Sophia Saze

Tascam DR-05

It’s not pictured above, but the Tascam DR-05 is one of the most essential pieces in my setup. Field recordings are a massive part of my output. Adding sonic environment at its most discreet frequencies almost always immediately triggers the brain into impactful spatial awareness. I record as much of everything as possible. For example, in my upcoming remix for Heathered Pearls’ ‘The Packard Plant’, I spent a week walking around grungy warehouses in my neighbourhood to grab atmospheric recordings which accurately captured the essence of the track.

I’ve also been working on a more downtempo emotive record which is unreleased. I sampled all my family’s old VHS tapes for ambience, percussion and other sounds alike. Another useful application is layering the field recordings to add grit especially to percussive elements, such as a distorted swooshing wind sound gated to a snare drum.

Books

Therapy and moreover, inspiration. Constantly reading new material keeps my sanity and fuels my ideas. Technology has certainly taken its toll on our generation and books are nowhere near as respected or widely read nowadays, but this only makes it more stimulating to me to frequent the library religiously and keep my mind fresh. A recent favourite of mine is Sound System – The Political Power Of Music (Dave Randall), a study across historical eras and various waves, analysing what makes music the powerful force it is.

SKETCHBOOKS & ARTWORK

This image was actually drawn by my friend and visual artist Kyle Hopkins. It was the original sketch for the artwork we used on the first vinyl release for my label, Dusk & Haze. I work with different illustrators per release to select art that visually complements the music’s intent. I also store a large paper box in my studio space which contains all the material content we use for the label. I like to keep an analogue, tangible feel to everything we put out – a collection of hand-drawn images, scanned collages and merch. I make a large portion of the art myself also, from flyers to videos and lately getting back to drawing again. Adding multi-media facets outside of music expands my palette of creativity to challenge and push boundaries even further.

Minion

I have a slight obsession with cartoons, especially the Minions. My friends know what to gift me over the holidays by now, like this toy which sits above my interface and serves as a daily reminder to not take music too seriously. It’s important to remember that this is all meant to be an enjoyable experience and not perplexing.