Trash_Audio

Background
I’ve not traveled too far from home. I grew up in a rural Hamlet outside the city of Windsor, Ontario and moved into the city in my early twenties. I started working on the U.S. side of the border which provided more opportunities both within my career and artistically as well.
I started producing music while attending University. I was a fine art major but experimental audio eventually became a big part of my studies. I was in a multi-media program which focused on audio, video and installation art as a discipline. It wasn’t a very popular program at the time but it gave me a foundation for understanding the impact of time based media. Video production at the time was rather pricey so I started experimenting more with audio gear. It was the early 90’s and my work was also influenced by the evolving techno/warehouse scene in Detroit. I made some work at that time which might have been classified as “techno” but I never really took to it as much I as I had hoped I might. So my focus eventually turned to producing audio for video, installations and eventually performance. Producing sound continues to be a more accessible creative outlet for me. My studio is always a few steps away and I’ve found methods for working that can produce satisfying results quickly.

Hardware
I think it’s difficult for me to identify only a few pieces of hardware that could be called current favorites. A couple of years ago I started down the treacherous path of working with modulars. I researched for months ultimately hoping to find a device that didn’t require that I be staring at a screen and that was instantly accessible to experiment with. The tactile nature of modular gear has satisfied that need perfectly. If you see the modular as a singular instrument, then that is my current favorite piece of hardware. But I see all the individual modules that add up to the system as being instruments as well. With that said, if I were to narrow it to a few modules I would say the last few Intellijel units I’ve picked up. I’ve been using a Dixie for the last few tracks and it’s incredibly full sounding. I really do need a few more.

My first piece of gear was a Yamaha TG-33 that I bought from a local piano dealer. It’s an FM based synth that combines samples that allowed you to morph between four quadrants with a joy stick. It was capable of multiple voices so it was a good place to start. I still own the unit and am not likely to part with it despite not having used it for years. Perhaps I’ll boot it up again in the near future.
The last piece of gear I acquired was the Flight of Harmony IMP eurorack module. I’ve been building and working with a modular system for more than a year now. Those familiar with modulars, especially eurorack, are aware that it’s continually evolving and you never completely settle on a finished hardware arrangement. I haven’t so far and I suspect I’ll keep at it for some time. I’m having some difficulty finding good uses for the IMP at this point. It’s essentially a noise machine that doesn’t take to tuning easily. I bought it understanding that but to force myself to think a bit less musically. I listen to a lot of work that would be classified as noise so you might think I could break my formulas, but old habits die hard.

Software
Other than building the modular more recently, I generally don’t update gear or software too often. I’ve been working with Reaktor for years and it still manages to achieve what I expect as well as continually offering new paths for experimentation. I use it for both sound creation as well as effects. I’ve worked in a digital semi-modular manner for years so the transition and integration of hardware and software has been fairly seamless and intuitive.

Workspace and Environment
I know plenty of musicians that are capable of working in a carefree cluttered environment. That is not my modus operandi. If my studio is too cluttered, I find it very difficult to work. Somehow my mind is on organizing rather than producing. I’ve had a few different work environments but I find the current location to be the most comfortable. A few years ago I was determined to produce work on a laptop in any number of locations, but I’ve found that in foreign environments, I’m continually distracted by my surroundings. My studio is a safe haven from disturbances…for the most part.
Ergonomics play an important role in my studio in that I want to have most everything in easy reach. If it’s trouble to set up or assemble, it doesn’t seem to get used. I think there is a balance between comfort and function as well. I like my studio space to be relaxed but not at the sacrifice of productivity. I don’t want to waste precious time being indolent.
I think at one time both Windsor and Detroit contributed to the kind of music I made as well as providing an audience. Over the years my sound has changed and as a result so has my listening audience, which was small to begin with. I think the art scene was as equally important as the music scene was in contributions. I feel the ability to reach out online via social media channels has provided me a good substitution for exposure to a wider audience.

I’ve always imagined creating a studio in a remote location. Imagine something akin to Philip Johnson’s Glass House. It’s likely to have poor acoustics given the amount of glass, but I can’t help but think I’d be extremely productive in such a tranquil environment.
My studio has been in about 4 locations over the years. It really did start out as a bedroom studio but I started buying larger vintage synths and they really can take up some room. I then moved to a basement studio with more than enough room but it ultimately lacked the comfort needed to spend extended periods of time in. Eventually I reduced the size of my studio as I was working mostly digitally and figured I wouldn’t need bulky hardware as much. I sold a few things I wish I had kept, but realistically I didn’t need them. Too many options can be paralyzing.

