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Issue 374

Making the future since 1992

SEQU U

E R DESIGN FRESH SOUNDS GET INSPIRED

LOOPS INTO COMPLETE TRACKS

ONEL

DJ SEINFELD

MOLCHAT DOMA TEN CITY

YOUR STUDIO WORKFLOW!

FM | WELCOME Editor-In-Chief Si Truss, simon.truss@futurenet.com Reviews Editor, Music Technology Simon Arblaster, simon.arblaster@futurenet.com Features Editor, Music Technology Matt Mullen, matt.mullen@futurenet.com Managing Editor Kate Puttick, kate.puttick@futurenet.com Art Editor Phil Cheesbrough, philip.cheesbrough@futurenet.com BIG THANKS TO… Rob Redman, Leo Maymind, Tefty, Andy Jones, Danny Turner, Tim Cant, James Russell, Bruce Aisher, Roy Spencer, Oli Bell, Adam Lee, Olly Curtis, Robbie Stamp, Jon Musgrave, Greg Scarth ADVERTISING For Ad enquiries please contact: Kyle Phillips, kyle.phillips@futurenet.com MARKETING Direct Marketing Executive: Will Hardy PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Production Controller: Fran Twentyman Production Manager: Mark Constance Printed in the UK by: William Gibbons & Sons Ltd on behalf of Future Distributed in the UK by: Marketforce (UK), 2nd Floor, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU Tel: +44 (0) 203 787 9001 CIRCULATION Head of Newstrade: Tim Mathers SUBSCRIPTIONS Order line and enquiries: +44 (0)330 333 1113 Online enquiries: www.magazinesdirect.com Email: help@magazinesdirect.com INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AND SYNDICATION Future Music is available for licensing and syndication. Contact the Licensing team. Head of Print Licensing: Rachel Shaw, licensing@futurenet.com MANAGEMENT Senior Vice President, Tech, Games & Ents: Aaron Asadi Brand Director, Music: Stuart Williams Content Director: Scott Rowley Global Head of Design: Rodney Dive Head of Design (Music): Brad Merrett Group Art Editor: Graham Dalzell Future Music, ISSN 0967-0378 October issue 374, is published monthly with an extra issue in December by Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA. UK The US annual subscription price is $197.60. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container Inc, c/o BBT, 150-15 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Brooklyn NY 11256. US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Future Music, World Container Inc, c/o BBT, 150-15 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA

We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certiﬁed forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. The manufacturing paper mill holds full FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certiﬁcation and accreditation

Quick fixes Often in FM, we like to go as deep as possible into a subject, exploring the whats, hows and whys and picking a theme apart from start to finish. That’s not what this issue is all about though. This issue is about little things – quick tips, ideas and hacks that can help make your music making life better straight away. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite pieces of short, to-the-point advice on matters ranging from sound design to studio workflow. They might not revolutionise your music making individually, but we hope they’ll have the cumulative effect of making your day-to-day creative process feel instantly improved. We hope you enjoy the issue. Stay safe.

Si Truss, Editor-In-Chief simon.truss@futurenet.com

All contents © 2021 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered ofﬁce: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not afﬁliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/or have the necessary rights/ permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions.

F | CONTENTS

40 INTERVIEW

DJ Seinfeld

We meet the humourously-named Swedish dancefloor don who’s become known for his raw, honest style

This Issue | Contents

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

58 In the Studio with… LoneLady

72 REVIEWED

Sequential Prophet-5 Rev 4

A legend reborn – and then rated by us

Review UAFX series pedals

Filter The latest news

Review Intellijel Metropolix

Testbench Rhizomatic Plasmonic

Classic Album Ten City, Foundation

REVIEWS

INTERVIEWS

REGULARS

SOCIAL

72 Sequential Prophet-5

58 LONELADY

12 Filter: The latest news

76 Intellijel Metropolix 80 Roundup: Free Samplers 82 Audient iD14 MkII

84 ADAC112 VC Looper & Granular Processor 86 Aiaiai TMA-02 headphones 88 Testbench: Rhizomatic Plasmonic 90 Universal Audio UAFX pedals 92 Sounds and Samples

Former (and future)Things

68 MOLCHAT DOMA

18 Classic Album: Ten City, Foundation! 22 Get a print or digital subscription to Future Music

’80s sounds for 2021

16 TALKING SHOP SEBASTIAN PLANO 46 THE TRACK JAMES HURR

24 Album reviews

Find us online at futuremusic.co.uk Watch our videos youtube.com/ futuremusicmagazine Follow us on Twitter @futuremusicmag

66 Retrospective: Hardcore

Join us on Facebook facebook.com/ futuremusicmagazine 7

F | ON FILESILO 46 THE TRACK

James Hurr – Love Together INCLUDES VIDEO

The producer known for his club credentials gives an insight into his studio tricks and techniques

ACCESSING YOUR BONUS DIGITAL CONTENT

FILESILO.CO.UK This issue’s bonus samples, videos, audio and bonus archive samples are all available to access via FileSilo. At the link above, log in or register, then unlock over 12GB of goodies! 8

This Issue | Contents

IN THE ARCHIVE – UPDATED!

TECHNIQUE & FEATURES

FM’s Sample Archive gives you over 18GB of carefully-curated, royalty-free sounds to use in your music. Here’s what’s inside... AMBIENT SOUNDS PT.1

HOUSE & TECHNO

> ’90s Ambient (562 samples)

> Chicago House (537 samples)

> Ambient Dawn (490 samples)

> House & Techno Stabs (213 samples)

AMBIENT SOUNDS PT.2 > Majestic Bells & Mallets (444 samples) > Spring Reverb & Tape Delay (533 samples)

ATMOSPHERES & BACKGROUNDS > Atmospheric Beds (369 samples)

> Jacking House (518 samples) > Warehouse Techno (575 samples)

PERCUSSION > Modular Percussion (510 samples) > Shakers, Tambs & Toplines (503 samples) > Sticks, Knocks & Rims (502 samples)

TRANCE & RAVE

> Noise, Crackle & Hiss (512 samples)

> Classic Breakbeats (371 samples)

> Sounds of the City (371 samples)

> Rave Synths (524 samples)

CLASSIC SYNTHS PT.1 > Analogue Polys (625 samples) > SH Collection (500 samples)

CLASSIC SYNTHS PT.2 > Analogue Poly Chord Hits (342 samples)

> Trance Tools (537 samples)

INCLUDES VIDEO

THE LATEST BATCH AMBIENCE EXTRAS

> Classic Synths: ’80s, ’90s, ’00s

> Ambient Orchestral (246 samples)

(678 samples)

> Ambient Piano (469 samples)

> Hardware Arps (511 samples)

> Sound From The Ether (492 samples)

CREATIVE DRUMS

> Amped-Up Bass (234 samples)

> Lo-Fi Sampling (555 samples)

> Sub-Frequency Grooves (256 samples)

> Overloaded Beats (889 samples)

ESSENTIAL DRUMS

FOUND FAVOURITES > Mechanical Sounds (390 samples) > Out There FX (500 samples)

> 808 and 909 (39 samples)

> Studio Noise (234 samples)

> Ultimate Cymbals (503 samples)

> The Edge Of Noise (512 samples)

> Ultimate Kick Bundle (505 samples)

> The Sound Of Water (375 samples)

> Ultimate Snares & Claps (676 samples) > Vintage Drum Machine Hits (548 samples)

FX & TRANSITIONS PT.1 > Filter Fun (496 samples) > Gates ‘N’ Sidechains (287 samples)

We’ll make your music-making life better organised and more productive – one creative tip at a time!

BASS BUNDLE

> Cyborg Beats (514 samples) > Obscure Drum Machines (517 samples)

26 50 Studio Hacks

FUTURE DRUMS > Beyond Breakbeats (186 samples) > Digital Percussion (502 samples) > Electro FX (321 samples) > Granular Drums (499 samples)

EXCLUSIVE SAMPLE PACKS

’90s Synths – Part 1 CYCLICK SAMPLES PRESENT…

Our celebration of classic synth tones hits the 1990s and we reach for our Bass Station and K2600 for a pack of killer basses and leads.

> Dub Percussion 2 (537 samples)

One-Shot Bass

> Destroyed synths (519 samples)

> Jazz Drums (499 samples)

GROOVE CRIMINALS PRESENT…

> Sci-Fi FX (501 samples)

> Total Snares (501 samples)

Single-note bass sounds in every possible ﬂavour – from earth shaking subs to digital growls, analogue pulses and fuzzy guitars.

> Total Transitions (260 samples)

FX & TRANSITIONS PT.2

HIP-HOP, FUNK & SOUL

MORE BEATS > ‘80s Pop Drums (197 samples)

SYNTHS & MORE

> Cosmic Soul (386 samples)

> Chord Stabs (136 samples)

> Funk Keys (279 samples)

> Clone Wars (523 samples)

> Hip-Hop Drum Machines (387 samples)

> Percussive Leads (289 samples)

> Minimal Hip-Hop (540 samples)

> VHS Synths (207 samples)

Contents | This Issue

BONUS SAMPLES DOWNLOAD THEM NOW FROM FILESILO.CO.UK/FUTUREMUSIC 01

02 03

05 06 loopmasters.com 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Loopmasters Presents Funky House Producer. Volume 2 ZTekno 135 BPM Singomakers Vocals & Slap House Loopmasters Pres. Eclectic Pop Element One Sceptre Drum & Bass RV_Samplepacks Dark 140 BLIND Eternal Driving Techno Loopmasters Urban Agency Drum & Bass Vol 1

07 08

F | FILTER

The Future Of Music | Filter

Get sounds from some of pop’s biggest names in GarageBand for iOS Remix Sessions and Producer Packs bring sounds from Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Boys Noize and more

The past decade has seen Apple gradually repositioning GarageBand to appeal to electronic producers as much as entry-level home recordists. Now the latest update for iOS and iPad sees the user-friendly DAW leaning further into the realm of electronic pop with the addition of Remix Sessions and Producer Packs. The Producer Packs are probably the more interesting of the two features for experienced music makers. These are sound packs complete with loops, one-shots, synth presets and drum kits. What elevates them, however, are the names behind each pack. Bundles have been compiled by the likes of Boys Noize, Oak Felder (producer for Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and John Legend) and duo Take A Daytrip (David Biral and Denzel Baptiste, producers for Lil Nas X, Kid Cudi and Travis Scott). The packs have been designed and curated to act like easy-to-use construction kits for producers at any

level. Of his pack, Oak Felder says, “I’ve curated it so that a brand new producer could pull any pattern, play any number of combinations, and, since the sonics are curated to sound so modern and future-leaning, it gives them an opportunity to be competitive. You wanna put down a trap beat, it’s literally gonna take you ten seconds.” There’s a Producer Pack from Mark Ronson too, which comes accompanied by a new Apple TV documentary series titled Watch the Sound With Mark Ronson. Crucially, all sounds in the Producer Packs are royalty-free, meaning users can incorporate them into their own releases or make use of them away from the context of the GarageBand app.

Remix it Remix Sessions, as the name implies, are projects designed to let GarageBand users edit and rearrange well-known songs. Downloadable sets include stems for Dua Lipa’s

Break My Heart and Lady Gaga’s Free Woman. Before you get too excited, it’s worth noting that these projects remain constrained by copyright, and the sounds are largely walled-off within GarageBand, so don’t expect access to acapellas ready for you to export and throw into your next club track. These Remix Sessions seem most appealing as learning tools. Each project comes accompanied by videos, including ‘inspirational’ clips from the artists discussing the original songs, along with guides from an ‘Apple Retail Creative Pro’ aimed at walking you through the process of putting your own stamp on each track. If nothing else, they should provide an interesting insight into the make-up of these top-level pop tracks. All the Remix Sessions and new Producer Packs are available right now as a free download from the Sound Library in GarageBand 2.3.11, the latest version of the app, for iOS and iPadOS.

Filter | The Future Of Music

A-Trak teams up with Rane for signature mixer

Producer, DJ and turntablist extraordinaire A-Trak has partnered with Rane to release a “meticulously designed remix” of their popular Rane Seventy battle mixer. Announced last month, the mixer has been redesigned to A-Trak’s spec. He reportedly also tweaked the curve and frequency response to match his “signature sound”, applying extra oomph to the low end. What’s more, the Signature Edition benefits from the addition of a feature not found on the standard Rane Seventy. Fader FX transforms the channel volume faders into controllers for effects such as Filter, Pitch, Roll, Ring-Modulator, and four onboard oscillators, giving DJs an extra tool in their belt for expressive performances. The Seventy A-Trak Signature Edition puts a new spin on the Rane Seventy format, which has proved popular with scratch DJs. Alongside the new tools, it maintains existing features including a durable chassis, MPC-style performance pads, and advanced Serato integration.

Matrix Mixer: re-patch your rack at the push of a button

Part of the fun of having a Eurorack setup is the constant re-patching – that’s what fans will tell you, anyway – but while, in the studio, you have all the time in the world to do this, there are different pressures when performing. Enter Erica Synths’ Matrix Mixer, which will let you “re-patch your system with the push of a single button”.

This is a 16-I/O patch mixer that’s designed for routing and mixing signals, and creating buffered multiples and random patches. Not limited to Eurorack, it can also be used with semi-modular synths and, with an adapter card, the EMS Synthi and Buchla Music Easel. You can pre-order the Matrix Mixer now. It costs $599 and will be shipping soon.

The Future Of Music | Filter

Holly Herndon unveils open source, AI-powered, deepfake “digital twin”

Electronic composer Holly Herndon has launched a new project, a custom voice instrument and “digital twin” nicknamed Holly+. The instrument, created in partnership with Never Before Heard Sounds, uses machine learning technology to reproduce user-submitted audio in a computergenerated approximation of Holly’s singing voice. Users can upload any audio file up to five minutes in length, which is then transformed using a “deep

neural network” that was trained on recordings of Holly Herndon’s vocals. The project makes use of technology similar to that of the

“vocal deepfakes” that have been dominating headlines over the past year, which reproduce the voices of artists and celebrities using AI. What makes Holly+ different is that it’s fully authorised and open for public use. Herndon has even set up a DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organization) co-operative to own the IP for Holly+. Any funds that are generated from the usage and licensing of the tools will be redirected to the co-op to be shared amongst artists using them, and support further development. Herndon is no stranger to the intersection between music and technology. Her latest album, Proto, was created in collaboration with an AI program named “Spawn”, which she developed alongside Mat Dryhurst.

Behringer return Oberheim name to Tom Oberheim: “it's the right thing to do”

In its apparent quest to bring back every classic analogue synth ever made, Behringer have attracted some controversy, but the company have now been publicly thanked by Tom

Oberheim for returning the worldwide rights to his company name. You may recall that, back in 2019, Gibson made a similar gesture to Tom Oberheim, having acquired the Oberheim brand name in 1988,

following the company’s bankruptcy in 1985. However, it seems that this is related to trademarks in the US and several other territories. Behringer’s parent company Music Tribe still

Try 90+ classic Roland effects for free with the Zenology FX plugin

Roland have unveiled the Zenology FX plugin, a new member of the Roland Cloud software family that brings more than 90 of the company’s effects to your DAW. These include the famous Juno chorus and much-loved Space Echo, and are lifted from products like the CE-1 stompbox and JD-800 synth. You’ll find delays, modulation effects, distortions and more, along with more unexpected offerings like the DJFX looper and lo-fi effects from the SP-404. It’s very much a greatest hits package, and we’re promised a simple control set for easy use. The Zenology FX plugin can be tried for free by anyone with a Roland account until 31 December. After that it’ll be included in all Cloud membership levels starting from the Core tier, for $2.99/month.

owned Oberheim trademarks in various other countries, but these have now been returned to Tom Oberheim, too. “I was very happy after all these years to have regained ownership of some of the Oberheim trademarks,” said Tom Oberheim, who founded Oberheim Electronics in 1970 and created synth classics such as the SEM and OB-Xa. “This led to the hope that someday I would be able to use my own name in all countries where the Oberheim trademark exists, so we contacted Music Tribe.” “Tom Oberheim is a pioneer of analogue synthesizers, and our whole industry owes him a debt of gratitude for his innovations,” said Uli Behringer, Music Tribe founder. “When we learned Tom was still interested in making his own products with his original name, we knew the right thing to do was to transfer our Oberheim registrations back to him.” Everyone can live happily ever after, then, though it’s curious that this move by Music Tribe follows their apparent failure to trademark the ‘Behringer Oberheim’ name in an application earlier this year. Dave Smith’s Sequential, meanwhile, seemingly filed a trademark application for the OB-X name in January. Smith previously collaborated with Tom Oberheim on the OB-6 synth. Make of all that what you will, but the bottom line is that Tom Oberheim is now free to create Oberheim-branded products, and that has to make sense.

Talking Shop | Sebastian Plano

moved into using Logic for all production and Ableton Live for live shows. I ﬁnd Logic to be a very simple and dynamic DAW to use, especially when it comes to multi-track recording and editing.” What one piece of gear in your studio could you not do without, and why?

“Deﬁnitely my cello. It’s surely my voice when it comes to making music. It is a very versatile instrument, I’m constantly searching for unconventional ways of making music with it by experimenting and exploring extended techniques.” What was your last purchase?

“It’s really important to spend time away from the studio and do other things” Sebastian Plano

rgentinian-born, Berlin-based musician Sebastian Plano is a man of many talents – an accomplished cellist, classicallytrained composer and electronic producer. He puts all these skills to work on his latest album, Save Me Not, a beautiful concoction of delicate piano lines, haunting vocals, luscious strings and electronic atmospherics. We caught up with him to ﬁnd out more... When did you start making music, and how did you ﬁrst get started?

“I started playing cello when I was seven and writing music when I was 11. Classical music was deﬁnitely an inﬂuence growing up; both of my parents were members of the Philharmonic in Rosario, the city in Argentina where I was born. However, I remember being really captivated by electronic sounds at that time. When I was seven my dad used to watch Cosmos by Carl Sagan. I remember running around the house picking up all those amazing tracks by Vangelis. For my 8th birthday my dad gifted me

a cassette tape by Vangelis, which opened up a fascinating palette of new electronic sounds. I then got Reason and started experimenting.” Tell us about your studio...

“I’ve had my own studio in Berlin for the last ﬁve years now. I’m mostly using a mix between hardware and plugin tools to produce my works; it would mostly depend on where the

new composition is heading to and what it needs. It’s an inspiring place to create, especially at night. If there is anything I would like to change it would deﬁnitely be making the shift to having a studio outside the city and located in nature.” What DAW do you use, and why?

“In the very beginning I started making tracks with Reason, but then

“An Aurora Audio GTQ2 MKIII preamp: it makes a beautiful combination with the ribbon mics I use to record with. It also adds beautiful tone and colour to synths, especially the Juno-60.” What dream bit of gear would you love to have in your studio?

“A Fairchild 670.” When approaching a new track or project, where do you start?

“I am very much driven by the tone, colour and nuances of a sound, this is most often a starting point. Musical ideas would also come from improvising on cello or piano, often a motif would trigger other musical ideas too. Experimentation does also play a big role in how I make music.” What are you currently working on?

“My new record Save Me Not is out now on Mercury KX. I am also currently writing the score for a short ﬁlm by Oscar winner director Chris Overton.”

ONLY CREATE MUSIC WITH SOUNDS THAT INSPIRE YOU “I truly believe the quality of the sounds would directly impact your music creativity. Of course there is no comparison between creating sounds with an instrument or using libraries, but if you have to use libraries be extremely selective. There are a lot of uninspiring sound libraries around and if you only make music with this then it would be important to ﬁnd the right sounds that can inspire you.”

Don’t force creativity blocks “Gaining perspective will truly help your creativity. I ﬁnd it’s really important to spend time away from the studio

and do other things you enjoy. I also believe in the practice of making music every day, but equally, understanding when you’re not being creative and moving on.”

Have a good glass of wine “To me a good glass of wine can be truly inspiring at times when creating music. Wine puts cognitive processing on overload, it’s true it makes it more difﬁcult to keep all the parameters of a task in mind, but that can also help you approach creativity from another direction. Deﬁnitely not a day-to-day career tip but one worth exploring. In the end wine-making is simply an art.”

Get creative with | Ableton Live

Generate new musical ideas in Ableton Live PROBLEM: How can I ensure that individual tracks maintain clarity within a bass-heavy mix?

n modern bass music, sometimes it can be challenging to keep the mix clean when we are working with complex sounds that sit across wide frequency ranges. This can result in an undeﬁned stereo image and details getting lost. We can take care of these issues even during the sound design process while we are still crafting the sound. For that, Live’s Instrument Rack is a perfect tool to split sounds by

frequency bands in order to process them differently. This can be extremely useful for mixing purposes, but also opens doors to a wide range of creative sound design and modulation options of the different layers. In this example we will create a big growling Reese bass sound! We will start off with a simple Reese created in Analogue which we group into an Instrument Rack to a single Chain.

Create a simple Reese bass sound then group it into an Instrument Rack. Duplicate the chain and rename the ﬁrst one “mid” and the second one “low”.This will allow us to apply different processing to the two different chains.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anna Disclaim is a London-based producer, audio engineer, educator and Ableton Certiﬁed Trainer. She offers both classroom and individual tuition for all levels and abilities. To ﬁnd out more, visit: annadisclaim.com

For further separation let’s insert a Multiband Dynamics and EQ8 in mid-side mode. This will allow us to further control the frequency bands in terms of stereo image and dynamics. We can also insert an Auto-Filter to give movement across the arrangement later.

