards onto one, with the most incredible voice-based setup menu I have ever seen (heard). It’s surprisingly practical, and of course the cards sound fantastic. Utility Pair 2025 Edition.
I really enjoyed this extended demo video from David Richards, showing only the analogue side of the Workshop System — with some really deep Serge-style patch programming, lots of tips to pick up there.
Song Athletic hired Nancy Chamberlin to make a short film about the modular community at Machina Bristronica, including me talking about tools and creativity while wearing the blue lab coat.
London: 7th February 2026: Saturday night on Denmark Street, I’m hosting a beginners’ modular workshop at SchneidersKeller. Everyone will have their own Workshop System to work on. I’m hoping it will be friendly, creative and hands-on. £20, a few places still left, book now or tell your modular-curious friends
Richard from Axis Modular has designed these handy overlays for the Workshop Computer, and generously made them open-source. Details on the Discord, and some available to buy from Axis on Etsy.
Some recent music made with Workshop Systems:
Ben’s rather lovely album Workshop Feedback Studies keeps growing.
Bert’s nice video of Karplus Strong + a delay pedal
Live Drums + Karplus + Turing185 from klangsemble
Ambient patching in five minutes from Wirebaby
Noisy chaos from Oliver / Divmod
If you’re doing Jamuary in 2025, please do share anything you make.
At present, the WS is available as a DIY kit from Thonk in Brighton, who ship worldwide, Perfect Circuit in California, Exploding Shed in Leipzig and from SchneidersKeller in person from their store on Denmark Street, London.
Workshop Systems are also available pre-assembled from Signal Sounds in Glasgow, Perfect Circuit in California and SchneidersLaden in Berlin, and on request from Thonk.
Finally, Marcus Fischer took a beautiful set of portraits of his Workshop System.
See you next month,
Tom
