NautArt #1 - July 2026
Welcome to the inaugural edition of my newsletter, which I’m calling NautArt (Øart). I’ll probably experiment with the format as it evolves, but in broad strokes I’m hoping to talk about the music I’m making, the tools I use to do that, and all things that inspire me. I also hope that this will create some conversation, so please feel free to reply and tell me about what you’re working on and what inspires you.
First let’s do a bit of a recap of 2026 so far.
Releases:
Cargo - A group of incredible musicians from Hamilton and the surrounding area took the tracks from freight and transformed them in such beautiful and interesting ways. I’m super proud to have so many talented artists in my general orbit, and I’m humbled that they all took the time to re-interpret my weird little tunes.
Sounds Maps Toronto - I had the privilege to be part of Dyski’s first edition outside of the UK this past March on Toronto Island at Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts. It was truly inspiring and I’m still processing the impact of it. The album is very much a product of the time and place (as intended), so if you ever get a chance to wander around the island in the late winter, I think it would make the perfect companion.
Champion Leccy Music Project #6 (group D) - I’ve done a few of these now and they’re always so much fun both as a participant and as a listener to the finished product. For those that aren’t familiar it’s a group songwriting project where you’re in groups of 3 and you create tracks over 3 rounds exquisite corpse style. Because of this you get to start one song, add the middle part to the next, and finish the last one. Wooly is an excellent steward of the project, and it somehow always yields beautifully cohesive, yet eclectic results.
Shows:
Naustra - Drone Day @ Demo Memo - Live performance hasn’t been much of a focus lately, but I’ve always wanted to do a drone day set, so I was very excited when the opportunity presented itself. It was accompanied by some incredible visuals (slide projector, film projector, and live emulsions), and we got to hide behind the screen which was oddly liberating. It was also my first time playing live with the gong amp and my trusty Lyra 8. Jamie (the other half of Naustra) and I got the chance to rehearse a few times leading up to this, so, while the set was improvised, we had a shared language and rough framework going into which helped to build some confidence.
Recording
One of my big areas of focus this year is to build out my home studio and make it a welcoming place for people to record their music with a nudge towards real people in the room, live off the floor. So far I’ve recorded two amazing trios, and lots of my own noodling with friends. I can’t wait to share these recordings with the world. More to come!
Coding
L6 Companion app - I released this last year but have been meaning to return to it more deeply when the time is right. I added USB Mass storage mode, so you can now add and remove samples without having to use the official Zoom app. This was thanks to a user reverse engineering the MIDI SysEx messages that the official app uses for this setting. I hope to be able to handle any other missing features via reverse engineering when I have some time. I also have an incredibly stale PR
M0SS 101 Web Flasher - This was a fun little side-project for an awesome Canadian synth company. I had naively assumed that it would be possible to flash this obscure microcontroller (BL616) using Web Serial from a browser and luckily that turned out to be correct. If you’re not familiar with UltraPalace, definitely check them out.
Music Thing Modular Workshop System - After the Toronto Island residency I immediately built my own Workshop system (the little modular synth we all used during the week there). The Workshop has its own little Computer module based on the RP2040 MCU which you program by writing code and putting on little cards (sort of like a microsd). I released my first one, which is a port of Mutable Instruments Grids, but adapted to the Computer. I’ve also got a second one which is about 85% done. More on that later!
OK, after writing all of that, it seems that the first half of 2026 was a bit busier than I remember, oof.
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What I’ve been up to lately
Music
I’ve been really enjoying playing drums lately. I try to play at least 30 minutes a day, and usually quite a bit more on weekends. And I’ve been trying to do that less and less by myself. My friend who lives in the neighbourhood (who also did two remixes on cargo), has been coming over to jam every week or two. We’re both pretty inspired by Jeff Parker’s recent music, especially the jazzier stuff, and have meandered in that direction sonically. He’s a talented producer (seriously check out these NIN remixes) and he’s good at pushing me just far enough outside of my comfort zone. I’m not sure the timeline on releasing the tracks we’ve been working on, but I hope to share something soon.
I’ve also started a metal (hardcore?) band with another one of my talented friends (who is also in the neighbourhood). He’s a veteran of the Quebec technical metal scene (check out Derelict and Samskaras) and I will be doing my best to refrain from buying a double kick pedal. We’ve already decided that one of the contributing members of this band will be a tree (not joking). We’re just getting started, but I can already tell that this is going to be fun and challenging in the best way possible.
