hanging out with audiophiles

  Hello !   Greetings from the SONIC RANCH in El Paso! Woe. I’m in another world right now Massive thanks to Dave Sitek for inviting me out into space. I’m blown away. The people here are so great and the studios are just absolutely bonkers. Most importantly it’s a totally secluded zone. The head expands. Almost as many cats as people and WAY more pecan trees! Ha   Welcome to Episode 49. I met this Frank (Bink Beats) when we did a show together in Amsterdam recently. I was sitting in with him on a couple of songs. Side note : one of the numbers we did is a new track that I hope finds the light of day! We had a pretty hectic day of practice in the venue followed by show but nevertheless we snuck in a quick chat.   Frank is a serious badass. A player of a million objects and a hell of a signer to boot.  Great to have him on :)   In the nitty I explore the sonic ranch’s amps a little and send all sorts of stuff into speakers. Some shall be spinning and some just spaced and weird. Check it!   Music for EP 49 comes from Evan Geesman.  Good stuff!   https://evangeesman.bandcamp.com/album/mattress-money

Hello Amȯn Tȯbin! He was Born in Brazil, but as you can hear from this interview he’s got a distinctively English twang having spent yonks in the UK. I don’t want to give away the details of the chap’s timeline just yet as we get into all of that in this FaceTime chin wag. Might I say at this point though that I feel mightily chuffed to have Amon on the show.  He’s truly one of the outstanding living talents in Electronic music and that’s really not an overstatement. He’s made a stack of cracking albums for London label 9Bar Records and of course the marvelous Ninja Tune. A relationship that kicked off way back in 1996.  The boy doesn’t stop! Now he’s busy as ever with his own label Nomark.  He’s got hard drives and aliases up the wazoo and he’s making crazy shit every day and by the sounds of things a lot of new music is coming soon.  The man has a masterful grasp of sound collage, from the wildest found sound and manipulated field recordings to the risky dark lands of additive synthesis and into modular madness. He’s always managed to present his sound to the world on the stage without falling into the usual cliched confines of the club. He’s performed at many a prestigious venue, such as the birthplace of musique concrete, the GRM in Paris. In 2011 he seriously raised the bar on audio visual combos with the dazzling ISAM show. When that footage started circulating I remember spitting out my coffee.  It’s STILL one of the most incredible things to witness on the interwebs as a realization of potent audio visual immersions. A true SHOW.  He also produced several original scores, ranging from the cult film Taxidermia to the video game blockbuster Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Constantly shifting and constantly inspiring. Please welcome the show one of the most visionary electronic artists of his generation Amȯn Tȯbin    In the nitty I get into the murky world of pitch tracking guitars and seeing if there’s any juicy noise to be had chucking the axe thro the modular. Yeah… it’s a wobbly affair!   Good to be back :) Cheers y’all _______________________ Music for the show comes from Brad Swanson aka “The Transparency” Here’s the LP from which I removed and edits some pod snips. Good stuff! It’s called aptly “It might get dark” check it out: https://thetransparency.bandcamp.com/album/it-might-get-dark  

47 brings the bonkers talent that is Ariel Rechtshaid!  He’s had an incredible run of success with artists like Adele, Usher and of course Vampire Weekend (to name but three from a list of hundreds!) This interview was conduced slightly before Vampire Weekend put out “Father of the Bride” to much critical and chart joy. We got to chatting about that process and how they’ve become very solid friends over the years. The music they make comes from a deep trust and adventurous spirit which is something of a common thread in the stories you’ll hear on this pod. Ariel’s got a strong point of view but a humble demeanor. He’s a true lover of many genres of music and can wear many hats: Playing, tracking, mixing and producing at a top level.  A seriously hard working chap, he’s the real deal and I’m really chuffed to have him on the show. He gave up a couple of hours to me to have me ramble with him at his spot in silver lake and it was a trip to hear it all from the horse’s mouth! Cheers Ariel! ______________________________________   Nitty this time sees me dipping a toe into the poly rhythmic bath thanks to the max4live handiwork of  benniy c bascom and his excellent POLYRHYTHMUS patch!   I explore 3 very simple examples. 2:3:6 with a CR78 3:4:12 with the 707 and 3:5:15 with a marimba    Find the max for live patch here: http://www.maxforlive.com/library/device/2431/polyrhythmus-a-modular-euclidean-rhythm-builder   How to here: (benniy is AWESOME!)   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTgSgTGoBLc ______________________________________   Music for the show comes once again courtesy of good glued barometer aka Lee Beaumont!   Find his music here at his bandcamp page:   https://goodgluedbarometer.bandcamp.com   ______________________________________   This episode’s sponsor is winter-modular  http://winter-modular.com   Makers of the very fine sequencing machine called the “Eloquencer” A powerful and intuitive machine for use with in the eurorack domain and NOW  In the wide word of MIDI thanks to the EME expansion unit. Seriously badass machine and a great choice for anyone wanting to step away from the computer to make music. I love mine. It’s really a choice box!

