Elektron-Users

How long have you been making music?

I have been making music for almost 15 years now.

What brought you to electronic music?

My first introduction was through classical music. I started taking classical piano lessons when I was about seven years old. At first I was just learning to sight read and studying music theory. I later discovered the music of Bach and Erik Satie. From there I eventually started exploring other instruments like the drums and guitar. It wasn't until I was in high school where I began to explore electronic music and then started building a music studio. I would say the music of Morton Subotnick, Stockhausen, John Cage, and Aphex Twin launched my initial interest in making my own compositions. I was just making music for myself to listen to. I really liked making odd noises and shaping and crafting sounds. Almost like scientific sound design.

What inspires you to compose?

I find inspiration from many different sources. Sometimes I will be out at an art museum, and see a video installation, short film, or sculpture piece, and it will inspire me to create something. I love late 21st century modern architecture too. I see the skeletal structures of buildings and spaces, and it makes me think of musical structures. I have always believed that there is a close relationship between visual art and music. They are based on the same principals of design, repetition, color, balance, rhythm, tone, texture, etc. I tend to get more ideas from visual references than audio sources.

As you discuss in further detail below (and our readers probably know!) you are also a well-regarded sound designer. How do the two processes, composing and sound designing, complement each other? Are they even two separate processes? For instance, when you sit down to work, do you approach the session as a "sound design" or "composition" session depending on your mood? Or do you just let the session flow?

I look at both processes differently for different applications. When I work on sound design projects, it could be scoring sounds to a video game where I go in and create a palette of sounds that are design to be triggered by the user. These could be switches, buttons, selection sounds, loading, weaponry, Foley FX. It literally is thousands of small pieces that will be used in a specific environment or interface. So in that situation the process of sound design is only to have the sounds work in a single shot instance, and they should be unique to work on their own. In scoring to TV/Film I use sound design much differently. I term this as being what I call "musical" or "narrative" sound design. Where the sounds almost tell a story and work on a linear time line matched up with moving picture and the events happen in a very specific order. This is to me composing and this similar to how I compose some of my musical compositions.

When did you start using Elektron gear?

I would say it was in March of 2006. I would consider myself to be an Elektron newbie. I have only been using them for about 3 years now.

Which machine did you start with?

I bought the MonoMachine and MachineDrum SPS-1.

What led you to/how did you get into Elektron gear?

I was playing a gig with Speedy-J and Autechre in Amsterdam at the 5-days off festival in December of 2005. I was doing sound check and Sean from Autechre was there setting up. I noticed that he had the MachineDrum and MonoMachine setup on the table for Autechre’s sound check. I was curious and inquired about the silver boxes. I was interested because they decided not to use any computers for the gig that night but work solely with the MD and MM. I was already thinking of going back to hardware interfaces at that time for my live show, so it was perfect timing. As soon as I returned home I bought both of them.

It's apparent that you have quite a bit of hardware and software in your studio, what do you find most attractive about Elektron gear? What differentiates it/them from other synths, etc. you have?

Well, it’s definitely the way they let you shape and physically interact with the sounds as they are being played. I love the parameter locks, and working in CTR mode where I can globally change the parameters of all the sounds, whether it be envelopes or pitch. It allows you to be more expressive with the sequencing and control. I actually wish some of my other software/hardware had some of the capabilities of the MD/MM. They have excellent sound quality, the bass on the MD cuts through on a PA system like no other drum machine I have. The unique structure of the LFOs and routing capabilities make it a blast to tweak on the fly. I have gotten so many interesting sounds just by accident with these machines. I think they bring a lot of the fun "tweak factor" back into the mix, which I find is missing in a lot of software and newer hardware these days. They always seem to amaze me with the level of complexity that is possible with them. I have already started to use them for all of my live shows lately. It seems that I discover new tricks every time I play out with them.

Have you had the opportunity to play a Machinedrum UW? If not, what do you think of the machine from a conceptual standpoint? (i.e. live sampling and resampling outside of software).

Well, I sold my old MD/MM to buy the new MachineDrum SPS-1UW mk II and MonoMachine Mk II. So I basically upgraded both machines recently. I love the option to sample with the MachineDrum. Some of the strangest sounds I have created come from the live sampling function of the UW. I was just on the SPS-1 before so I never had the option to import my own sounds. It’s amazing what you can do. I love using very complicated granulated sounds and them loading them into sample memory, then programming the retriggers and start/end points at different times in a sequence. You can create these completely new angulated rhythms. Adding the sampling option brought a whole new level of complexity to the mix.

