Artist Interviews 🎶 Studio Tours 🎛

Hello music people 👋

Today in the spotlight, Alvord Loop

Currently in the United States, a film sound engineer with an artistic pesona that makes music with instruments he builds 🎶

Interview & Studio Tour

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

My name is Lawrence and I am currently located in California. I create music under the artist name Alvord Loop.

I used to spend a lot of time in the Alvord Desert located in southeastern Oregon. It is a remote and beautiful region of desert and mountains that seemingly goes on forever. The beauty and dissonance of that area is a continual source for inspiration.

I grew up entranced by music and uninhibited by categories and genres. The cross-pollinations that occur when musicians pursue their vision never ceases to amaze me. I love to seek out new artists and new sounds with a bent towards electronic and experimental works.

I am a sound engineer focused on sound for film and my professional experience informs Alvord Loop. Alvord Loop is where I mix sound design with electronics to create soundscapes and experimental sound compositions. For some pieces I create visuals to go along with the sounds.

I incorporate electronics, field/studio recordings, guitar sounds. I build my own sound devices that I integrate with the modular setup and pedals. My current focus is on integrating wood and paper with electronics.

Which piece of equipment in your studio is essential to your production process?

I have a Eurorack modular setup and a series of pedals. The setup is continually evolving as I pursue new ideas. I record and edit in Pro Tools.

What is the least expensive piece of gear that gave you the most results?

Knob-Enough (Piezo Transducer & CV Attenuator) by Crank Sturgeon. It’s a piezo mic in a small hard plastic box with an attenuator on top. I have found many uses for it as both a contact mic and as a CV modulator.

Walk us through your process for creating and producing music.

I start with an idea, perhaps a specific module, or a type of sound or sometimes I start with a natural sound I’ve recorded.

I start small, experimenting and trying different things. I keep trying and tweaking until I hit a sweet spot and then dial it in. Then I search for additional sounds that complement the initial idea and expand the piece. Any noise, electronic or natural, can be a source for processing and discovering interesting textures.

For some pieces I setup the components and outline an improv routine that highlights the sounds I’m aiming for. Then I keep trying until it feels finished. For others I create a full soundscape from a patch and mix it live. Sometimes I record layers and bits that become parts of an edited piece done in Pro Tools.

For the pieces that I’m not performing live, I’ll add visuals, usually later. The soundscape will give me a spark and I build the visuals around it.

One of the joys of working with Eurorack modules is the infinite possibilities for creating sounds and textures. I am continually surprised by what I discover by just experimenting and going with the flow.

What is a production technique that you always come back to?

I love the stereo field and the movement of sounds within. I enjoy working with delays and reverbs to create organic depth of field and movement.

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How would you describe your style?

I lean towards ambient soundscapes and atmospheres with an experimental bent. My general approach is to organize a set of engaging sounds that start at one place and lead you through to some type of end.

My biggest influences are nature, outer space, and machines. Nature is filled with wide and narrow sounds. Outer space is vast and quiet. Machines offer patterns and textures both soft and loud.

What is a big challenge you have as an artist?

Organizing my time is always a challenge.

I get excited about the different things I want to do, setting up a patch idea, doing field recording, creating sound experiments, building sound devices. I can get stuck where it is difficult to decide what to do next. Fortunately, after some prioritizing, I’m usually moving ahead again.

Has building a hardware setup changed your perspective on music or life in general?

When I began focusing on sound compositions I started with virtual synths. I liked the results, but I wanted a more interactive, hands-on feel.

The hardware setup really opened up my ability to improvise, to listen and react and evolve a piece in real time. It also gave me an expanded sense of building sounds and putting them together in different ways that broadened my whole outlook.

One tip on how to spark creativity?

I try to remember that one thing always leads to another.

A book, movie, article, or album that has inspired you?

Here’s a few people that inspire me:

• Ikue Mori - she’s a great improviser and master of electronic movement

• Aphex Twin - wonderful complexity of sounds working together

• Delia Derbyshire - innovative sound designer in the early days

• Karlheinz Stockhausen - early experimenter who created fantastic pieces from electronic pulses and early gear

• The Soundscape, book by R. Murray Schaefer - Identifies the importance of listening and that any sound is capable of inspiring us

• George Lucas’ film THX 1138 - mesmerizing atmosphere through sounds

Anything else you'd like to say?

Thank you for collecting this oral history of electronic artists. Everyday I find inspiration by listening to or learning about the work of others. The breadth and depth of electronic creativity is a positive force these days.

Where can people find more of your music and connect with you online?

Instagram (@alvordloop) is where I post improvs, short compositions and visuals. On YouTube (@lawrencedolton) I focus on improv soundscapes featuring my hand built devices and electronics. Bandcamp contains finished works. Soundcloud has some of my earlier works.

Gear List

I have a few favorite modules and pedals that consistently amaze me because they sound different with every new patch — very dynamic, great depth:

• Make Noise - Morphagene

• 4ms - Dual Looping Delay

• Mutable Instruments - Plaits | Tides

• Chase Bliss - Mood | Red Panda Particle | Vongon Polyphrase.

In Case You Missed It

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