So I was introduced to Emily at an Ableton event here in Nashville and we were chatting about some pretty specific protools stuff. Something insane about how she needed to have a flightcase for an old Mac Pro to do her job. It was all very unusual. I had no idea who I was talking to tbh. But I could tell she had a WAY of doing things. Turns out she’s one of the biggest vocal producers working!  No big deal. She’s recorded and produced for folks like Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus, Jessie J, Flo Rida, Kelly Clarkson and WAY more.  In 2010, Emily began work on Katy Perry's Teenage Dream as an engineer. She also engineered eight songs and co-wrote one song ("Gasoline") on Britney Spears' Femme Fatale (not to mention her work on Circus, Pretty Girls and Britney Jean) So it turns out she’s seen and heard a LOT of craziness at a very high level. We are talking about top tier pop recording. I’ve never chatted with someone who’s been in this particular line of work so it was ace just trying to work out how it really happens. How are those Britney and Katy Perry vocals really tracked? A modern master with the Digi scissors who has literally cut together the stories of a big slice of modern pop. Please welcome to the pod, Emily Wright!!! ______________________________________ In the nitty I get into the world of altered drones Taking on a stack of tasty tones from a rare encounter with a CS80 I try to build a little something with them ______________________________________   Sponsors for today are in duality! Hearty thanks to  https://bastl-instruments.com Makers of naughty, powerful and sometimes dark machines! And to  http://www.steadystatefate.com Who’ve made a large range of modules including the new and rather tasty STEREO DIPOLE filter I feel very lucky to have such cool companies get on board! A special shout out also to Jim at  https://modularaddict.com He’s helped me so much trying to navigate the huge world of bloops!  

Whether or not you know the full, hard history of Lee Fields, I think 50 years into his music career, 10 years since he found the Expressions, and nearly 7 decades of a life that began in Civil Rights-era North Carolina make 2019 a prime time to celebrate "the coolest motherf***er to sing words into a microphone" (Vice). Across dozens of record labels, countless periods of defeat, and stretches of near-retirement, Lee jumpstarted the legacy of Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones, laid the groove for songs by Travis Scott and J Cole, and - with April 5th album It Rains Love (Big Crown) - will affirm his position as the new, benevolent standard of soul.    On Episode 45 of HOWA, I feel very lucky to had a (rather scratchy sounding) phone chat with both Lee and producer Leon Michels (Lana Del Rey, Adele, Beyoncé & Jay Z) on how they've spent the past 20 years or so together, crossing analog and digital mediums, multiple generations of tape saturation, and six consecutive hours of vocal takes at a time to get this music to our ears. 20 years?!?!? Here’s a link to the album! https://bigcrownrecords.com/store/it-rains-love/   ______________________________________ In this show I take a hint from the Episode number hitting 45 and start cutting into some wax.  New life to old 45s in the nitty. Just rerun that runout groove! Grab a knife, sandpaper and a record or 2:) cut to reveal hidden funk. _____________________________________   Music for 45 comes from Lee Beaumont :)  I got these tracks ages ago. Sorry it took me so long to feature them. In fact since then he’s been getting busy and there’s plenty of new stuff to be found. Check this here link: https://goodgluedbarometer.bandcamp.com _____________________________________ Sponsorship for the show comes courtesy of the wondrous digital minds at Valhalla DSP!  I’m thrilled to be able to have them on board as I’m such a fan of all their stuff and the JUST released the new DELAY plugin and it’s bonkers Totally brilliant!! https://valhalladsp.com