If you have played a Machinedrum UW, do you think it would open new avenues of sound creation for you?

Absolutely, as I answered above it totally took it to a whole new level. I discover these micro rhythms within rhythms by having the UW option. As you can load in samples of drums loops or sounds that can be triggered at different points, then manipulated further with the effects and routing. Very clever, and you get more mileage out of your sounds with the new features.

Name one thing you wish was different about your Elektron gear – what change is highest on your wishlist?

Well, I know this has probably been said before, but I would love to get more sample memory beyond the 2.5-Mb limit on the MD-UW. It would be nice to have 256MB like an MPC or Akai sampler. Although, sometimes I like only having 2.5 MB as it forces me to be more creative in my sample choices and makes me dig deeper into the various new ways to manipulate the sample I have loaded. Everything else for me is stellar!

Do you feel that you are in an arms race with technology? For instance, stuttering effects were previously difficult to program before the advent of certain reaktor ensembles and effects like buffer override -- do you feel pressured to evolve your techniques to stay ahead of everyone else as "how did they do that" effects become common?

It’s funny I just had a conversation with my friend the other day about this. I love all the new tools like Sugar Bytes Effectrix, Major Malfunction, dbGlitch, Buffer Overide, and Reaktor. I think they are great tools for making complex sounds and sequencing easier, but they still have a sound quality to them that make them all sound like square process chunk effects. It’s great, I use them all, but it still doesn't replace the human touch and hand programmed sequencing, as you can freely move audio and offset things out of a grid, and make them sound more organic. I still like to hand program all my audio and drums because you can control every instant of every second, and decide when something will change rather then using a plug-in that will randomly come up with something close to what you had in mind.

To what degree are you dependent on technology to evolve your sound design techniques? Or is it more of a matter of applying the technology in different or new ways?

I am always incorporating new technology into my sound design rig. I actually work doing sound design professionally now, so I am always on the quest for new interesting sounds. I would say that I am always applying new software/plug-ins/hardware into my daily workflow. I like finding sonic accidents and purposely forcing my gear to do things it’s not meant to do. Some of the best sounds I have created have come from this idea. I am constantly exploring all the options, I think that is part of what makes it so much fun.

Do you see a conflict between sound designing sample sets or presets for software instruments (not instruments themselves) for use by musicians and inspiring musicians to forge new sounds on their own?

I find no conflicts as I consider myself to be a sound designer and love making sounds that people get inspired by to make great music. I have designed sounds for many hardware and software companies, and love watching the BBC or some TV show and hearing my sounds being used. It’s fun it teaches you how your work can be applied in different areas, and it forces you to listen to things in a different way. I have had people come up to me and give me records of music they have made with my sounds, and it was music that is totally different than mine. I would have never thought to use the sounds in a composition like theirs. It's great; it makes you think more about the sounds you create and how many different ways people will use them.
Sony was the first company to approach me about releasing an all Devine Sound library. I wish it could have been bigger as we had nearly 5 gigs of content, and had to squash it down a bit, but was very happy to have something to start out with. Hopefully it will inspire people to make great music because, at the end of the day, that is what is most important. I am trying to start up a small boutique sound design company with my fellow [sound designer?] and friend Josh Kay of Phoenecia. The company is called DevineSound. We are launching the company later this year, and will be opening up to work on more Video Games-, Film-, and TV-related projects.

What albums have you listened to recently that you've really enjoyed?

I love the new Flying Lotus record on Warp, and Autechre’s "Quaristice," been loving Natasha Barret's “Dr. Ox” on Cycling 74. I have been listening to lots of electro acoustic music. Artists like Trevor Whishart, Haracio Vaggione, and Jonty Harrison.

You've worn, and continue to wear, many different hats – performer, commercial sound designer, electronic musician, and (for at least a week at Berklee in 2006) teacher. Which of these roles do you find the most inspiring? Or are they complementary?

I find them all inspiring to be honest. I am totally grateful that so many people have accepted my music, as strange as it is. When I first started out, I never thought that I was actually making music that would be anything more than something I did for myself in my spare time, but it turned into many different things as I progressed as an artist. I found that you could become more successful if you are able to adapt to constant changes of the industry and life itself.

Do you listen to your own music/albums? When you do so, do you find yourself finding things you would like to have done differently?

That's a great question, I often listen to tracks or remixes that I have done in the past, and wish many times that I would have had more time to work on them. Many of the projects I have been involved with always had extreme deadlines, and didn't allow for much time to experiment and see what could really become of the track. So I would definitely say yes to that question.