Instrument Racks provide Macros for easy access to mapped parameters. Map the Dry/ Wet control of the Saturator, Chorus and Reverb. We can group the Multiband Dynamics, EQ8, Auto-Filter with the Inst Rack, putting them all in another Inst Rack’s single chain. Now we can map devices’ existing Macros/parameters outside the Initial Inst Rack to the new Inst Rack’s Macros.

Now we can separate the two chains by frequencies. Drop an EQ8 on both chains. For the “mid” chain apply a low cut around 100Hz and for the “low” chain apply a high cut around 100Hz. Then we can apply further independent processing to the chains. Try Saturation, Erosion with wide noise, Chorus or Reverb on the “mid” chain. Saturation and Utility switched to mono on the low chain.

Now we can go ahead and automate the Macros to provide movement and more interesting textures to the sound throughout the arrangement.

FM | CLASSIC ALBUM

Atlantic, 1989

Words by Roy Spencer

fter dropping his groundbreaking single, Move Your Body in 1986, Marshall Jefferson was “hotter than ﬁsh grease”. Sensing the heat, chum and vocal powerhouse, Byron Stingily, picked up the phone and got his hustle on, calling every major label, dangling the hottest name in house music in front of them. Atlantic signed them up without even hearing a note from Byron, himself. “Imagine signing someone without hearing their voice,” says Jefferson. “And then getting Byron – jackpot!” After that, the pair assembled a supergroup of vocalists and musicians, and would produce an album rightly celebrated as one of the most seminal in dance music history. “For the Foundation album we had the legendary Earl Young on drums,” says Jefferson. “The Grand Staff’s horn section with Orbert

Ten City Foundation

Davis. My cousin Bill Dickens, who played with Ramsey Lewis. Herb Lawson on guitars. David Josias on percussion. Byron Burke, who would do musical bits. And, of course, Byron Stingily, who did lead vocals and most of the lyrics.” This was a group of talented individuals, at the peak of their powers. There was no fumbling around in the studio. They had a job to do – make hits. “All of us were in automatic songwriting mode,” says Jefferson. “And we got things done pretty quickly. “Everything we wrote went on the album, too. That’s why we ﬁnished it so quickly. We didn’t have any songs that got turned down. And we ﬁnished the whole thing in two weeks.” The LP still sounds fresh today, unusually for work from the early days of house music. Perhaps in part to Jefferson and crew’s unwillingness to rely on now-dated production gimmicks of the era. “We were trying to be trendsetters… consciously,” he says. “Back then, everybody else was going more technical and digital, while we wanted to sound more natural. We had a different vibe to a lot of other house music. They were heavy on the digital edits – ‘Jack! Jack! Jack! Jack!’. We didn’t do that. “And we’re still getting royalties from that stuff, so I guess somebody still likes us.”

Classic Album | Filter

Track by track with Marshall Jefferson That’s The Way Love Is (Underground Mix/Edited Version) “As soon as our drummer, the legendary Earl Young, heard it he said, ‘That’s a hit record. Let’s put some gold on the walls!’ “But I hate every single remake ever done of any of my music, right? So when I heard the remix that Merlin Bobb and Timmy Regisford did, I was so pissed off. “It was the version with a big piano, [hums the thudding chords]. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it because I felt some elements in there were too dry. I wanted the more kind of lush production in there. I’d made a lush production, and they took off Earl Young’s drums! And Boyd Jarvis replayed the snare. I was so pissed off for that because I thought Earl jammed his ass off! “I told them to take my name off the record, and I removed my name from the songwriting, which was a big mistake. Huge… you know? I don’t know too many people that have ever done something that fuckin’ stupid [laughs]. “I could have easily chopped up the live drums. And I could have easily had them dead solid in the pocket, like I did on Satisfaction. But I didn’t get a chance to do that.”

Where Do We Go? “This was written and produced by Guy Vaughn. Guy was a good friend of ours. And, yeah, that was his song. He came to Chicago and produced it. “Guy was part of my crew on the East Coast. There was a bunch of us producers, you know? It was me and Guy, Shedrick Guy, and CeCe Rogers. We would all hang out and stuff. We hung out real close, and we chased women together, and all that stuff. “We had nicknames for each other. Like, I was ‘Sloppy’ and CeCe was ‘Hefty’. Shedrick had Jheri curls, so we called him ‘Greasy’. Guy had dreadlocks, we called him ‘Raggedy’. “We just all hung out in the clubs together and stuff, you know? So, when Guy said he had a song for Ten City, I just said, ‘Hey. Have at it…'”

Ten City’s new album, Judgement, is out now – the group’s first in more than 25 years. It was recorded remotely during the pandemic, with Marshall grounded in Manchester, England, and Byron Stingily in Chicago. Needless to say, it’s slamming, and includes updated versions of That’s The Way Love Is and Devotion. “I’ve talked to Byron everyday on the phone for 30 years,” says Jefferson. “But it wasn’t until our friend Sleezy D died that we realised that we’ve been dropping like flies, out here. It was time to do something, before it’s too late.”

Suspicious “I did the bassline on this track. Yeah, I think I did all the instruments on Suspicious, actually. And it just became just a song that I did. “I wrote the words with Byron Stingily. And, you know, [creases up] he came up with the most famous line – ‘You’ve been out with your girlfriends. You come back in and your hairdo is a thing of the past...’ Something along those lines. “Byron wrote some words. I wrote some words, and did the music. For a lot of people, that’s their favourite song on the album. “This was recorded at Chicago Recording Company. R. Kelly was recording in the same studio. He was an unknown artist, but beautiful women would come to our studio every day asking after him.”

Foundation “The title track – Foundation. That was me and Byron Burke. I think I wrote the words for that one, and me

“Back then we didn’t have too many influences. We would try to go against the norm, and break new ground. That’s why a lot of those songs don’t sound like anything else that anybody had out at that time.”

and Byron did the music. “We just wanted a slow song for the album. We wanted to switch things up. That was something you’re able to do on an artist album. Everything doesn’t have to be dance music. When you just doing singles they obviously have to be house music. But, if you do an album, you get to spread your wings a little bit. So that was our attempt at doing a slow song. “Foundation is just the song title. Byron Stingily connected the dots and said we should call the album that, too. He’d say, ‘It’s the foundation of the city, man. The Ten City.’ He’d say heavy shit like that all the time. Sometimes he goes over my head a little bit with this heaviness.”

Right Back To You (Edited Version) “I fucked up the intro on this – I mean the drums. You know, the drums start in a weird way. It’s not like a perfect 4/4. It’s like 3/4, or something like that. It’s not in time,

so that’s why most DJs never played it. But, it was really one of the best instrumentals I’d ever done. “I played the New York mix that I did most of the time. I still play it. It’s so emotional. “I believe all four of us were writing on this track, you know, with the piano and the bass. And we had a horn section on that. “And, yeah, I thought it was pretty nice. But, I don’t think we completed that song properly. Like, the intro that I blew – I regret that to this day, because I thought it was a really inspirational instrumental.”

Satisfaction “Now, me and Byron wrote the words for that over the phone. And that was probably the funkiest thing that I’ve ever done. “But that was, you know, Earl Young on drums. I sampled him, and I looped it. So, that’s why the drums are so tight and funky. “And, you know, those drums going along with the bassline – I used

Filter | Classic Album

a Roland JX-8P on that, instead of my cousin, Billy Dickens, who we used elsewhere. “Even the horns are funky on that! That’s the Grand Staff’s horns – that’s Orbert Davis’ group. [Hums horns]. Yeah, those funky ass Grand Staff horns. And the thing is, they weren’t the tightest horns. But, I sampled them, and locked them into the pocket, right? So, it’s like the whole song is tight as hell and funky. And, you know, it sounds natural. I used a Casio FZ-1 for that. Made it real tight.”

You Must Be The One “There are some ‘stun sounds’ and stopping FX on this record – like a record deck might sound when you power it off real quick. Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley did all that. I didn’t like that, either [laughs]. “I’m not a fan of it. But, Steve Hurley is a bad motherfucker, man. He’s bad as hell, man. “He could chop tape up real quick, and make about 30 edits in an hour and a half. “And when we tried to redo Steve’s edits, it took us 14 and a half hours to do what he did in an hour and a half [laughs]. That’s how cool he was… “Man, he was literally cutting, physically cutting tape. Yeah, that’s not this digital editing shit. He was cutting tape. “And, you know, them sounds on this track? That was all just Steve. I

didn’t like it, you know? I just didn’t like… the tricks. I wanted our stuff to sound natural.”

For You “This was Byron Stingily, I believe. And Byron Burke. They went off and worked on that. And that one was pretty slamming, I thought. “I wasn’t working on too much at the same time. But, we pretty much did the whole Ten City album thing in

“IT TOOK US 14 HOURS TO DO WHAT HURLEY DID IN AN HOUR” about two weeks. “So, I didn’t have too many distractions. And the whole project pretty much came in way under budget. CRC studios were pretty cheap. We got that whole album done in like a couple of weeks. “This track, For You, was recorded and mixed at The Sound Lab in Chicago. The engineer on it was Chris Cuben.”

Close And Slow “This one was put together by me and Byron. It was just your basic slow record, I guess. We just

In th “We recorded in a few different studios, but mainly used the Chicago Recording Company, because they were the cheapest and we liked the engineer, Tom Hanson. He would just enhance the songs. “My drum machine of choice was a Roland 707. We used that for the whole of the album, except for the songs that Earl [Young] played on. “I used a Casio FZ-1. I sampled backgrounds in that thing, drums, horns, everything. On the whole album. Tightened it right up. We had big Neve consoles, too. “For keyboards, I used a Roland JX-8P. And for the piano I used a Sequential Circuits Prophet 2000, which got stolen. “For other keyboard parts we used a Korg EX-800, which was a poly 800 module. And that was about it. For the rest I used live musicians. And it was all bounced down to tape. We didn’t have digital banks.”

wanted a ‘booty grabber’, you know? Like an ‘end of the night song’. That’s the thing in Chicago, there’s a whole history behind that kind of thing. “In the clubs, you’d have dance music, and then the last half hour you’d have all the slow records, and we would call them ‘booty grabbers’ because you’d be grinding and then wind up going back to the hotel. “As a matter of fact, you had these hotels in Chicago – a whole bunch of them – where you could rent out a room for four hours. Amazing, right? “And there would be a queue of cars all waiting to get into these hotels. All because of these slow records that they played at the end of the night that had got everyone horny. “And I’ve never seen that phenomenon in Europe. It probably happened, but I’ve never seen it.”

Devotion (Edited Version) “This was our very first single. And, well, man, that song... OK. Here we go. We were on a double date – me and Byron Stingily – with these girls, Gigi and Cynthia. And, well, you know, I was pretty successful... and Byron wasn’t. “But, you know, Byron started singing and stuff to win his girl over, and I said, ‘That’s a great groove!’. “So, when I went home I just threw the music under it, and some more words, and then boom – we had made Devotion. “And, it was actually like a week after we’d met with Atlantic records, and Atlantic had wanted to give Byron the record deal without even hearing his voice! “So, we had to do a song for Atlantic and did Devotion. We did the song and everybody flipped over it, and Merlin Bobb played it on WBLS in New York. Everybody flipped over. Crazy times.”

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

For all the latest news on the one and only Marshall Jefferson, hit up his Twitter: @MarshallJeffers

LIKE IT? TRY THESE…

Ten City Judgement Brand new Ten City album on the Ultra Music label. Bonkers good, and a tonic for our times. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: ‘Devotion (Marshall Jefferson Remix)’, ‘That’s The Way Love Is’, Be Free (Emmaculate & Shannon Chambers Mix)’

The Trammps Disco Inferno Super disco monster from the Philly legends. Features The “Almighty” Earl Young on drums – the inventor of the 4/4 beat! ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: ‘Body Contact Contract’, ‘Don’t Burn No Bridges’, ‘Disco Inferno’

Byron Stingily The Purist The vocal don’s 1997 debut, charting the peaks and valleys of the perfect night of clubbing. Features a wicked Sylvester cover, too. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’, ‘Sing-ASong’, Get Up’

Marshall Jefferson Day Of The Onion The house music pioneer’s debut, under his own name. Peel back the tracks to discover many a layer to his 1996 musical style. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: ‘Party Time’, ‘Day Of The Onion’, ‘Payday’

Orbert Davis Blue Notes 2004 jazz album from Jefferson’s go-to-guy for funky-ass horns. He’s rightly regarded as a legend these days, too. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: ‘Blue Notes’, ‘Back In the Day’, ‘The Real Deal’

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FM | ALBUM REVIEWS

Rocket Recordings

ask-wearing, costume-adorning Swedish psychedelic collective GOAT have always captured imaginations ever since they ﬁrst arrived in 2012. The intensity and unfamiliarity of their look, sound and attitude made them an exciting band from the start but add to that their wild and hypnotic live performances and it was clear we had a very special band on our hands. After three standout studio albums and two killer live albums, Rocket Recordings now unveil a collection of previously unreleased material from across their career to date and with two brand new tracks. Each GOAT album so far has been

ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: Relax, Fill My Mouth, Queen of the Underground

9/10

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

GOAT Headsoup

far-reaching, but this collection widens the gaze to headfuck proportions. Encapsulating the evolution of their entire career so far, Headsoup moves between the heavy-psych of their early work to the darker, hypnotic grooves that marked 2014’s Commune and onto the cosmic folk of their last album from 2016. The two new tracks have a heavy dose of funk, perhaps offering a tantalising hint at what might be still to come from this explosive outﬁt. There’s the frenzied psych-rock, ferocious Afrobeat rhythms, tough guitars, desert blues, Ethio-jazz, tropical rhythms, propulsive drums and delirious levels of fuzz, reverb and driving bass all bursting from the speaks as the Swedes deliver a reminder of just how allencompassing their sound remains. A band truly like no other, GOAT have always operated at the extremities and Headsoup celebrates that in all its head-spinning glory. Tom Jones

RECOMMENDED

Albums | Reviews

Cahill//Costello Offworld Gearbox Records The emotionally charged debut album from Scottish ambient duo, Cahill//Costello. The pair met at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland as guitarist Kevin Daniel Cahill studied classical and drummer Graham Costello was studying jazz. Now, they bring their musical palettes together to create an affecting soundscape that draws on minimalism and improvisation. Recorded over a week

whilst living and recording together in the Scottish highlands, Offworld has a raw, natural feeling. Built on extended ambient improvisations and patient, slow-burning atmospheres, hazy guitar sketches drift behind slow drums, muted melodies, ﬁeld recordings and the warm and cosy analogue crackle and hiss of tape loops. Melancholic, contemplative, honest, natural and emotive,

Offworld is centred on patience, slowing things down so we take in all the feelings that pass through us during these exquisite compositions. A highly accomplished and immersive debut, Offworld is an uncomplicated yet beautiful project that leaves us wanting more from this impressive duo. Tom Jones ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: The Visitant, Pavan I, Offworld

8/10

Leiter

Hoavi Invariant Peak Oil Three years after his last LP, the criminally under-rated Russian producer releases his brilliantly atmospheric fourth album, Invariant. The St. Petersburg based artist, real name Kirill Vasin, continues to push the envelope for experimental electronic music as founder of Russian experimental community, Shells Rattle and host of the Shells Rattle Sessions radio show on Dublab. His new record, out on

F.S.Blumm & Nils Frahm 2x1=4

LA’s impressive Peak Oil imprint, is a stunningly crafted collection of underground sounds that take in dub, techno, footwork, drum & bass, jungle and UK rave in a record that bristles with a frenetic energy whilst also sinking deep in spacey, lush atmospheres. The Russian creates wide, open spaces that at times cascade into one another with spiralling synths, wild rhythms and old-school breaks.

Hoavi’s exceptional ability to bring all these varied genres together in order to create a soundscape this innovative, distinctive and exciting is what makes Invariant stand out; but it is also his masterful grasp and balance of pace, energy and intensity that keeps this record so perfectly, dangerously on the edge. Tom Jones

ive years on from their last album together, Berliners F.S.Blumm and Nils Frahm unveil their fourth collaborative album, 2X1=4. Out on Leiter, the new label formed by Frahm and his manager, Felix Grimm, the record is unlike any of the previous three. Whilst Frahm is known for his modernist piano excursions, Blumm has built a reputation as an eclectic composer. The deep dive into dub influences on 2x1=4 may feel unexpected, but it is also a natural fit. The duo’s compositional nouse enables them to explore the space and openness of dub with aplomb. The pacing of the record is perfect: deep, heavy basslines rumble beneath a patchwork of rhythms, fuzzy electronics, stabbing synths, jazz-influenced keys and spacey FX. A distinct electronic flavour permeates the record as the duo display their ease when it comes to the cross-pollination of genres. Their minimalist, contemporary attitude locates these dub excursions squarely in the modern, as they bring added beauty and depth to a genre that has long interested these two highly adaptive musicians. A wonderful side-step from two hugely talented artists, 2x1=4 is a standout stepping stone on their musical journeys. Tom Jones

ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST:

Flay, Hayabusa, Streamline

Desert Mule, Sarah & Eve, Neckrub

8/10

9/10 25

Feature | 50 Studio Hacks

From creative ideas to mixdown advice, we’re here to make your music making life easier – one tip at a time!

VIDEO ON FILESILO

There are plenty of ‘big’ things it’s worth learning when it comes to music making. Whether that’s mastering an instrument, learning the ins and outs of a new DAW, studying theory or devising a whole new way of being creative. The little things matter too, and we’re focusing on that this issue. Don’t expect any groundbreaking theses on the future of synthesis

techniques, or mammoth deep-dives on the development of a certain sound – what follows over the next few pages is a collection of our favourite quick, simple tips. Short, sharp ideas aimed at helping make your music making life better, from ways to improve your studio layout to beating writer’s block to creative methods for engaging with existing gear. Little-by-little we hope to help you hack your way to a happier, more productive time in the studio!

50 Studio Hacks | Feature

pro synth programming techniques Ditch those presets and program standout synth sounds for yourself! Go beyond basic sound design with these quick pro tips

Sync and sweep Oscillator sync is a common feature on both hardware and plugin synths. Simply put, it means the wave cycle of a secondary oscillator is reset in sync with the primary oscillator. So when osc 1 returns to its ‘0’ point in the wave cycle, osc 2 jumps back to ‘0’ too. Sonically, this works best when manipulating the pitch of one of the sync’d oscillators. Use an LFO to modulate pitch, or manually change the octave/course tuning of osc 1 for classic sync sweep effects.

Take control Noise as a mod source

Modulation fades Heavy modulation of oscillator pitch or ﬁlter cutoff can sound a little over-the-top if applied to the entire duration of a sound. Many synths allow a ‘fade in’ to be applied to modulation routings though. You might ﬁnd this as a ‘fade’ parameter attached to an LFO, or within your synth’s modulation matrix. This can be a great tool for adding tremolo to just the release tails of synth chords, or creating bold EDM-style bass with distinctive ‘wobbles’.

Looping envelopes It’s common to ﬁnd modern synths offering a ‘loop’ function for envelope generators, but what does this do? Well, exactly what it sounds like – once the envelope reaches the end of its ﬁnal stage, it will retrigger from the start of the ‘attack’. In effect this creates an entirely customisable LFO. Adjusting the attack and decay/ release controls will adjust the speed of the LFO, as well as letting you tailor its shape.

Alongside standard tools like LFOs or envelopes, many synths let users use a noise generator as a modulation source. The beneﬁt? In modulation terms, noise provides very rapid randomisation, with the effect of sounding gritty and atonal. Apply a little noise modulation to a ﬁlter cutoff for an alternative to distortion or, in small amounts, to modulate oscillator pitch.

Try to include at least one ‘expressive’ modulation routing in each synth patch. By this we mean make use of controls such as a mod wheel, macro dials, aftertouch or a foot pedal input. Anything that allows you to get physical with key elements of a patch can really bring your sound to life. Good parameters to map include ﬁlter cutoff, oscillator detune or LFO modulation depth.

Analogue-style filters sometimes have a capability called ‘self oscillation’, which is what happens when the resonance is increased to a point that the filter generates an audible pitch by itself. This means the filter can be employed as a sine wave oscillator. What’s more, if your filter features ‘keyboard tracking’ – meaning the cut-off point moves in sync with incoming notes – you can play this filter/ oscillator melodically. Raise the filter resonance to full, tune the resulting tone to a ‘C’, then play some notes to hear this in action. 27

Feature | 50 Studio Hacks

sure-fire ways to beat creative block We’ve all been there: you get in the studio, fire up your gear, open your DAW and… nothing. Unfortunately, writer’s block can be a destructive cycle. A lack of progress breeds a lack of confidence, and it’s hard to get back into your creative flow. Fortunately, we’re here to help you bust out of that funk…

Don’t know where to start? Drag a track you like onto your DAW’s timeline and spend some time recreating it. Go through the track bar-by-bar copying each element for yourself – the beats, melodies, arrangement, FX… Once you’re done you’ll have a ﬁnished track, albeit one entirely ripped off from someone else. The challenge now is to mix things up till you have something you can call your original work – rearrange melodies, move drum hits, swap out sounds. Take some time to adjust the arrangement too, extending some sections and cutting others, moving builds or breakdowns. It may seem like a round-thehouses approach, but sometimes starting by ‘unmaking’ a track can feel less daunting than starting with an empty DAW. Limit your toolkit Computer-based musicians can ﬁnd themselves with an array of available tools, but so many possible starting points can be a hindrance. Force yourself to get

creative by imposing strict rules on what you can use for your next track. Maybe limit yourself to one monosynth and one poly for all sounds, without using presets. Or challenge yourself to make a whole track from a single sample source.

Create a sample pack Studio sessions don’t always need to be spent working on a specific track. Sometimes it can be beneficial to get in the studio and make sounds with no defined goal in mind. Record loops, design one-shot hits and program drum patterns, then save results in your sample folders to build your own sound pack or construction kit. When it comes to actually creating your next track, you’ll have a whole host of ready-togo resources to draw from.

Set yourself (manageable) goals Heading into the studio with an overarching goal of ﬁnishing a complete track, EP or album can be somewhat daunting, so it can be beneﬁcial to break the process down into manageable bite-sized chunks.

Few things can beat creative blocks more effectively than bringing in a fresh set of ears. Whether that involves getting into the studio with someone or sending ideas back and forth online, combining ideas with a like-minded producer is a great way to inspire yourself. If you don’t know any similar musicians in person, get on forums, social media or SoundCloud to make connections. Suggest swapping some unﬁnished ideas to see how you can take each other’s projects further.

50 Studio Hacks | Feature

Set yourself realistic daily goals – eg day 1, program five drum grooves, day 2, create five bass loops. Break your entire project down this way, from the earliest creative steps through arrangement, mixing and – if you’re planning on tackling it yourself – mastering. The key is to make sure your goals are achievable; it can be soul-sapping to set yourself some grand ambition, such as finishing 10 tracks in a week, only to feel knocked back when you don’t achieve it. Allow yourself breaks too – even the most productive musicians have days off. These small achievements can help break the cycle of feeling like you’re getting nowhere. Creative ‘block’ is a psychological phenomenon and the feeling of achieving small but regular chunks of progress will help.

Use a visual aid Inspiration often has its roots in capturing a certain mood, feeling or emotion. One great way to trigger this is to use something visual, like an inspiring photo or artwork that evokes a feeling you’d like to capture. Set the image up in your studio in a frame or on a screen and work as if you’re trying to create a ‘soundtrack’ to accompany it. Take this concept further by working with an inspiring video clip. Load a clip into your DAW (if it has the capabilities) or simply play it back as a video ﬁle, and try to write something to match its mood.

Change location One of the wonders of making music with a laptop is the ability to up sticks and try making music away from the studio. Try moving to a different room, heading outside or even booking yourself a countryside retreat to see how new surroundings can inspire different ideas. If you’re not using a laptop, self-contained, portable production systems are great for this – things like Akai’s Force or MPCs, NI Maschine+, Novation Circuit Tracks or Polyend Tracker all allow for plenty of creative freedom on-the-go.

en the be icians can da speciﬁc style of playing or set of chords or scales. A great way to break out of your creative habits is to try starting with an instrument or controller you’re less familiar with. Do you usually start by playing chords on a keyboard? Write a progression on a guitar. Tend to program your drums using a step sequencer? Try playing patterns live with a pad controller. Even if you’re not some virtuosic multi-instrumentalist, there are plenty of MIDI controllers that make it easy to experiment with melodies and patterns with little-to-no prior experience. Grid controllers such as Ableton Push or Novation’s Launchpad range are great for this, as they allow users to lay a preset scale out across their pads and experiment with chord shapes and melodies in a fairly idiot-proof way. 29

Feature | 50 Studio Hacks

quick ways to improve your mix Do your ﬁnished tracks always end up feeling slightly ﬂat, lifeless or unprofessional in comparison to your favourite releases? Nail that pro sound with these quick mix tips

With multiple elements coexisting in a mix, proper use of EQing, volume automation and sidechain compression n are all key to avoiding sonic bloat. However, sometimes the best approach is to simply write or program patterns that avoid one another. This is especially true in dance music and rhythm-centric genres like funk. Rather than have kicks and basslines that vie for low-end space, program one to play in the gaps around the other, so the two parts play off one another rather than battling it out for dominance. 30

Stereo width One of the most obvious signs of an amateur mix is a lack of width. Keep your core elements down the centre – such as kicks, snares, basslines – but spread peripheral elements such as percussion or pads out to the sides. Use effects for stereo movements too. Ping-pong delays and wide reverbs can bring a track to life. Phasers, flangers or automated filters are also great tools to apply to elements such as pads, backing vocals or hi-hats, creating movement across the stereo field.

Sometimes it’s just the wrong sound… Do you have one element in your track that’s causing you hours of mixing woes? A single sound that won’t sit right despite whatever EQ or compression approaches you throw at it? It could simply be a case of the wrong sound. We’ve all been there; you pick a sample, synth preset or creative effect treatment early on in the creative process, but as your track comes together that original choice no longer suits the overall feel. It’s easy to get blinded by your attachment to your own creative choices, but rather than wrestle with a mix, it’s often easier to simply try a different sound.

Check your phase!

‘Trust your ears’ is the mantra of most mix engineers; good advice, but it can also help to visualise things every once in a while. Add a spectral analyser to your master bus, such as Voxengo’s free SPAN plugin. This will give you a good visual look at frequencies at play in your track, which can be handy for identifying bloat or unwanted resonances. Compare your own track to a professional release for reference. See how the balance of frequencies in your mix compares to that in your reference track, and adjust elements as necessary to match them up.

The phase relationship between track elements is one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of a mix, and can have a huge impact on the overall sound. Phase issues arise when slight timing differences in similar sounds cause waveforms to misalign. At its most extreme – two identical sounds with reversed polarity – this can effectively cancel out a sound completely, whereas more subtle phase issues can create effects similar to comb ﬁltering or simply weaken a sound. This is commonly an issue when mixing two near identical audio recordings – such as a stereo miked drum kit or guitar amp – but also presents problems for electronic producers layering drum sounds or similar samples. There are several ways to address this –

50 Studio Hacks | Feature

what ambience you need from each of your sounds and clean up whatever isn’t adding anything desirable. Trim silences from longer takes, use amp envelopes to cut unnecessary tails from samples, use ﬁlters or EQ shelves to cut extraneous frequencies. Even if this results in a sound that’s too ‘dry’ overall, it can often be more manageable to apply your own reverb over a bus or as a send effect than rely on the varied ambiences of a multitude of different recordings.

Distortion for volume

Subtle saturation and light distortion is an incredibly underrated mix tool. Musicians often think of vintage compressors and channel strip emulations as tools for that fabled ‘mix glue’ but often a simple saturation effect is all you need to bind sounds and add cohesion. some DAWs let you easily ﬂip a sound’s phase polarity or add delay compensation. The most straightforward approach, however, is to simply move one of the offending audio ﬁles slightly, or adjust a sample’s start position.

Clean up for clarity Sampled sounds can often contain a lot of ambience in addition to the desired sound itself. This could mean a long, drawn-out reverb tail, crackle and hiss from an analogue input, breaths between words on a vocal take or low, barely audible rumble beneath sampled audio. Some ambience can be desirable – pro recordings are often set up speciﬁcally to capture the ambience of a certain space. The problem, however, is that multiple characterful, ambient sounds combining in a mix can quickly make the overall track sound bloated. Work out exactly

When our ears hear distortion, it can trick our brain into assuming a sound is ‘loud’ even when that’s not necessarily the case. This can be handy when you want to make something sound punchy and impactful in a mix, without it overpowering everything. It’s particularly effective with drums and percussion. Take a snare or bass-heavy kick and a touch of grit using an insert effect or ‘trash channel’ send. Even without a change in amplitude or much difference in dynamic range, it will have the effect of making the drums sound a bit ‘harder’ and more impactful.

Volume automation is a key tool for preventing an overcrowded mix. Your synth chords might sound great front-and-centre in the mix during an instrumental intro, say, but need to step out of the way when the vocal comes in. When manually creating volume automation, use your DAW’s ‘utility’ plugin – ie an insert effect that gives a level control. This lets you create volume automation independent from the channel fader, making it easier to apply overall level adjustments without affecting your automation. 31

Feature | 50 Studio Hacks

easy ways to streamline your studio It’s easy to dismiss considerations surrounding your environment but musicians can clock up serious hours in one room – it goes without saying that those surroundings will affect your actual output… Keep it close but not crowded

Electronic equipment can have a negative effect on the air in a studio, so try to bring some purifying plants into your space. Firstly they help with the quality of air, keeping you more focused and productive. But they also help with mood too. Don’t worry about getting anything hard to care for, as there are some wonderful species that give all of the beneﬁts while pretty much surviving with just the odd watering now and then. Aloe vera and mother in law’s tongue are both easy to keep and do a great job in the studio.

It’s a good idea to keep your main tools at the ready and close enough to use. If you end up with things stashed away it’s far less likely you will actually use them. If you need to start fetching things, finding space, then plugging them in, the idea may be gone by the time you are ready to get going. The flip side of this is to make sure you have breathing room. A stifling studio, that can be just as detrimental to your creativity. If you have limited space make the most of the height in the room by using a multiple tiered stand.

It’s all about you Correct monitor heights (both speakers and computer) are really important. The top of your screen should ideally be around or just above eye level, if you are sitting straight. Monitor speakers can be angled using wedge-shaped isolation pads. These two alone will help your health as well as your musical endeavours. Good positioning helps you stay consistent as well as ensuring you get an accurate representation of your stereo ﬁelds. It’s like ﬁnding the best driving position in your car. Once it’s sorted you can forget about it and reap the rewards of a much more enjoyable and long lasting interaction.

Connected world This is linked to tip 2 in that it helps you stay creative, rather than digging through the inevitable box(es) of cables and connectors we all have stashed away. Try to keep your gear connected and accessible all the time. If your computer and interface allow, then hook up your synths, drum machines and so on, enabling you to capture the mood of the minute. If this isn’t an easy option then hubs and patchbays are the way to go. A powered SUB hub may do the job for some devices but a patch bay is a fantastic tool for keeping everything connected, as well as the clear

When setting up a studio, think about your digital workflow as much as your physical one. Decide on a file structure, not just for your musical output but your assets too. This could mean keeping plugins in one location, or it could mean building yourself an asset library for samples. Knowing where everything is and where to add new assets is a lifesaver, especially when you open a Logic project and get faced with the missing audio dialogue. This makes it easy to find and/or replace saving some serious headaches. 32

50 Studio Hacks | Feature

This is a vast topic but investigate sound treatments for your room. This, in partnership with decent monitors, will have the biggest impact. You can get away with some simple diffusion and bass traps to improve some key issues, or you might need more. This is wholly dependent on the space and position of your setup. Some simple dampening behind your monitors can be a good place to start, especially if placed near to a wall. Remember, this is soundprooﬁng not vibration-prooﬁng, so thumping techno at 3am will still probably trigger a visit from irate neighbours.

beneﬁt of being able to hook things up in different orders, like running your vintage Jupiter through a modern reverb pedal in just a few seconds. Just be sure to keep some patch cables close to hand, to really make the most of it.

Get good support gear There are areas where you can spend more to get more but a key area is your support equipment. The difference in quality

vs price isn’t too prohibitive but it’s so important. Stable mic and keyboard stands could prevent a very costly accident. You don’t have to spend the earth but avoid hobby-level budget stands for precious gear. Similarly, get a good storage option for cables and learn to care for them. Too much stress on jacks and solder joints can quickly introduce unwanted noise and then failure, something you could do without as you nail that keyboard run on the 30th take.

Use appropriate lighting for the task at hand. If you are recording a video, or need something moody for some promo images, there is nothing wrong with going darker and having coloured lights; in fact that might be encouraged. However, that isn’t great for your health, so try to have some good natural light in your workspace. This helps you stay alert for much longer and your eyes will thank you as much as the lack of headaches will. It’s likely you’ll ease any muscle strain too, as poor lighting can take its toll on both your vision and posture. Daylight lamps are fantastic for when the nights draw in, or you don’t have good sized windows in your studio. 33

Feature | 50 Studio Hacks

bullet-proof tactics for turning loops into ﬁnished tracks Do you ﬁnd it easy to come up with loops and grooves that move you in the studio, but when you try to take those ideas and turn them into full tracks, you just get stuck? Well, this is a common problem for producers; read on for a handful of tips on how to turn that repetitive loop into an earworm of a track. Map the journey

If you’re using Ableton, Bitwig or Logic Pro, try using your DAW’s “Clip” view to literally jam on your loop with whatever MIDI controller is handy. Assign several key parameters to your controller, set up your DAW so it’s armed to record (double check!) and then turn off or close your computer’s monitor. When you aren’t relying on visual feedback about your arrangement, you start trusting your ears more and you’ll ﬁnd yourself making moves that you’d like to hear.

Think about the arrangement of your track as akin to a journey with peaks and valleys. The more interesting the journey for the listener (you, in this case), the more memorable your track will be. If your track is simply one long build up, or one long four-on-the-ﬂoor groove, that’s not a very interesting journey from start to ﬁnish, and it won’t stick in people’s minds.

Get moving! Work on your track standing up. This seems obvious but it really works. You will have an easier time telling when the energy feels right or wrong if you’re able to trust your own body’s reaction to the music. Working standing up makes it much easier to tell when you’re feeling the energy. Hey, if you’re dancing away in your own studio like no one is watching (luckily no one is!), it’s likely that your track will move other people too.

Keep a notepad handy so you can write down ideas you think of while you’re jamming. These kinds of reference notes (eg “it’d be good to have the amp’s release mapped”) can help you reﬁne the setup of your MIDI controller so that you’re tweaking the key parameters for your track, whether its elements of your synths, bass, drums, or some combo of all three.

50 Studio Hacks | Feature

Get the details right ﬁrst Make sure all the soundss are right before you spend hours trying to arrange your loop into a full track. When just getting started on a loop or new idea, these small details can seem irrelevant but in the context of a ﬁnal mix, a badly tuned drum is going to be very obvious. Before you try to take your loop into a track, are the drums all tuned properly? If there are any vocal samples, are they in tune (and in key) with your other melodic elements? Are your drum samples balanced properly? As they say, the devil really is in the details.

Nail the groove Make sure the main idea of the loop is really grooving and feeling right before you spend time trying to arrange it into a full track. A lot of time can be wasted working on something that doesn’t move you, which is ultimately wasted studio time. Make sure the ideas are solid at the beginning and the end result will stand on its own.

Once you have the main loop of your track feeling right to you, a quick way to add interest is, ironically, to take something away. We all know that taking away the kick and then bringing it back is the classic arrangement move, but think more broadly. Take out all but the main melodic elements to create a bit of tension. When you bring back in your bass and drums, the impact will feel monumental. Make sure you wait long enough to bring them back in. Usual amounts are increments of four measures but you can surprise listeners by not adhering to these rules.

Variations on a theme Don’t be afraid to make a few different versions of the track that explore different tempos, feels, or even genres. Try your idea with other drums by using preset loops to quickly audition other ideas without committing to doing time-consuming drum programming.

Try changing the groove around to add more interest to your arrangement by changing where your kick drum hits occur. If your main loop uses a four-onthe-ﬂoor beat, try placing the kick hits on the offbeat in a new B-section of your track.

Add a hook! Sometimes it’s as simple as that. Find a catchy vocal phrase, melodic synth line, sound effect, spoken word snippet or really anything with some movement and ﬁnd a few key moments to drop it in. Don’t overdo it, as you want the listener to be surprised when it comes in and for them to crave hearing it again, making them put your track on repeat. If your hook gets overused, it will feel repetitive and the track can take on a saccharine quality. 35

Feature | 50 Studio Hacks

inspiring tricks for hardware sequencing Whether you’re programming drum patterns or generating synth riffs, hardware sequencers, grooveboxes and drum machines are great creative tools. Take your sequencing technique up a notch with these techniques.

Quantise when it makes sense! You want your beats to be tight, obviously. But too much of everything on the grid can sound boring. Sometimes just a few elements being dead on, like the 2 and 4 of a snare, can help anchor a beat so the other elements can have more “feel”. Even better, if your sequencer allows for partial quantisation, like the Digitakt, you can record freely and then apply gradual amounts of quantisation, per track, retaining the feel.

When programming beats, move notes off the grid! Programming sequences is sometimes the way to go for fresh ideas. To bring the sequences to life, move notes subtly off grid. This especially helps with separating dominant hits, like the 2 and 4 of a snare. If multiple sounds line up on the 2, move them off grid subtly to create more interest in the combined sound. Your ears can easily detect sounds that are slightly off from each other, creating listener interest.

Probabilistic triggers

Interesting sequences are all about subtle variations over time. If your sequencer has an LFO (or two), put it to use! The Digitakt’s recent 1.30 update added an additional LFO to each track. For instance, with a hi-hat track you could assign one LFO to sample start and another to ﬁlter cutoff. Let the LFOs run freely, and you have tons of easy variation. 36

If you’re using an Elektron sequencer, you’re probably familiar with the idea of probabilistic triggers, or steps that trigger by chance. It’s an excellent method to create variation, potentially inﬁnitely on short patterns. The idea is to create your base pattern, and then add steps that have a chance to activate with each round. The easiest track to experiment with is a hi-hat. Set all 16 steps to active and make every other step have a 25% chance to trigger. You’ll have a base pattern, plus “chance-based ﬁlls’’ triggered with each revolution of the pattern. As with all features, a little goes a long way.

50 Studio Hacks | Feature

One of the main reasons to grab a hardware sequencer is the tactile, immediate feel you get. We like to build up patterns and then break them down via track mutes to create arrangements. Just dropping the kick out of a pattern will create a signiﬁcant shift in energy in a mix. Think of the intro, verse, chorus, breakdown and outro all having different combos of mutes to create an arrangement. You can also do quick, inner-measure mutes on elements like hi-hats to break up the pattern even further for a bar or two. This works very well on busy kick tracks, too. Just a little change up can go a long way.

Create polyrhythms with odd pattern lengths Sequencers are great at generating new ideas that we normally wouldn’t attempt live. Polyrhythms can be easily made with sequencers that have custom step lengths, per track. For instance, setting your hi-hat track to an odd number will create a signiﬁcantly longer pattern. The trick is to have a couple of foundation sequences (maybe the kick and snare) and then set up the rest of the sounds to have odd step lengths. You can even adjust step length live during a performance for even more polyrhythmic spice!

Chain a ﬁlter to the output to create sweeping transitions We like to chain a ﬁlter/ distortion box to our groove boxes to adjust the feel of the arrangement beyond just simple mutes. The Analog Heat from Elektron, for example, allows you to sweep out the highs for a transition effect in the middle of a track. The added distortion options are also an awesome addition to the sound shaping of the patterns.

Use fills and performance tools Fills and performance tools take your live arrangements to the nexxt level. Some hardware devices make it easy for quick, random fills. The Arturia DrumBrute Impact has a repeater roll that just grabs the most recent 1/4 to 32nd note pattern to create fills. Practice is needed! On the Elektron boxes, most have fill buttons that trigger notes designated under the “FILL” condition. You can also designate triggers to not occur when the fill button is pressed! This gives complex fill crafting, but takes almost as much time as crafting an entire beat.

With Elektron boxes, you can change an incredible amount of parameters per step, creating rich and dynamic patterns from just a few steps. On the Digitakt, start with the sample itself. Per step, change the start position of the sample. Try changing the sample direction for a step or two, as well. If you’re using a harmonically complex sample, the effect will be emphasised heavily. Take it a step further and adjust the ﬁlter cutoff per step. Changing the delay, reverb, and distortion settings per step will also create excellent shifts in pattern energy. Again, a little goes a long way! 37

Interview | DJ Seinfeld

DJ Seinfeld

Known for spearheading the lo-fi house scene, DJ Seinfeld’s new album Mirrors offers an entirely new sonic fidelity. Danny Turner talks to Armand Jakobsson about his reinvention

DJ Seinfeld | Interview

orn in Malmö, Sweden, Armand Jakobsson comically birthed DJ Seinfeld in 2016 having binge-watched the iconic ’90s TV sitcom following a relationship breakup. Although his main project at the time was titled Rimbaudian, the public picked up on DJ Seinfeld’s raw and ready sound thanks to seminal tracks like U, created in the spirit of the early house pioneers. Much to Jakobsson’s surprise, what began as a tongue-in-cheek witticism blossomed to become his signature project; however, the producer/DJ has been working hard to reinvent his sound. Although regarded as a lo-fi visionary, his new album Mirrors blends the raw emotion of his early DJ Seinfeld records with a more vivid, vocal-led production approach that takes him to a whole new level.

