Tekitune

March 2014

Ed Ba most m nger’s ysterio us

Sebas

tiAn

talks a bout t he makin g of “T otal”

GESAFFELSTEIN exclusive interview with the dark prince of techno

MIXTAPE #21 by Surkin THE BEST OF 2013

a look at last year’s best tunes

Nine Inch Nails’ Tension Tour 2013 Review Living a unique experience with Trent Reznor and Co.

TUTORIAL: Edit samples in Ableton Live 9 7.95 $ - 5.78 € L 21032014

THE ALL NEW

BRIGHTER. FASTER. UNIVERSAL.

www.novation.com

1

10

SebastiAn

The making of “Total”.

22 Gesaffelstein

Exclusive interview with the dark prince of techno.

6

Review: Ableton Push

What does it add to the game?

Features 18

Best of 2013

A look back at last year’s best tunes.

26

Home Studio Essentials

10 things you need to build your very own home studio.

30

Insight: Moogfest 2014

We were there! And want to let you know all about it.

35

U Street Music Hall

The story behind the DC Club with the east coast’s best sound system.

March 2014

41

Tutorial

How to Edit samples in Abelton Live 9.

40 Opinion: Where does Electronic Dance music really stand now?

Andrew Rafter talks about where “EDM” stands right now and where it might be going.

50

VST Plug-ins You Should Have

55

Beats Music: The Royalties Game

60

Review: NIN Tension Tour 2013

20 VST plug-ins that can help you get the sounds and effects you want.

Dr. Dre challenges Spotify with a new application.

Living a unique experience with Trent Reznor & Co.

www.tekitunemag.com

2

Gesaffelstein His debut album confirms what anyone who has heard Gesaffelstein’s productions for Bromance or seen him DJing already knows: the Frenchman is set to become one of dance music’s biggest stars.

T

here’s sweat dripping from the walls and pipes of Paris’ Social Club, clubbers are cramming into every inch of space and the feeling of excitement in the air is only matched by the perspiration filling the room. As Bambounou wraps up a heated techno and bassinfused opening set, a dark figure peers around the stage backdrop and looks out at the crowd. The audience need only one glimpse of the tall, black-suited Mike Levy, aka Gesaffelstein, to erupt into a frenzy of cheers.

Gesaffelstein ends Bambounou’s last track, claps him off and begins what could well be the most abrasive and intense two hours that Social Club has ever witnessed.

Looping beats and creating an overwhelming wall of static, Gesaffelstein works the rabid fans into a state of meltdown before the first track is even dropped.

Growing up in Lyon, Mike Levy’s first passions did not involve nightclubs or loud music.“I wasn’t into dance music when I was young. I wasn’t attracted by music in general, it wasn’t a hobby.

I was more into art and drawing,” he says, smoking a cigarette in his studio, a deep black room with a leather sofa, littered with vinyl, books and what look like 17th century paintings.

The décor fits with his image as a mysterious and reserved character, but Mike says the perception doesn’t match the reality. “People think I’m mysterious but I’m not —that’s just what they think. I’m March 2014

just me. For me the real mystery in electronic music is the artists who try to be cool, when they aren’t cool. When I see a DJ who…” at this point he stops to simply raise his arms in the air, imitating the big room DJs that use over the top gestures to interact with the crowd. He continues: “that’s the real mystery.”

The name Gesaffelstein was something Levy conjured up while living in Belgium for six months. “It’s a conjunction of two words,” he explains. ‘The first is ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’, which is an expression in German meaning the perfection of art. The second is Einstein, because I’m a big fan of his work.”

It was an early love for the music of Depeche Mode that led Levy to research more into the origins of dance music. After discovering the techno sound of Detroit and artists such as I-F, Dopplerefekkt and Drexciya he was soon dropping any preconceptions he had about the genre and looking into the practical side of creating music. “When I discovered the synth I completely stopped listening to dance music, I was just obsessed with the sound. I knew that if I wanted to do this music I had to learn it myself,” he says.

Having said that, three leading dance music producers have played a key role in Gesaffelstein’s career. The first was French producer, The Hacker, aka Michael Amato. “I had been obsessed with his sound, because for me his music is the perfect combination of the

past and the future. It was the only music I understood because everything he made was so logical for me.” he remembers.

