A vast selection of synths from the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) will be installed at One Day Studios at the iconic Fletcher Jones Factory site for a residency running April 23 to May 1 2022.

Dubbed South West MESS, the program features hands-on workshops, talks and lectures, an open studio session and live performances.

MESS co-founder Byron Scullin said the program aimed to encourage electronic sound and music creation in all its forms.

READ MORE: Funding boost for week-long masterclass in electronic sound in Warrnambool

"It's a really amazing opportunity for us here at MESS to be able to bring this kind of mini playable museum collection of musical instruments down to Warrnambool," he said.

"There are not as many opportunities around the city to get introduced to this stuff or for people to have the experience of being able to use some of this gear.

"I think it's really important for just generally fostering a vibrant culture in whatever place people find themselves living. We're hoping we might inspire some people to make their own electronic music or maybe form some projects together.

"We want to build strong connections between places like the south-west and Melbourne."

At the heart of South West MESS is a free 10-day program for music and creative audio students based in the region.

Hosted by Warrnambool artist Gus Franklin and Melbourne's Janita Foley, 20 young people aged 16 to 25 from across the district will take part in the program aimed to develop their skills with a focus on creativity, collaboration and career.

Scullin hopes it will open up the world of electronic music to young people in the region.

"I don't know why we don't have more electronic music in high schools, it does seem like a real missed opportunity," he said.

"Sometimes the way music is delivered in school programs is like, here's the history of European Western classical music, and you just have to accept that it's good whether you're into it or not.

"I think a more engaging high school music program should actually start with the music of today.

"We really feel like engaging with electronic music is actually a really good way to generally build enthusiasm for all music culture."

Much of the extensive instrument collection is thanks to Gotye's Wouter 'Wally' De Backer.

Off the back of the hugely successful song 'Somebody That I Used To Know', the artist, composer and singer-songwriter purchased a vast collection of electronic instruments.

He would later donate them to MESS for use.

"He's just a total legend, an all around nice guy and MESS wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him," Scullin said.

"It just so happened that myself and my MESS co-founder Robin Fox are both friends with Wally and I worked for a long time with his producer - a guy named Franc Tetaz - who actually originally hails from the south-west as well.

"After all the success with the single he was buying up all of these dream machines that he suddenly had the resources to be able to afford.

"We put this idea to him and said, we're thinking of opening this independent place in Melbourne where we want to give people access to all these instruments.

"He is an incredibly generous person so he instantly saw the benefit it would have to the musical community here in Victoria.

"So in fact he helped us kick MESS off."

South West MESS is a project developed by South West Local Learning & Employment Network, One Day Studios and MESS, supported by Regional Arts Victoria and the Australia Council for the Arts.

The student intensive program will culminate in a live performance session where people can come and hear what young local artists have created with the MESS collection.

There will also be talks, lectures, studio sessions and live performances open to the general public.

Find out more and register your interest here.

RELATED:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: