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#2 Artist on Billboard Magazine's Uncharted - Billboard Magazine

Modular Punk Listed at #15 for the Week of May 28th in Billboard Magazine's Uncharted! - Billboard Magazine

Modular Punk Moves Up to #28 in Billboard Magazine's Uncharted for the Week of May 21st! - Billboard Magazine

Modular Punk Makes Debut at #34 in Billboard Magazine's Uncharted for the Week of May 14th! - Billboard Magazine

Modular Punk “Avery”
Posted on April 27, 2011 by Phil

An intense and bulging house and techno throb permeates Brooklyn-based Modular Punk’s seven-plus minute dance floor-screaming “Avery (Original Mix).” From its raunchy start, it’s pretty clear that this indie DJ has got serious late-night rave ammo injecting into clubs and other underground venues where pierced and tattooed thrill-seeking indie kids trek. Much like his other DJ brethren, Modular’s music is more about style and tempo, and less about melody and aesthetic. In summary, if it pumps, kick it; if it jiggles, shake it; and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Such is the case with the fixed hypnotics of “Avery.”

The song starts off with a harmless rattle and tachycardic bass beat. After a few measures the distant synth wails signal the pumped up-tempo to come. Peeling synths expose a boiling set of bass and percussive progressions that form the track’s thematic backbone. Halfway through the song, a distant variation of the synth repetition swirls into aural view catapulting onto the dance floor; the techno synths bop and dangle into a quick tizzy eventually led away by more bass pulsations. As sparkly clean as the production and arrangement is, the pulsations become repetitive and its intense monotonic allure wears off.

The rhythmic hypnosis will certainly appeal to the house and trance types. After all, the music is meant for late night cigarettes and beer-capades. Music supervisors for television might want to think about using the kinky atmospherics for a strip bar scene in a crime scene drama or erotic cinema antics.

If fist-pumping and ass-grabbing techno chills are what fans crave for, then that’s what they’ll undoubtedly get in “Avery (Original Mix).” Fans of pure techno and house jams should definitely buy this album for its tightly arranged mix and for fulfilling their dance floor-filled promises. - www.reviewyou.com

Denon presents an exclusive one-on-one interview with Producer/DJ, Modular Punk, aka Felipe Cersosimo.Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Felipe was destined to be a musician, having begun his classical music training at the age of 5. After college, however, his focus turned from classical music, to analog and modular synthesis, setting him down the path of becoming the DJ Modular Punk of today. It took only 3 months before people began taking notice, and he landed his first record deal on Italy’s Eye Records label.

During his career, Felipe would release under numerous different names and labels. Recently, however, he has been focusing on his own label, Dark Digital Underground Inc., with the purpose of brining artists who embrace bass-heavy, accessible dance music and dark, grungy, indie-styled beats together under one group. But he still releases music regularly, and his latest single, Funeral, has been hailed as “An absolutely wonderful mix” by Richie Hawtin, techno legend and founder of Minus Records.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Felipe Cersosimo. I’m 26 years old, and I am a Producer/DJ under the alias Modular Punk. My compositions are primarily within the techno/tech-house genre. I spent the first half of my childhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where my family is from. Just before entering high school my dad accepted a position as Professor of Medicine for the State University of New York, so that’s where I finished high school. I then left New York to attend The University of Texas at Austin, where I lived and studied for five years. After receiving my bachelors from Texas I moved to Washington, DC for graduate school. Just this past year I finished school and subsequently ended up back in New York.

When did you first decide to become a producer/DJ? What inspired you?

Living in Austin for five years definitely changed me quite a bit, both in terms of my musical tastes as well as in my perceptions of what sort of career I wanted to ultimately pursue. Austin as most already know has quite an eclectic music scene. I had a lot of exposure to many different artists. I played in a few post-punk style bands and was actually a pretty good guitarist by that point. Fortunately for me, it didn’t take me long to realize that I didn’t work so well with others. Don’t get me wrong it’s not that I was an egomaniac or anything like that. I just knew that when it came to music I was as stubborn as you could possibly imagine. If I didn’t like the way something sounded I would refuse to play it. I guess you could say I was a control freak at the very least. Eventually I started experimenting with music on my own. Djing and later Music Production sort of followed naturally.

When did you first fall in love with music?