Routine
There is no question that the “less is more” philosophy applies to my creative process. More accurately I believe “inventiveness is a direct result of working within constraints”. I’ve had more gear at one time and gear lust is by nature part of music production it would seem. But I’ve learned over the years that it’s far too easy to get distracted by a multitude of options. That includes software as well. I’ve restricted myself to essentially three software programs, a couple of outboard processors and a modest sized modular setup. As well, when producing a new track I often restrict my sound sources, attempting to create as many variations with a limited selection.

- Christpoher Bissonnette
- Facebook

Taken from Massive Attack’s Facebook

Veteran Canadian producer and hardware lover, Solvent, gave StudioFeed an inside look at his Bloor-West home studio set-up, as well as discussed everything from why he makes music to the story behind his recent RDJ-CS5 EP. Jason touched on many topics involving music in this lengthy interview, including what it’s like to have a fifteen-year career and to still be considered a “relatively obscure” musician. In addition to making music, Solvent is also involved in a documentary on modular synthesizers called “I Dream of Wires” that is expected to be released later in 2012.

Dowload StudioFeed’s whole interview with Jason from our Soundcloud player (35 mins):
soundcloud.com/studiofeed/studiofeed-interview-solvent

for more info:

- solventcity.com
- Bandcamp
- Soundcloud

Background
I grew up in a village just outside Cambridge, England. After A-levels, I worked doing electronic technician work for a local firm. Outside of work, I spent most of my time at home making music & playing computer games. I work for the wonderful Version Industries (65dos & Big Black Delta fans will surely know of us) here in London as well, so I can’t see a need to move right now.

My first foray into music making was probably when I was 12. I gravitated towards people who looked and dressed like me (as you do at that age), hoping people shared the same taste in music. This being the early ‘90s in England, you either liked pop, indie, rave or grunge. Within the first week at school I clicked with a guy called Martin due to our mutual love of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains & Soundgarden. At this time I couldn’t really play any instruments that well but Martin could play the guitar to a reasonable standard. Instead of following in the footsteps of our musical heroes, we took to forming a experimental-noise (read: shit) duo heavily influenced by our favorite band, Mr. Bungle. I took up vocal / FX duties whilst Martin basically played thrash guitar / white noise. We used to get together at weekends at his Mum’s house, get drunk and record an album of mad shit into a C90 tape recorder. I would then spend the next week at school designing stupid album covers before we recorded again the following weekend.

Music making got a bit more serious when I was 16/17 and started getting into u-Ziq, Squarepusher & Aphex, thanks to my friends Mike & Jos. I quickly got into programming on trackers (ModPlug being my favorite to this day) & and an outboard step-sequencer (Yamaha RM1x) to start making glitchy beats and weird FX stuff. I bought a couple of cheap Behringer rack FX units and a cheap mic and started making weird, experimental noise with Jos under the name, The Project Mindrape. It was when we were mixing down an album of this stuff in the cold, damp barn at Mike’s house, that I played Mike & Jos what would become the first tracks I made under the name, Accelra. They suggested I should probably put it under a new name, as this music was decidedly more melodic and tuneful than my previous stuff. Since then I’ve learnt how to play the piano and to a lesser degree, the guitar. These now form the building blocks within my music as interfacing starting points to the sounds I make.

When I started making music as Accelra, I used to just make music for the sake of it. Compartmentalizing tracks into albums with no planned release in mind, then just moving onto the next batch. I would then design artwork and give CDs out to my friends. This slowed a bit when I moved to London due to a lack of good space to make music within coupled with my increasing disposable income, that I ploughed into computer games (life’s great, wondrous, time sink of an activity). In more recent times I have been working on-and-off on about four albums worth of material at any one time. Most recently I have completed a remix for Big Black Delta. My friend & work colleague, Caspar pushed me to get stuff up online as I’ve been a bit secretive with my music for the past few years. I’ve now started releasing my earlier work on Bandcamp, which gives me time to focus on more recent projects.

Current Favorite Hardware
Squier Jagmaster guitar: Over the last six months I’ve strived to add new input methods to my music outside of my day-to-day keyboard interface. I felt the natural progression from my more recent music was to add a guitar-based input to my creative process. I didn’t have a huge amount of cash so I bought a secondhand Squier Jagmaster (with a Bowie-tastic, glam silver sparkle finish) and gutted the electrics and hardware so I could rebuilt it. My girlfriend’s brother, James, is a stunningly good guitarist (who also knows how to build and fix guitars) so between us we did it up. I’m a massive fan of the sound of the Fender Wide-range Humbucker so I got a custom one made and partnered that with a P90 in the bridge. Both these pickups react really well to layers of FX processing and can give me a wonderful clean sound.