Meeting Amato at a club in 2007, Levy handed him a CD with some tracks he’d made and a few days later, when Amato got in touch, the two began a close friendship, Amato acting as a musical mentor to the budding producer.

Today they often play together as well as taking part in running Zone Records. “He is the most important thing in my music,” says Levy. “If The Hacker didn’t exist I’m not sure if I’d be here today. He explained a lot of things to me; it all came from him.”

Gesaffelstein spent time honing his craft and creating a sound of his own. Off the back of several smaller releases he caught a break with yet another mailout of his music. This time the track was ‘Variations’, perhaps the tune that did more than any other to launch his career. “I worked a lot on my sound—not music but my overall sound,” he says. “I remember when I found the loop from ‘Variations’, the bassline, I knew that I’d found it. I decided to send the track to Turbo. At this time in the techno world there was nothing really exciting going on, and it was the end of the French Touch era. So I decided to send it to Tiga by mail—and he said OK straight away.”

The Turbo boss requested more and more music. “I sent him one track and then sent four or five more. He said, ‘I want all of them’.

I did an EP of five tracks; it was a good introduction and the best way to showcase my sound.”

‘Variations’ was also the key to another enduring musical friendship. When Brodinski heard the EP he called Mike up immediately and asked him to play at one of his shows. “I thought the EP was mindblowing, amazing,” remembers Brodinski. “It’s one of a kind.

I got that feeling of listening to the perfect music at the perfect moment, and that’s really rare. He’s simply amazing, and his message is really clear so people get it right away.” When Brodinski started his Bromance record label in 2011, it was Gesaffelstein who created the first release. “Musically we understand each other,” says Brodinski, “but we are also friends, and we get along really well. Sometimes, weirdly, it’s that simple!”

Back at Social Club Gesaffelstein is showing why he’s such hot property as a DJ. After launching into Maceo Plex’s sidewinding remix of Jaydee, he plays shufflers such as ‘Strike’ by Jimmy Edgar, ‘No Good’

by Audionite and ‘Inhale/Exhale’

by Boys Noize. And the Boys Noize track, with its stabbing, brutal avalanche of synths, is the catalyst for changing what was merely a collective shuffle within the audience into a full scale mosh pit. Longhaired boys with sweat-drenched hair push and pummel one another to every kick of the drum.

With every flash of the strobe the scene morphs into another thrashing spectacle. However violent

3 I did the Kanye stuff not because I’m a fan, but because for me it’s interesting to make some new music in an old style.

the scenes, the music doesn’t let up. Gesaffelstein takes this opportunity to crank it up another level, to push the revellers to their very limits—and it works.

Suddenly a venomous and searing high-pitched screech comes thrashing in just as a disgustingly heavy half-time number rears its head.

The hip hop-inspired track is named ‘Hellifornia’, and most of the audience have never heard it before. For the friends and colleagues who’ve had a taste of Gesaffelstein’s forthcoming album, though, the scenes of mayhem on the dancefloor only served to confirm their expectations. Guillaume Berg and French Fries turn and look at each other in acknowledgment of the madness.

‘Aleph’, which means ‘alpha’ in Hebrew, is Gessafelstein’s debut album and marks two years of work to create a full-length that exemplifies his sound. After working with Kanye West on his ‘Yeezus’ LP Levy’s profile rose around the world, but although there’s a hip hop style track on the album it’s the exception rather than the rule. “I did ‘Hellifornia’ because I was attracted to the old style of hip hop,” he explains. “It’s a really serious track, but for me it’s ironic to do something like this. In general I’m not a big fan of hip hop, even though I worked with Kanye.

I did the Kanye stuff not because I’m a fan, but because for me it’s interesting for me to make some new music in an old style.”

The rest of the album is more reminiscent of his techno/electro sound, although every original track

explores a different part of his psyche. It’s a journey through every style that means something to him.

At times it’s unrelenting, brooding and extremely violent, but that edge is taken off with melancholic, almost romantic interludes and sloweddown dreamscape techno numbers.

“The main idea of the album was translate different styles with just one sound,” he says, leaning forward intently. “It was really hard to do that. It’s exactly the same when you see a guy—he’s one guy but he can have several different emotions.

That’s the best way to explain.”

Before some of the more ferocious tracks are calm breathers, but what they lack in fire they make up for in a truly unsettling and unnerving feel. Mid-way through the LP, the transition between ‘Wall Of Memories’ and ‘Duel’ is a perfect example.

