https://www.loudersound.com/features/kraftwerks-wolfgang-flur-on-life-at-the-cutting-edge-of-modern-music

 

Ace of Base Interview Keyboard Magazine 1996

from ideologic.org

04 08 2012
#3093

ÄÄNIPÄÄ session #3 notes

Pleased to be back in the studio wih Mika and Marco this weekend... patiently & persistently sculpting this collaboration work/album.

Studio: andereBaustelle, Berlin
Engineer: Marco Paschke

Mika Vainio & Stephen O'Malley
ÄÄNIPÄÄ
session #3
4th-8th August 2012

Inventory

SUNN O))) Model T / KT88 JJs / #36130 / Tape handles
SUNN O))) Model T / 6550 Svetlana / # 42238 / Spray black over sky blue
AMPEG V4 / 7207A JJs / #166886
AMPEG SVT810E 1987 Ltd Ed / #355
FENDER THE TWIN / #LO-504626
Marshall 1960 JCM 900 cabinet
Marshall 1960 JCM 800 cabinet
AMPEG SVT810E / Alex Hacke
AMPEG SVT810E / #1436

KORG Electribe SX
JMX Sunsyn #0147
Lexicon MX200
Biscuit OTO
Vermona Mono Lancet

Redwitch #f6071276
Hex Duo Graal
Hex Phase Wizard 4 chnl
Keeley Overdrive
Proco Rat (Keeley Mod)
Proco Rat Original (Keeley Mod)
DOD Meat Box
DOD Buzz Box
ZVEX Super Hard On
ZVEX Super Duper I001
Sanford & Sonny Bluebeard Fuzz #416
Tech 21 American Woman

Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst / #82632508
Gibson Les Paul Standard Black Beauty / #134400660

etc

Mika Vainio

Cabaret Voltaire

As far as we were concerned at that time anyone who was a drummer wouldn't hold down just a pulse. They wanted to play like Emerson Lake and Palmer, horrible progressive music. We saw these little drum machines which then were only used by people doing the Working Men's Clubs. We thought they were perfect for us and we just put it through an echo. They're all in there (indicates the store-room). We bought the first one which was a Farfisa that I'd actually seen on the inside of the first Kraftwerk album. Then we got a Selmer which was amazing because it could do drum rolls. None of these were programmable, it had three different varieties, a drum roll every four bars or every eight or whatever. It was the one we used on "Nag Nag Nag". It had quite a hard sound whereas the other one was a bit wishy washy. Then I think we bought one off A Certain Ratio, an Electro Harmonix; it was good, it had a separate bass drum output. The bass drum was very similar to the 808 bass drum. We've never thrown any of it away. I'm still sampling bits and pieces off these old boxes.

Live visual performance album

Musicians:

Instruments:

Programming:
(  ) Samples (  ) Sequencer (  ) CV (  ) MIDI

Origin: City and State

Studio:
Recording Date:

Recording Tracks:

Recording Format:

Microphones:

Effects Processors:

(  ) Overdubs (  ) Edits (  ) Pitch Correction (  ) Live Record

(  ) Vocal (  ) No Vocal

Language(s):

Tempo (Range):

Key(s):

(  ) Diatonic (  ) Noise

Yazoo 1982

http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/tec003-preview-vintage-1982-vince-clarke-interview/

What was the first synthesizer you ever brought?

The first synth I ever brought was the Kawai 100F.

What other synths have you got now?

Casio VL-1, Roland JP4, Roland Vocoder Plus VP330, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, Kobol RSF, Fairlight CMI

What other equipment do you own?

Roland Doctor Rhythm Drum Machine, Roland TR808 Drum Machine, Linn Drum Computer, 4 Simmonds Drum Modules, Roland MC4 Micro Composer

What is your favourite synth and why?

My favourite synth is the Fairlight, because I don’t have to tune it!

What synth / drum machine do you recommend for the first time buyer?

A ‘good value of money’ synth is the Wasp. It has two oscillators, touch sensitive keyboard and will produce a variety of interesting sounds and effects. It can also be used with the Spider analogue sequencer.

An inexpensive drum machine is the Roland Doctor Rhythm. It has a reasonable basic sound, is programmable and will store a number of fairy complex drum patterns. Both the Wasp and the Dr Rhythm run off mains or battery.

What other synths / drum machines do you recommend?

I personally favour the Pro-One. It is a monophonic synth with two oscillators and noise generator. It has built in forty note sequencer and a versatile arpeggiator. It contains ‘square wave’, ‘saw tooth’ and ‘ramp wave’ forms which when used with the filter section produce a clean, powerful sound. A more expensive synth is the PPG Wave 2.2 costing around £3500. It has hundreds of wave forms to choose from, very sophisticated control parameters, a splitable keyboard and a vast, up-to-date able memory bank. The sound is also crystal clear and it can even produce simulated vocal effects.

For some of the percussion effects on ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’, I used the Roland TR808 drum machine. It is completely programmable and contains sixteen different sounds, each with individual outputs. One of the best drum machines available is the Linn Drum Computer. Each sound is actually a real drum sound digitally encoded into the Linn computer memory. It will hold the drum patterns for forty-nine songs and all this information can be stored on the cassette for future reference. It is probably the best sounding drum machine that I have ever heard.

