142 - Last Issue of 2023

Author

Giannis Kampiotis
December 29, 2023

Artist Interviews 🎶 Studio Tours 🎛

Special Issue! ✨🎉

To send 2023 away I’ll share some noteworthy studios from the past 103 of the year. I wish 2024 comes the way we want it, but if it doesn’t, remember…

We are creatives.

Even if nothing goes as planned, with a little alchemy from our side, we can do whatever we set our minds to!

Keep creating 🎶

2023 Studios - A Selection

Always fan of dark but easy to use studios.

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

My name is Vladislav Green, I’m from Saint Petersburg.

I think I make music all my life - since my childhood till now. I wouldn’t call myself a composer or a producer - I just organize sounds. Sometimes people ask me to make something special for a movie, a brandbook or for a game/app, I can say that I’m pretty busy with that kind of things now.

What a cozy and warm studio. I can see my self living in there forever -huh!

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

Guitar pedals, so my pedalboard(s).

This is what Ι use for every track and every practice. Ι use it for guitars, but also after my modular synthesizer, for keyboards, at with tape players ….

And I can’t chose one pedal in particular. But, Ι must confess that micro-loopers are my favorites.

The most minimal setup of all, but listen to Harry’s music and be amazed with what he can do with so little.

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

Most of my gear is pretty cheap but I’ve recently bought a Korg Volca bass and have been using it in almost all of my jams since. I Love the classic 303-esque sound/filter and the ease of sequencing bass lines. Fits perfectly with my current style of production.

My Monotron delay is certainly the cheapest piece I use though.

Unlimited… possibilities…

Walk us through your process for creating and producing music.

I generally start with a texture sample, process it with granular, until I find something interesting to go further. Then I choose one or several oscillators and start to experiment with sequencers. I also use a lot stochastic sequences.

Afterwards, I add bass and bass percussion sounds, and I check that both do not cover each other. Then comes light percussion, often samples. Effects come at the end.

This is the process as I can analyze it right now. But most often I don’t even remember how I started one track. I don’t write any notes, and un-patch everything when I’m done with recording. I love starting from scratch.

I always use a clocked tempo from Pamela, but often with 7/8 or 5/8 signatures.

A turntable combined with a modular synth is not something we see everyday. Plus, Trentabyte really makes it sing.

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

I am very proud of my hands on syntablism skiff that is also tied to other modules within my rig.

My most favorite action is to touch an FSR pad (Korb Pusher Module) that is controlling the speed of an LFO module (Divkid/Instruo OCHD) that has 6 hand tuned LFOs splitting and spreading all over my rig. Talk about organic modulation that can be manipulated live through my entire rig! It's as if Ι am speeding up or slowing down a heart beat in any one person's human body! Ι always feel soo connected to the energy and electricity of my rig every time i touch that pad!

A gift for the first 5 people that reply to this email!

Josua Karlson was kind enough to give 5 BandCamp codes, of his latest release, to our GAS community. Read on to find out.

Josua has been featured on GAS before. This is his studio & interview:

With this setup, he creates lot’s of types of music. On of them, dreamy ambient soundscapes. His latest album, under the alias Arcane Earth Reboot, is Eons on Ahuna.

Based on the upcoming novel “Eons on Ahuna“ by his friend Alexander Blumtritt, this album is the soundtrack, telling a story of eternal space travel, alien entities and cosmic revelation.

Reply to this email and if you’re fast enough, you’ll get on of the 5 codes to get the album with no charge.

Thank you Josua for your music and your kind gesture!

No, it’s not an Ableton ad. That’s a real studio.

What is a big challenge you have as an artist?

As an artist, it's hard to find something that defines you.

I first started making music for artists since I wasn't sure what style I wanted to go for. I also did some apprenticeship to see how the big boys do it, and tbh, there's an old saying of do as I say but don't do as I do.

Once you find that spark that clicks as an artist, trust yourself and put all your heart and soul into it. Because the big boys aren't doing anything special and sometimes you might realize you know more or are more capable than those in the big leagues. However, finding that spark that defines you as an artist is hard and there is no specific formula to how or how long it will take.'

The most cat studio ever!

What is a big challenge you have as an artist?

Organizing all my songs and creations and deciding what collection of tunes to put out.

Sometimes I sit on things too long and then get unsure — this is natural but I try and have a theme for each collection of tunes to help find where they should go.

I believe in the lost art of the album so this framework definitely helps me when diving into my bounced files to determine what fits.

A studio in the attic is always inspiring. Extra points for style.

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

Not really.

I’m not the biggest fan of the debates between different ways of making music and to me there’s no right or wrong way.

The physicality and interaction that hardware can bring can absolutely be a fun and captivating thing, but the end result is something that I’m usually most interested in, and whatever gets me there, gets me there.

What building my setup has indeed enabled though, is a physical space to go to create and play in (in all the meanings of that word).

When performing live, that’s where a full hardware setup really starts to shine for me.

Just by seeing this picture I get inspired to make music.

One tip on how to spark creativity?

Load up 5-6 tracks that you love at the moment and flick through them to various points. Try and pick out an interesting aspect (melody/rhythm/mood) and then build something around this. Think of a few words that come to mind when listening and use these to give you the right energy.

Keep Creating!

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