“It’s an interlude, but at the same time you can’t breathe—there’s a lot of pressure. You think, ‘I’m listening to this album but now I want a break,’ but with this you can’t.

There’s still a lot of atmosphere.

That’s why I put this before the hard track. I wanted to keep this vibe of the album; I wasn’t just going to put a happy interlude just to have an interlude and a rest.”

“I have no idea what I’m going to do, but even when I do know, I’m going to keep it to myself,” he says.

Interview over, he smiles, leans back and takes another draw on his cigarette, mysterious as ever, despite his best efforts.

—Jeremy Abbott Photograph by Elina Kechicheva.

www.tekitunemag.com

4

Sebastian Despite his 6 years working with Ed Banger records, producing tracks, creating remixes for the likes of Kelis, Klaxons, and Uffie and working alongside French electro alums like Mr. Oizo and Sebastian Tellier, 30-year-old SebastiAn has been a bit of an enigma.

W

ith the release of his excellent debut album Total, SebastiAn decided he was ready to talk, and Tekitune was lucky enough to score some time with the talented, engagingly personable artist (whose English is charmingly faltering).

Tekitune Hi Sebastian. How are you?

SebastiAn I’m good. Good. You? T I’m great. Thanks for chatting Congratulations on your debut record, Total, which was released this June.

How do you feel?

S I took my time to produce it, so now I’m starting to see what it’s going to be. I’m not exploding [with excitement], though. I just want to see what’s going to happen.

T I was doing some research on you, and it seems like you keep a pretty low profile.

There aren’t many interviews with you out there. Why? S It’s not voluntary. I never wanted to say anything when I have nothing to say. For example, now I have an album out so I can talk about it. But before, if it’s just saying something to answer to some remixes, I was never into it. I can talk about the album right now, but talking about what I am thinking during producing was not very [right] to me before having something to really show. That’s all. I don’t talk when I have nothing to say.

T Did you have a lot people wanting to talk to you about your remixes, or any previous work?

March 2014

S Yeah. They wanted to, but most of the time I try not.

T Tell me a bit about the album. Has it been a long time in the making?

S I took my time. The songs everywhere [sounded] the same to me, so I took my time to find a different direction. It also took me a while to finish the album because [French director] Romain Gavras, the guy who did [the music video for] M.I.A’s “Born Free,” he asked me to make the soundtrack to his movie Our Day Will Come. I was finishing my album at the same time. I thought the soundtrack would take one or two months, maximum. In fact, it took way more time, because it’s different to work with a lot of people on a movie. That’s why it took so long, because I was working on two or three things at the same time.

T In all, how long did it take to make the record then?

S The album was almost finished in less than a year, but it took way more time because of all the other projects. I’m not a big calculator, so I can work sometimes without [worrying]. I didn’t have any plans. I was just working and working.

And so some people may judge me for taking so long.

T Tell me about the creative process for the album.

S For me, it was spending the most part of my time in a very small room in front of a computer. [Laughs]. Creating

is really different than working with real instruments. With real instruments, you have a physical [bond]. With a computer, it’s not the same. It’s the same as knitting.

You knit and you knit and at the end you have your shirt. This was almost like accounting software, the music software was. It’s very slow, not physical, and not direct. It’s special. [Laughs]. I make two or three bases of songs everyday, so in the end I had maybe 60 tracks. But [they] were not very excited to put out an album of 60 tracks. So I just chose like 22.

T Did you have any plans for the album when you first started to put it together?

S I have just one direction: Not to repeat myself, and not going in the way all the people are going, which is the way of being “hard.” For the most part of music is starting to get harder and harder, and I just wanted to make something more, not sweet, but more like the club but in the house scene.

T What influenced you while you were making the album?

S There is a lot of influence. In fact, it can come from the classic, to the contemporary, to the experimental to the pop music from the odd to the sweet stuff. Like the Kennedys to gangsta [rap], Missy Elliot, Prince, Wild Cherry, Lightning Bolt…I don’t know. It’s a big mash up of all these things in my mind. I don’t have one thing or one style to represent. I just wanted to make something not as hard as before.

Everybody is doing hard music right now.

5 Even me, I just wanted music to listen to at home or in the club.

T What kind of musical background do you come from?