How was Detroitfest?

Detroit was amazing. The DEMF festival is always fun to visit every year. I have played at the DEMF festival almost every year since it started. There is lots of great music and awesome after parties featuring some of the best techno labels in the world. I am a big fan of minimal techno so I love hearing all the new music that comes out every year.

Ok, you've had access to loads of gear, any besides the Elektron boxes you adore?

Well, there are so many that I love, I would say at the top of the list, my Arp-2600 modified by Phil at CMS, the Kyma systems, Virus TI polar, Nord G2, Hartmann Neuron and Roland V-synth GT. I have been building a large analogue modular system, which consists of lots of modules from Cynthia, Doepfer, Plan-B, Serge, LiveWire, and Harvestman. I am going back to hardware again, and analogue circuits. It’s so much fun!

Gear List:

Here is a new complete kit list:

Mixers & Speakers

• Mackie HR-824 x 5
• Mackie HS-120 Sub
• KRK-Rokit x 2
• Mackie 32-8 analogue mixer
• Mackie 1202-VLZ analogue mixer
• Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer
• Yamaha 02R digital Mixer
• Rane MP-24 mixer
• Allen & Heath Xone 3D
• Digidesign DIGI 002
• Digidesign Mbox
• Technics 1200 turntables x 2
• Stanton STR-150 turntables x 2
• Stanton Final Scratch 2.0 and 1.5
• Stanton SMX-501 Mixer
• Stanton C324 CD Players
• Ecler NU04 Mixer

• Alesis Andromeda A6
• Alesis Fusion
• Access Virus TI Polar and Snow
• Akai S3200
• Akai MPC-5000
• Akai MPC-1000
• Clavia Nord Modular G1 rack
• Clavia Nord Modular G2
• Elektron Monomachine mk II
• Elektron MachineDrum UW-mk II
• Hartmann Neuron
• Korg Radias rack
• Korg Triton Studio
• Korg Trinity Pro
• Korg Kaoss Pad V2
• Korg Kaoss Pad V3
• Korg MicroKontrol
• Korg S3 Drum Machine
• Muze Research Receptor
• M-Audio Ozonic
• M-Audio Oxygen 8
• MFB-Synth Lite
• MFB-Filter Box
• MFB-502 Drum Machine
• MFB-Synth II
• Symbolic Sound Kyma System
• Oberheim Matrix-6R
• Open Labs Neko 64 Keyboard
• Roland TB-303 (Devilfish Mod)
• Roland TR-606 (custom mod)
• Roland TR-707
• Roland TR-727
• Roland TR-808 modded by Josh Kay =)
• Roland SBX-10
• Roland R-8mk II
• Roland VP-9000
• Roland V-Synth
• Roland V-Synth-GT
• Roland D-5
• Yamaha DX-100
• Yamaha TX81Z
• Custom Chaos box-by Tim Adams
• Custom Modular synth by Time Adams

• Apogee Rosetta 200 (192k)
• Alesis ineko
• TC Electronic Finalizer 96k
• TC Electronic M-One-XL
• MOTU-896HD
• MOTU-828mkII
• RME Fireface-400
• RME Fireface-800
• Focusrite TwinTrack pro
• Eventide H3000-D/SE
• Eventide H8000-FW
• M-Audio Octane
• M-Audio Delta 1010

• Apple G5 Dual 2.5
• Apple Powerbook G4 1Ghz
• Apple Powerbook G4 1.67
• Apple Macbook 2.4 Ghz
• Apple G4 Dual 550
• Sony Vaio 3.0ghz tower
• Sony Vaio 2.0ghz laptop
• Logic 8
• Pro tools HD-7.3 with 96 HD hardware
• Nuendo 4 by Steinberg
• GRM tools
• Cycing 74 all software and plug-ins
• Sound toys all plug-ins
• Composer's Desktop Project
• MetaSynth
• Csound
• Universal Audio UAD card
• All Native Instruments software including Kore-2
• Almost every known plug-in for PC and Mac.

Note: You really don't need any of this gear to make good music. If you have a nice clean kitchen table, a pair of decent headphones and a Macbook running your favorite sequencer is really all you need =).

Exclusive Track: Richard Devine vs Jeswa - Warafin


FEATURE NOTES:
Questions were created by Ryan Faubion and Mariana Cruz. Thanks to Jon, Thomas, and everyone at Elektron Music Machines for their blessing. Last but not least, thanks to Richard for his willingness to peer into his world and the great music. Cheers my friend!