Do you find it fortunate that DJ Seinfeld was initially a jokey pseudonym that turned into your main project? “There always a little bit of luck involved in anyone’s musical success. When I started treating production as a job I worked hard to not only become a better producer but a better DJ. I’m humble enough to admit that I do have some type of imposter syndrome when I see other talented producers that are maybe not as fortunate as me in terms of industry success, but I do try to elevate others.” How do you feel about the name now that you’ve become established under it? “I feel kind of apathetic about that to be honest – it was worse before when it had a novelty factor and sounded quite sensationalist. It was literally just a joke that went too far, but now I just see it as a DJ name like any other. I could be wrong but I have the impression that most of the people who come to my shows don’t have any knowledge of what Seinfeld was, as that generation probably missed the effect that it had on popular culture. The only people who seem to be bothered are those who treat the TV show as some religious holy grail of comedy or purists who think everything should be superserious or fall under an umbrella of coolness. There’s nothing to be gained from worrying about what those kinds of people think.” So your production career started by using Ableton as your primary production tool? “All my productions were and still are done in the box. At the start I didn’t know how long I had in this industry so didn’t want to invest too much in gear. I bought a Korg Electribe synth once but was too lazy to figure out how it would work and after a certain point felt I could do exactly what I wanted if I learned Ableton well enough as it’s more about what I want to make rather than figuring out how to make something. Ableton’s been a convenient choice

Interview | DJ Seinfeld

because there’s a million tutorials for every single aspect of music production available for free out there, but I’m planning on moving out of the box because I don’t want to miss out on the fun of messing around with hardware.” Did something in particular instigate that change of tone? “I have a few friends who I look up to when it comes to music-making and we always chat about what kind of effects they’re using, which has always interested me. I feel there’s a whole other world available with certain types of hardware but I’m also planning on doing a live show performance towards the end of the year and I’ve never been interested in watching people go on stage playing music through a laptop. To bring the show to life, I feel I need to do the audience some justice and actually perform, which then includes learning more equipment and bringing a visual component.” You’re quite open about the fact that you’re still developing as an artist. Does the album title, Mirrors, tell its own story on that front? “The name comes from me not really knowing who I was as a producer when I began making this album. I was at a loss on a lot of levels. My first album was easy because I had a specific experience

that triggered its narrative and the breakup I suffered was probably the best thing that ever happened to me in a morbid way. Right now I’m in a pretty good place in my life so I thought that if I just made the songs then maybe the music would tell me where I am. I guess that Mirrors is just a way of reversing those roles – instead of starting with an idea, I saw the idea after making the music.” Did that also enable you to use guest vocalists to provide their own interpretation? “I love using vocals; when done tastefully they can change a track so much. Usually I sample and re-contextualise vocals by warping them beyond recognition; this time I wanted to leave the door open for a few collaborations. I was curious about what a vocalist would do with something I’d written, which is why I worked with Stella Explorer and Teira on this album. It was fascinating to hear what they did because they took my view of a track to a whole new level; that was quite intoxicating.” Where did you turn to for vocals on most of the other tracks? “I usually go digging for samples on YouTube and take stuff from a few channels that upload obscure acapellas. They’re a great source as long as you’re able to clear them. Sometimes I’ll have a track ready

and know I need a vocal sample to complete it, other times I’ll hear an acapella or vocal cut and get an idea from that of what a track can be. For Walking With Ur Smile I used some samples from an R&B group called Elements of Life who did a cover of an Anita Baker song called Sweet Love.” Thumping house beats were a prominent element of your previous sound, but that seems a lot more toned down on Mirrors? “I was adamant about not making a pandemic album, but there’s also an inevitably about how people are consuming music right now. I haven’t been listening to a lot of dance music because the normal outlets for it aren’t available, so I figured I’d make something that’s more in the listening music lane. There are a few tracks that are more functional, but I also wanted to make a statement about my development as a producer and how the technical and melodic components are more important than what a DJ might play in a club. It’s about time I stepped into that area just to prove to myself and others that there’s unpredictability in what I do. For good or bad, I want there to be an element of surprise in Mirrors’ direction and style.” Do you think this year has proved how much club music is made for clubbing?

DJ Seinfeld | Interview

“I still love dance music and think there’s a sweet spot where you can bring club music and beautiful listening music together outside of that environment. I might not have found that in my own music just yet but I feel that I’m approaching that point and the more I work on it the more the vision crystallises.” There’s also the communal aspect of clubbing, which is obviously absent when you’re listening in isolation? “Absolutely, we’ve been forced to think a little more critically about what dance music does for us, but I’ve always been inspired by dance music inside and outside of clubs. The true value of club nights comes from what the consumer remembers from them. Some of the tracks I play out that are closest to my heart are about nothing other than when a certain track was played at a certain time in my life. Going back and listening to those tracks while walking in the park, for example, brings them alive, and that’s when I see and feel the value of clubbing in a different context.” You mentioned wanting to become a better producer. What elements did you feel you needed to focus on? “Mostly the songwriting, with specific attention to developing ideas clearly, which came from my correspondence with the A&R at Ninja Tune, Adrian Kemp. He put into words a lot of the things I always felt were missing in my own tracks but couldn’t really define. It was very rewarding to have that kind of honest feedback, as brutal as it can sometimes be. I needed to hear about how to structure a song and the dynamic I was trying to promote, which made me think a lot more critically about the story I was trying to tell. Before that, I’d have an idea and could polish it to a certain extent, but never really got a track to a point where I felt I did it full justice. With Mirrors, I really feel like I’ve started making those steps.”

everything is phrased. I feel a little reluctant to give that away now, even if other people could do a better job than me. Now, it’s completely my own creation and I get a certain level of authority and agency from that. If something’s wrong with a mix, at least I know that I only have myself to blame.” You’re identified with a lo-fi sound and lo-fi producers are sometimes accused of lacking the skills to be more expansive. However, is reductionism the ultimate objective? “A lot of the house music tracks I listen to were done a long time ago and they obviously succeeded in creating a pioneering, classic sound with a

minimal amount of equipment. There’s a beautiful fragility to those early house records and something engaging about that because you can almost see how those tracks were produced. I feel the debate is not whether lo-fi’s good or bad, but if that raw quality can bring something to a track. For me, it’s just another texture or way to exemplify something I felt was beautiful about those early house and techno records.” What software libraries do you use? “Omnisphere is a massive plugin that takes up a lot of space but is probably the most heavily used software I’ve gone into. Then I usually rely on

“…the debate is not whether lo-fi’s good or bad, but if that quality brings something”

Have you been more focused on the technical aspect of production too? “I like to focus on melodies but because I’m a dance music producer I’m trying to do justice to the drums and other functional parts of the song in order to do justice to those. I started thinking a little more creatively about how the drums should sound because, although I still don’t have speakers, that part’s always been a bit of a guessing game. I also started to pay more attention to detail, for example, working on elements that might only occur once in a track but still leave their mark. Now I feel that I’m finally pushing through and elevating my mixes.”

Do you feel it’s important to take control of the entire production process? “I’ve used mixing engineers on some of my previous releases and they did a really good job, but for this album I wanted to do it myself because I wanted to make my own mark. Mixing can play as big a part as the music in terms of how you visualise the sonic picture, textures and the way that

Interview | DJ Seinfeld

MeldaProduction for a bundle of effects and the iZotope plugins, which seem to bring a radiant quality to everything. Also some cassette plugins to bring out that lo-fi quality. Sometimes I want the drums to sound a bit grainy, so it’s really fun to put those effects on to make everything sound like it was recorded on a crappy ’90s mixer. Other times I want the drums to still be banging but a certain part of the melody to have a vintage-type sound. I never use effects on the master channel – I only did that when I didn’t know what I was doing; since then I’ve become a lot nicer to my mastering engineers.” Do you create certain effects chains to give your sounds an element of differentiation? “I like using external plugins for my own vanity and to perhaps try to make something other people can’t. Maybe it’s subconscious, but I feel like everyone wants to get a competitive edge and the only way to do that is to find something that only you know how to do. If you’re able to find a little sound, effect or way of doing things that nobody else has, you might not sell more records but at least you’re different. I have one synth that I use on the track called She Loves Me – it’s a bell-type synth sound that has a vintage quality and I decided this is my thing. It came about from messing about with a lot of effects but now that process feels like something I can dive into and own. That excites me because I’ve not heard it on other producers’ tracks.” You mentioned not having speakers and only working on headphones. What research did you do on that front? “My first ever agent sent me a pair of Avantone headphones that looked like something Soviet cosmonauts would wear in space in the ’70s. I was blown away by their quality so I’ve used the same brand ever since. I’ve found a sweet spot now with my current pair of Avantone MP1 MixPhones and don’t see myself changing anytime soon.” Are you concerned that the sound you’re hearing through headphones might not necessarily translate well on other media? “Throughout your lifespan as a producer you’re always training your ear and I essentially use two or three reference points. When I first start sketching out an idea I’ll use my ear pods and build a large portion of the track on those. If something sounds good, with the odd exception they’ll usually sound good on anything. I think it was Burial who said in an interview that whenever he exported a track he’d look at the skeleton of an audio file and if it looked like a fish he knew the track would sound okay. I’ve embraced that attitude.” [smiles]

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

The new DJ Seinfeld album Mirrors is out 3 September on Ninja Tune. For more information, visit d seinfeld. bandcamp.com/album/mirrors 44

DJ Seinfeld | Interview

FM | THE TRACK

James Hurr Love Together Toolroom, 2021 Low-key industry titan James Hurr has a CV most producers would give up a limb for, including collaborations with the likes of Todd Terry, Mark Knight and Basement Jaxx, and remixes for Beyoncé, VIDEO ON Nile Rogers and Kylie amongst others. We caught up FILESILO with James to find out more about his love of dance music and how he creates his tracks. © Marc de Groot

What’s your approach to production? “I was never really taught too much about production and mixing and all that, I’ve learnt in the practical world. One of my first jobs was working in a recording studio as a tea boy and I started making

tons and tons of records for them. Learning for me has just been through trial and error. I’d say that’s probably my biggest asset, having had the luxury to make tons and tons of music. You eventually work out, after getting feedback from DJs, hearing tracks played out and on the radio, what works and doesn’t. “Over years and years of being an engineer and ghost producer, I’ve learnt a lot from other producers. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some incredibly talented people who really know their stuff. So, I’ve learned a lot from doing, talking to people, and of course by watching things like Future Music tutorials!” As a dance music guy, do you always start with beats? “Yes, absolutely. I started DJing in a bar at quite a young age, and did that for quite a long time. So for me the groove section is first, it’s fundamental. I just wanted to make music that people could dance to. So unless that groove section was right, it wasn’t right as a song for me. I couldn’t listen to it, and didn’t want to put it out.” Was house music your first love? “Not really. I used to be an angry teenager, I was into a lot of heavy metal! I think it was when I found myself dancing in a field

James Hurr | The Track

“You know, I sometimes still get it wrong! I’ve got fantastic monitors, I’ve got really expensive equipment and I still find that sometimes you play stuff in the club and you go ‘oh, the bass is a bit too loud’ or ‘oh God, OK, I need to cut more low end off that’.”

at like 3am one summer that I realised that actually I was really into hard house, trance and drum & bass. Harder dance music, as opposed to house. That sort of music was being played at the raves I was going to, warehouse parties. I used to go to Trade at Turnmills at the turn of the century, but it wasn’t until I went to Ibiza a few years later that I suddenly went house crazy. I went there thinking all I wanted to hear was hard house and hard dance music, but it completely blew my mind seeing a club of 10,000 people all going off to house music. It was a bit slower. It was a bit funkier. It was a bit groovier. It had vocals and funky bass lines, this was the era of funky house. It blew my mind and I came back a convert. So it was one week in Ibiza and I never looked back!” The interplay between kick and bass is one of the most important aspects of dance music. How do you get them right? “I sample a lot of kicks. Years ago, I used to take the kick straight out of a 12” inch mix, and just use that as a straight lift! Now I tend to use Metrum and I will mix maybe two or three kicks together to create something a bit more original. The kick is fundamental to this style of music. I learned very early on that if

The Track | James Hurr

THE GEAR Hardware:

> Apple MacBook Pro > UAD Apollo Twin > ATC SCM150ASL Pro x2

Software:

> Steinberg Cubase 11 > FabFilter plugins > Sonnox Inflator > Vengeance Sound Metrum

you get the kick right in the first place that will help your mix enormously. Having the kick at 0dB, or minus one or two, but extremely loud, that would be your benchmark for mixing and you could fit everything else around that. “That was a great starting point, because the kick takes up most of the mix. It’s just huge sonically, it’s enormous for just a single part. In terms of balancing it with the bass, you know what, I sometimes still get it wrong! It’s one of the hardest things to do. I’ve got fantastic monitors, I’ve got really expensive equipment and I still find that sometimes you play stuff in the club and go, “oh, the bass is a bit too loud” or “oh God, OK, I need to cut more low end off that”. Sidechaining the bass always is an absolute standard, but I find there’s just so many variables with bass... the key of the track can make a huge impact on how the bass sounds. I’m getting better, but I’ve been mixing kick drums and bass for 20 years and still it throws me some surprises! “I still work with a lot of DJs and the absolute best test is always to get a rough mix, as good as we can get it in a day or two, then play it on different club sound systems in a set. You hear it in context with the other tracks, and you’re super tuned into the acoustics. Having that is a massive advantage.”

James Hurr | The Track

Focus in on transients

“Pay attention to transients. Badly made samples often have very hard attacks. If you want to make stuff sound more organic, you can bring down the attack using a transient shaper. You can then make them sound a bit softer. It’s nicer on the Golden rules to follow for creating ears and it makes them sound your next funky dancefloor stomper more groovy. It also makes stuff fit in the mix better.”

James’ top 5 house production tips

Reference with tracks that work

“It’s really, really important to know how your track sounds against other tracks that are currently popular and being played by DJs. I will always drag in two or three reference tracks that I know work well, sonically, and assign a separate output to them so they’re not affected by any master processing. I will constantly A/B between those and my track, comparing to make sure that I’ve got the levels of everything right.”

Mix around the kick

“If you’re making house music, set the kick drum at the same level as you would hear the kick drum in another track. So 0dB, minus one or two dB, something like that, very close to the top. If you’re making dance music I would start mixing from there. In house music especially, the kick drum is very much fundamental to the mix and to the whole groove of the track.”

Keep the fundamentals nice ’n’ clear

“The kick, the hat and the clap are the fundamental parts of a house track. Without those parts sounding right, the track will not work, and it won’t stand up to other tracks in the genre. Sometimes I find myself throwing so much stuff on top of these that I lose sight of the groove. Then when you play it on a laptop, the kick disappears!”

Vocal processing

“I would say it’s often good to think about the space of vocals and where they sit in a track. Just throwing loads of reverb on vocals doesn’t necessarily work, especially if there’s nothing else in the track that’s got reverb on it! If that’s the case it might be worth considering treating vocals the same way, and just having a short delay rather than a massive reverb.” 49

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THE TRACK

Leading producers go in-depth on the sounds, ideas and techniques behind their latest releases

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HIGHLIGHTS

Top producers show you the world of Steinberg in our monthly video series DON’T MISS:

From our famous studio sessions to gear tours, technique tips and much more DON’T MISS:

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Rhode & Brown, Wave 200

The Munich duo took a trip back to Italo disco days for this track – and brought us along! DON’T MISS:

BEC, Trusting the Mystery Rebecca Godfrey unveils her winning techno formula

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We take a trip into the studio with Berlin-based techno eccentric T Raumschmiere

Check out our Best Of playlist – a selection of our most essential production technique tutorials

Simon Doty, The Beacon The Canadian prog-house master talks sampling and house piano riffs

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Want more insights into the studios of the stars? Take a look at our playlist of classic In The Studio sessions

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FM | PRODUCER’S GUIDE

Instruments vs Eurorack! Modular systems can be more than just self-contained boxes of bleeps. Rob Redman hooks up guitars, keyboards, found sounds and more One of the joys of playing modular synths is the freedom of choice. Yes, you can VIDEO ON be affected by choice FILESILO paralysis, or have your wallet emptied by the need for the latest release from your favourite developer, but the positives utterly outweigh those things. Being able to create an instrument that fits your needs and tastes exactly is a

wonderful thing. You may love the versatility of a wavetable oscillator, but how about combining that with creamy Moog filters? You might feel held back by your lack of playing chops; so get yourself a sequencer or a chain of modules that let you create generative melodies. There’s no wrong answer when it comes to making music, or what instruments you choose to use. In fact you can even blur the

boundaries of what’s conventionally termed an ‘instrument’. Look at some of the modules already out there that walk on the wild side. Instruo’s Scion, for example, takes biological signals and turns them into musically useful voltages. There are more on the way too. The subMatrix Beet Tweek is a particularly promising Kickstarter module featuring a force feedback haptic controller, allowing musicians

more tactile interaction with electronic music. There is, however, something to be said for combining the wonder of your modular system with input from a few more traditional instruments. There’s nothing quite like the sound of an acoustic guitar, cello or a clarinet, for example, so how could you go about introducing their particular timbres into your synthesized music? Over the next few pages we’ll share some of our methods for making various instruments interact with one another. Let’s strip the

Instruments vs Eurorack | Producer’s Guide To

concepts of external signal processing back to basics and explore everything from direct signal manipulation to pre-recorded samples, in an attempt to open up a few possibilities. Don’t worry if you don’t play a ‘traditional’ instrument. Many of these possibilities don’t require virtuoso performance abilities, but open the flood gates to found sounds and experimentation. That said, if you are a killer guitarist we’ll share some tips that might just enable you to see your modular gear in a new light. It’s time to power up that modular and grab hold of your guitar, kalimba or whatever else you have lying around. Let’s discover some new tools and techniques to expand your next musical venture.

Even if you thought you knew everything about your instrument, modular can bring out all new sounds

Get keyboard-based synth voices into modular

The pros of a big keyboard-based synth are clear but what if you want to get those beautiful, complex sounds into your modular, for gigging or processing? The Moog One is our go-to poly synth but sometimes we’d really like its sounds in our Eurorack.

Many samplers capture sound but the Bitbox Micro supports multisampling, which enables recording across a range of notes and velocities, for a more realistic playback. Connect your synth to the Bitbox with a TRS-MIDI and audio cables.

In the Bitbox’s record section, define the range of notes you wish to sample, in semitones, plus the velocity range length of recording for each. On your synth, set your MIDI to accept the right source, in this case the MIDI ports rather than USB.

Load up your samples as a preset and plug in your control devices. You can play the onboard keyboard too. Press the home button, choose keys and an on-screen keyboard lets you play your Moog One sounds directly in your modular.

If you don’t have effects modules, you can make the most of your HP by using the onboard delay and reverb. Benefits include internal clocking, space and patch cable usage. Try recording your synth with effects turned off, for versatility.

Hit record and the Bitbox will play notes in order, capturing playback through the audio jacks, storing them neatly in a directory on the microSD card. You can unplug the MIDI and audio in cables now and put the SD card where needed.

Producer’s Guide To | Instruments vs Eurorack

In and out of the box

One way of working with modular and a computer is to use VCV rack. Among other beneﬁts, this gives access to modules you may not own. Use an audio interface; we’re using the ES-9 to send from our rig and a Focusrite 18i20 for audio to our monitors.

Set up whatever patches you want in hardware and send the signal to VCV. This can go both ways too, for more complexity, but here we’ve simply used the Wavefonix 1847 with OCHD modulating the waveshape.

Mobile device to modular

Open VCV rack and add two interfaces, one set to each of the hardware devices. Adding a Scope module is useful too; it’s good to see the signal but also to help check routing. A mult splits the signal so you can keep the scope off to one side.

Many of us rely on phones and tablets for creation these days but that doesn’t mean you can’t get audio into modular. Try using a simple lightning to 1/8” cable to patch directly or something like Roland’s GO:MIXER to multitrack your Eurorack for recording on the move.

In VCV we’ve added Mutable Instruments Elements to give physical attributes to the signal, then added a software version of OCHD to modulate geometry/brightness/space. Elements is big, so pairing hard/software is useful.

Get instrument level signal into Eurorack

Each way of getting audio in your modular system has pros/cons. For guitar, bass and similar levels, the Strymon AA.1 is good. It has a 1/4” stereo input, with two Eurorack-boosted 1/8” outs, plus a pair of Eurorack ins and matched line-level ¼” outs!

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Some modules have mics built in, like the wonderful Arbhar from Instruo. It may be overkill as a simple audio input but given the ease of processing acoustic instruments and found sounds it makes a lot of sense (and is very satisfying).

A great device for sending audio to your DAW, Expert Sleeper’s ES-9 can also receive signals from a computer for use in your Eurorack sessions. It means software instruments and plugins can live in harmony with hardware.

Instruments vs Eurorack | Producer’s Guide To

Modular as a guitar synth

In this walkthrough we’ll create a total patch, using Eurorack modules to shape the sound of an incoming guitar signal, in this case a custom Strat that we’ve built. We’ll be using a humbucking pickup and the volume and tone both set to maximum.

For this, we plug directly into Ears, which gives some extra abilities that can come in useful. This does mean a 1/4” to 1/8” cable is needed (or an adapter), which for some may not seem ideal but is worth it.

The beneﬁt of Ears here is that it also has an envelope output, which can be patched in many ways. For this, we sent it to the CV input of the brightness control, attenuated internally to suit our guitar and picking attack, giving a nice falloff so that as our plucked note fades, so does the brightness.

We’re big fans of Mike Oldfield’s guitar tones, that are saturated but smooth. To this end we patched Rings into our favourite filter, the Pittsburgh Modular State Variable. We like some motion in our filters so added an LFO to the cutoff and attenuated the CV until happy.

