Rival Consoles

Effects Chain

Synths can easily sound uninspiring, so here is my growing chain of effects. First off, the Copycat tape delay. This is my second one. I love how it breaks up the sound when cranked. The Moog Midimurf I also use to break up the sound into little fragments of stuttered sound. Finally, there’s a simple loop pedal for building layers of ambience.

DSI Prophet 08

This is a great synth which I use all the time. I think it’s best for subtle ambience rather than big massive synth sounds. It has a very deep modulation matrix, lots of scope for complex sounds. I wish the filter was warmer though!

Moog Voyager

A classic synth again. I use this for very, very simple sub bass ’cause it’s so warm and powerful. It always cuts through a mix.

My Live Room

This is where I escape computers and jam with friends on different instruments: guitar, drums, piano, violin, synth, etc. I think this is really important because sitting in front of a computer is not inspiring. People playing, listening and responding to each other is!

My Piano!

I’ve always wanted an upright piano, but never had the space. I recently got this 60s upright which I love. I improvise on this every day, and record everything from the noise of the hammers to full-on prepared piano.

Drums

Who doesn’t like the drums? If you don’t like drums you don’t like life! I love to play. Just lately I have been exploring really quiet rhythms with brushes, which is gonna make its way into my electronic music.

Cheap Mic Collection

I love clicky, textured sounds. So I’m constantly recording things with these…

I have a stereo hand-held device, the Zoom H4N, which I take everywhere and record everything that might be useful, outdoors and indoors. For example, the beat in ‘3 Chords’ is made up of very compressed tape delay switches that I recorded. Simple, but all these things add up to making a more personal and inspired composition.

I also use the Rode NT1a and the Korg contact microphone. I use the contact mic live to create very subtle rhythms via the loop pedal. It’s great for improvisation, because you create more unpredictable rhythms.