S I come from kind of the experimental. I have a brother who is 15 years older than me, and when I started he was almost 40 and was trying to make me understand that I should make something that is different. Even in club music, it’s very important.

T Did you receive any inspiration from the other artists on your label?

S Not really. I am working very alone. Maybe just Gaspard [Augé] from Justice, who is a good friend of mine, is sometimes coming to see [how I’m doing], and sometimes I go and see [what he’s doing].

T What was it like working with M.I.A. on “C.T.F.O.”?

S I met M.I.A. a few years ago.

I think it was in Chicago when I was on tour with Kavinsky.

We stayed in touch a little,

too. We recorded it in maybe three hours. I like when it’s so easy and it comes directly.

T How does it feel being part of Ed Banger Records? Will you always remain on their label?

S Being in Ed Banger is like being in school. It’s not like having a teacher, but a guy who takes care of you when you’re at school. It’s simple to work with the others because we are friends and it’s not like working in an office. Nobody’s lying to the other. When it’s bad it’s bad, when it’s good everybody comes together and talks about the tracks on the way. It’s nice.

I’ve always really wanted to have this kind of family feeling.

T Now that Total is finished, do you have plans to release another record?

S I prefer not to talk about it yet, because if it’s not done I never say anything. But yes.

—Amanda Ash Photograph by Marco Dos Santos.

With real instruments, you have a physical bond. With a computer, it’s not the same. It’s the same as knitting. You knit and you knit and at the end you have your shirt. but when I was working on the soundtrack of Romain Gavras, he also was making a [music video] for M.I.A.’s “Born Free,” so we were not far from each other again. So I just asked her if she wanted to sing on a track.

She said yes. I came to London, and it was very fast. I love to work very fast, and she does www.tekitunemag.com

6

Review: Abelton Push

A ribbon controller along the side adds additional control and expression.

The pads sense velocity and pressure­— ­ no more grids limited to on/off only.

L

ast month we saw how Ableton’s flagship production software, Live, has evolved into an improved powerhouse, with the new Version 9 release.

However, not content with bolstering their software to be all-powerful, the guys at Ableton have added an extra dimension to the whole package. It’s obvious in their minds that software is not enough, and so exploring the next level seems like the logical progression.

This progression now sees the introduction of Push, the first Ableton/ Akai-designed controller for Live. A quick word of warning, though: Push will only work with the new Version 9 upgrade, and not any of the earlier incarnations of Live.

Push in itself is a rarity: a multipurpose controller that actually works. It’s part-instrument, part-drum machine, part-live controller, part-arrangement and editing tool, and you can compose, record, edit and mix entirely from the hardware. This is the angle that Ableton were keen to express—that Push is more than just a basic controller, it is a complete music creation instrument in its own right.

At its core, Push is a musical composition device. The 64 input pads offer a nifty alternative to a conventional piano keyboard and allows complete beginners to play complex chord progressions and switch from major, minor and diminished chords without even having to change the relative position of your fingers.

It offers two different systems for ensuring that notes are only played within a specified key. With In-Key engaged, only notes that fall within the specified key will be assigned to the pads, allowing for fantastic chord progressions and extemporization even in the hands of a novice.

The pads also offer perhaps the cleverest drum pad system ever designed.

All this light and color runs on bus power.

(Awesome feature: plug in external power, and everything gets brighter.)

It’s hacker-friendly: USB class-compliant (Linux, iOS), and fully controllable via MIDI. (You can evidently use the displays via SysEx.) You do get some footswitch inputs, too.

Features of Abelton Push

Half MPC-style drum pads, half step-sequencer, you can use both simultaneously to input notes or to edit and quantize existing notes (there is also input-quantisation). And Push features the Note Repeat button, made famous by the MPC. Engage Note Repeat hold and it’s easy to build a beat, play chords or even trigger an arpeggiator simply by holding the pads. It is so simple that users will feel confident doing it on-stage within hours.

So what about arranging? Anybody who’s used an APC-40 will be immediately at home with Push. The pads respond to clips and note value buttons to scenes, but thanks to the RGB backlighting, the actual colors respond exactly to the clip colors on screen, making it easier than ever before.