Apple Magic Mouse: People may complain about the lack of a simple rechargeable battery solution but it makes navigating DAWs far easier. It must have sped up my workflow no end over the last year or so.

Current Favorite Software
In terms of DAW, I use Logic Pro these days as my main arrangement interface. Alongside that I use ModPlug tracker on the PC.

My Macbook Pro pretty much allows me to go silly with FX layering and process chains in Logic. I can essentially craft tonal palettes in terms of FX and then save that off as my own preset. That capability alone revolutionized my sequencing environment and Logic’s straightforward interface means it’s really easy to bring those processes into an existing track when you want to experiment.

ModPlug Tracker never gets old. It handles just about every tracker format and I still prefer the vertical timeline of trackers to that of modern DAW’s horizontal timelines. I can forgive the crude sample handling and VST support as it was born of a time when each new instrument channel meant lowering the sound quality of the whole mix. You had to be ruthless to get a good sound of it and I still think all my old tracker mixes sound like shit today. Luckily it doesn’t handle the lion’s share of duties these days but I’m loath to give it up entirely.

Plugin wise, I’m a massive fan of Apple’s reverb plugins. They work nicely out of the box and have low latency and CPU drain, which is all good in my world. I’m also a big lover of convolution reverbs (mainly as I can’t afford to utilize anything other than the space I’m in). I’m looking into getting IK’s AmpliTube or NI’s Guitar Rig at some point soon to muck around with some amp modeling.

Workspace and Environment
The space around me really does have a huge impact on my creativity. If I can’t control the space, I find it hard to concentrate when it comes to playing around with ideas. Because of this, when my girlfriend and I bought our first flat in London, I built a studio/workspace at the bottom of the garden. I have a background in electrical engineering & was always helping my Dad with home improvement projects, so me and my girlfriend’s brother, James, built the studio ourselves in about 3 months. After living in numerous Victorian terrace flats in London, it was nice to dictate the number of power points in the room by wiring it myself. Building the studio was a tough process but it’s really nice to be able to create music in a calm, sound-proofed environment.

It all started in my parent’s house when I was still living at home. Then I moved around a number of rented flats around in North London before building my studio space at the bottom of my garden. Initially I ran a crappy PC computer, dual CRT screen on a couple of desks in my bedroom but that has moved onto a control room style studio space with a Macbook Pro + PC laptop. If I move again, I’m planning on a larger space with a dedicated live room.

Ergonomics
An ergonomic chair is a must. I used to foolishly use one of those ergonomic chairs you kneel in but basically sat on it in such a way that I probably fucked my back up more than sitting in any regular chair would’ve done. I currently sit in a Herman Miller Embody chair in a very bright orange color. On a good day you can feel like Captain Kirk or Blofeld. On a bad day you’re just thankful that you’re not permanently damaging your back in a ‘stylish’ office chair that will turn you into a hunched Gollum within a year. I have a nice big white desk to work on that contains most of my stuff for music & work (again it could always be bigger!). Its set to my perfect working height so I’m not messing my shoulders up or giving myself early RSI. All boring stuff but it really helps when you are working / making music, not having to worry about the detrimental health affects of your workspace.

Ostensibly I would say that it’s more down to my mood than anything else when it comes to the style, quality and feelings found in any given piece of music I make. I am aware however, that the space around me heavily dictates my mood so I would say that although I don’t take direct narrative points from my surroundings, I’m probably subconsciously driven to sound ideas by proxy.

Ideal Location
As nice as my studio space is, it could always be bigger! I would like to say a countryside setting with nice views but the last time I was in space like that with a mind to write music (in this case the Big Black Delta remix), I ended up going to a local zoo instead. I did see some cool goats, so not a total loss. However, I do like seclusion if I’m honest. Most, if not all of the music I’ve made as Accelra has been made on my own, when no one else is around. As much as I like working in a vacuum, more recently I’ve been collaborating with some very talented friends of mine. Collaboration at the ideas level is a weird experience for me, as I am more used to a ‘show and tell’ method in terms of working on projects with others. I have some new joint projects on the go at the moment that are true 50/50 collaborative efforts and I’m finding it nice to get stuck into a new way of working alongside my normal processes.