The obvious use here is to save some money on effects, which is ﬁne, but we can do more. Take the out from Ears and plug it into the input of Rings. Set Rings how you see ﬁt. We use the sympathetic strings mode and adjust the damping and position to roll off guitar harshness in the top end.

This ﬁltered audio then goes to a granular module. We went simple and used Beads, with a small number of randomly spaced grains, that were short with a soft envelope.

POWER TIP Master clock

You could stop here, or use Bead’s built-in reverb, but the joy of Eurorack is versatility and options, so we’ll use our favourite reverb, the Valhalla Asgard from the TipTop Audio Z-DSP. We take the left and right from Beads into Z-DSP and similarly both outputs to our interface.

We noticed a fair amount of noise in our signal but Ears offers an easy ﬁx for this too. Just take the Gate output from Ears and run your audio through a VCA, with Ears’ gate opening the amp while your guitar is playing, closing it again when the note dies. An easy and effective noise gate.

Although less important for acoustic instruments, if you are combining electronic gear, choose a master clock and try to stick to it. That mental muscle memory will reap big rewards. Pam’s New Workout is a great option for this.

Producer’s Guide To | Instruments vs Eurorack

What if you don’t play an instrument?

If you play an instrument, combining that with your modular can provide hours of fun. However not everybody plays guitar or keys etc, so how can they benefit? Well, the answer is simple. If you can hit, blow or rub two things together, you can make music. In this context that could be audio to put into a physical modeller like

Rings, or it could be a simple trigger, to allow physical interaction that starts an event, like resetting a sequence, launching an envelope, or just being a noise to process for adding texture. Something like Ears will pick up on you tapping your case and will do all of the above. Try to think outside the box (no pun intended) even if you do play a traditional instrument.

You could go down the percussive route, using a contact mic as an interface between you and your rig. Try using a mult so that your single tap on the case can generate synchronised events. This could play a note, while triggering an envelope to control cutoff and VCA. In this way you could create luscious, swelling pads at the touch of a finger, or stroke of a plectrum.

Picks are great for firing events via a module like Ears

Turn found sounds into an ambient synth

Some timbres and sounds are hard to replicate in modular. Elements isn’t bad for breathy sounds but sometimes you just need the real deal. For this, we used a Instruo Arbhar and a single note blown on the ocarina. The final audio is included on FileSilo.

Get your buffers recorded and adjust envelopes. We use the CV expander to control playback direction, spray amount and layer. Use whatever CV source you like; we’ve picked OCHD, a great, free-running, organic-sounding LFO module.

Arbhar also accepts a volts-per-octave input so it can be played melodically, though it can generate random pitch with/without glide. Take your sequencer and set a melody. We used ours set to random notes in a C major scale.

A second filter sweeps slowly over four bars using Maestro’s smoothed triangle waveshape. We didn’t want the signal completely filtered so this was attenuated internally by the filter’s CV control. We used Pittsburgh Modular’s state variable filter.

To finish, we sent the stereo signals into Tip Top Audio’s wonderful Z-DSP, with the Valhalla chip installed. This sound works with something epic, like the Asgard algorithm, decay set to around 10, tone at 12 and chorus at 1.

There is a lot of high-end noise, probably due to the type of mic used. You could use an external mic and a preamp for a cleaner signal but we prefer using the internal option. To counter this, set a low-pass filter to around 2.5k with no resonance.

Instruments vs Eurorack | Producer’s Guide To

3 go-to modules

Strymon AA.1 £119 For using your modular as an effects unit, or for simply converting your signals to suit different uses, or for making a mono signal stereo (and the reverse) the AA.1 is a small, elegant solution, worthy of a post in any multi-instrument studio.

strymon.net

Instruo Arbhar £499 The pinnacle of granular synthesis, with the ability to dial in whatever you want. The beautiful fascia is intuitive too, plus the included expander gives CV control for all of those key attributes.

This TipTop Audio Drum System has a bunch of tools but the six sample players make it easy to create custom drum machines in no time

Found sound percussion

Having a dedicated drum machine can be key to crafting your own sound. 909, 808 and Linn Drum sounds have their place but it’s nice to capture external audio a lot of the time, or layer up, so you get the classic electronic sounds with the organicness of the samples. For this, we use a TipTop Audio Drum System, which is perfect for this task.

It has a couple of sequencers, including the fantastically playable circadian rhythms, some sound-shaping tools like Forbidden Planet, the fold processor and some analogue drum voices but it’s the six One sample players that make this the beast it is. It’s a doddle to load up samples to combine with the other sounds for really interesting and organic percussion.

Recording beaten metal, acoustic drums, smashing glass, etc all adds to the useful palette that can make a great drum system. Two mixers and a Z-DSP round this off, with a VCA and envelope generator to further tame and reﬁne. We recommend building a case like this if you’re into drums. At 208hp it has enough space for critical modules and sits well on the desk too.

instruomodular.com

Instrument to modular I|O Mutable Instruments Ears €99 Opens a world of possibilities: trigger events, create envelopes and open gates with a tap. It’s a contact mic with a textured panel, perfectly suited to scratching with a pick too.

mutable-instruments.net

Many synth players rely on pedals to help shape their sound but there’s no reason those tables can’t be turned, with guitarists looking to Eurorack for new possibilities. Modular has an even greater diversity of options than pedals, so look to Eurorack for a wealth of fun and discovery, from small to large.

The trick is to get the audio from your guitar (other instruments available) into Eurorack, with its relatively hot signal, through the modular, then back out to your guitar path. The Strymon AA.1 does this in one small unit, even splitting and merging into stereo. A very useful little module.

In The Studio With | LoneLady

LoneLady

Exchanging grey Manchester for a basement studio at London’s Somerset House, Julie Campbell (aka LoneLady) broke out the machines and got started on her third album. Danny Turner finds out more

LoneLady | In The Studio With

esiding in a Manchester tower block for most of her adult life, Julie Campbell’s LoneLady project has been founded on the concrete brutalism of her environment and childhood memories of flickering VHS videos and art school. Her debut album Nerve Up (2010) featured a crackling miasma of post-punk influences and was followed five years later by the spindly guitars of the funk-driven Hinterland. For her third album, Campbell sought a new creative ecosystem and found a suitable gloomy residence at a decaying basement studio at London’s Somerset House. In drum machine heaven, the producer created Former Things, her most accessible album to date. Bristling with heavily programmed electro-pop loops and synth bass, Campbell’s cleverly assimilated vocals eulogise on memories of lost youth with a renewed sense of vigour.

You took up residency at Somerset House, thus relocating from Manchester to London. What precipitated that move? “Marie McPartlin, the director of Somerset House studios, was looking for a wide range of artists to join their new studios with a remit of bringing people back to London’s city centre. I leapt at the opportunity because I was dying to get out of Manchester and do something different having totally immersed myself and written a personal travelogue about where I came from on my second album Hinterland. I was frankly bored of Manchester so it came at a great time for me – a new city gave me totally new stimulus, which was a great starting point from which to write new material.” We guess Somerset House still contains something of the concrete brutalism in its outwards appearance? “I always end up in yet another concrete room. All the studios I was shown didn’t work for me because I would have had to share them with people, but we walked though this dilapidated basement room and I thought, hang on, what about this space? It was just perfect. The dimensions of the room meant that it wasn’t an obvious studio space because it was very echoey, but I have a history of operating in spaces like that and it was just a way to get me into the building and London.” Did coming to London affect your mood and therefore the sound of your music? “I come from an art school background so to be in the heart of London surrounded by loads of galleries was inspiring. I’d not been in a studio since my art degree, so it was the perfect setup. It gave me the autonomy and isolation I needed but I only had to step out the door and there were 50 other artists

from loads of different disciplines thrumming away and doing their thing, so I had all that to bounce off. I just had a lot of energy while I was in London and that’s fed into the record.” Did you find yourself sourcing ideas from the other residents there? “When my door was closed it was just me and the gear in my creative inner world, but once I opened it I was bouncing down the corridor dying to chat to people. It had a more general impact on my creative well-being, but no one had any input into the album in any other way. I’m back in Manchester now and talking to you from a much reduced studio space squashed into the corner of my flat. I’ve spent a lot of time in this restricted space and that sort of thing can have a terrible effect on a person’s well-being. Sonically, it didn’t matter that I was in London because I wasn’t using the room as a live space, so I could have made the record here, but it wouldn’t have been the same album because I wouldn’t have been the same upbeat, confident person.” We read that you used projections, notably a selection of Bergman movies and Cabaret Voltaire videos. Was that just for fun or as an act of creative impetus? “I am fully pretentious and love to make the space I’m in really creative. The room had really big paint-flaking walls and I love projectors so I had three of them going off in there. I projected Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf and Through a Glass Darkly, which is my idea of fun. It could be a bright sunny day outside, but I’d get all that going in the morning [laughs] because it stimulated me and put a bit of movement and company into the space.” Former Things seems to have more of an electro-funk sound, almost as if you’ve retroactively shifted from the ’70s to the ’80s? “I never set out to be retro and think there are other artists that are way more retro to the point of being pastiche, which I have no interest in artistically, but I do gravitate to certain sounds and electro reminds me of my childhood. I was a little kid in the ’80s and wasn’t aware of cool stuff like Cybotron, but I was aware of films like Beverley Hills Cop that had some of those electro-funk textures. Sonically, the album’s going back to my childhood because I’ve always loved those sounds.” Do you get the impression that ‘retro’ is perceived as a bit of a dirty word? “It’s very interesting that the dreaded word ‘retro’ gets applied to electronic music and not guitaroriented music because the electric guitar’s been around since the ’40s yet a four-piece band is always perceived to be really ‘happening’ and current. No one ever describes the guitar as retro, so I do think there’s something weird going on there. Also, there are multiple different types of ’80s music, there’s Cybotron, The Human League or mainstream Stock Aitken Waterman – so what are we talking about when we’re talking about the ’80s?”

In The Studio With | LoneLady

We understand Neneh Cherry was an inspiration – the Raw Like Sushi album? “It’s funny because I had that cassette as a kid but hadn’t listened to it for years. After writing the track (There Is) No Logic I thought, God, this reminds me of Neneh Cherry and when I listened back to Raw Like Sushi I was really blown away by the incredible programming on that. Her vocals and delivery were so lively, crunchy and fresh – I think it’s a classic. The new jack swing of Janet Jackson is another – that hard Jam & Lewis sound was incredible. Sometimes there’s a snobbish dismissal of artists like these as ‘pop’, but the sounds and programming were fucking amazing.”

Having a snobbish attitude to pop almost seems to be part of the British psyche. Did creating a more commercialised sound create conflict in you? “I agree that the album’s a bit more commercialsounding, but commercial is not a dirty word to me. I worked with Bill Skibbe who mixed Hinterland and that had more of a funk ebb and flow where things were a lot more woozy, loose and groovy, but Former Things was intentionally on the grid, really tight and super-sharp. The fidelity of the sounds is brighter and cleaner and my vocal delivery is more direct. I’ve always loved pop music and I’ve always wanted my music to be catchy, so this is my pop

“This is my pop album – to the extent that I can get an album to sound like pop”

album – to the extent that I can get an album to sound like pop.” You’ve mentioned that you sometimes mourn lost youth. Does some of that derive from the pressures of adulthood and trying to sustain a career in the music industry? “I reached a point in my life where I thought, God, being a child was quite a long time ago now. I kept thinking about myself as a 13-year-old teenager in Audenshaw. There was an orange light outside my bedroom window and I’d watch VHS videos and dream excitedly about all the things I was going to do and be. I’m a sort of romantic, mournful person and those feelings and images are at the centre of the album and I’ve poured all of that into the lyrics.” Your vocals have undergone a noticeable change. It sounds like you’re no longer holding back with it? “[Laughs] I didn’t know I was holding back until I listened back to Hinterland and thought, God, I kind of was – I could hear my shyness. On this record I felt that was stripped away and it was time to tell things as they are. The music’s very urgent and so is how I’m feeling about everything. It’s very hard to sustain myself and living in London as a full-time artist I did hit a very rocky patch when I came back to Manchester, in terms of finding a way to finish the record. It was two-thirds done but I struggled to get the last third over the finishing line. Lockdown actually reduced my feelings of anxiety because the world got a lot calmer and stiller – so it helped me. It was interesting to see the world forced to function how a solo artist or any freelance person functions, working at home and experiencing a lot of financial instability and uncertainty. It was a weird flip.” How do you think financial pressure affects artists creatively? “All the practical apparatus around having a career are a different thing to creating art. For me, the last few years have been like being dragged over broken glass, but I’m really happy to have the album out. I’ve had a bit of bunker syndrome, which is a bit intimidating and I suppose it was always going to be hard to step out blinking into the light, but I’ve got a new backing band and we’re preparing the live show now, so that’s going to be great.” How do you think you’ll present Former Things on the live stage? “It couldn’t be the same as before when I had a classic line-up with real drums because I got rid of real drums altogether. The record is more of a celebration of drum machines, so I’ll be using a more electronic-oriented setup and stripping things down from a four-piece to a three-piece. I’m currently in the middle of figuring that puzzle out.” You seem to be slowly phasing guitars out of your music too? “I’ve wanted to work with electronic hardware for ages and get my hands on a couple of analogue synths. Instead of using the guitar as a writing tool, I

In The Studio With | LoneLady

LoneLady | In The Studio With

JULIE’S GO-TO GEAR

Doepfer MAQ 16/3 Analogue Sequencer

“A solid piece of analogue hardware, developed with the help of Florian Schneider. It’s a fun way to create new patterns and grooves, integrating easily with synths, samplers and drum machines.”

ARP Odyssey MK II

“My first analogue synth. It has huge scope to shape the sound to anything you want, but I mainly used it to create some funky, bouncy basslines.”

Akai MPC500 Korg MS-10

“The Korg and ARP have a kind of contrapuntal conversation throughout Former Things. I love their contrasting voices, and the Korg has a great biting, harsh timbre to it.”

Yamaha keyboard

“I’ve used this humble £30 keyboard on all my albums. It has a modest bank of preset beats that sound great and lots of voices that don’t really sound like what they’re claiming to be.”

Deltalab Effectron II Simmons Electronic Drums Roland Octapad SPD-20

“I’m a big fan of the Roland sound. The Octapad has a huge range of sounds and voices but I use a lot of its analogue percussion/dance sounds. Cool percussive textures add so much life.”

Fender Telecaster Tascam 4- and 8-Track Recorders

used a Doepfer MIDI-analogue sequencer, which completely changed the way I wrote. I was mainly connecting it to an ARP Odyssey and Korg MS-10, so they’re at the heart of this album along with multiple drum machines and samplers. I also used the ARP and the Korg to make synth basslines with a little bit of real bass used as a frequency backup.” You clearly have a love for drum machine rhythms. How’s that evolved over the years? “I’ve owned this £30 Yamaha keyboard since I was about 10 and it’s appeared on all my albums. It’s got a drum machine pattern bank and I used to spend hours writing songs by pressing play on something called ‘16 beat’, ‘funk’ or ‘disco’ and playing guitar along to them. Over the years everything’s evolved from that starting point. I don’t have all the classic drum machines, but we managed to layer real samples from real drum machines like the Roland T-909, 808, 606, the Drumatrix, E-mu Drumulator, Roland CR78, Korg Rhythm 55 and a Linn Drum, so the album’s a joyful smorgasbord of different drum machine textures and percussion, which forms a kind of scaffolding.” How did you gain access to all those vintage drum machines? “Bill Skibbe had those, but he’s based in Michigan. I physically went there to finish Hinterland with him and was meant to go out to Detroit to mix this album but the pandemic put paid to that so we had to do everything via Zoom. He had all these drum machines and samples his end, so that’s how we layered up the sounds. I’ve got a modern MFB Tanzbär drum computer and a Roland TR-505, so I programmed and layered all the beats and rhythms and Bill used a trigger that automatically copies the beats to add more to what was already there. We had two screens going, one so we could work on Pro Tools sessions at the same time and the other was just his head – a virtual Bill [laughs]. We basically tried to get as close as possible to the two of us sitting together at a desk.” How does the more modern MFB Tanzbär drum computer compare to the vintage machines? “The Tanzbär is made by a company in Berlin and has a standalone sequencer. I bought it because it’s got a really harsh techno sound and I’m a fan of techno and electro. Cybotron’s Enter album was very present in my mind when I started writing, so I wanted a machine that sounded really cutting. Every drum machine has its own timbre and texture – its own personality. So you can never have too many of them. I’m not too keen on the remodelled classics or the mini ones, but I’m not a snob that only uses classic 909s. I’ve got a really cheap drum machine called a Zoom Micro RhythmTrak MRT-3B that cost £99 and it’s got a great pad bank.” Are you putting the machines through a lot of outboard or looking to retain their raw sound? “Retain the raw sound because that’s what I like about them, but I’d love to have more processing units because that’s where a lot of the magic

In The Studio With | LoneLady

LoneLady | In The Studio With

happens. I did use a couple on the album – a vintage Deltalab Effectron II, which has a really cool flange/ delay sound, and a cheap Yamaha EMP700 Multi Effects Processor from eBay, which I bought because I discovered it was on the gear list of Richard Kirk from Cabaret Voltaire. I do love processing units and would like to get my hands on more of them, but my sound isn’t super-processed. I suppose I’m celebrating the hardware for what it is rather than processing it to the point of obscurity.” The songs are full of interlocking tones. Does that make it slightly tricky to put too many effects onto it? “I’ve really gone for it when it comes to the minute details. I used the Roland SPD-20 percussion pad a lot and there are layers and layers of hi-hats and triangle sounds. I’m a fan of detail and think that the interest in my music comes from the gear I use and the way it’s arranged, so there isn’t much room for weird distortions of sounds.” Do drum patterns form the basis of your songwriting process? “It nearly always starts off with a beat and me faffing around with a sequencer clocked to a drum machine or sampler that’s got loads of different, cool samples on it. I want to work with rhythm in a more efficient and immediate way, generating multiple lines of drums, percussion and melody in sync, which I can do with three channels on the sequencer. I generated a chunk of new music with no vocals and that came out okay, then I created a second wave of music until something cohesive started to evolve. This album definitely started off sounding a lot more hard-edged and techno; then I built up layers and layers of arrangements over a long period of time and took them towards my LoneLady sound world.”

performance and can never do a take from start to finish. Because I want it just right, I’ll do one sentence or word at a time, so it’s very detailed and exacting. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have emotion, but the delivery is a lot sharper – even a little R&B as some of the singing is quite fast with clear diction.”

(There Is) No Logic is quite symbolic of the album in that it has a sense of simplicity but on closer inspection the mix is quite busy with big attention to sound placement… “It’s crazy really – making this record nearly killed me. It was a hell of a lot of hard work, but if there’s something wrong in a track, even if it’s one hi-hat, a massive siren goes off in my head and I can’t rest until it’s sorted out. Maybe that’s partly why I don’t churn out albums every two years. I could never live with the idea of putting an album out and subsequently thinking, hmm, I wish I’d done this or that. Music for me is like a possession. Sometimes I was in Somerset House for six or seven days a week but sometimes I was just watching a Bergman film or taking photographs, so I do think you have to let the music side of your brain rest for a bit and do things that make the soil fertile again.”

We heard a story that you were lent a synth by Brian Eno. What’s the truth to that? “I was given a synth by Brian Eno. He was, or still is, a trustee of Somerset House studios and visits from time to time. My studio was very long and thin and, unusually, I had the door unlocked for a change, so one day I saw Marie at the end of this long room standing with a man. I was working with an apple core in my hand and when I turned around Brian Eno was stood right in the middle of my very weird higgledy-piggledy studio. I didn’t have time to feel nervous, so we had a chat and he was really friendly and had a little nosey around my equipment, then he remarked that he had too much equipment so I playfully said there’s plenty of room if he wanted me to take some off his hands. One week later, a Korg Triton arrived in a parcel at my door. It’s a very crisp and weird digital-sounding beast, so I’d love to know what album Brian used it on, but I found a place for it on the track Time Time Time.”

The vocals are also cleverly edited and integrated into the mix. A few techniques you used were slightly reminiscent of Paul Hardcastle’s 19 sample style… “I love the sound of that song and all that stuff was in my mind for No Logic. I don’t sing vocals as a live

Do you think you’ll be collaborating with Brian anytime soon? “We don’t write very similar music do we? I can’t see myself making an ambient music record but if he wanted to produce something I’m doing that would be really interesting. So, yes, I’d love to.”

You were working with modular enthusiast Benge at one point. Did he manage to persuade you to integrate those tools into your sound? “It depends what you do with those tools. I’ve never had a problem with modular itself but it did suddenly seem like everybody was using modular gear and not doing much with it. For me, everything evolves very gradually from album to album – I don’t know what the next one will be, but having surrounded myself with a lot of gear I’ve now got a desire to strip everything back down again.“ It sounds like the detail you put into this album sent you a bit stir crazy and you want to move further away from gear rather than towards it? “It’s more about where you want to be in your mind, so it’s more of an existential thing. For example, I feel like I get lost in digital plugins and don’t know where I am. I’d rather move to it just being me, a guitar and a drum machine and developing the riffs and songs in real time than recording bits and bobs and spending god knows how long sifting through a load of audio on a screen. Part of me is interested in taking the laptop out of the equation completely and going back to using a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder, so I might do that.”

