Simon Thomas – MosaicTapes

1. Favourite knob or fader or switch on a piece of gear and why?

Mannequins by Whimsical Raps

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with gear and regularly purge almost everything, but there are a few bits that bring so much value to me that I think they are here to stay. The Mannequins modules by Whimsical Raps are such examples, and the ‘big’ knobs on them are so smooth and lovely. They’re really fun to play around with (especially the one on Silhouette).

2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?

I don’t think I do have anything even approaching perfect, to be honest! There are some bits that provide unique value, like the Cocoquantus, and for me I think I prefer having a select number of pieces that make up a ’near perfect’ picture rather than having to rely on one thing.  

Cocoquantus

3. What setup do you bring on holiday or tour or commute etc.?

I rarely make music on the go – I like to create in a quite private way, so making music while commuting feels a bit distracting and uncomfortable. I have taken my laptop on holiday before; I’m a big fan of Max, and patches like ppooll and Leafcutter John’s Forester, have both been really important to me creatively. I also have a young son, so our holidays are really busy, so having my laptop allows me to get going on something very quickly with very little other dependencies. 

Max device Ppooll

4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?

I absolutely would love to see a hardware version of Slate + Ash’s Cycles. That thing is amazing, and having a stand alone box would genuinely be the stuff of dreams.

Slate + Ash’s Cycles

5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?

As I said before, I often sell everything, and I don’t think I regret much, if any. The only thing that comes to mind is a lovely Telecaster which I think I may have had around 2008, and sold probably in 2012. 

Fender Telecaster

6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?

Without a doubt Max MSP (does that count?) I never make music with hardware – it’s a tool for performance for me, and all my music is made in on my laptop. 

I remember when my son was born, I had a 6U/104hp Eurorack case, and I would try to carve out time to make something using it, as I felt insanely guilty for having spent all this money on something which wasn’t being used. Looking back, it felt like a real struggle to get it all out, patch it up, find a spare surface to work on and then try and muster some creative energy. I think within a year I had maybe 2 or 3 half-baked ideas. 

Norns and Grid

There was this thread on Lines about non-traditional DAW like environments (or something like that), and Forester was listed on there. It cost £45 so I decided to give it a go, and within two or three days I had made my first album, The Children of Several Famous Geophysicists. On top of it being creatively freeing, I also felt like I had discovered my sound. I jumped into ppooll soon after that and that became totally indispensable for me (helps that my heroes Fennesz and Tim Hecker both use it). 

7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?

Definitely a laptop – there’s so many cool things to explore; not just Max, but things like Tidal Cycles – there are endless possibilities, and most of them are free! If not, I’d go for a Norns – you can pick up a Shield relatively cheaply and there are so many amazing scripts to explore… plus you can record to the hard drive.

Norns Shield and Grid

8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?

That’s an incredibly difficult question – I tend to get rid of things that I find annoying. With that in mind though, I’d probably say my guitar – I’d obviously never get rid of it as I dearly love it, but I think my annoyance comes from my poor technical ability. I also think that as a sound-making device, I find it hard to make it sound like anything other than a guitar, which I find frustrating. 

9. Most surprising tip or trick or technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?

It’s not gear specific, but re-amping things I think is a really cool trick to transform sounds into something new, especially using ‘crappy’ recording devices – iPhones, cassette players, children’s toys (especially if broken). Magic.  


Artist or Band name?

I make music as Mosaic Tapes

Genre?

‘Ambient’ although I don’t really like that term. Soundscapism? I dunno, it’s all pretty reductive. 

Selfie?

MosiacTapes aka. Simon Thomas

Where are you from?

I live just outside of London

How did you get into music?

My dad was always into music – he had loads of CDs, and my Uncle was a pretty successful musician – he was the guitarist of a band called Charlie and produced the album Dangerous Age by Bad Company as well as working with 3 Colours Red and The Yo Yos. He taught me and my brother how to play guitar, and when I was 16 and my brother was 14 we started a band. We did a couple of UK tours and supported some pretty decent bands, but broke up in 2007. I still think the songs are great; my brother is a world-class song writer and it shows in everything he has done since. 

What still drives you to make music?

I have a compulsion; I have to be creative or I get frustrated and down. I’ve been playing live more this year than before, so I have been focusing on my live set and creating less, but it still scratches the itch for me. 

How do you most often start a new track?

Usually it will start with an interesting sample that I have made in Cycles, or have discovered, and then I will warp that out of all recognition and then start layering other bits on top of it. 

How do you know when a track is finished?

All of my tracks are done in a single take, so it’s done when I run out of steam and everything fades away. It’s a really useful way of not over engineering ideas.

Show us your current studio

Sadly, I don’t have the space for a studio, so I usually just commandeer the dining table. 

MosaicTapes desktop studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

If you have creative block, don’t try and force it – it’ll only make you feel worse. Go for a walk and it’ll come back to you. 

Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.

