Jessica Kert is a well-known figure in the Berlin modular scene. Having worked at SchneidersLaden for the past ten years, she has developed extensive skills and knowledge about all things modular, especially when it comes to the Buchla System 200e. In the interview below, she talks about various things modular, as well as the concept behind her upcoming Quadrat quadraphonic performance event on March 1st in Berlin.
A lot of people recommend using software like VCV Rack to get started with modular systems. Do you think that the "magic" of modular can be understood with software, or is that something reserved for the physical hardware?
VCV Rack can be a good starting point into the world of modular, since not everyone can just easily try out a modular system beforehand, if you are in the middle of nowhere with no shop around, you don’t have much choice. But the real magic of this kind of instrument — I think that you can only fully experience it if you can play it yourself, turning knobs and plugging cables. That's the way to go if you want to learn and master it.
As you mentioned in another interview, your desert island synth would be the Buchla System 200e. What characterizes the 200e for you, and what did you learn by using it that you were able to transfer back to your Eurorack setup?
To me, my Eurorack Setup is there to improvise on the fly, nothing is saved and I just go with the flow. It is pretty Buchla-ish actually, I use a lot of Verbos Electronics modules, the Complex VCO, the Multistage etc. that are very much inspired by the philosophy of Buchla — as are most Eurorack modules you can find out there, of course. Being aware of all these similarities helped me a lot when it comes to understanding all of the different modules on the market.
I do see the Buchla 200e system primarily as an instrument that you compose music on. Different scales or sequences can be saved with the 200e preset manager and be recalled at any time in any order, it’s a totally different way of working [compared to a system with no patch storage]. I also love the different interfacing possibilities that the Buchla offers you in terms of controlling the instrument, to me they are quite mindblowing and very creative.
While with an Eurorack setup, you usually deal with mono and stereo signals, in the Buchla 200e System you can play in quad, which I think can be very exciting for both the listener and the musician. I just recently discovered that Shakmat has opened the door to quad for the Eurorack environment as well with their Aeolus Mixer and Aeolus Seeds modules — thank you Shakmat for that!
The System 200e also features the famous 266e Source of Uncertainty. Inexperienced users can often end up creating very chaotic sounds with random generators — how do you make use of that randomness while remaining musical?
Yeah, the 266e is a wild one, but it is also such a weapon if used subtly! I always route it through the 210e Control and Signal Router so I can send it to different locations and can CV-control different parameters on single modules, like the attack and decay of envelopes, or the waveshaping / morph & warp on the oscillators for evolving sounds, or the spatial dynamics of the 227e to create rhythmic patterns. For me, it's also a lot of fun to use it to randomize melodies or basslines or to create complex percussive patterns.
How do you deal with the often short set-up times when performing live?
Nowadays, I'm generally fairly chill when it comes to the pressure of not having much time to set up — sometimes even while the artist before me is still performing. But I still do not like it, and think this sort of situation can be avoided when everyone realizes that an artist performing live has different needs than a DJ. I want to concentrate on the set I'm going to play, to get a feeling for the crowd and their vibe, and so on.
What was your first electronic instrument?
The first electronic instruments I used were Knas Ekdahl Moisturizer and a Moog Delay. I had so much fun with just these two. It was always clear to me that I wanted a modular system, but I also knew that it would take a lot of time to figure out what kind of modules I needed to create the music I had in mind. I then slowly configured my modular System step-by-step and now it’s been the same configuration for years that still does not bore me at all!
What’s next for you — any upcoming projects or releases we can look forward to?
Yes! there's a bunch of things coming up. I’ve been working on a EP for a while now. There’s still some work left, but one day or the other I will be ready to share it, and the same goes for a new album where my instrument of choice is the Buchla 200e. I’m also looking forward to playing at the Superbooth 2026 with a new project that is so new that we don't even really have a name for it yet. Stephan Lefrancois is playing live drums and I will be on the Buchla, can’t wait for that one!
Also, I've had the idea of doing a quadraphonic show in my head for quite a while now. Then I finally found the right place and the right people to bring it to life! So the event Quadrat will take place on Saturday, the 1st of March in Berlin, at Neulant van Exel. The fully quadraphonic speaker setup for this event will give our artists — Anna Z, Peryl, Katharina Bevand, Antenne Neulant, Giotto Beatzzzz and myself — the ability to send their music through four different speakers, making it possible to send elements of their music through the room in various ways, also in combination with live visuals!
You can find out more about Jessy's music over on her Instagram.