To supplement this week's feature on MOTOR XX, an eight-hour celebration of Pacific Northwest electronic-music talent fostered by Sam Melancon and Samantha Fonteyne's MOTOR monthly, we asked each performer to rhapsodize about his/her favorite piece of gear. Finally, their secrets are revealed. For more info about the MOTOR XX event, which happens January 17 at Kremwerk, go here.
Patternmaster
PATTERNMASTER (JONATHAN CARR)
More so than any piece of sound-generating equipment, Allen & Heath 20:8:2 mixing console mixer has become the hub through which all other units sing their finest. It offers very flexible routing for controllable feedback loops and facilitates creative gain-staging that can be tuned in for both clean headroom or (surprisingly usable) punishing distortion.
Goodwin
GOODWIN
I have a little bit of a reputation for building a lot of my own analog synthesizers and to be sure that's been a hobby for the last six years or so. But the most important thing for me when I make music is to be able to try out a lot of options with the writing and arrangement of songs as quickly as possible. I've had a few sequencers, both hardware and software, but I keep coming back to Ableton Live as my main sketchpad. I actually don't use it for any sound generation, just playback of samples and to send note information out to outboard gear, but non-linear editing with a user interface that I know well in is so essential to my process of writing.
It's strange. After years of doing noise and experimental music, I generally know what I want in a mix or in terms of the timbres of individual instruments. But to me, arrangement is where you really have to get stuff right in order to create something special.
Bankie Phones
BANKIE PHONES (FRANKIE CRESCIONI)
It's difficult for me to decide what piece of equipment is crucial, but I'd have to say that despite some of my frustrations with it, my Elektron Monomachine (nicknamed Mona-machine). The Monomachine is a six voice digital synthesizer that is very flexible and through the magic of MIDI (music instrument digital interface) it is able to also sequence external machines. The sequencer provides a quick way to get patterns up and running from the machine, and other synths that may have less FUN(-ctional) sequencers. The sounds of the machine itself are quite cold and digital, reminiscent of the Commodore 64 (there's a Commodore SID chip emulator in its arsenal) and the Yamaha DX series, though a bit thin-sounding compared to them. I really enjoy its ability to create all sorts of weird frequency-modulated sounds, and robotic singing voices. The digital drum sounds remind me of a fantasy world where people dance fight in some sort of lo-fi polygonal battle-net.
P L L
P L L (CHRIS DAVIS)
My most crucial piece of gear is my Eurorack modular synthesizer. Its infinite sonic palette is what inspires me to make this type of electronic music. Being able to adjust any part of any voice on the system at any time allows me to tune in the room by shaping the frequency spectrum and rhythmic triggers. Having control over all parameters in real time allows the ability to improvise and be truly in the moment rather than playing back previously recorded tracks or sounds. It also makes every performance truly unique in the sense that it will never be able to be repeated.
Mood Organ
MOOD ORGAN (TIMM MASON)
Nord Modular g1r. A glimpse of a possible future that never happened. Modular synthesizers are the old, hulking analog machines that you program by turning knobs and connecting various patch points with cables. They are the ultimate in flexibility. In 1998, Nord created a virtual modular. The idea is that you use PC software to create sounds using various modules and effects built into the Nord; then you store the sounds in the Nord and leave the computer at home. I love analog modular synths, but the Nord offers many intriguing expansions on that paradigm that weren't possible before. On a real modular synth, if you want more of a particular type of module, you have to buy them; on the Nord, you get as many as you like until you run out of processing power. Whereas changing the patch on an analog modular takes time to move cables and tune various settings, the Nord can change between different stored patches almost instantly. It can run four patches simultaneously on separate channels. And it can make any patch polyphonic —multiple notes played simultaneously, rather than one note only—simply by pressing a button.
The version I own has no keyboard attached—just 18 unmarked knobs. They're unmarked because, depending on the patches you create, each knob might control anything (or combination of things). It sounds great. It covers the range from nearly convincing classic analog sounds to a variety of smooth or damaged digital phenomena. If I get bored with this synth, it's because I don't have a good idea—it's inexhaustible. Yet it's become the core of my live setup for both Mood Organ and TJ MAX because it's incredibly practical. It's always holding down a heavy bass line and at least one other sound when I'm playing. I can have it playing four separate tracks, each controlled by an external controller. I can manipulate the sounds live using the knobs, and change out sounds during or between songs with minimal downtime.
Raica
RAICA (CHLOE HARRIS)
I really couldn't do anything I do without my Doepfer Dark Time. It can be manipulated so easily and I use it in so many different ways from note changes to patterns to how long or short a sound is. It's really fun and intuitive, also.
Apartment Fox
APARTMENT FOX (ALEX NEERMAN)
The most integral piece(s) of equipment I use are two drum machines: an MB808 and a 9090, both of which are clones of the original Roland TR-808 and TR-909 that I built. Layering the two bass drums and creating dense polyrhythms with the other drums are the foundation of my music.
Airport
AIRPORT (JAYSON KOCHAN)
I like my MIDI cables. Without them my music would be a cacophonous mess, which could also be cool I suppose. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface (I had to look that up). In a nutshell, these pretty little 5 pin cables provide synchronization within the drum machine, bass machine, and synthesizers.
Simic
SIMIC (BEN BLOCK)
The piece of equipment that is the most crucial for my live set is my Vermona DRM1-MKIII Drum Synthesizer. It is an analog drum synthesizer made by the German company Vermona. Like many drum machines/synthesizers, it offers the standard kick, hi-hats, and clap sounds, but the remaining drum channels are much more abstract than what you might find in a traditional drum machine (rimshot, crash, toms, etc.). These channels use both FM synthesis and pitch control to create a unique set of percussive and non-percussive sounds that allow me to experiment with a wide variety of sonic elements that can be modified live. While initially overwhelming with the amount of possibilities it provides, the Vermona has become a critical part of my sound as I continue exploring its limits.
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