Miguel Noya

Beginning his career as a pioneering early synthesist and teacher of computer music, over the past four decades Miguel Noya has contributed greatly to the cultural landscape of Venezuela. His transcendental, deeply intellectual take on MIDI sequencing represents a fiercely singular approach, imbibing the 1980’s Western world’s then-burgeoning ambient-electronic scene with a unique environmental gravitas and vibrant tropical colour.

Largely written during a time of crushing economic and political turbulence, Noya’s music responds to an environment steeped in disharmony. In the 1980’s Venezuela endured ballooning hyperinflation, violent riots, government corruption and brutal economic crises. Miguel writes “many places have an idea of how hard is to keep the centre to create ambient or beautiful aesthetics within such trying psychological and social environments.” Yet, powerfully, the material here acts as an antidote to this chaos. A calm, blissful, protective shield against the dangers and stresses of this unrest. Noya - a graduate of both Berklee College of Music and MIT (he holds degrees in Electronic Music and Digital Sound Synthesis, respectively) - held his own teaching position in Caracas throughout this period, protecting himself from the trauma with his music.