Work Ethic
Sometimes I try to force ideas, which does throw up some good stuff occasionally. In more regular work I’m probably guilty of getting caught in stylistic moods that frame periods of tracks over a year. The positives of this is that I can have a lot of different and sometimes conflicting stuff to draw from when working out what to do with it. Bad points are that I’m a lot more ruthless when it comes to the care I have for the tracks themselves as more time passes. I’m doing my best to deal with this by simply releasing what I’ve sat on for the last three years rather just filing it away as stuff that just didn’t work out right or not having enough companion pieces to become something bigger.

Extra Curricular
Aside from my own projects I occasionally do original music, sound design & foley recording work for Version Industries on websites and other projects. High profile examples are the Beyond Apollo pre-production film website & the JLo Love & Glamour perfume experience website. In an ideal world, I would love to do music for computer games (especially RPGs) or film scoring.

- http://accelra.bandcamp.com/
- http://twitter.com/accelra
- http://www.versionindustries.com/

Robert Clouth of Vaetxh.

Background
I was born in Abergavenny, a smallish town in South Wales. I went to uni in London for 4 years and now live in Bristol. I started messing around with computer sound when I was 12 or so when my family got our first computer (an epic 186mhz) on this shitty MIDI programme called Evolution Audio Lite. I wrote a couple of potential xmas number ones on that – one anthem called Losenge, and another that consisted of one of the demo songs compressed down to a single beat. Then later got Fruity Loops v1 on a pirated mega-disk of music software my brother brought me back from Thailand, then worked up through every version until now (10).
Listening to the IDM classics got me motivated back then, these days music doesn’t so much. I have real motivational issues sometimes with music, especially when I’m under deadline pressure. The spiral usually goes like this: leave it too late -> don’t think I have enough time to make it as good as possible -> don’t think it’s going to be any good -> put it off -> leave it too late, etc. There a lot of other things I like doing and sometimes music doesn’t get my time for weeks (but when I go back I remember what I was missing and have an all nighter).

Current Favorite Hardware
If it counts, first is my computer by a long, long way. Most stuff that can be done in hardware can be done in software, and if it can’t someone is usually working on it. One thing software can’t very well yet is imitate the real world, so second is my Zoom H2 recorder and mic collection. I bloody love it. As soon as I bought it a couple of years ago it became my camera and I always keep it in my bag, just in case there’s some sound that I want. I’ve got some nice mics to go with it – some deep-ear binaural mics, some waterproofed contact mics (double up as hydrophones) and this relatively new one, a coil mic that picks up the electromagnetic fields of electronics (you can hear CPUs crunching numbers, it’s nuts). I’ve also modded the H2 ready for a soundfield mic that I’m making for capturing ambisonic recordings, for post-rec panning with head-tracking experiments. Third favourite is this little Roland Dr-Drum that I’ve taken the back off to expose the synthesis circuits. When you poke it, it sounds like the scream of someone trapped in a digital nightmare. Instaglitch. Crack a bit of reverb on it, job done.

Current Favorite Software
Synthmaker is fuckin wicked. I started playing with it when Max dropped their export to VST feature in favour of the Max for Live thing (which I have almost no use for, and when I thought I might do I’ve found it can’t do it yet). It’s done so many things right and in some ways I prefer it to Max. It’s so quick to prototype stuff in it that it’s changed what VSTs mean to me – now I tend to knock out ones that create a specific sound for a specific track, rather than more flexible synths etc. Plus it’s tightly integrated in FL which which is great. I’m a Max fan though, but I just use it for live stuff and sound generation, I’ve never found a way of knitting it fully into my setup. A couple of years ago I started programming, and that’s changed things because now I can make new tools for sound design and sequencing. For example, one thing I’m working on is sound painting – sculpting sounds from the ground up by painting their spectrums using a digitizer I got for xmas. Another is a tool for sequencing fractal-structured tracks with infinite zoom (i.e. as the track slows, the next layers emerge in the opening gaps between the beats), a bit like that fold 4 wrap 5 Autechre tune but controllable faster and slower. As for actual VSTs, xoxos.net has some really weird physical modelling ones which are great, and also the convolver that comes with FL is excellent – you can record the impulses of other plugins with it.

Workspace and Environment
I know this is Workspace and Environment, but they don’t really effect me too much to be honest. I find that when I get into the zone it doesn’t really matter where I am. I’ve snapped out of sessions and realised that I haven’t eaten since breakfast and that I’ve been needing a piss for the last 4 hours – where I am is the least of my concerns.

Are Ergonomics Important?
Very, after one summer without a mouse and keyboard and the savage aches and pains in my wrists that resulted. I sorted it out then and haven’t had a problem since.