I fell in love with music at about the age of 9. I had an obsession with two artists at that time, Stan Getz and Paul Desmond. It’s funny because whenever I say I was into jazz I always get some questions about Miles Davis or Coltrane. In my opinion though, Getz and Desmond were far more interesting players, even though they weren’t nearly as popular. The warm tone that those guys achieved from there instruments was far more pleasing to my ear than hearing a thousand notes per second, as was the fad popularized by guys like Coltrane. So I really found an appreciation for music through those guys. I would practice the sax maybe 8-10 hours a day, not doing what my teacher at the time had assigned, but instead trying to mimic that tone that I was so in love with. I am sure there were a few moments in which my parents became a little worried because I just couldn’t stop playing, and I hardly ever left my room. Just recently they told me that they were actually excited that I was so into music, and had hoped that I would be some great jazz musician some day. I can imagine they were quite shocked when I ended up making techno for a living.



Describe your perfect listening experience?

While I was in graduate school I was living alone for the first time in my life and I thought it would be awesome to have a giant hi-fi setup in my apartment in Washington, DC. At the end of my first semester, I took the left over money I had from buying books and paying tuition and absolutely splurged on speakers, amps, and last but certainly not least, a Denon DP-300F. At the time, it was my first ever belt-driven turntable. I later spent hours and hours dampening my little apartment with acoustic treatments, and toying with eq’s. All to get that special sonic quality that only vinyl seems to possess. Funny because I skipped a lot of lectures in order to just listen to that setup at home. It was that good though!

What is your idea of SOUND Bliss?

Now as far as sound bliss is concerned, I would have to admit I am a big headphone junkie. It’s funny because more often than not people will say that headphones are nothing compared to a good hi-fi setup in an acoustically treated environment. Thing is most people (myself included) can’t afford the tens-of-thousands of dollars that it takes to turn an ordinary room in an ordinary house in to something that could do those uber expensive hi-fi systems any justice.

About a year ago, once I was able to start Producing/Djing full time, I justified the purchase of some Denon AHD-5000 headphones, as a “studio necessity.” It’s funny because, again, people will say that headphones aren’t good for mixing. Personally, some headphones of high enough quality are able to surpass the sonic replication of most speaker units. I live in New York, so finding a quite room anywhere is obviously impossible. Headphones have always been a great way for me to shut the world out and enjoy music as it was meant to be enjoyed. Right now my AHD-5000’s are probably my most prized possession aside from a couple of analogue synths that I have. I’m sure I will continue to use them to death until I can afford a pair of AHD-7000’s.

What was your first connection to Denon?

Though the Denon DP-300F was my first ever Denon purchase, I had known about Denon for quite some time. One of my childhood friends had a Denon AVC-3030 that his dad bought in Germany during a visit. My friend had all this gear setup in his room and we used to just sit in silence and listen to David Bowie records. Sooner or later I would end up tinkering with the AVC-3030 as I just found it to be so cool looking. It would be years after that that I had enough money to buy something of that quality on my own. It was worth the wait though.

Have you ever owned a piece of DENON equipment?

In addition to the Denon DP-300F turntable and Denon AHD-5000 headphones, I had a Denon DN-x1600 Mixer that I was obsessed with until some girl tripped and poured her beer on it while I was Djing at a club in Brooklyn just this past summer. If memory serves me correctly,I am fairly certain I cried that night but I am for the most part over it now lol.

Tell us about your most memorable DENON moment?

When I bought the DP-300F I only had a motorcycle at the time and not enough money for the bus if you can believe it. So had to carry the turntable like three miles home to my apartment. During that walk I was literally stopped by about twenty different people and had twenty different conversations about music. The surprising part was that after I got home I could have turned around and done it all over again as I love talking about music with strangers!

Who are your favorite artists today?

I am all over the place but to name a few, Paul Kalkbrenner, Thomas Muller, Pan-Pot, all within the electronic genre, and then out of the club I would say Radiohead, Joy Division, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Richard Wagner and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Who is doing work today that really inspires you?