Want to get into Endless? Here’s the link to the HOWA jam http://bit.ly/HOWAjam I met Tim Shaw aka Tim Exile in Berlin in the mid 2000s We were 2 brits roasting in the furnace of creativity that was cooking in the East It was a heady time. There were so many amazing performers around Everyone from Peaches to Kevin Blechdom, Errorsmith to Neubauten  You could inhale the punk as a gas and it fueled a lot of invention at that time Tech was on that more steady and tangible bubble up and we were all trying to see how to combine our strengths with that digital promise. Around 2000 I had decided to drop out of music making to be a builder of machines. I got completely taken by the promise of Max/Msp and indeed it allowed me a great freedom to combine my voice and my obsession with the machine in a new way I was making a living looping and Tim caught wind of those early shows and it set him off on a journey to build an absolute BEAST of a looper I had travelled the Max way, Tim took the Reaktor to the loop limit.  His flow machine was a joy to behold even in its infancy.  I remember hearing it and being completely blown away  Seem-less transitions and audio with no clicks! All things my machine struggled with. Loops with various lengths all playing off against one another, FX that would cut and carve the shit into shreds only to have new layers swoop in to fill the void and uncover new counterpoints. The Tempo could change. The Machine would time stretch and warp so beautifully. It was a marvel. The ultimate looper.  It's still is the best I’ve ever used and for a long time it wasn’t available to the public.  That is until ENDLESS I’m super proud of him for daring to explode this idea into the world as something more than an esoteric loop maker for just one user. He’s had to quit his career as a musician essentially to focus on the company and now it’s happening. Endless is beginning. Exciting times and I’m very happy to have known the evolution of all this. I see how far it can go coz I know how far the looper has already taken me. Wild rides to get this far and more to come. Please welcome the marvelous mind that is Tim Exile to the show to share his thoughts! ___________________ MUSIC for 44 comes from - The Great Turtle  https://greatturtle.bandcamp.com Michael Sayer sent me a lovely mail about this improved music and how it’s born of an obsession with music making. How cool is this ? Music made at the Birds of Prey Conservation Area in Idaho. Check it out ___________________ Sponsorship for the show comes courtesy of the wondrous digital minds at Valhalla DSP!  I’m thrilled to be able to have them on board as I’m such a fan of all their stuff and the JSUT released the new DELAY plugin The best $50 you’ll spend on a delay, lemme tell ya! Get out and get it!   Speaking of which, thanks to Devon Gilfillian The song we wrote together called “Get out and Get it”is out now as a single for him on Capitol Records! Badass! Listen here https://devongilfillian.lnk.to/ListenWE   I use snips of the original demo vocal in the nitty gritty to show off the wobbly world of dual Melodyne  Why not! More wobbles in 2019!!!   Cheers  

The sequel usually disappoints. Not this time.  Greg and I literally go into outer space and beyond the grave in this cosmic excursion. Earthly concerns addressed in good measure also. An immense pleasure to chat in such great depth with this absolutely superb chap.  

Welcome to the first of a two part epic chat with the excellent Greg Wells!  Yes! Mr. G.W. is a ludicrously talented chap. He’s produced and written with Adele, he’s responsible for the hugely successful The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, he’s a long time collaborator with the lesser known Katy Perry, I mean who’s ever heard of Ariana Grande ? Or Pink ? Pharrell Williams,  Burt Bacharach, Elton John ... Too MUCH and yet, this list is a mere micro dose of Greg’s funk menu. It must feel amazing to able to express yourself on the drums, the piano and with the world of synths and also mixing and recording equipment. It’s not RIGHT to be good at it all and yet Greg has the skills to write, play, record, mix. I think it's safe to say, he has ALL the skills. What's more, he has an unbelievable amount of knowledge and experience all in a generous and light hearted frame that is most fun to be around. There are so many milestones along his timeline that would be pinnacles of achievement for most. It’s humbling just to think about. For example, He spent time under the tutelage of famed composer Clare Fisher who Susan Rogers talks about on out pod chat. (EP12)  I used to have some strong positive emotional reactions to the arrangements he made for Prince. Very strong! I can only imagine what powers Greg absorbed being in his company.  A father of 5, Mr Wells is a master at putting one at ease.  I chatted with him for a good hour on our first encounter and it felt like I’d known him for years.  I think his genuine openness and nurturing fatherly spirit has a lot to do with his success. I know he made me feel extremely welcome both times I chatted with him. That initial chin wag was made without the tape rolling sadly but on my return to have a proper chat, we got into a lengthy discussion that lasted around 3 hours! This time recorded :) We go way back to the start and get into some very emotional memories which I feel very greatful to Greg for sharing with me and hence with us all. An open, wise, playful badass. I feel like this chat could have gone on another 3 hours!  Please enjoy part 1 with the incomparable Greg Wells: Small note:  At one point I’m trying to recall the “Matt” that helped restoring Sam Phillips studios in Memphis. His full name is Matt Sprang Superb engineer with really good hair! http://www.southerngrooves.com ______________________________________   In the nitty I attempt to make a vocoder using only stock Ableton building blocks. What do ya need? 24 filters, 12 Max for Live Envelope followers and some tweaking :) spoiler alert. It works! ______________________________________   Music for 42 comes from  https://nudityforbeginners.com Check this link for some browser-based interactive music video promo fun.  It incorporates a couple teaser videos he made for the tracks that he will be evolving in the future. Let the evolution begin! ______________________________________ Thanks to Leap Wing audio for today’s show sponsorship. They make some really interesting plugins and only 3 currently which I’m a fan of. Not too much to confuse or dilute Check them here! https://www.leapwingaudio.com   _______________________________________