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

LoneLady’s new album Former Things is out now on Warp Records. For more information, visit lonelady.co.uk 65

FM | RETROSPECTIVE

Hardcore

Springing from house and techno, this is a sound to be taken just as seriously. Hardcore: do you know the score?

espite discussing rave culture on a regular basis, we’ve never focused on rave music as a genre. Our logic is simple: rave music isn’t a genre, any more than you’d say that ‘festival music’ or ‘nightclub music’ are genres. In practice, rave music is complicated: different eras and different geographical locations might associate rave culture with entirely different styles of music. We’ve covered some of the most popular rave-related genres already in this column – most notably acid house and jungle – but it’s time to shine the light on a crucial (and often overlooked) style which dominated European rave culture at one point. This is hardcore. Hardcore sounds began to emerge around 1990, growing primarily out of techno but also to some extent from acid house. Unfortunately for the purposes of this column, it’s not a straightforward story of a single new sound emerging, but something a

little more complicated, with various different strains of hardcore developing in different countries simultaneously. As a very broad rule of thumb, hardcore represented producers and DJs cranking up the tempos, focusing on tougher, darker sounds with big, often distorted kick drums, and drawing on influences from other genres like industrial, Belgian new beat and EBM. In the UK, breakbeat-driven hardcore such as 2 Bad Mice’s Bombscare paired techno and house sounds back to a functional, almost minimalist perfection. From the USA, a slightly more expansive take on the sound was typified by tracks like Joey Beltram’s Mentasm, with its aggressive Roland Alpha Juno ‘hoover’ bass sound which went on to be a staple of hardcore. Across mainland Europe – notably Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany – hardcore mutated even more quickly. Before long, it splintered into dozens of sub-genres

and rival sounds, spawning and cross-pollinating with scenes like gabber, hardstyle, hardtechno, free tekno and various trance styles. If it’s hard to pin down a strict definition of hardcore it’s precisely because of this fluidity and hyperactive mutation which has been occurring since day one. Before talking about hardcore, you almost need to ask what kind of hardcore (and that’s not even to mention the fact that the term has also been widely used to refer to hardcore punk since the early ’80s). Music writer Simon Reynolds argues that the breakbeat-heavy UK take on hardcore – or as Reynolds sometimes puts it, ardkore – has been a common thread running through dance music over the last 30 years. This ‘hardcore continuum’ theory posits that the ‘frenetic pitch’, tempo, bass impact and ‘ruff and tuff uproar’ of hardcore all run throughout countless genres since the early ’90s. That’s most obvious in the case of early mutations like jungle, which

grew directly out of hardcore club nights like Fabio and Grooverider’s RAGE, where a young Goldie fell in love with hardcore and developed his early sound. Reynolds and other hardcore continuum believers trace this thread through jungle and onward into drum & bass, speed garage, two-step UK garage, dubstep, grime, funky house and drill. Given the strength of that theory, it’s strange that hardcore sometimes doesn’t get the credit it deserves as a major element of electronic music history. The most likely explanation is that its splintered, fragmented nature has meant it never quite coalesced into the strong national and international scenes enjoyed by more homogenised genres like house and techno. Nevertheless, it’s only fair to acknowledge that hardcore’s influence on other genres is huge, and we’ll explore its impact further in future columns on some of the many sub-genres and scenes we’ve mentioned in this instalment.

Hardcore | Retrospective

Three of the many takes on hardcore DUTCH HARDCORE/GABBER:

Rotterdam Termination Source – Poing (1992)

Representing the brash, almost silly end of the hardcore scale, Poing was an BREAKBEAT HARDCORE/PROTO-JUNGLE: unlikely number two hit in the Dutch pop charts, making the top 30 in the UK. Based around little more than 909 drums and a fairly irritating rubbery twang sample, Poing really shouldn’t work as well as it does. The Right on the cusp of breakbeat secret lies in the intricacy of the drum hardcore morphing into early jungle, programming, which producer Maurice Goldie’s Terminator exemplifies the Steenbergen claims was the result of six months’ work. The distorted 909 kick morphs technological experimentalism at the heart of most hardcore, using the Eventide into a square wave packed with harmonics, H3000 to stretch and pitch shift samples. one of the definitive sounds of gabber.

Rufige Kru – Terminator (1992)

Looking back, it’s a sign that hardcore was a fertile breeding ground for new sounds from the very beginning. HAPPY HARDCORE:

DJ Hixxy & MC Sharkey – Toytown (1995)

The track which kicked off the very first Bonkers mix album, a series that ran for over a decade and helped define happy hardcore. Toytown follows on from the toytown techno craze which swept UK rave music a few years earlier (think The Prodigy’s Charly and Urban Hype’s A Trip to Trumpton), employing sing-song vocals but ramping up the tempo to keep up with the ever-increasing tempo of hardcore’s speedrush.

Interview | Molchat Doma

Molchat Doma

As they head out to tour world-events-in-abottle album Monument, are Belarusian guitar ‘n’ synth lovers Molchat Doma ready for the road? Kate Puttick finds out

Molchat Doma | Interview

ormed in only 2017, Belarusian three-piece Molchat Doma might just have brought one of the most loaded, politically-charged aesthetics of the past few years. And, as the likes of the New York Times have reported, on the basis of how many US TikTokkers have nicked this band’s tracks in order to bring a doomy or faux-portentous mood to their latest exploits (in particular, the widely streamed Sudno from their 2018 album Etazhi), the trio have certainly played their part in soundtracking the harrowing circumstances of their homeland in the past two years. But, partly through the necessities of legality (freedom of expression being notably limited in today’s Belarus), and partly because the band are both synth lovers and music history buffs, it’s often their new wave and Gorbachev-era, Soviet-harking music which carries much of that weight of tone. Having delivered their third album, Monument, in late 2020, the band (vocalist Egor Shkutko, Roman Komogortsev on guitar, synths and drum machine, and Pavel Kozlov on bass and synths) will spend this autumn touring internationally and will be making their way around the UK and Ireland in November. We spoke to Roman to find out more.

Molchat Doma are known as a vintage synth lover’s band. Tell us a bit about how your love affair with this technology started? What were your individual progressions in learning music?

“We’ve always liked old music. When we started making music, it became interesting to see how our favourite tracks were made, on which instruments some parts were played. My first instrument was Yamaha DX7 – obviously an icon from the ’80s – and since then I’ve fallen in love with synthesisers.” What does your usual songwriting process look like? And how do you separate tasks amongst the band, both in songwriting, recording and when translating to a live performance?

“95% of the time it’s me writing the music, and I also do mixing and mastering. Sometimes we get something out of jams at rehearsals, sometimes even whole tracks are invented together. When there is a finished musical part, then we go to a rehearsal and there, with Egor, we come up with some vocal lines. As a matter of fact, it’s nothing supernatural generally.” What’s in your current studio? And what’s in your live setup?

“My current studio setup consists of a Moog Minimoog, Roland D-50, Yamaha DX-7, Roland W-30, Roland Alpha Juno-2, Sequential 69

Interview | Molchat Doma

Prophet-5, Arp Odyssey mkII, Roland Jupiter-X and Roland TB-03. I also have a Roland TR-8 drum machine for making sketches. My hardware sequencer is a mega great sampler by Akai, the MPC One. For live, I used Prophet-5 as my main synth with an EHX Cathedral reverb. Pavel used a MacBook with Roland Cloud plugins and two Arturia MIDI keyboards. For playback we used the Akai MPC One. We also used a Gibson Flying V Reissue 67 guitar and Rickenbacker 4001 bass.” What DAW do you usually use?

“I use FL Studio 10 – yes, I’m old-fashioned! Pavel uses Ableton Live’s latest version.”

if it doesn’t work, then you have to make a vintage sound artificially.” As a no-drummer band, talk us through your process for beatmaking, which again, seems to focus on vintage drum machines…

“The drum machine and its sound are very important elements of our music. Here, just like with synthesisers – I had to study and learn them. We use samples in our music, as, unfortunately, we don’t have vintage pieces in our arsenal. Plus, they’re tricky to work with – some have a very difficult interface to program them freely. It is convenient to do this in a DAW. In our new songs, we sometimes use three drum

“We’re excited for the world tour, but anything can happen” You’ve said you’re fascinated by the Perestroika/mid-’80s style. Could you expand a little bit about your attraction to that?

machines, mixing samples with each other – that’s more interesting. Have a listen!”

anything can happen. Obviously you have to understand the kind of times we live in...”

“This is something that’s difficult to explain. In Soviet aesthetics, you have something of your own that is ugly and at the same time neat and attractive. Actually, the music of that period is the same. Due to the imperfection of the equipment, it turned out to be very special. This was one of the reasons why we did it the way we did it. Naturally, now we’re already moving away from this, as other sources of inspiration have appeared.”

If you could have any piece of gear, new or old, what would it be?

What do you envisage for your next album following Monument? Have you already put together anything for it? Has any particular piece of gear featured heavily or is your setup mostly going to remain the same?

A lot of non-Russian-speaking listeners will be unaware of some of the influences leading to your sound, except for a few of the most high profile acts. Who are some of the artists that fans who are new to that back-catalogue should look out for?

How do you feel about the band’s reception in the rest of the world and this often-reported TikTok popularity? Do you think listeners/ reviewers fully understand your sometimes ironic style (eg “New Wave Sadness”)?

“Let them try The Twins,

”

The band uses a lot of vintage styles – is that something intentional/researched or is it the particular hardware choices that drives that?

“A bit of both! We try to use more vintage equipment, as it gives us a certain pleasure, but 70

“Easy! Jupiter-8, Yamaha CS-80 and probably an EMU Emulator II.” If you had endless time, would there be a particular area of synthesis you would like to explore that you haven’t tried already?

“I would like to work and understand modular synthesisers. I haven’t gotten to that yet.”

“We’re OK with that. We love that more and more people are listening to us. I don’t know if they understand our humour, so to speak (talking about the name of the tour), but I hope they do not focus much on this.” You’ve got quite a full set of world tour dates coming up. How do you feel about this?

“We’re excited and want them to take place, but

“We are in a partial creation process. I don’t want to rush. I would like to make a really memorable record in the spirit of a violator. There will be many references to bands that we love and listen to now. Instrumentation and sounds will also be not quite peculiar to us. But it’ll be interesting.” What advice would you give to new musicians?

“Do not give up! Improve yourself, listen to a lot of different types of music and do whatever you like.” WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Monument is out now. For more information on upcoming releases and tour dates visit molchatdoma.com

Molchat Doma | Interview

FM | REVIEWS

Sequential Prophet-5 Rev 4 £3,000 With Dave Smith back at Sequential’s helm, a new version of this ’80s icon was nigh-on obligatory, says Andy Jones CONTACT

KEY FEATURES

WHO: Sequential WEB: sequential.com 5-voice analogue polysynth; 61-note semi-weighted Fatar keyboard with velocity and aftertouch; two CEM 3340 VCOs/voice; switchable low-pass filter between Dave Rossum-designed 2140, and Doug Curtis-designed CEM 3320; LFO (3 waveshapes) and Poly-Mod modulation; Vintage Knob for increased Rev1 instability; 200 user and 200 factory programs in five banks of 40 programs

Sequential Prophet-5 | Reviews

THE PROS & CONS

All the features of the originals plus filter options for the various revisions Amazing sounds and easy modulation – the Poly-Mod’s a classic Velocity and aftertouch bring the sounds alive Fantastic build quality and updated connectivity

Expensive compared to some similarlyspec’ed machines You won’t really want to gig with it

he original Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 changed the world – simple as that. So the company’s new iteration – essentially the fourth revision – has so much synth history and music associated with it that it’s impossible not to mention those previous versions, and some of the quite glorious music they helped create. So this isn’t just another synth release; it’s like if Back To The Future returned for a fourth instalment. Only bigger.

Only around 6,000 Prophet-5s were originally sold (between 1978 and 1984), but because it was the first polysynth you could use to store and recall sounds, most of those 6,000 buyers were either music icons, or became icons with the synth’s help. There was Kraftwerk, Jarre, Floyd, Abba, Clarke, YMO, Jackson, Dre, Genesis and Numan… the usual legends. But it was perhaps some lesser known acts that dropped the best Prophet-5 moments. Japan’s Tin Drum album is one of the best releases from the era – mostly as it

doesn’t sound like it was released in that era. And smaller synth poppers like New Musik and The Mobiles, rockier names like The Cars, Steve Winwood and The Fixx, plus soundtrack composers like Mark Isham and John Carpenter (who used it composing the music of many of the films he directed) would give the Prophet-5 an enviable reputation amongst nerds and players alike. This was all enough to give the first three revisions of the Prophet-5 legendary status. But again, like Back To The Future, it was a status that

was entwined with the ’80s. Sequential closed in ’87 and the name was bought by Japanese giants Yamaha who shut the company down two years later. However, in 2015 Yamaha returned the Sequential name to its founder, Dave Smith, who had by then been successfully producing hardware synths under his own name. It was only a matter of time before the Prophets started appearing again and here we are with a fourth version of the Prophet-5. Prophet-5 is, as you probably know or have guessed, a five-voice

Reviews | Sequential Prophet-5

THE ALTERNATIVES

Sequential Prophet-6 £2,500 The ﬁrst Sequential synth inspired by the Prophet-5 actually exceeds its specs with an extra voice, digital effects, arpeggiator and step sequencer yet streets at less. It’s not the ‘real deal’ like the 5 but can’t be ignored. sequential.com

Sequential Prophet-10 £3,600 And nor really can the 10. It’s identical to the 5 in every way but doubles the voice count for an extra £6-800 (street). See the boxout for more! sequential.com

Arturia PolyBrute

£2,300

An analogue polysynth with six voices, a huge number of features, loads of modulation and real-time control plus a varied sound. There’s a lot going on here and it costs a lot less but it’s not a classic… yet. arturia.com

polyphonic synth, each voice using two VCOs. Sequential have also released a 10-voice version in the form of the otherwise identical Prophet-10 (see the boxout for more). It uses the Curtis 3340 VCOs found in the Rev3 Prophet-5 (a much more reliable design compared to the SSMs used in the Rev2). The two oscillators generate both square and sawtooth waves, with Oscillator B adding a triangle. They can be played in sync and B can act as an LFO, modulating the frequency, pulse width and filter of Osc A. There’s further modulation by way of a multi-waveform LFO and Wheel-Mod section that allows you to assign LFO and noise sources to five destinations, levels controlled by the mod wheel. Then there’s Poly-Mod, a feature that was one of the classic draws of the original Prophet design. It includes two sources (filter envelope and Oscillator B) and three destinations (Oscillator A’s frequency or pulse width, plus filter cutoff). It’s

a beautifully implemented modulation setup that not only replicates the original design but makes for brilliant and instant, hands-on sound design. Who needs a huge modulation matrix when you get results this good from a simple design? So far, then, we’re talking identical sonic ingredients and features to the original Prophet Rev3, and the ﬁlters maintain the theme… with a twist. Dave Smith describes this iteration of the Prophet-5 as “the best of all Prophet-5s” because, just like Korg/ARP’s reintroduction of the Odyssey a few years back, you can effectively select between the

previous three revisions by switching filters. Switch between either Rev1/2 for the SS1 2140 low-pass filter (like the 2040 used in the Rev1 and 2) or hit the same button again for Rev3, the CEM 3320 filter. Overall, then, it’s probably best to think of Rev4 – as Dave Smith obviously intended – as very much a continuation of where the Rev3 left off. But there are some important modern extras. Rev4 Prophet-5 includes both velocity sensitivity and aftertouch – very important, as we’ll see – a five-octave, semi-weighted keyboard plus USB connectivity (alongside MIDI, Gate and CV in/out).

“This isn’t just another synth release; it’s like if Back To The Future had a fourth instalment”

10? DOUBLE THE 5 SURELY Sequential released a 10-voice version of the Prophet-5 back in ’78 which included a massive (for then) 10 voices of polyphony. It was a lot of components in one keyboard and often overheated. However, in 1981 Sequential released a double manual Prophet-10 – literally two Prophet-5s sat on top of one another – that sorted most of the issues out. There were two versions of this, the last being the most stable, but they are pretty rare; there was one for sale on Reverb a while back for around £12k. Now there’s another way to get a Prophet-10 as, along with the new Prophet-5, Sequential have released a 10-voice Rev4 Prophet-10. It’s identical to the 5 but with 10 voices, of course, and an enhanced price. The extra ﬁve voices cost anything between £600 and £800 more. Whether you think that’s worth it is up to you, but it’s a real tempter – that doesn’t seem a lot for double the Prophet power. That said, if you’re recording into the box it’s so easy to stack the audio that one 5 will do. Not to mention the old ‘restrictions enhance creativity’ argument. You can have too much of a good thing…

Sequential Prophet-5 | Reviews

With newer electronic components used to produce this version, Sequential understood that part of the original three revisions’ charm was the instability of certain components that – as with a lot of classic analogue synths – gave them their personality. So they also added a Vintage Knob that effectively allows you to introduce that unstable randomness and dial back in history through the various revisions, increasing the temperamental nature of the machine to the max as you dial in 1 for Rev1. There are also 200 fixed factory presets and 200 user spots and you even get the 40 sounds that shipped with the original 1978 model. Nice touch. This synth is pretty heavy. Not CS-80 heavy, but certainly heavier than I expected a modern Prophet-5 to be. But that’s because Sequential have housed it in the original-styled walnut body. It’s beautiful, as you can see, and while this finish makes it hefty, each Prophet-5 looks unique because the wood varies in pattern, and also feels ‘reassuring’ – this is the real playing deal. And the big physical presence in front of you demands a big physical sound and Prophet-5 doesn’t disappoint… eventually. I say ‘eventually’ because as you dial through the presets, some actually do disappoint – at first anyway. Many are modelled on the sounds of the ’80s – or indeed are the sounds of the ’80s, by way of that bank of 1978 sounds. And of course this is intentional, but if you’re expecting huge EDM bass or arpeggiations, you’ll have to look elsewhere, although those sounds are perfectly do-able as we’ll see. What you do get, even with the more ’80s presets, is a level of expressive control by way of that velocity and aftertouch that lifts even the most basic sounds as soon as you start actually playing the keyboard. So even the classic sounds come to life as you play the lovely Fatar keyboard, and we haven’t even got to the great sounds yet… And when you get to them, you’ll be seriously impressed. Playing a great sound like some of the brassy pads seems to give you a depth that will blow any software away. And let’s talk about the deep electric pianos and twinky keys sounds that detune to Boards Of Canada levels when you push the Vintage knob right back to 1. Simple, ghostly pads, that sound so good to start with, are instantly

POLY MOD: The instant modulation section is a classic from previous revisions and as good as ever for instant sound design and tweaking

SY: The keyboard is a EASY KEY KEY-SY: fabulous Fatar with velocity sensitivity and aftertouch which really helps bring some of the sound alive

transformed into menacing soundtracks by quickly introducing them to the Poly-Mod section – no wonder John Carpenter loves this synth so much. In the same way, simple bass presets can be instantly tweaked into harmonic monsters (did I mention that EDM was very do-able, despite the ’80s intentions?) and you begin to realise why Poly-Mod was such a hit – you’re not just relying on tweaks in the ﬁlter section to get instant, hands-on impressiveness anymore! Overall it’s an inspiring journey – back in time yes but with so

BANK ON IT: The 400 presets are spread over ﬁve banks with the last set dedicated to the sounds that shipped with the original ’78 version

much instant potential to go fast-forward too. Three grand plus is a lot for any synth and there are lots of cheaper polysynths better suited to more contemporary styles, with better specs. However, the Prophet-5 is a legend for a reason and this Rev4 is simply that legend made better. Should you fork out for the 10-voice? See the boxout. But if you want to grasp the roots from which so much electronic music grew, the price might not seem so much – this is a history still in the making.

BUTTONED UP: One simple button lets you switch between ﬁlters from Dave Rossum’s 2140, (Rev1+2) and Doug Curtis’ CEM 3320 (Rev3)

FM VERDICT

9.4 The best incarnation and easily adds enough to bring it into 2021. Other options cost less… but they’re not a Prophet-5, are they? 75

Reviews | Intellijel Metropolix

Intellijel Metropolix £519 What a difference an ‘x’ makes. Rob Redman explores this sequel to the jammers’ favourite Metropolis sequencer

CONTACT

KEY FEATURES

WHO: Intellijel WEB: intellijel.com Two melodic tracks and one mod track, More modulation options than you can shake a stick at, Multiple assignable controls, OLED screen for key information, Colour coded illuminated mod switches

Intellijel Metropolix | Reviews

THE PROS & CONS

Complex results form an intuitive interface Solidly built with clear labelling Excellent screen and info design

Fairly expensive Inevitable link between tracks due to workflow

adjusted and a click of a button lets you swap between them. When setting scales and notes, there is a keyboard representation which really helps nail melodic choices on the fly. Similarly, when adjusting the per stage elements of things like the ratchets or slides, the display shows an at-a-glance status for the levels of each stage. Everything about the visual feedback is thoughtful and easy to read, even the tiny lock or browse icons to show the status of what you are navigating.