Basic mixing functions are available too, with mute, volume, pan and sends all available via a well thought-out and intuitive system. But what is mixing without plug-ins? Push allows you to add devices (and tracks) using a nice menu system, and once added all the parameters can be edited using rotaries and buttons. It works as well for third-party plugs as for Live’s own devices: if it can be automated, it can be edited with Push, with parameter names and values displayed on screen.

The build, meanwhile, is tank-like. The buttons feel great, with function buttons offering a reassuring click, while the pads are constantly touchsensitive (hold a snare in repeat mode and as you push harder and softer, the snare hits will respond in kind) and can be set to varying levels of sensitivity to suit your taste. The rotary encoders also feel solid, and are all infinite (except for tempo, which clicks in increments). They even feature touch-resistance, so simply put your finger on one to call up its value.

There is so much more goodness, and very little about Push not to like.

That said, at the basic level of use the user manual could be improved as it really doesn’t explain everything that can be done with Push. Also, while Native Instruments’ Maschine is a much simpler affair, MPC purists might appreciate the fact that it can record audio, then slice and edit the samples directly from the hardware—which Push cannot. In fact, Push is rather limited in what it can do with audio channels, but that is hardly a criticism.

As rites of passage go, this is an unmitigated success. Push is very definitely a good first look, and from initial plays and given its complete integration with Live it is going to win itself a whole new collection of fans.

March 2014

OUT NOW Bibliography * This is a hypothetical magazine created to study the essentials of layout design. No material in this book will be used for any monetary gain.

- Ovini, Boris. MODZIK-36-GESFFELSTEIN-0. 2013. Photograph.Http:// laurentburt.wordpress.com/. 06 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (0)

- Dos Santos, Marco._MG_8877. N.d. Photograph. Windishagency.

Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (4)

- Catenary Sys. N.d. Photograph. Http://247main.com/. Ed. Dan. Taylor Design, 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (0)

- Ash, Amanda. “Interview: SebastiAn.” The Block Mag. N.p., 27 June 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (4)

- Novation Logo Small. N.d. Photograph. Http://eastgatemusic.com. au/. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (1)

- Push_04_72dpi_rgb. N.d. Createdigitalmusic. 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. (5)

- Launchpad-S-News-Header. N.d. Photograph. Us.novationmusic. com. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (1)

- Blanco, Alex. “REVIEW: ABLETON PUSH.” Djmag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (5)

- Launchpad S Large. N.d. Photograph. Http://www.gearnuts.com.

Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (1)

- Mancosu, Frederico. Kavinsky-outrun-tribute-artwork. N.d. Illustration. Federicomancosu. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (6)

- Rizk, Fady. Sound-edit. 2014. N.p.Ableton Live 8 (1)

- Dos Ed Banger Records. N.d. Photograph. Windishagency. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (6)

- Kechicheva, Elina. 9a024a95. 2013. Pitchfork. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

- N.d. Photograph. Www.xoyo.co.uk/. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (page 2) - Push_04_72dpi_rgb. N.d. Createdigitalmusic. 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. (2) - Kechicheva, Elina. Photo_gesaffelstein_elina_kechicheva_03. 2013.

Photograph. mlk. Ed. Adrien S. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (page 3) - Abbott, Jeremy. “GESAFFELSTEIN: ART OF DARKNESS.” Mixmag. N.p., 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. (3)

- Akaipro_logo_red. N.d. Videoconchennai. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. (7) - MPK261_ortho_10x8_media. N.d. Akaipro. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. (7) - AKAI PRO EXTENDS ITS INDUSTRY-LEADING MPK LINE OF PROFESSIONAL KEYBOARD CONTROLLERS WITH NEW MODELS : Akai Professional - Iconic Music Production Gear, including the Legendary MPC.” Akaipro. N.p., 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. (7)

Typefaces: Qlassik Medium, Qlassik Bold Century Gothic, Avant Garde LT Book, BigNoodleTitling, League Gothic, Blanch, Moonshiner, Myriad Hebrew, Helvetica Neue, Arial Black, Minion pro, Palatino and Quicksand.

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MPK261 Take your production to the next level.

The refreshed MPK Mini Laptop Production Keyboard remains true to its name as the ultimate portable keyboard controller. It’s comprised with an impressive array of controls in the small 25 mini-key frame including an all-new joystick control for pitch and modulation functionality, trigger pads ported from the MPC Renaissance, famed Note Repeat, a full-size USB connector, and an improved keybed.

www.akaipro.com