How do you approach writing a new song?

I normally work out a basic melody on my guitar. Then I work out the various parts (ie bass and lead) on my synthesizers. I then program the Roland Micro Composer to play the different parts. The MC4 is capable of controlling the ‘gate’, ‘CV’ (control voltage) ie pitch and step times, of four independent synths and can be synced with a drum machine. All the information can be stored onto a cassette and tape for future reference in the recording studio.

Casio offer an inexpensive range of keyboard instruments which contain a variety of reasonable pre-set sounds.

A Quay Brothers exhibit is currently at the NY MOMA

Plaid - Handley and Turner

MORITZ VON OSWALD (Berlin-Steglitz), size of the collection plate: na

"I have no idea of ​​how many records I own. The plates are in addition to this music in the living room and also in the basement. In this room here are actually only reggae records. On the shelf, you can see, the albums and 12-inches, on the other hand, the 7-inches. The framed cover of the stereo system is a screen print from Studio One. I collect the printing sleeves of Jamaican labels, they are all hard to find unique items. But this is a rarity: I have got it from a Japanese dealer, and it is the only studio-one a 12-inch screen, I know. The trophies are among vintage car race that I've been driving for several years. "

Some questions answered by Taylor Deupree
10. toryjames - March 24, 2007
Taylor, Would you tell me about your progression towards digital music production? I noticed you no longer have the Doepfer in your studio, I am curious about how your methods and ideas have changed with your choice of instruments. Is the physical design of the equipment you use very important? I wonder about this because you put a great deal of thought into the aesthetics surrounding your label and music. The packaging is beautiful and obviously very important. It leads me to believe you might have a similar interest in the look and feel of your equipment. Do the tangibility of music packaging (vs mp3s) and musical hardware (vs software) relate to one another? Or could you be happy doing everything within the computer? Also, do you think that the availability of computers and consumer musical software have lessened the percieved value of electronic music (and possibly all forms of music)? Thank you for your time,
tory james: yes, i sold the doepfer a while ago.. i just wasn’t using it.. even though it was quite cool.. but it has not so much to do with losing interest in hardware, but just not liking to keep things around that don’t get used. i found myself doing similar sounds with the nord modular, which is much more flexible. it was sad getting rid of the doepfer from a visual/aesthetic point of view (which leads into the next point)… but, practicality won out. this is a very interesting question… yes, i am very intereted in the physical design of equipment.. so much that it often is a major influence in gear that i purchase from both an aesthetic point of view (the oberheim xpander, for example.. just beautiful)… and from an interface design point of view. i’ve always firmly believed that objects shouldn’t just be succesful in functionality, but also designed well. you can apply this thinking to everything in your house. for example, you have so many choices when you buy forks, spoons and knives… why not buy some that are beautifully designed, you interact with them every day… of course, functionality should win out over aesthetics… a fork that looks beautiful isn’t worth anything if it doesn’t feel right and work well (balance, weight..)… fortunately, there is almost always solutions that are both functional and beautiful. so while i’m very conscious of object design it’s always important to get the right tool for the job. i’m not terribly fond of the design of my Kyma’s Capybara box.. but i wouldn’t give it up for anything.. could i be just as happy doing music on a computer with no hardware? absolutely not… what i’ve found REALLY important to me is a control surface for Digital Performer. (i use Mackie Controls)… i really need the physical interface between me an a mixing environment. having physical sliders and panning knobs is something i’m totally reliant on… i hate mixing and creating music with only a mouse.. or, worse, a trackpad. that’s probably the most important physical device in my studio… but with a lot of devices i’m quite happy with software. i love software synthesizers becuase they often have more interesting forms of synthesis than your standard hardware synth.. although, i’d rather have hardware versions of all of my software.. but they just don’t exist.. except for one.. i bought the Hartmann Neuron software synth when it came out because i always wanted a Neuron and this was an affordable way to get one. however, having the software only makes me want the hardware even more. it’s such a fascinating and original synthesizer, i can only imagine that having it’s beautifully designed physical interface would make it even more enjoyable. additionally, i’m such a fan of the Nord Modular G2.. i’ve had the rack version (the Engine) which has no physical interface at all… i’m in the process of selling it now as i just bought the keyboard version of the G2.. as i’m really looking forward to having the keyboard and knob interface… i’ll be using it even more now. so.. yes.. in a nutshell.. physical design is very important.. as long as it does not detract from the functionality of something. your next question is interesting as well.. maybe too much of a question for this forum…. i’ll be brief….. i think on one hand.. music is music.. it doesn’t matter how it was created.. as long as someone enjoys it, it is successful.. and, most consumers don’t know how the music they made was created… so for them the availability of affordable bedroom studios probably doesn’t factor in. however it DOES mean that more people than ever are creating music, and more bad (and good) music is being created… so any sort of flood of a market can certainly reduce perceived value.. but in the end, good music is good music and the best will hopefully always be valued. i hope i’ve answered your questions OK… felt a bit scattered answering this as i have a lot to say.. feel free to follow up if you need any clarifications.

Cabaret Voltaire - Sluggin' for Jesus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqlJ5HuTqZk

Optical Synthesis
http://www.umatic.nl/tonewheels_historical.html