Paul Kalkbrenner on Berlin’s Bpitchcontrol label has been of huge inspiration to me over the past few years. He just stands apart from everybody else in my mind, as his releases are so emotional, in a genre, which seems to often times pride itself in being devoid of any emotion. I once read an interview with him, in which he was asked why he sounds so different than everybody else, to which he replied that he just doesn’t listen to that much music, and preferred to create his own instead. To me that was very reassuring, as I have always been frustrated as to whether or not my compositions will “fit in” with the rest. Kalkbrenner really inspired me to just do what I felt was right and not to pay attention to the masses. I’ll forever be thankful for catching that interview when I did, as it was a stressful time for me on both a personal and professional level.



What are your favorite 5-10 songs that we would find on your music play list?

I’ll do my best but the list is always changing…

Paul Kalkbrenner – Sky and Sand (Original Mix)
Joy Division – Transmission
Modular Punk – Funeral (Original Mix)
The Knife – N.Y. Hotel
The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry
How will music be different in the future?

Whether people realize it or not, the music industry is undergoing some epic changes at the moment. With the advent of file sharing over the Internet, music is of all genres is becoming more and more accessible to the public. That being the case, I am going to have to say that the CD sales will more than likely continue to plummet to there death over the next 10 years, and unless major record labels start paying more attention to there fans and artists, and less attention to there revenues, they will more than likely meet the same fate over the the next 50 years or so. Ultimately I think the changes within the music industry are for the best. I think music has somewhat of a drug-like quality to it, and people just can’t seem to get enough of it. Though the days of the superstar pop diva are surely numbered. Eventually a great musician will be just that, a great musician, and not necessarily a celebrity or millionaire as a result.

If you could own a piece of sound equipment that would enhance your music or home theater experience, what would that be?

That question is almost mind numbing for a gear junkie like me. Honestly if I could have anything it would have to be a 1977 Yamaha CS80 Polyphonic Synthesizer. Those things are just massive in every way possible, and the sounds that come out them when you layer different waveforms upon one another, each there own unique modulation, are just absolutely haunting beyond explanation.

Follow DJ Modular Punk on Facebook. He also books shows through GigMaven. New York City based GigMaven is an online platform that allows artists to successfully book gigs at venues nationwide. - Denon Blog

While the usual techno club scenesters got chance to through down with Josh Wink on Friday last, the more unexpected and surprisingly underdog event of the weekend was little known yet formidable up and comer Modular Punk.



Billed as a special guest at the Crash Mansion on Saturday night, Modular Punk was scheduled to provide the entertainment for all the rockers who had come from far corners of the earth to compete in this years indie super event, the MEANY fest.

While we can't say exactly why or how a little known techno dj/producer was chosen by MEANY event promoters to entertain a bunch of indie kids, we can say this: MODULAR PUNK ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT.

Probably one of the most impressive turnouts we've scene at Crash Mansion for anything this year, let alone some techno, but if the line wasn't out the door and down the block till even a half hour after Modular Punk's set, then I must have not even been conscious that night.

Leaving all tradition in the dust, Modular Punk insisted on setting up shop in the DJ booth as opposed to the stage like the rest of the artists who performed that day. According to the young DJ "It just wasn't my show to steal. I wanted to give it my all but I wasn't about to DJ on that stage. It was my way of showing respect for the artists that performed that day. I was there to support them."

Regardless of whether or not you knew where the hell the DJ was in the venue that night, one certainly couldn't pretend to ignore the pounding bass nor the slew of dancing fans all crowded around the dance floor. Forget convention, as his one hour set just started hard and got harder. Without so much as a moment to give pause, Modular Punk dropped track after track into a dark and well crafted mix feature original Modular Punk as well as other mixes from Piatto, Spektre, and Umek.

When the night was over you almost had to wonder where this kid had been all these years. One thing is certain, NYC is thrilled to have him here now.

For those who missed it, Modular Punk has made a podcast of his set from Crash Mansion available for free download at www.soundcloud.com/modular-punk - Resident Advisor

Whether his hiatus from public view was truly due to the "deep personal loss" he suffered a few months back, or instead a bit of misdirection while he is rumored to relaunch his personal label and release mechanism for all things Modular Punk, into a full fledged roster of up-and-coming underground artists under the auspices of Dark Digital Underground, Inc.
For fans in the NYC area Saturday Sept. 25 at the Crash Mansion will be the determining factor in what exactly this seemingly all-american yet somehow completely and obsessively pessimistic techno artist has been up to since his first and only release as Modular Punk last February. - Resident Advisor