Tracked changes

ntellijel’s Metropolix is billed as an interactive sequencer for live performance, jamming and improvisation and it has to be said from the off, it succeeds in all of these areas. If you’re familiar with the original Metropolis a lot will be familiar, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is a minor update. Metropolix has an abundance of new features that lift it far above what came before. Metropolix is a 34hp module which sounds like a lot of valuable room to occupy but it absolutely pays

its way. Every control feels responsive, with excellent levels of friction to help dial in exactly what you want. I/O remains similar, with pitch, gate and clock outputs, alongside an A and B for two additional controls and there is a clock in and reset, next to three CV ins for assignable control. More on this later. The new screen is the most obvious change physically and it is a joy to behold. It is bright and clear and the interface has clearly been thoughtfully designed. Often there are two levels of attributes that can be

Just like the previous version, the eight stages are split into three main controls; pitch, pulse and gate type, making for a very live jam friendly workflow. The pitch sliders can be forced to an octave range and you aren’t constrained to eight stages either. In fact you can actually split the stages into two blocks of four, using half for each track. Which leads me to one of the big additions. Metropolix doesn’t just have a single sequence anymore but three. Two melodic tracks, with all the same functionality and one mod track which is in reality eight mod tracks, assignable to either or both of the

melodic tracks, and can modulate an extensive list of parameters. Obvious choices are play direction, octave range and gate length. Why would you want a gate length mod, when there is a global gate length control? Well, the mod tracks are per stage (but not pulse) meaning individual stages can be modified. That’s a basic example but when you start to experiment with these and the mod lanes (which are different again) you soon realise the possibilities are boundless. Mod lanes you say? Yes. One of the big additions to Metropolix is the mod lanes, accessed by hitting the edit button and choosing a lane, from skip to CV. These are, again, stage-based and personally I think this is where the most immediate payoff resides when jamming with the Metropolix. I’ll use my favourite as an example. Say all the pitch sliders are set the same, with a four-stage sequence that has equal gate lengths and each has a single pulse. Hit the edit button followed by the accumulator button and you are in accumulator mode. The display shows the eight stages, each selectable by hitting the corresponding lane button, which will illuminate. Twisting the main encoder changes the value, plus

Reviews | Intellijel Metropolix

THE ALTERNATIVES

Erica Synths Black Sequencer €510 A four track sequencer, which, although more linear in workﬂow, does offer some excellent modulation options. ericasynths.lv

Make Noise René 2 $525 Another great and original sequencer, with the obligatory Make Noise styling and touch interface. makenoisemusic.com

or minus, to the desired level, graphically represented. The accumulator adds to the pitch by the degrees set, sticking to the chosen scale. Each time the sequence runs, the note bumps up by the same amount until it wraps back around. With all the sliders at zero you can still get a melodically interesting and musical result, perfect for generative music. This accumulation of pitch can be affected by mod tracks too, with options for you to change direction or action, like getting to the limit of the octave range and scale settings and holding, wrapping back to the start or reversing. Other mod lanes are equally as intuitive and useful. These include the more traditional slide, skip and ratchet, as well as the less seen pitch, probability and CV. If the mod is an on/off type slide, then the display shows a simple row of rings, or crosses, to denote the status. Ratchets show eight columns of blocks, where each block represents a repeat. All very visible on the ﬂy, for an exceptionally speed of thought creation process.

And there’s more… While all these features make for a solid feature set there is far more that Metropolix has up its sleeves. The two control knobs are assignable to a range of parameters, as are the three CV inputs above. The associated knobs here are normalled as well, giving access to additional levels of control, without having to externally patch them. As with the two control knobs there is a good range of parameter assignment available for these and all of the above can be conﬁgured to work across one or each of the tracks. The grid of buttons to the bottom left is where the more standard controls are to be found, from global settings, clock division, speed and scale. A click of any of these will

SCREEN: It’s bright and clear but don’t worry, you won’t be using it for much menu diving

BUILD: The sliders, buttons and switches are solidly constructed and will keep the Metropolix in service for years to come

SUPER POWERS: The accumulator is a thing of magic and joy, transforming the sequencer into a musical powerhouse, with sophistication

There’s an awful lot going on… but it never feels like menu-diving bring up the associated options on the screen. There is an awful lot going on here, with multiple menus and this is compounded by the fact that many settings can be conﬁgured to one or more of the tracks. That said, it never feels like menu diving. The graphics are crisp and clear, the way information is navigated and presented is logical and, more importantly, consistent to its type, making the learning curve for Metropolix a shallow one. There are more features to discuss than can be covered here, from the wonderful loop button, that

essentially acts like a hold on a stage, including mod lanes. Loopy, despite the name, also turns the eight mod buttons into a form of playable keyboard, when the sequence isn’t running. This is limited but in a good way, as each button only plays the status of that stage. This way you can stay within your melodic parameters but take manual control over the playback. As with the rest of Metropolix this is great for a break and build in live performance.

FM VERDICT EXPANSION Considering the nature of the module, I would highly recommend pairing it with the optional gate expander, for tighter integration with your rig, where you can take a gate from each stage to send elsewhere – possibilities abound, from triggering drums or playing a sample that is perfectly timed.

9.5 Metropolix takes an already excellent idea and expands upon it in many ways, increasing the abilities and fun factor dramatically

FM | ROUNDUP

FREE SAMPLERS Aside from your DAW’s built-in sound-playing machine, what else is out there that won’t put the hurt on your wallet?

FM | MUST HAVE!

TX16Wx Software Sampler

One Small Clue Grace

Based off the commercial TX16Wx Pro sampler, this sampler is pretty sophisticated on its own account, letting you load and zone multiple samples, edit their waveforms and even record your own samples into it. Other features here are two analogue-style ﬁlters to smooth your sound, envelopes to process its amplitude over time, modulation with LFOs and step sequencers and loads of potential to deﬁne different regions for samples loaded (or recorded) into the plugin. The generously featured free version of the plugin offers a host of sonic potential and control inside a single VST, AU and AAX plugin for Mac and PC. The Pro version of TX16W costs between €39 and €99, and adds trigger switching, insert and send effects, and an arpeggiator too. As a freebie, TW16Wx is hard to beat!

This Windows-only sampler was “designed for people who make their own patches”, featuring two ﬁlters per voice, two envelopes, two LFOs, two sequencers and four X/Y controllers. Grace may look a little dingy, but in use it’s a reliable sampling companion that you can easily come to love. Basic sampling tasks are handled simply, and the sound quality remains high throughout. AHDSR envelopes can feel like a luxury in free software, but even this above-and-beyond feature serves to make Grace very worthy of consideration. Graphically, Grace has it where it needs it, and the sample playback ‘ﬂags’ will be immediately familiar to anyone, allowing many to get moving with the plugin right away. Mac producers will be left out in the cold with this one, however, as this particular piece of freeware is Windows-only.

tx16wx.com

onesmallclue.com

VERDICT 9.1

VERDICT 8.0

Free samplers | Roundup

FM | STUDIO ESSENTIAL!

Sonic Charge Cyclone

Synapse Audio Zampler RX

Just like TX16Wx on the left, Cyclone emulates the original TX16W sampler hardware made by Yamaha. This system was a 12-bit sampler from back in the day, and it was loaded with audio using a ﬂoppy disk, which is actually replicated inside this VST and AU clone! Being a digital reproduction of a digital system, Cyclone is a bang-on emulation, even modelling the original CPU and DACs to get the processing and the sound just right. As an emulation of a 12-bit hardware sampler, you shouldn’t expect Cyclone to sound great, you should expect it to sound nostalgic. This is a classic way of loading and processing sounds, and the weird control set for doing so should make that even more apparent!

This special edition VST/AU plugin sampler, originally developed by Synapse Audio for Beat magazine, is stocked full of Loopmasters samples. Zampler RX was released a few years ago, so may look dated, but its visuals don’t represent its sound quality. Zampler loads SFZ and REX loops too, so it’s capable of working with a large range of what’s out there. Onboard are three LFOs and envelopes (amp, ﬁlter and mod). Within the central panel, there’s a comprehensive modulation matrix that lets you patch the perfect sound out of the modulators, and an arpeggiator that helps you play your patches like never before. In use, Zampler is easy to get your head around, and can be pressed into service for anything from routine sampling tasks to heavy-duty mangling applications.

wavesfactory.com

soniccharge.com

pluginboutique.com

VERDICT 8.8

VERDICT 8.7

VERDICT 8.6

Wavesfactory Spectre £89 Spectre is set out like an EQ, with three bands and two shelves that can be boosted (not cut) to apply its effect across the frequency range, making it a ‘multiband harmonic enhancer’, however much like an EQ it looks. Like an EQ, each band can have its frequency and Q adjusted to reﬁne the effect’s tone. There are a selection of Color options to apply to the band processing, plus an overall setting of Subtle, Medium or Aggressive to give a new edge. In use, Spectre is particularly intuitive, thanks to that EQ interface. You can access a range of distortion, saturation and excitation styles including Tape, Tube, Solid (state), Bitcrushing and Rectiﬁcation modes, and applying each per band (FabFilter Saturnstyle) is a beautiful experience. Great for anything from focused saturation of certain frequencies to allencompassing signal warming.

Reviews | Audient iD14 MkII

Audient iD14 MkII £200 This updated desktop interface is flexible and affordable with an audiophile front end. Jon Musgrave investigates CONTACT WHO: Audient WEB: www.audient.com KEY FEATURES Class A mic preamps 1 JFET instrument input; Instrument input gain range: 40dB; Mic preamp gain: 58dB Main output dynamic range: 125.5dB-A; Headphone output dynamic range: 125.5dB-A Power: Min 0.9mA @ 5V (USB 3.0) Size: 173(w) x 120(d) x 62(max h) mm Weight: 0.77kg

Audient iD14 MkII | Reviews

he iD audio interfaces from Audient are highly regarded. Offering a more audiophile experience than their compact EVO designs, the iD14 and its smaller sibling (iD4) have just been given a mk2 upgrade. For the iD14, this means better dynamic range, improved signal-to-noise ratio, more connectivity and an improved headphone output. Also rather signiﬁcantly, the iD14 has become exclusively bus powered (it’s predecessor used an external PSU). To achieve this and also facilitate the improved performance, the iD14 requires a USB 3.0 connection as this can provide more power. As an aside, I did get the unit to power on using a USB 2.0 connection, but this is not ofﬁcially supported and would likely be unstable in use. The iD14 has the latest USB-C type port and can also be connected to and powered by the latest USB-C equipped iPad Pro. For older iOS devices you’ll need the Camera Connection Kit and a PSU. The iD14 is a 10-in 6-out, 24-bit 96kHz interface. It has two rear-mounted mic/line inputs, one front-mounted instrument input (alas this is shared with mic/line input 1) and two pairs of balanced outputs. So, with the extra pair of outputs, this represents an improvement on its predecessor. As before, there’s an optical digital input for stereo S/PDIF or 8-channel ADAT, and this bumps up the input count to 10. In addition to the instrument input, the front edge includes 1/4” and 1/8” headphone outputs. Each provides an identical feed and can be used at the same time. On the top panel alongside the two input gains, you have individual phantom power switches and then to the right of the output meters, you have the large push button Volume encoder and three buttons – loudspeaker, iD and headphones. By selecting their respective buttons, you can set individual levels for headphones and loudspeakers, and the iD button switches the volume knob to encoder mode so you can use it to navigate plugins. Much like the mk1, the iD button also ties in with Audient’s iD software app. This provides a whole load of extra functionality including minimum latency monitoring, dim

THE PROS & CONS

Good amount of clean gain Tasty JFET instrument input Flexible headphone mixes using iD app Robust stylish construction Further software enhancements using iD app

Requires USB 3.0 for correct operation

An excellent upgrade that is a better unit all round than its predecessor levels, input polarity, monitor trims and it’s where you can organise those input and output streams as required. In terms of mixes you can create one Master Mix, two different Cue mixes (taking advantage of that extra output pair), or even assign one input as a talkback source. It’s highly ﬂexible and one of the better systems I’ve encountered for interface management. iD14 uses Audient’s established 8024 Class A preamp design and this gives 58dB of gain as well as a further 10dB of digital gain available via the iD app. Sonically the preamps are clean and transparent, exactly what you would want from an interface mic pre. That being said, the JFET instrument input is more colourful and it sounds perfectly ﬁne when it’s driven or when it clips. It’s also worth saying that the improved headphone amp is satisfyingly loud and dynamic.

All told, the iD14 mk2 is an excellent upgrade that is a better unit all round than its predecessor. At £200, it’s fair value but it’s also only £60 more expensive than the iD4. Given the extra features included, if you can spring the extra £60, I’d have to say the iD14 is deﬁnitely the one to have.

FM VERDICT

9.1 A well-equipped, good value interface. Mk2 deﬁnitely improves its audiophile capabilities and with USB powering it’s more ﬂexible 83

Reviews | ADDAC112

THE PROS & CONS

Pretty much knob-per-function Excellent, intuitive workﬂow Good value

Not the smallest N of modules

ADDAC112 £589 Rob Redman gets acquainted with the Portuguese outﬁt’s “softer approach to the granular process” CONTACT WHO: ADDAC WEB: addacsystem.com KEY FEATURES 5 minute buffer size, Excellent screen and UI, Movable patch bay, Looper and granular synthesis

t 32hp, plus an additional 14hp for the expander, the ADDAC112 is an impressive module to behold and that space is put to very good use, so don’t be put off by the size. It’s split into two parts but both are needed, so don’t think that the expander is optional; it is in fact vital, as it houses all the I/O for the module. This is a good move by ADDAC as it means all patching is in one movable zone, so you can place it where it suits your rig best, leaving the control section clear for adjustments and performance. As with other ADDAC modules, the build is excellent, the design no-nonsense, easy to read and logical. For a module of this size and capability it has a relatively modest power consumption and rearward needs, at just 4.5cm deep and requiring just 240mA +12 and 70mA -12. The screen is bright and don’t be put off by thinking it means endless menu diving. It really doesn’t at all. In fact the data dial and screen are

mostly used for saving and loading loops and presets and a few settings that will likely be set and forgotten. The screen really comes into its own in conjunction with the rest of the module. Starting with looping, there are inputs for various types of signal, from split stereo (normalled 1 to 2), single line-in stereo and gain control. Other than the outputs, the patch module is for CV control of just about every element the 112 has to offer. Pressing the record button starts the huge 5-minute buffer, which can be heard by adjusting the dry, loop and grain volumes. New recordings can be made, as can overdubs, with the punch-in point easily assignable. Playback can be done manually or by CV, so a simple save makes it easy to trigger playback in live situations where free hands become rare. Granular is equally simple but powerful and here the ADDAC112 really shines, the control layout making easy work of setting up the ideal conﬁguration. Controls for start point, grain count, spacing, stereo positioning and more are all there and

each has a secondary control for deviation, essentially randomising the element increasingly as the knob is turned. The audio waveform is shown onscreen, as is the playhead and the grains themselves, making it remarkably easy to dial in a sound. Grains can be synced to the looping audio as well, at either eight or quarter, or left free-running, set by a small toggle switch next to the corresponding knob. Playback can be constrained to scales or run from a volts per octave input. There’s a CV-controllable knob for octave range as well. The key to the success of the 112 is in the CV control and visual feedback. It is fantastic, hands-on and many will use it this way, but spending some time with the CV control and various trigger sources brings this module to another level. Pretty much everything can be controlled this way and having the patch bay separate is a big deal – well done ADDAC. Triggering or modulating attributes with CV is a real pleasure, while the screen gives real-time feedback that helps you see

what your modulation choices are doing. The only place I’ve seen such a close link is the Waldorf Iridium, at least in such an intuitive way. This workﬂow is fantastic, especially when there are so many small changes that have a large impact on overall output. Finally, the screen easily allows the creation, saving and loading of banks and presets, to the SD card, loadable directly from a knob or by CV. There is much more to the 112 and the manual is very good too, so learning it is simple and fun.

FM VERDICT

9.0 A looper’s dream. The extended buffer sizes, ease of use and complete levels of CV control are a joy. Worth every HP it uses

Reviews | AIAIAI TMA-2 Series headphones

AIAIAI TMA-2 Series headphones from £160 Jon Musgrave tries out a design with a flexible solution for choice paralysis CONTACT WHO: AIAIAI WEB: aiaiai.audio KEY FEATURES MAX POWER: 100mW

SPL: 113dB DRIVER: AIAIAI S05 unit DIAPHRAGM: 40mm bio-cellulose diaphragm MAGNET: Neodymium IMPEDANCE: 32 Ohms, DIMENSIONS: 170 x 95 x 205mm, WEIGHT: TMA-2 206g, TMA-2 XE 199g PRICING: TMA-2 £200, TMA-2 XE £160

AIAIAI TMA-2 Series headphones | Reviews

MA-2 is a headphone range from Danish manufacturer AIAIAI. It offers an innovative configuration process that allows you to build your own headphones from a selection of modular parts, and comes in both wired and wireless versions. The online configurator currently offers a choice from three speaker units each with its own frequency profile, six headbands, four earpads (both over ear and on ear), 12 cables and two hard cases. Component prices vary, but the cheapest configuration I managed was £162 and the most expensive £290, and that was for a pair with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. There are a number of further signature designs on offer, including ones from the likes of Ninja Tunes and KNTXT. To keep things simple there are also six pre-configured models and it’s two of these, the TMA-2 Studio and TMA-2 Studio XE, that I have on review. These are modular, much like the individually configured pairs, and if you did want to upgrade them later, all the individual parts are available from the webshop. As I found when I started playing around with them, they are also very easy to take apart and reassemble, with the headband plugging into each speaker unit and the earpads simply pushing in. Despite the fact that you can take them apart, they feel suitably robust and the overall build quality is good. So, how do these two models compare? The TMA-2 has their flagship super comfortable memory foam earpads covered in Alcantara fabric and a microfibre headband and these make for a pretty comfortable fit. The XE meanwhile has more modest PU-covered memory foam earpads and a slimline lightweight PU and polycarbonate headband. This is slightly less comfortable, but mostly down to the thinner padding on the headband. Both ear pad designs are over-ear and closed back. They successfully reduce ambient noise and escaped sound, making them great for studio recording and DJ booth use. They are also both pretty light, so well suited to extended periods of listening. The speaker units on both of these pairs are the same 40mm bio-cellulose diaphragm drivers with

THE PROS & CONS

Closed back, over-ear design suitable for recording and DJing Lightweight, comfortable and good for long periods of listening Good value Flexible modular design Good choice of alternative components

Not ideal for critical listening

neodymium magnets. You’d think these would sound pretty similar, but there’s a clear difference and this is highlighted as part of the product description. Most obviously, the low end for the XE is more pronounced and overall the sound is more scooped in the mid range. Neither pair is particularly hyped in the high frequencies, which is great if you like to listen loud but less helpful for critical mixing and mastering. That said, I quite like their overall tonality. To my ears, the TMA-2 provides a much better overall balance than the XE and better suits a broader range of tasks. I really like the TMA-2 modular concept, and although it’s not possible to get a true sense of which components will best suit you, the product descriptions for the two

review conﬁgurations are pretty accurate. Overall, they are great for recording, DJing and general listening, though I think there are more suitable headphones for mixing and mastering.

FM VERDICT

8.0 Flexible modular design at a price that won’t break the bank – and they’re great for recording, DJing and general listening purposes 87

FM | TESTBENCH

Rhizomatic Plasmonic This recent synth attempts to take up the mantle of physical modelling with some intriguingly unique features. Plasmonic is capable of realistic plucks, other-worldly pads and scapes, and almost anything in between.

You receive two ‘traditional’ oscillators (which are actually anything but), plus Impulse and Noise oscillators to boot, all capable of being routed through a Resonator bank and a ﬁlter, and then ﬁnally routed through spatial effects processors.

So what’s special here? Plasmonic’s oscillators have some particularly cool waveforms – including FM pairs and the mysterious ‘Hazy’ types – and the oscillator options include wave folding and Symmetry, as well as ‘scanning’ with the Shape

The oscillators > Plasmonic’s sound starts in its oscillators – you get two ‘osc’ units, plus an Impulse and a Noise source as well. You get the ‘Classics’, FM pairs, Odd and Even Harmonics, Octaves, and the interesting ‘Hazy’ oscillator types. For the oscillators, you have Shape, Symmetry and Fold controls to tweak the waveform and customise the sound of the output. Similarly, the Impulse and Noise sources have their own controls: a choice of 15 plucks, percs and piano hits for the Impulse, in addition to control over the transient. There’s pitch tracking on both Impulse and Noise sources. < Tweaking the sources

< Resonator section

Let’s mess with a few controls. Each variable control on Plasmonic can have its value changed in two ways: splitting the slider into two regions: Coarse control and Fine control. As we bring Osc A’s Fold up and tweak its Shape a little, the sound gets rougher. We can also customise the Impulse’s Transient and Tone slightly using the Fine ends of those parameters’ sliders. It’s a useful way to control values when you’re used to it, but it can be confusing until you fully grasp it.

Now the oscillators have their signals set, we can process them together, and the next step for signal ﬂow is the Resonator section. Here you choose which of the four sources travels through the Resonator, giving its sound more character and glue. We’ll send Osc B and the Impulse through it for now, and we can change the Transient response and add Saturation. There are more options in the Resonator section, including the eponymous Resonance and an HF Damping control.

