20 - Le Chri

Author

Giannis Kampiotis
October 28, 2022

Hello music people 👋

Today in the spotlight, Le Chri

Living by the Baltic Sea he works as an audio engineer and sound designer for theater plays.

Honed in on techno and experimental sounds for his personal releases while working on commercial sound design, Le Chri has built a versatile studio 🎶

Read Time: 5 minutes 📰

The Setup

Gear List

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

My name is Christoph and I'm a sound designer / audio engineer based by the Baltic Sea in Germany.

I started with electronic music in 1999, when I bought a Roland MC 303. A few years later I got myself my first DJ Setup and started DJing. During my Time in Berlin I got signed by a small record label. This gave me the opportunity to play a few national and international gigs.

Today I am a full-time audio engineer and sound designer for theater plays. Aside from my job I release tracks on my own label.

What's the one thing in your studio you can't live without?

There are three different things I can´t live without.

At first, there is the Roland MC 303, mainly for emotional reasons. If I want to produce techno or electro, the Beatstep Pro from Arturia is the heart. For generative patches, I can't do without the Marbles module from Mutable Instruments. That module is so versatile.

What's your process?

The process always starts with a jam on the modular system, which is simultaneously recorded in multiple tracks in my DAW.

Then I let some time pass to listen to the recording with a little distance. If I like the recording, I cut out the best parts and arrange them.

How would you explain your style?

Inspired by artists like Plaid, Matthew Herbert or Jay Denham, I try to create a sound that is playful, multi-layered, driving and dark.

It´s important to me to tell stories through music.

Has this journey of building a hardware setup changed the way you think about music or life in general?

My hardware setup definitely changed my workflow.

I used to spend hours trying to find the right kick-drum sample. That way to make music was not very productive.

Today I have the right kick in no time thanks to my Mutant Bass-drum. I think it is advantageous if you can not fall back on thousands of samples, but have a limited number of possibilities due to the existing hardware.

Also, I love it much more to press buttons or turn pots instead of clicking with the mouse in a small area in a small window

What’s your ONE tip on music-production or creativity?

I think it's important to know what you want to express.

If you already have the goal in mind from the aesthetics of the sound, the way is an easy one.

I also think it's important not to copy what already exists. It's much more exciting to create something unique than something that's been around a thousand times.

A book/movie/article that fueled your creativity?

All Films by Quentin Dupieux aka Mr. Oizo

How can people find you?

For jams, knob-twists and pad hitting videos go to G.A.S. Instagram

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