Zoltan Fecso
MESS Artist, New Waveforms – March 2025
Zoltan Fecso is a musician, composer and artist living on Wurundjeri Country. His wide-ranging practice includes performance, installation, public artwork, composition and collaboration. He creates and performs using prepared instruments, synthesisers, field recordings and electroacoustic manipulations to bring awareness to acoustic phenomena in nature and the many perceptual possibilities of listening.
He has performed and presented work in festivals, venues and galleries in Australia and Europe, including Melbourne Recital Centre, JOLT Sonic Arts Festival, Sleepless Festival, Omniversal Hum, Winter Wild Festival, STEIM Amsterdam, Jan Herman Ridderbos Gallery and FestivALT.
He has released music with Longform Editions, Oxtail Recordings, Hush Hush Records Whitelab Recordings and Shimmering Moods Records.
How did you first get involved with synths and electronic sound?
I started learning classical piano when I was 5, living in Budapest, Hungary. There’s a very serious classical music culture there. My family moved back and forth between Melbourne and Budapest until I was 10, and settling in suburban Melbourne I was suddenly hearing mostly grunge and rock music at school, so my appetite for classical piano disappeared and I taught myself guitar.
A few years later I started making music on a computer with a program called Reason. It was so satisfying to have the ability to hear all these wild new sounds. Guitar had become my main instrument by then, and I was combining it with effects, software synths and field recordings.
Electronics and synths have inspired me in so many different ways since then. I love the emotional immediacy of keyboard instruments, and the surprises that modular synths can give you. I use them to release and perform music, to compose for screen and podcasts and to create sound installations.
How would you describe the sounds you make today?
It depends on the project, but there are regular words or ideas that I think of overall – space, experimentation, limitations, collage & play. I love working with electronic instruments, acoustic instruments and field recordings.
Where do you find inspiration, what motivates you?
I’m inspired by visual art. I’m moved by things that have a handmade quality to them. I think imperfections are beautiful. I get inspiration from nature, the sounds of nature, and feeling humbled by how old and wise the Earth is.
I believe that a creative life is a marathon, not a sprint. I will have a relationship with music in some capacity for as long as I can. I’m motivated by that knowledge, but it also gives me perspective when I’m struggling.
Lately I’ve been saying ‘feel more, think less’ to get out of my head. I can’t remember where I heard that quote, but I love it.
What’s been one of the most rewarding or satisfying moments of your journey so far?
Music has shaped my life and my view of the world in ways that I’m so grateful for. The most satisfying moments lately have been making music with other people.
And the most challenging?
The most challenging things have been nurturing a deeper relationship with myself and my creativity, silencing the inner critic and making time for play without expectations.
Do you have a current ‘go to’ set up at MESS? Any favourite machines or combos that you’re currently digging?
I’m drawn to machines and that make me go… you look weird and interesting. But I haven’t always gelled with everything. I like things that are mysterious but allow me to be intuitive. Some favourites are the Buchla 200, Synthi AKS and I love getting lost in the Mad Chiller eurorack system.
Are there any machines in the MESS collection you’ve had your eye on but haven’t tried yet?
I’d love to try the Serge Paperface but it’s booked most of the time… which probably says something!
If you could give yourself one piece of advice when you first started what would it be?
Zoltan Fecso performs at New Waveforms, Brunswick Music Festival
Date: Wednesday, March 5th, 2025
Time: 7pm-9pm
Venue: Brunswick Mechanics Institute