The next round of the Champion Leccy Music Project kicked off at the start of July and I’ve been demoing a few things as the deadline approaches. I am dead set on playing bass to kick off this round, so hopefully I can make that happen.
We’re also gearing up to mix the next Sistra album from frequent collaborator Jamie (the other half of Naustra). Jamie is a constant source of inspiration and a fantastic artist in general. It’s been great seeing these songs evolve and I’m excited to see where the final product ends up.
Coding
As mentioned above, I’ve dove headfirst into the Music Thing Modular Workshop System community. I’ve been working with Dune (check out all the cool shit he’s done!) to improve the experience of authoring and discovering program cards for the Computer module. It’s an interesting blend of DevOps, DevRel, UX and DX. I love open source (I also do it for a living) and as I joined this Workshop community, I knew that Tom Whitwell had built something singular and special and wanted to do whatever I could to help it succeed and flourish.
As also previously mentioned, I also have a nearly complete second program card. This originally came to life as a companion to the Instruo Pocket Scion but has kind of evolved since then. For those that aren’t familiar, the Pocket Scion is a little battery powered device that lets you attach sensors to plants (or anything organic really) to generate music. Remember earlier when I said I started a band with a tree, well this is how the tree can “speak” to us. The device also sends MIDI so you can use it to control other synthesizers, in addition to the different built-in voices it has. The card I’m working on gives you two channels of MIDI to CV which you can patch into two analog synth voices. I also figured it should have some effects to process the audio from the Scion so I went in search of vibey reverb that might pair well with it. I landed on something inspired by Fairfield Circuitry’s Placeholder. I’m not sure how true it is to the original but it’s at least as close as the little RP2040 will allow (I hope). I’ll do my best to release it in the next few weeks, time permitting.
I’ve also started another band. I know. Shocking. I’m announcing it in the coding section because it probably requires a good amount of upfront coding on my part. And it will involve the Workshop Computer. I’m sensing a theme here. I don’t want to give away too much yet as it’s still in the dreaming up phase, but just know that it involves two (!) Workshop systems and my good friend Paul (Bay Mud). Hi Paul. He’s another one of these endlessly talented folks.
Finally, I’ve created an iOS app that allows you to use WebMIDI apps on your iPhone or iPad. It’s currently in testing phases, but I hope to release the first public version sometime in August. If you’d like to try it now, just reply and I’ll send you an invite. I may charge for it to offset the Apple developer fees, but I’ll make sure I can give it to testers and readers like you for free.
What I’ve been listening to (music, shows & podcasts)
Music
Everything Yes - Volume 3 (playing as I write this) - who doesn’t love jazz fusion with drum chops for days
Deantoni Parks - Technoself - I think I saw him on the Flea Tiny Desk and was immediately inspired to dig a bit deeper only to find out that he was in Mars Volta, Bosnian Rainbows, etc
Nomeansno - Wrong - Every year or two I need to remind myself how good this album is
Avem - AVEM - Pop punk tunes about birds and it’s not a gimmick
Pete Latshaw - never - lovely textural ambient from a fellow Sound Maps artist
Built to Spill - discography - I felt compelled to listen to all of their albums in order, I do not regret it
Shows
Angine de Poitrine @ Mod Club - I bought these tickets when this was the only show announced in Toronto (I think they ended up playing 5 times that week in Toronto alone?) and before things went really ascendant. They were great, but the crowd felt like it was too drunk for a room this small.
Impossible Objects // Allinesik // Hylic Lightning // Reverse Hooker @ Doors Pub - An eclectic noise bill with friends and friends of friends.
Goat @ Bridgeworks - I had a lot of friends that were very excited for this one. I went in cold and was blown away. Now I understand why everyone was so fired up to see them in a midcap venue in Hamilton
Podcasts
99% Invisible - the “100 objects” series - I love random obscure facts and ephemera so this has been scratching that itch
Family Lore - This scratches a similar itch but in a more intimate and personal way
What I’ve been reading
The Joy of Electronic Music - I’ve been taking this really slow and reading it when the mood strikes
The Composer’s Black Box - I collect these types of books and this is background for a Workshop System workshop this week, win win
Nathaniel Rich - Cloudthief - A heist story involving a data center, does it get more 2026 than this, even if it’s set in 2014?
Other things that have brought me joy recently
My partner’s gorgeous exhibition
Canoeing on the Grand River
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If you made it this far, thanks for sticking around. I promise the next one will be shorter. Feel free to reply and say hi or show me something cool you made or discovered.
Thanks again, I appreciate you.
Phil