< Ladder filter Now onto the Multimode Ladder filter, where we choose to process all sounds except the Impulse. First, we elect to send the filter’s signal into the Resonator, then to the following sections. This routing can be changed by rearranging the arrows in the square between the two units. We choose a Low-pass and Highpass Series filter, and can set the Resonance and Frequency. With this filter type, the custom filter parameter becomes the bandwidth (in octaves) of the low- and high-pass filters. Pushing the sound through the Resonator next, we have a gritty, buzzy sound. 88

Testbench | Reviews

ENERGY STATES

control. Right out of the gate, there’s a lot of uniqueness on offer. There’s also a huge amount of modulation in Plasmonic, with regular Trigger pulses whose timing can be modulated by other modulators too!

Coming from Brian Clevinger, the developer behind Native Instruments’ well-respected Absynth plugin, Plasmonic has a history of DSP expertise behind it. With the unique features found in the synth, the user is encouraged to think a different way about synthesis, ﬁnding surprises down the signal path that make choices made in any other synth feel a bit different. It’s a great way to get a creative new workﬂow booted up. For example, running into the Transients controls in the resonator section may make you rethink your transient settings in the Impulse oscillator; using Trigger pulse modulators could have you disposing of some envelopes; and a sympathetic delay space might put a new spin on the Impulse section’s sample selection.

LFO settings > Our ﬁlter cutoff is currently set to be slightly modulated by an envelope trigger, but we’ll change it to be modulated more deeply and by a slow LFO. On the right we see the modulation section, where we can activate LFO B. We set its rate to a low 0.39Hz, keep its Depth high, and leave it as a Sine shape (Triangle, Saw and Square are also available). The Chaos control adds random speed-ups and slow-downs to the LFO signal. Moving over to the Hz control on the ﬁlter, we right-click, reduce the amount of envelope modulation being applied, and increase the amount from our new LFO B.

< Expression and triggers Let’s dive deeper into the modulation sources available. The Expression panel gives access to parameters like Velocity, your Mod Wheel, Aftertouch, Pitch Bend and so on; the Trigger section lets you set up a pulse that hits regularly at a time you specify: you can set this in seconds (Absolute) or by beat divisions (1/8 Dotted as seen here). You can also set the timing of the pulse to be a modulation destination, letting you control its timing using an LFO, and envelope or anything else available in Plasmonic. < Effects Finally, what effects processors are available in the synth? On the left, a Saturator and EQ help you both warm up and personalise the signal before it hits the output. There are two types of ‘Spaces’, offering the same ﬁve types each: two Delay models, Feedback Delay Network models (one ‘Formant’ processed), and a ‘Sympathetic’ model that helps add extra resonance based on a bass note. And plenty more!

Reviews | Universal Audio UAFX pedals

Universal Audio UAFX pedals £355 each At first glance this set seems like a guitarist-only zone; but Jono Buchanan finds plenty here for all persuasions CONTACT WHO: Universal Audio WEB: uaudio.com KEY FEATURES Golden Reverberator:

Spring, Plate, and vintage digital reverb emulations, Starlight Echo Station: Tape, bucket-brigade and digital delay emulations, Astra Modulation Machine: Bucket-brigade, tube-driven Tremolo and Chorus/ Vibrato pedal emulations, Storage for one preset, Stereo/dual mono operation, Modulation per effect

Universal Audio UAFX pedals | Reviews

THE PROS & CONS

Class-leading sound Deceptively controlpacked front panel Additional effects downloadable for free on registration

Not easy to read front panel in lower light setting Only one preset can be stored per unit

niversal Audio’s rep as a developer of coveted hardware is matched only by its digital division’s status in the world of software effects modelling. Its latest releases are a step away from their predominant Apollo interface and software emulation products however, providing three debut effects pedals. Whilst these have understandably made big waves in the guitar-playing community, the feature set should appeal signiﬁcantly to those of other musical persuasions too. Accordingly, here are the Golden Reverberator, the Starlight Echo Station and the Astra Modulation Machine. The Golden Reverberator bases its spatial effects on a variety of mid-1960s spring reverbs, three EMT 140 plate emulations and three algorithms from the digital Lexicon 224. The layout of features is broadly self-explanatory, with Decay, in the top left-hand corner, controlling the reverb tail. Then come ﬁxed-shelf Bass and Treble rotaries for tone control, variable pre-Delay and Mix dials. Switches between the two rows of dials let you select effects type, whilst the Effect Mode switch toggles between variations of the current effect. As with the other units,

registering the pedal provides access to a download of an additional vintage plate algorithm, which bodes well for future updates. The sound quality is sumptuous and there’s huge variety in the range of spatial effects you can shape here. Want introspective, yearning, slightly wonky reverb for a to-picture cue? Look no further. The Starlight Echo station also takes its cues from a variety of modelled Delay units, the ﬁrst of which, Tape EP-III, is a recreation of the Echoplex EP3. Alongside this are Analog DMM (a faithful emulation of the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man) and UAD’s own Precision digital Delay, which is the cleanest option, albeit one that combines echo with chorus or ﬂanging. The bonus download option ports UAD’s esoteric Cooper Time Cube across to the Starlight hardware. Delay Time is controlled by the Division dial in tandem with the Tap Tempo stomp switch in the bottom right. Tonally, each Delay line offers users huge character but the tape-based effects are the ones I can’t leave alone; they’re addictive. Last but not least is the Astra Modulation Machine, which ships with three emulations and two further bonus ones available upon registration. These emulate Boss’ CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, the MXR

126 Flanger/Doubler and a Tremolo unit derived from Fender’s mid1960s amps. Sound is consistently sumptuous and, like the other pedals, Astra provides a creative space in which to get lost in sound. So what are the downsides? While the download options on registration are welcome, some parameters can only be adjusted via an app, a pain if you’re in the zone. Another thing is that, while they’re beautifully designed, the Golden Reverberator’s labels, in particular, are hard to read in low light. There is also provision for only one preset per unit. Minor gripes aside, all is forgiven as soon as you start experimenting. Don’t be fooled by the stomp-box exterior; there’s masses here for everyone.

Some parameters can only be accessed via the app

FM VERDICT

8.9 Glorious-sounding processors with a surprisingly broad selection of options hiding below a concise parameter set 91

FM | SOUNDS & SAMPLES

Spitfire Audio – Albion Solstice £399

While some orchestral sample library producers focus on creating ever more realistic, playable or usable core instrument collections, others pursue less well-trodden paths. The prolific crew at Spitfire Audio seem to manage both, offering ever greater breadth and depth with each new release. Although not exclusively so, their products tend to be geared predominantly at those writing for TV, film or game soundtracks. However, as previously mentioned on these pages, many would find use in any production looking for a less obvious palette.

Besides spending time on the recording and playability of their sounds, Spitfire also put considerable effort into creating presets that employ the underlying samples in interesting ways. This again applies to the new Albion Solstice – the latest in their well-established Albion line. Like previous offerings, Solstice come as a series of Kontakt-based instruments with string sections at the core, but also covering percussion, pipes, choir, band and heavily processed electric and electronic sources. The specific remit of Albion Solstice is to

conjure up a more earthy, folk-influenced sound – described by Spitfire both as a ‘celebration of un-notated traditions’ and ‘Modern Cinematic Folk Noir’. The two string sections here are split into three subcategories – the Classic Octet, The Traditional Sextet, and The Elders Bass. Although some more straightforward orchestral territory is covered, the intent was to also capture articulations more appropriate to the collections’ folk bias. Further sections are created with The Callers (Brass & Winds), The Mystics (Pipes) – essential to

traditional Celtic music. This is pushed even further with The Blaggards, a selection of bandbased instruments including Celtic harps and hurdy-gurdy. More modern textures are addressed by The Generator Trio, which employs electric guitars and bass to create drone and temposynced pulsing elements. This approach is also used in The Hosts, a 7-voice female choir. The Gut Circle deals with small scale traditional guitar tones (mostly tempo-synced performances). Percussion is well represented in the form of The Nursery (light tuned percussion), and The Marauders (a collection of grooves and kits). Usefully, many of the elements can be routed and processed individually – though a lot of the power from Spitfire’s instruments comes from the fact that they usually require very little additional processing. Things take another turn with The Cassette Orchestra, where recordings from Solstice Orchestra are heavily processed through tape machines and guitar pedals (and with synth-based sources thrown in for good measure). Finally, Drone Grid uses Spitfire’s ‘Evo Grid’ system for combining and mapping drone sources in interesting ways. Like previous Albion offerings, there is a lot of content here (taking up over 73GB on disk) – and with much work put into making it as flexible and usable as possible. This is represented in its price. As discussed in previous reviews, I look forward to Spitfire embracing the larger GUI possibilities available in Kontakt 6, as their existing interfaces are small and somewhat cramped. However, as a one-stop modern scoring tool – or even a great source of new sounds – once again, Spitfire set the bar very high. Bruce Aisher spitfireaudio.com

VERDICT 9.5

Sounds & Samples | Reviews

Deep Heads – Congi ‘Tools & Textures’ £29.95 Brand new sample house, Deep Heads, continue to hit the ground running with more super useful loop libraries – this time from post-dubstep duo, Congi. The Nottingham twosome continue to win over the like of vets like Gilles Peterson and Bonobo with their anthemic and jazzy tracks. And they use this, their debut artist pack, to showcase the rich and luscious playing and production styles that have gained them such prestigious recognition. You get a full look under the hood at all elements that give their tracks that certain weight and movement here. From super delicate pad sounds, sweet melody loops and low-hanging basslines to deftly programmed drum stems, hits, and SFX. This 1.01GB collection is full of licks and layers for similarly forward-thinking producers. Roy Spencer

loopmasters.com

VERDICT 9.0

Audiotent – Trip Standard: £37. Deluxe: £47

Sample Magic – Old Skool House From $7.99/mth

Industrial Strength – Nu Disco Vocals £29.95

Sonic Collective – Upright Bass From $7.99/mth

Time to lose yourself down a rabbit hole of hypnotic, pulsing sounds, as these merrymakers spike your sample banks with a hefty dose of trippy techno. Full-strength analogue drums try and shake you back to life, but the mesmerising and never-ending melody lines can unpick your reality at 128bpm. There’s amazing sound design throughout – the synth lines and riffs are uplifting, sweetly unnerving, and rush-inducing. But, each has been mutated just so, leaving you unable to place the exact tone. There are more than 700 files, and the option for an extra 148 MIDI files, too. An invigorating collection of otherworldly sounds to delight and discombobulate your dancefloor. Roy Spencer audiotent.com

Jackin’ warehouse workouts from the white label 12” era. These retro riffs have bags of charm. And, as everything has been bounced out to tape and then cut to actual vinyl (as was the fashion of the day), each loop has the authentic hum and glow of the classic ’90s anthems this collection owes its debt to. All kinds of new and old kit went into making this little lot, with vintage gear, so prized at the time, dusted off and given another chance to shine, for those that missed it the ﬁrst time around. Drums, basses, piano chords and stabs come in WAV and MIDI, with plenty of beatmaker presets, to make this release a must-have, as the nostalgia cycle hits its peak. Roy Spencer splice.com

The Industrial Strength crew are no slouches when it comes to this type of sample fodder – they’ve been topping up producers’ libraries for some time now with excellent packs, catering for the nu disco genre. This time around they put their focus more firmly on vocals, framed perfectly across these five fully-furnished song kits. The tracks, which can easily be DJed out, once bounced, are proper groovers. And the vocals have the type of sweet, melancholic and driving tone and delivery that stands them way above the usual cheese that can get packaged as “nu disco”. Looking for cool, classy acapellas to flip for your next productions, or extra DJ set ammo? This collection is worth a spin. Roy Spencer loopmasters.com

One of the best collections of live string-twanging bass samples to hit the shelves. The slapping, bowing and plucking will get your head nodding and ﬁngers snapping, as the 400 loops and 336 one-shots cover all you’ll ever need for the perfect upright B-line. Nashville-based gun-for-hire, Jeff Picker, goes to town in these exquisitely recorded sessions. The riffs come in as simple, but arresting. All the way to far more complex progressions, when he really takes things for a walk. So, if you want to relive the Jazzmatazz street-hop of the mid-’90s, or fancy fusing your next-level broken beats to some swinging low-end grooves, then you deffo need this title in your life and library. Roy Spencer splice.com

VERDICT 9.0

VERDICT 9.0 93

NE W

EN TR Y

FM | GEAR GUIDE HIGH-END SYNTHS

Sequential UDO Super 6 Prophet-5 £3,000 £2,195 Full Review: FM374

Full Review: FM367

The best incarnation and easily adds enough to bring it into 2021. Other options cost less... but they’re not a Prophet-5, are they?

The Super 6 is an impressive machine; even more so for being a ﬁrst release. Intuitive, superversatile, totally unique sounding… a pleasure to get lost in!

Korg Prologue from £1,299

ASM Hydrasynth £1,299

Elektron Analog Four MkII £1,279

Novation Summit £1,899

Review: FM332 Despite a few surprising

Review: FM360 An impressive ﬁrst release from

Review: FM326 A decent sonic and functional

Review: FM350 Though the Peak is still great,

omissions, this sounds inspiring. A unique

a new brand. Hydrasynth looks and sounds great,

update. Despite reservations regarding polyphony

Summit is even greater. A powerhouse polysynth,

character, plus the analogue voices layered with

invites exploration, is built to last and is hugely

and the price, this is an impressive piece of gear.

perfect for classic tone emulation as well as

VPM sounds and effects sound magical!

expressive. What’s not to like?

Moog Sub 37 $1,579

Yamaha MODX £1,242

Arturia PolyBrute £2,299

Waldorf Quantum £3,500

Review: FM286 With a richer set of features and

Review: FM337 While it can overwhelm, the

Review: FM362 Arturia’s ﬁrst polysynth is

Review: FM336 A stunning piece of hybrid synth

fewer operational hurdles than its predecessor,

sounds, versatility and portability are hard to

packed with unique features and has bags of

design – setting a new benchmark for features,

the Sub 37 is a superb and highly desirable

argue with. The MODX combines the best of the

character. A worthy ﬂagship for the Brute range

interface and sonics. It’s expensive, but a synth

upgrade to the Phatty family of Moog synths.

Montage/Motif/DX engines, at a great price!

and a top-tier poly.

that you’ll ﬁnd inspiring for many years.

next-level, out-there sound design.

Essential Tools For Music Making | Gear Guide

DAWS

Bitwig Studio 4 $399

Ableton Live 11 Suite £539

Full Review: FM373

Full Review: FM368

On the whole this is the least essential update of Bitwig Studio so far, but the DAW remains one of our favourite pieces of music making software.

Not an essential upgrade for everyone, but new additions, including comping, MPE and linked tracks, have been smartly done. Live retains its place at the cutting edge.

Steinberg Cubase Pro 11 £499

Apple Logic Pro X 10.5 $199

Review: FM366 The latest annual update to

Tracktion Waveform Pro from $119

Review: FM361 Although many of Logic 10.5’s

Reason Studios Reason 11 from $69

Steinberg’s much-loved DAW improves sampling,

Review: FM345 Waveform is now friendlier,

new tools are familiar from other DAWs, this

Review: FM350 Having the ability to use

refines a number of Pro features and adds a

contains more creative tools and brings workflow

generous free update rounds out a feature set

Reason’s Rack tools as a plugin is something of a

selection of fun creative tools.

ideas you’ll have missed from other DAWs.

that is now arguably unrivalled.

revelation, and the new effects are great.

Universal Audio LUNA free

Image-Line FL Studio 20 ¤89

Avid Pro Tools from £25 p/m

UA might not want to call LUNA a DAW, but let’s

PreSonus Studio One 5 Pro £345

Review: FM334 Released to celebrate its 20th

Pro Tools has now caught up with other DAWs,

be honest... Even in its version one form, this is

Studio One has built up quite the cult following

anniversary, Image-Line’s FL Studio 20 is a

bringing in a fast workflow to match its power.

a slick and stylish recording environment and a

over its decade of existance, and with good

powerful and inspirational application – and it’s a

It still only runs AAX plugins, and there are

great freebie for Apollo users.

reason – this is a powerful, modern DAW.

welcome addition to the Mac realm too!

alternative subscription payment models.

Gear Guide | Essential Tools For Music Making

SOFTSYNTHS

Arturia Pigments 3 €199

GForce OB-E £179

Full Review: FM372

Full Review: FM370

With 3.0, Pigments has become an absolute powerhouse of software synthesis, capable of just about anything – and it’s still a free update for existing users!

There are many Oberheim emulations right now, but OB-E’s ‘Octaphonic’ approach is unique. Want an authentic Oberheim polyphonic software experience? OB-E delivers in spades.

Kilohearts Phase Plant €169

Xfer Records Serum $189

Roli Equator 2 £179

Review: FM350 Phase Plant’s modular

This flexible, powerful wavetable synth has

Review: FM367 A major step up from version 1,

Native Instruments Massive X £179

architecture is an incredible resource for

quickly risen through the ranks to knock

Equator 2 goes toe-to-toe with any ‘super synth’

Review: FM348 A long time in the making, NI’s

conjuring real and otherworldly sounds. A

Massive and Sylenth off the top of the

on the market, and makes a very convincing case

follow-up to the most successful softsynth of all

powerful, flexible synth in every way!

‘synth every producer must own’ list.

for the power of MPE.

time doesn’t disappoint.

Spectrasonics Omnisphere $499

KV331 SynthMaster One $79

Vengeance VPS Avenger €199

FXpansion Cypher 2 £159

Review: FM294 Version 2 of Omnisphere

An easy-to-use sibling to KV331’s great

With powerful wavetable editing, a ton of

Review: FM336 Despite a slightly dense

is a must-try. Audio import is the standout

SynthMaster. With more than 500 presets and

modulation, an onboard drum machine,

interface, version 2 of Cypher is a powerful

new feature, but dig a little deeper and

user wavetable import, you get a lot of flexibility

sequencer and plenty of effects, this is a true

synthesiser with a solid USP and some killer

there are improvements in all areas.

for the price.

power synth.

MPE capabilities.

Essential Tools For Music Making | Gear Guide

AFFORDABLE MONITORS M-Audio BX3 & BX4 from £85

Adam am Audio T5V £133

Full Review: FM369 Compact and convenient,

Full Review: FM335 The T5V delivers plenty of

M-Audio’s new BX monitors expand the appeal of

clarity, decent imaging and volume from a pretty

the range and do so at an incredible price.

compact footprint. A tidy package, all at a good price point.

Kali Audio LP-6 £147 These two-way speakers from relative newcomers Kali Audio offer exceptional sound quality at a very reasonable price. An excellent home studio option.

KRK Rokit G4 from £133

Yamaha HS5 £155

Full Review: FM348 With punchy delivery and

High-quality, accurate studio monitors offering

an abundance of EQ options, these are the best

solid power, imaging and detail at a very

Rokits yet, offering power at an accessible price.

reasonable price.

HARDWARE SEQUENCERS Arturia KeyStep Pro £319

Novation SL MkIII from £540

Full Review: FM359 For melodic sequencing

Full Review: FM338 Well-designed and versatile.

duties and ﬂexible hardware control, this is one

For those who work with both hardware and

of the best keyboard devices around.

software, this may be the best studio centrepiece on the market.

Korg SQ-64 £269 Full Review: FM367 | An intuitive, nostalgic and very musical bit of gear and one that should stand the test of time. Now, where did we park the Trans-Am?

Pioneer DJ Toraiz Squid £467

Arturia BeatStep Pro £196

Review: FM351 Pioneer DJ’s Squid opens the

Review: FM296 The BeatStep Pro is a modern

door to a world of bespoke sequencing, with

classic, offering a great range of connectivity,

features like Groove Bend and speed modulation

sequencing and controller capabilities, all

putting a new spin on your sequencing moves.

without breaking the bank.

Gear Guide | Essential Tools For Music Making

MIDI KEYBOARDS

Novation SL MkIII from £540

Arturia KeyStep Pro £339

Full Review: FM338

Full Review: FM324

Well-designed and versatile. For those who work with both hardware and software, this may be the best studio centrepiece on the market.

For melodic sequencing duties and ﬂexible hardware control, this is one of the best keyboard devices around.

Akai MPK mini mk3 £90

Arturia MicroLab £69

Novation Launchkey Mini Mk3 £110

Review FM363 A very decent upgrade with

NI Komplete Kontrol A-Series | from £119

Review: FM355 This may not tick all the boxes

Review: FM349 Small but well spec’d, this is a

genuinely pro features, that cements its position

Review FM338 A quality controller combined

for a studio controller keyboard, but as a super

convenient and well-made controller that’s great

in the top handful of mini keyboard

with a well-rounded software bundle.

portable travelling device it hits the mark.

with or without Ableton Live.

NI Komplete Kontrol M32 £99

Nektar Impact LX88+ £249

Review: FM322 A unique and high-quality

NI Komplete Kontrol S-Series Mk2 £499

The M32 controller takes Native Instruments’

Review: FM315 The LX88+ combines a pretty

MPE-capable, expandable, two-octave controller

Review: FM324 Komplete Kontrol MkII brings a

Komplete Kontrol concept and places it into a

good keyboard with extensive DAW integration,

with a price that makes Seaboards more

whole sonic universe under your ﬁngertips like

properly portable, entry-level package with

and is about as good as you’ll get at this

generally accessible.

never before, with deeper DAW integration too.

impressive results.

price point.

controllers available.

Roli Seaboard Block £279

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