Does Your City Affect Your Output?
Definitely, but I’m far more affected by the people around me than the music scene of the city itself.

Ideal Location
The massive dweeb answer: virtual reality. It would be bonkers. Music wouldn’t be just sound anymore because sound waves wouldn’t exist and you wouldn’t have eardrums to hear them if they did. Everything would become general sensory input. Smelling music and hearing light, etc, etc. Sound/visual synths that you control just by thinking about it. It brings up some interesting questions. How fast could you press a note of a keyboard or twist a dial if you weren’t limited by the physical speed of your finger? How many separate parameters could you control at once? I’ve thought about this way too much. A slightly more realistic location would be in some sort of floating sky-booth that sits above the clouds, like the London eye but not shit, a lot higher and with a stonking sound system.

Routine
Generally I make an effort to experiment with new techniques. It’s too easy to get locked in the same formula. A while ago I got muscle memory tweaking this one reverb to exactly the same sound, and put it on almost everything. I try to avoid that now. Though I guess my general process is to listen back to the tune I’m working on for little hooks and ideas (not necessarily intentional ones as I use some generative techniques), and then develop those. It’s by expanding and emphasising these anomalies that my tracks are made basically.

First Piece of Gear
My Event TR-8 monitors. Loved em then, love em now. When I bought them I cracked them on the floor facing each other and lay between them, listening to rain sounds of all things. I know you can more expensive ones with flatter responses, but unless your studio is in an anechoic chamber inside another one in space it seems a bit pointless getting posher ones since the room has much more of an effect…and I’ve been in acoustically turd rooms since I got them.

Last Piece of Gear
10 radios for one of my half-finished projects. My thoughts of them now are that I’ll probably never end up using them so I should just offload them to the chazza shop, but probably won’t. My thoughts of them in the future will be that I should have offloaded them to the chazza shop because I never used them, and now they’re just going in the bin.

How Many Workspaces Have You Had?
As many as I have had houses in the last 5 years…so 7. It hasn’t changed that much to be honest. It’s not the best studio but I only really use the monitors to listen to things really, really loud, generally I find a good pair of headphones better for mixing. The biggest change it got was when I got a sub a couple of years ago. The first thing I did when I got it (as everyone must do when they get a sub) is do a 20kHz to 20Hz sine sweep. I got a call 2 minutes later from my estate agent because the lady next door had ran to the office to complain that my ‘drum and bass music’ was rattling her picture frames. It goes down to 20Hz, and having this entirely new chunk of the spectrum really affected my music (and the neighbours), putting 20Hz rumble in tunes and that.

Extra Curricular
Me and my housemate made this silly animation recently that seems to be going down quite well on youtube. The internet does love cats it seems. Too much in fact because some people have actually bought the track. Some german public TV show contacted us to feature it and we’re getting 40 quid out of it which is nice.

- Vaetxh
- Rob Clouth Soundcloud

Eric Avery has wrapped up his second solo album and is currently part of a music project with Brent Hinds of Mastodon, Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Jon Theodore.

Background
I was born here in LA. I arrived here by being born – it got messy. Ive made music since I was a lonely wee lad. I had lots of time not having alot of friends and not getting laid, a few good motivational sources there. What keeps me motivated is my desire to keep motivated. I make as many decisions as I can afford to based on what will keep me interested and keep the proverbial flame lit, and of course I’d like to continue getting laid.

What is your current favorite hardware
Favorite current piece of hardware is almost always the most recent piece of hardware, right? That would be Make Noise Phonogene module, right now. Actually captured a spam cell call in the Phonogene this morning and fucked around with it, love that little thing. I would have to probably describe my access virus c as THE piece of hardware I couldn’t live without. Since a friend gave it to me, yeah, I know; GAVE it to me, I found its the workhorse. It does everything great. I also love my Andromeda A6, Little Phatty, etc. Oh , fuck, did I forget my OP-1? Christ that thing is creative.

Favorite current software?
Soundtoys. Decapitator. Decapitator. Decapitator. Did I mention Soundtoys?

Workspace and Environment
I try to shut out the day as much as possible. Its the Las Vegas casino strategy: if you don’t know what time it is, you’ll just get lost in it. I find ergonomics generally feel more fascist than comfortable. Just as long as you don’t move, you feel perfectly comfortable? Not me. Not for very long anyway.
I don’t think municipalities can always really have much of an effect on your work. Not site specifically really but LA has because I grew up in a multigenerational film family. My grandfather was an LA transplant re-recording engineer, father was an actor. Academy members, involved in the business and art of film. I think that directly informs my work, always has and probably always will. To a greater degree than anything else. Regardless of the style of music I am ever currently interested in, I am always listening to things in a cinematic way. A sense of place or environment has always been more important than melody or other more musical concerns. Not always consciously but always just the same.

