In this first part of an occasional series exploring modular synthesis and live performance. William Stokes talks to experimental electronic musician Scanner about his career, the choice of his favourite modules he'll showcase in his closing performance and the friendliness of the modular community.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:13 - The Tate Modern Installation
02:52 - Working With Laurie Anderson
06:40 - The Origin Of The Name Scanner
10:47 - Module 1: Morphagene
14:30 - Module 2: Mimeophon
18:52 - Module 3: Equation Composer
24:08 - Module 4: QU-Bit Prism
26:51 - Finding Your Sound With Modular
29:22 - Module 5: QU-Bit Nano Rand
31:16 - Module 6: Instruō øchd DivKid
33:12 - Modular Social Community
35:31 - Modular Aesthetics
38:38 - Module 7: Bela Gliss
42:37 - The Performance
Morphagene - https://www.makenoisemusic.com/modules/morphagene/
Mimeophon - https://www.makenoisemusic.com/modules/mimeophon/
Equation Composer (discontinued)
QU-Bit Prism - https://www.qubitelectronix.com/shop/p/prism
QU-Bit Nano Rand - https://www.qubitelectronix.com/shop/p/nano-rand
Instruō øchd - https://www.instruomodular.com/product/ochd/
Bela Gliss - https://uk.shop.bela.io/products/gliss
Robin Rimbaud Biog
Scanner (British artist Robin Rimbaud) traverses the experimental terrain between sound and space connecting a bewilderingly diverse array of genres. Since 1991 he has been intensely active in sonic art, producing concerts, installations and recordings, the albums Mass Observation (1994), Delivery (1997), and The Garden is Full of Metal (1998) hailed by critics as innovative and inspirational works of contemporary electronic music.
To date he has scored 65 dance productions, including the hit musical comedy Kirikou & Karaba Narnia, Qualia for the London Royal Ballet, and the world’s first Virtual Reality ballet, Nightfall, for Dutch National Ballet.
More unusual projects have included designing sound for the Philips Wake-Up Light (2009), the re-opening of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 2012 and the new Cisco telephone system used in many offices around the world. His work Salles des Departs is permanently installed in a working morgue in Paris whilst Vex, the residential house by Chance de Silva architects, featuring his permanent soundtrack, won the RIBA London Award 2018.
Committed to working with cutting edge practitioners he collaborated with Bryan Ferry, Wayne MacGregor, Mike Kelley, Torres, Michael Nyman, Steve McQueen, Laurie Anderson and Hussein Chalayan, amongst many others.
William Stokes Biog
William Stokes is a producer, writer and artist in three-piece avant-psych band Voka Gentle. As well as being a critic and columnist for Sound On Sound, conceiving the popular Talkback column and heading up the Modular column, he has also written on music and music technology for The Guardian, MOJO, The Financial Times, Electronic Sound and more.
As an artist in Voka Gentle he has made records with producers from Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Grizzly Bear, Nick Cave) to Sam Petts-Davies (Radiohead, The Smile, Roger Waters), has had songs featured on franchises from FIFA Football to The Sims and has toured across the UK, Europe and the USA, playing festivals from Pitchfork Avant-Garde in Paris to SXSW in Austin, Texas. He has collaborated with artists including the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, Morcheeba, Panda Bear and Sonic Boom.
Alongside being a guitarist and pianist, he is a synthesis enthusiast with a particular interest in sampling and explorative sound manipulation. As a producer and engineer, he has made albums with acclaimed avant-garde musicians from composer Tullis Rennie to Mute Records artist Louis Carnell. “I’m always seeking out the most ‘out-there’, experimental, risk-taking musicians I can find to work with,” he says, “to capture vibrant, detailed recordings and create three-dimensional mixes of music that might otherwise struggle to know where to begin in the studio environment.”
Stokes currently lectures in Music Production at City, University of London.
Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts