How long is the Kylie Minogue tour?
It's about eight months total. We've done five shows now, so I guess it's been going nearly two weeks. We came to Melbourne three weeks prior to that to get into the rehearsal process.
"Can't Get You Out of My Head" is such a jam.
One of my teenhood jams, that one. Iconic video.
Can you tell me about your rig for this tour?
On the bottom is a Native Instruments S88 – a full-sized, 88-key MIDI controller – which is going into [Apple] MainStage. That's doing an array of sounds, from piano and Rhodes, to strings and samples. On top, I've got a UDO Super 6 polyphonic analog hybrid synthesizer, which is going through an Eventide H90 and a [Boss] Space Echo, the RE202.
I'm glad the Super 6 came up. I first heard your name because I own a Super 6 and I use your patches all the time. Can you tell me about getting involved in patch design?
It happened organically. UDO's workshop was very close to where I lived in Bristol. I don't remember who approached who, but it's likely that Adrian Utley from Portishead introduced us. Constructing a sound from nothing is something I've been drawn to for a long time. It's ingrained in both my studio and live work. But word's gotten around since my work with UDO, and I've had the pleasure of working with companies like Soniccouture as well.
What's your design process when a synth builder requests patches?
I can't deny the satisfaction of creating prescribed sounds – [Roland] Juno pads, Theremins, Moog bass – which often occurs in my live touring work. But I'm lucky enough with the builders to also be given free rein to follow a creative thread. Someone might come to me for patches that represent a performer's visceral exploration of the instrument. My approach varies vastly depending on whether I'm aiming for lead or percussive sounds, ever-shifting pad sounds, or sounds with rhythmic patterns. But I always try to create personality in a sound, no matter how complex or simple. I still want an almost human feel. So, I use modulation – LFOs, envelopes, etc. – but also articulation aspects like aftertouch, mod wheels, and expression pedals. Some combinations can create unpredictable movement or responses, like filter or waveform modulation with LFOs, or looped envelopes of varying times and shapes. Some synths want simplicity and absolutely sing with just a single sawtooth and very subtle modulation. It's a conversation with the instrument, so listening before responding is a big part of it. Also, it's knowing when to capture something before you've moved on and lost a sound forever.
Your patches sound like they were made by a composer with a particular need. Maybe I'm projecting, but each patch feels designed to be a single element in an arrangement, rather than an arrangement in and of itself.
One of the things people say they appreciate about what I do is that when I build sounds, I'm not necessarily thinking like a true techie. I'm thinking as a creative artist, and I’m considering how I want to express a feeling. Even when I'm exploring something like the Super 6, where it can go very deep, I don't want to overcrowd. The same applies for found sound. Before I was interested in synthesizers, I was, and still am, hugely into musique concrète – lots of samples and manipulation. Synthesizers became incorporated within that framework.
That approach is audible on your EP [The Embrace]. There are tons of sounds – "whirling water, clinking metal, knocking wood, and characterful analog synths," by your own description – but every one of them is a singular voice.
Arranging those songs was about having everything be there for a purpose and trying not to overcomplicate. Simplicity can be refreshing. It might be a kind of rebellion against my original background, which is classical. At one point I didn't like the idea that somebody might see me play the piano and it wouldn't come across as virtuosic. I had to really give myself a talking to. "It's not about virtuosity. It's about the music."
How do you break that habit?
The producer I was working with, TJ Allen, gave me a bit of an assignment: "Write a pop song where you are only playing two notes at a time." You just get your two index fingers to play the whole song.
That's a great assignment.
It did the trick!
Can we talk about the last song on the EP, "Fragile Creature"? It's sonically unique in the collection, and the backing vocals are astonishing.
I wrote "Fragile Creature" at a different time to the other songs, which makes sense as to why it stands out. It started with a sample of a dial-up modem, which I pitched down, looped, and then let it roll. I wrote the song over top of that. The demo consisted of piano and vocals. The synths replaced this Mellotron-y string part. And pretty much all the backing vocal parts that you hear in the finished version are as they were in the demo.
The backing vocals transform this intimate ballad into something theatrical, almost liturgical.
Thank you! I described to Tim [TJ Allen] how I wanted it to feel sonically, in relation to the meaning of song. I don't know if there was a great deal of discussion, it was really just more of an understanding. We did decide beforehand to go into the studio and not tinker with the demo at all. It was what it was, and it had been sitting for a couple of years. Aside from a few overdubs, we pretty much did it in one day.
Where did you record?