What is your ideal workspace?
Wherever I am really. When I get too concerned with anything being just right, I generally just get a bigger than usual dosage of the blank canvas syndrome. The blank canvas becomes a giant white wall. Ok, everything is just right…ready…set…go…make genius happen now. I hope that makes sense. Plus, if I lived in a big scruffy warehouse space on a beach with a great surf break, I might be too busy counting my blessings everyday to get anything done.

I adhere to the by-hook-or-by-crook strategy. Whatever gets it done. I always hear people talk about rules “all the best music just flows out easily” blah, blah. Not for me. Sometimes the music that just flows out FEELS great but when I listen back a few days later I just think, “oh no its happened, I am officially a douchebag”. Sometimes it’s my best work but sometimes my best work comes from hammering the shit out of some idea for years until its listenable or makes some sense one day. Some folks might have tidy creative rules that apply. Not me. look at the accompanying pic of my workspace. I’m a fucking mess.

Background
I was born in Bergen County, NJ, where I grew up (Hillsdale, to be precise). I went to college at Berklee in Boston, where I’ve stayed for the last 20 years (the Boston area, not Berklee). Currently I have an office & a studio space in Porter Square in Cambridge (just a few blocks north of Harvard) & there’s another set of workstations in my apartment in Somerville about 2 miles away. Although these days I tend to do most of my music-work at home (recording at least).

I started making electronic music on a vic20 when I was 10 years old ; then the Atari 400/800/st, then Mac’s, etc … I love music, I always seem to find new areas & techniques to explore & I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by people (although less actual & more virtual these days) who at least share some of my interests. I’m largely motivated these by other people continuing to ask me for music ; I have a hard time saying no …

Favorite Hardware
The two items I’ve been using the most this month are a Tascam dp-008 digital 8-track & a Soundevices mix-pre-d … I bought the Tascam on a whim, but it’s proven to a be a great stand-alone multitrack (it fits with a Cloudlifter CL-2 on a shelf mounted to a mic-stand! It’s tiny) ; I’ve been recording loads of music on it, which is always the sign of a good piece of gear. I picked up the mix-pre-d to do higher quality location recording (previously i’d just been using a Sony PCM-D50 & was considering the standalone phantom power source, then realized this cost almost as much as the mix-pre-d) but its ended up being a pretty powerful workhorse – works beautifully as a mic pre, a usb recording interface, a preamp for feeding decent audio into a dslr for video, a mid-side decoder … the list goes on.

Favorite Software
It’s been AGES since I’ve gotten anything new, or even updated my DAW setup at the studio (I’m running Logic 8 & MAX-MSP 4.5, there’s a UAD-2 card in the main machine). Everything is running smoothly & it sounds great, so stasis is the best course … wait, I did get some of those Valhalla DSP plugins recently, those are great (the room one is especially good) … I was really into that Tobor experiment Berna package for a while, although I quickly realized I VASTLY preferred doing those sorts(s) of things in hardware ; still, it was a cool idea for a software suite. Oh, and the madrona aalto is really, really great for a software synth.

Workspace and Environment
The studio space in which I do most of my computer-oriented music work doubles as the warehouse of the distribution company I run ; all of the stock is there, along with my personal record collection … endless inspiration right there. That said, people are always knocking on the door looking for records & that can sometimes get in the way of deep concentration. The space is gorgeous, in a big mill building. After 6 it clears out & it’s whisper-quiet (other than the commuter rail trains going by) … 30 foot high ceilings, good light.

Ergonomics
They’re important ; I never set out to make the different workstations ergonomically feasible, but often things get shifted around to be a little more comfortable. The best ergonomic choice I made was to just set up a bunch of different workstations for different tasks ; that way I’m not always using the same set of muscles, sitting in the same position, focusing on the same screen at the same distance for 12 hours a day. I have a “standing desk” at the office where I do things like assemble records, plus there’s a big packing bench which is great for projects where I need to lay out a bunch of different things temporarily … the “synth desk” is also a standing desk ; a bar table with storage underneath for cables & whatnot. I find standing while doing creative work really helps to focus on what I’m doing at any given time.