Hello 41 !  Hello to this now vintage chat with Matt Sweeney recorded June 14 2018. I was first introduced to Matt trough my friend Pete Townsend. Not THAT Pete but another Pete!  There’s a rather fantastic band by the name of Super Wolf and Pete plays drums, Matt’s on guitar and Will Oldham aka Bonnie Prince Billy is singing.  It’s hard to not be moved by that music and every element is crucial to the buzz.  Who’s that amazing guitarist you ask? Yep, it’s Matt Sweeney. Let’s have a quick celebratory tour around some of this lads achievements! He’s been in bands like Skunk, Chavez and Super Wolf He’s played on records with Johnny Cash, Cat Power, Andrew W. K., Run the Jewels, Eagles of Death Metal and maybe more He’s produced .. oh boy he’s produced! He’s lent a crucial touch to the making of the Red Dead Redemption 2 soundtrack.  (This is the then secret stuff we couldn’t talk about!) In 2016, Sweeney toured with Iggy Pop and Josh Homme to support their album Post Pop Depression. He’s been interview by the Epic Marc Maron (EP 637) Matt is the creator of the fan bloody tactic Guitar moves Here's a couple of classic episodes for ya: Keith Richards! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceWWMfhAvD4  Blake Mills!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlskErEWuRI Matt is a investor in the popular superiority burger: To be found East 9th st Manhattan  https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/nyregion/superiority-burger-a-vegetarian-ode-to-white-castle-in-the-east-village.html   What’s in the chat? Wellllll We tackle fear and inaction and how to overcome it. Yep. We’ve solved it so take a listen :)   Don’t be afraid to ask “is there a budget” Finding the budgets that are hiding in the music puzzle. You’re Welcome! _________________________ Thanks to Steve Lynch for the music for Ep 41 Check out his ocean inspired “Tides” https://soundcloud.com/stellarsound/sets/steve-lynch-tides twitter/stellarsteve _________________________ Nitty Gritty wise I explore extraordinary noise. VELVET noise! as Maron might say WTF?  

Episode 40 welcomes Travis Stewart aka Machine Drum to the pod! Travis is a badass I've know for some time now and is someone I’m lucky to call a friend at this point. We made it to brunching status ! I’ve had him over to the house in Nashville and we jammed once which makes me think We really need to do that again! I’ve also sung on a JETS track U.N.I. which was a real rush.  Travis is one of those characters that gets the magic side of music. He gets the fact that the presentation of ideas is important. To DREEEEAAAAMMMM He gets that you don’t need much kit to make amazing shit (you can quote me on that) He also gets that it’s good to share.  So enjoy our ramble back in time. Yes! We get into some Machinedrum time travel. How did a kid from small town USA get to wander so free? The man is prolific and talented having pushed quality sounds through labels of distinction such as: Ninja Tune LuckyMe Merck Records Planet Mu Producing work for Theophilus London, Jesse Boykins III, Azealia Banks, and oh so many more! YUP He’s legit!! This chat was from August 2018 so it’s been stewing somewhat and yet it’s as fresh as ever! Great timing as JETS have a brilliant LP coming May 24 through Innovative Leisure _____________________________   The Nitty is all about the 808 and creating the Clave and Cowbell using modulars. wish me luck! Here's the link to the Sound on Sound article I used to make them. Super useful and deep series of articles. https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/synthesizing-cowbells-claves _____________________________ Music for today’s show comes again from LakeCube. I featured his stuff in EP 32 with Ann Mincieli also  https://lakecube.bandcamp.com/releases _____________________________ The show is sponsored by industrialectric  Makers of incredibly noisy boxes ! I witnessed one for the first time with Leo Ross, my guest on Ep 38. His brother Atticus also uses these with Nine Inch Nails.  I can see why. If you need a major sonic imprint these pedals are like no other :) https://www.industrialectric.com