I’ve chosen to stay in Boston as it’s extremely pleasant here. there’s a great, small, tight-knit scene for the sort(s) of music that I make & enjoy that doesn’t suffer from the delusions of grandeur you’d get in a larger city ; I guess that’s why I love it here – people just going about their lives, working on their craft. The winters are brutal, which is great as I tend to do most of my creative work for the year while sequestered inside. I’m actually fairly antisocial … I can go days at a time without seeing anyone other than my partner & our cats.

Ideal Location
I think this is it! Having the time & resources to get deep into projects without too much temptation to go out every night. That sounds like heaven to me …

I tend to move apartments every couple of years, which is actually a great thing – it’s nice to re-assess what you’re using & what’s gathering dust every so often, pawn off anything that’s not being used. Since moving to boston for good in 1993, I’ve moved home/studio about 8 times. I’ve been in the porter sq. office for 4 years now, this apartment going on 2. I almost always had one of those Omnirax or Middle Atlantic workstations, but I noticed after a while I was getting neck & back pain from always craning my neck up to see the monitor on the top shelf. Now I use bar-tables with storage underneath, much better, plus it forced me to stand … plus those $49 staples “computer desk” stations, which I find very comfortable (you just have to remove the upper shelf).

Routine
I often work in very conceptual ways … having the hour or two going back & forth from the home/studio to the office/studio every day, away from all of my gear & whatnot, to think about possible approaches & ideas is crucial. I don’t really make notes or diagrams, but I tend to think about something I’d like to try & map it out in great detail mentally before I begin. specific to the modular, I’m constantly re-working the portable case that I take out on the road. pretty much every week I’m swapping something out for something else. I like to approach it as a series of little micro-patches. Right now, in the 90hp 12u I have in the Monorocket mx-6, there are 7 self-contained sub-patches which all speak to each other in different ways. but it’s constantly changing from week to week.

First piece of Hardware
Hard to say … the vic-20 was prob the first I remember using to actually make music, but I remember saving up my paper route money to get a Casio CZ-1 when those came out. Actually, I remember having Casios before then (def. an MT-68 ; i have a different one now & still use it all the time) – I know I had a TR-505 at one point too, a fostex cassette 4-track, then, later, a Tascam Syncaset 8-track cassette & the matching mixer. I really wish I still have both of those!!! The sound you got out of that mixer was incredible ; the channel distortion …

Last Piece of Hardware
This week I picked up a Boss DR-55 drum machine – super interesting as it has two clock-outs (one sends a 16th note, the other follows accents programmed into a given rhythm) – it’s been fun to clock a modular patch with it, maybe send the clock through a few 4ms rcd’s, but then have the audio of the drum machine to play around with as well … very cool.

Eavesdropping
I went to see a band a few weeks ago at a “big” rock club ; They played “playthroughs” as the between-band music throughout the night. It kind of freaked me out, actually. I’ve had music on TV, in video games, and in movies as well. Whenever i hear something out of context, I usually get very disoriented …

Extra Curricular
I do a bit of sound-design here & there ; nothing I really pursue, but it’s nice when that work lands in my lap. Last year I did a few pieces for a few games & some sound-design for one of them … it was based on the seven chakras, and I did sound for the final, “crown” chakra level. Did a bit of research on the root frequencies & tunings, which made it this interesting mix of science / psycho-acoustics and music. I’m quite happy with how it turned out …

- Keith Fullerton Whitman

Mahsa Zargaran of Omniflux.

Background
I was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. Got put in jail at 15 for having a party. So that made it kind of an easy decision to move out of Iran. Couldn’t have picked a more opposite freak show of a town to move to than Orange County. That was 1999. I now reside in Los Angeles.

I’ve played classical piano since I was 5. Became very good at it, but by my late teens it felt more like doing math and/or a meditation exercise than doing something wild and unpredictable. I still love playing classical piano though. It’s very calming. I got really deep into film scores when I was about 21 and that’s all I listened to (besides Eminem). Thats when my interest in creating music began. I crave being completely focused on something. That craving motivates me. What’s special about making music is that I can put headphones on and get lost listening to a beat but still stay fully focused.

Current Favorite Hardware
Dave Smith Instruments’ Poly Evolver. It’s such an intuitive synth and yet so complex. I love all the knobs. I lose interest in sound design quickly if I have to read menu options on a screen for everything instead of turning a knob for every parameter. AND it has pretty blue lights.

Current Favorite Software
-NI’s Massive and Arturia’s Minimoog are my two go to plugins right now. I understand them well and I’d rather use 2 plugins i know than having all the plugins in the world. That stresses me out to even think about.

Workspace and Environment
I like working in small intimate spaces. I can’t work if there’s anybody around. I’ve always worked by myself and will probably continue to do so. People would be scared if they saw me work. lots of dancing around happens. Good lighting is essential to my work flow and it probably serves my work more than any piece of gear.

Ergonomics
I know they’re supposed to be important but physically I don’t apply it. I often find myself sitting in awkward positions on a couch with a synth for a long time. Can’t get to anything comfortably, and when i get up my whole body has fallen asleep, but I keep doing the same thing. I have a sickness. I like changing around my studio set up a lot. Having the same gear in the same place all the time freaks me out. Makes it routine like.

Los Angeles probably gets in the way of my output more than it contributes. there’s always a friend playing a show somewhere. I could go out every night and see a show. It’s very distracting. Too much information going in.

Ideal Location
A loft in the middle of a busy city with lots of big windows and skylights. Cats, baby goats and ducklings would live there. Nice places to walk to would be cool. Like a river, museums, etc.

Routine
Less is more. No preparation, just execution. Don’t think. Stop thinking. Seriously, stop thinking. Don’t spend too much time on a sound, take a crappy sound and make it work.

Extra Curricular
Outside of my own project Omniflux, I play drums in Sabrosa Purr and Big Black Delta. I’ve scored a couple of short films. I hope to do a lot more scoring in the future.

- Omniflux

Benjamin Weinman and I have been playing tag for a few years. He’ll suddenly materialize out of the sweaty crowds at NAMM where he saves Richard and I from a gut-wrenchingly awkward conversation with Meshuggah, or he’ll come to Chicago and destroy the city with his band but he’s finally managed to spare a few moments before going on tour. So here you have it, Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan.

Background
I was born in Northern NJ about 45 min away from Manhattan NY. I still live in the same neighborhood I grew up in and can see my parents house from my window. I guess I just had too much shit to stay at their house so I moved to a house down the street. I have been banging on stuff for as long as I can remember. I remember going to my friends house when I was a kid he would help me with my homework and I would figure out the melody to any song he called out on his little toy keyboard. That was the trade. That was my training.

Hardware
I use the crap out of my Universal Audio 6176. It’s very versatile for whatever. Drums, vocals, just banging coffee cups into a room mic. I also, love this little old Moog I found at a pawn shop years ago on tour and my Organ which I put through all kinds of pedals occasionally to spark ideas. It also has a tape recorder built in so sometimes I actually tape sounds and then record them into my computer to get a little tape saturation.

Software
As far as my DAW I’m a Cubase SX kind of guy. I recently acquired SX 6 which just makes sense. The new drum editing features are so quick and user friendly and the built in vari audio, midi detection and export, and transient detection is pretty amazing. The tempo detection helps a great deal with remixes as well. Also, sometimes use FL Studio to change things up. I still think the piano roll just opens up so many rhythmic ideas. As for plugins I have been abusing the Sound Toys stuff a lot lately and Spectrasonics is making some pretty powerful stuff.

Workspace and Environment
It influences me a great deal. I have a basement studio with no light or sound from the outside world. I fully sound proofed my space. Built a floating room. So basically I can bang on drums at 3am in the morning if I want and work until the sun comes up. I couldn’t do that in the past when I was so distracted and limited by my surroundings. Ergonomics are not important and very important. I think Ergonomics effects what you make but certainly does not determine your ability to create. I can’t stand people who complain that they can’t create because they don’t have this or this is not like that or If I only had this or things were like this… blah blah blah. Just make stuff with what you got where you got it!

There isn’t much going on around here so I don’t go out much. I do think that growing with the ability to go to NY where there was a lot of art and culture while still having the ability to go home and jam in a garage or basement had a huge influence on the music I made coming up.

If I could hook a midi keyboard up to my brain while I sleep I’m pretty sure some pretty cool stuff would come out.

Routine
I do things in all different ways. I usually can’t think too much. Just have to pick something up and start making noise.

Eavesdropping
It’s pretty rare that I’ve heard my music publicly but the few times I have I feel pretty embarrassed. Not sure if I am suppose to acknowledge it or pretend it’s no big deal. I feel really uncomfortable honestly.

Extra Curricular
I have done a few things for video games and a bit of commercial work. At the moment I am working on sound design for a horror movie and am also creating and collaborating on Trailer music and orchestrations.

8 years earlier than planned, here is some “vintage” Charles Cohen, along with Eric Shefter’s visuals.

Studio overview:

the luminists at work:

more luminists at work:

and one last one:

A.