I released a track with Jogging House recently: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/is-this-single/1793909231 

And my album Beloved Algorithms came out last December: https://lontanoseries.bandcamp.com/album/beloved-algorithms 


Vincenzo Gabriele – Estelle Avenue

1. Favourite knob or fader or switch on a piece of gear and why?

Akai s612 sampler

It would have to be the start and end sliders on the Akai s612. I love the immediacy of playing with those sliders and reversing the sample with my fingers. That tactile feel lets me feel more connected to the sample.

2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?

It would have to be the EMU Command Station. I love the sound it puts out. Plus the 16 track sequencer and hands on real time sound manipulation that can be had. If I could change something about it, it would be to save presets and programs better.

EMU Command Station

3. What setup do you bring on holiday or tour or commute etc.?

Just my iPhone running Koala sampler with either AUM or EG Nodes. I usually can create something I’m happy with using that, without the worry of having expensive pedals/synths/samplers broken, lost, or stolen.

Koala sampler

4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?

BACKMASK by Freakshow Industries. It’s some type of reverse, but more than just a regular reverse. Whatever it’s doing is usually pretty wild, but sonically pleasing.

Backmask by Freakshow Industries

5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?

My brother and I bought a Studer A820 8 Track 1 inch machine from a local radio station. Low hours, pristine condition. We made some great recordings, just recording super hot at 30ips. We never did any maintenance on it and so one day (surprise, surprise), it stopped working. I definitely don’t regret buying it, and we haven’t sold it, so I can’t regret selling it. LOL!!
I regret not being able to fix it. (but hope to one day)

Studer A820 8 Track 1 inch machine

6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?

The Hologram Electronics Microcosm. Once I got that, it allowed me to start thinking outside the box. Giving old cheap keyboard/samplers a whole new lease on life. It inspired me to try and run different things through it to see the outcome.

Hologram Electronics Microcosm

7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?

Most likely the most powerful iPad Pro I could possibly afford. I believe they are capable of producing incredible results, in such a fast, efficient, portable, and sonically pleasing way.
I just enjoy plugging and unplugging things more. Twisting knobs and pushing faders is satisfying too.

8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?

Chase Bliss Habit. I don’t know exactly what it’s doing, but I need it on all the time.

Chase Bliss Habit

9. Most surprising tip or trick or technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?

If you split your bass into two channels and run one into the mic input of the Akai S612, and the other direct, (essentially using the Akai as a distortion) you get a bass that really rips and cuts through the mix.

Akai S612

Artist or Band name?

Estelle Avenue

Genre?

Experimental Lofi Ambient Sound Texture Moments

Selfie?

Vincenzo Gabriele aka. Estelle Avenue

Where are you from?

Italian descent
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada

How did you get into music?

My parents bought my sister, brother, and I a Casio keyboard when we were young. I didn’t think much about at the time, but it must have had some affect on me.

What still drives you to make music?

I love creating something new when I can. It’s very therapeutic. A creative outlet.

How do you most often start a new track?

I try to go and create whenever I get the itch to.

How do you know when a track is finished?

I don’t really create tracks. Just moments.
Create something. Upload. Gone forever.
I’m not going to play it live or try and recreate it somewhere else.

Show us your current studio

Tempera Beetlecrab Audio
EHX Q-Tron and Memory Man
Walrus Audio R1 and buddy
Rack FX

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the process and have fun.

Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.

https://www.instagram.com/estelle.avenue


M. Beckmann – Post Droner

1. Favourite knob or fader or switch on a piece of gear and why?

Count to 5 by Montreal Assembly

The “E” switch on Count to 5 by Montreal Assembly, specifically on mode three. I love the eight seconds looping mode and that switch is the one that allows you to add a second and a third playback of the same loop, also reversed and pitched up or down, chromatically or at different intervals. I love the ability to abruptly add some sped-up elements.

2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?

Since I primarily loop stuff, I have to go with Blooper by Chase Bliss. Even though it has a 30 seconds limit and it’s mono (which contextually is what I would change), it’s a very powerful and versatile looper, and I could probably perform just with it – and say a guitar and reverb, or OP1, or a keyboard in general – and get plenty of inspiration.

3. What setup do you bring on holiday or tour or commute etc.?

Usually on holiday (since I don’t do many livesets) a backpack with my norns and grid by monome, OP1 field and a stereo pedal – Zoia or Mood MkII, or Walrus M1 – maybe now the latest addition, Chroma Console.

4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?

Ridgewalk iOS app

I recently discovered Ridgewalk by Aqeel Aadam as AU on my iPad and I really love it, an original and accessible take on a looper/delay/granulator. I’d love to have it in pedal form. I guess I would expose my laziness by saying that I’d love to have any Spitfire library on hardware – because I could “just” learn cello or something. Though, since I love portability, I’d love if they could do some cheaper libraries for OP1 or stuff like that. That would be great.

5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?

I regret selling my 2019 monome norns shield. After I got my hands on the original
manufactured by monome, I kept it for 6 months or so, and then I decided to sell it. I really wish I didn’t, norns scripts are a real source of fun and potential ambient-electronic bliss, and having a couple of units should be really nice in a live DAWless setting.

6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?

Probably a tie between the app Samplr (I started 14 years ago heavily using iPad for making music) and the OP1 (I had the OG before the field), mainly for their sample mangling and looping capabilities. I love treating dusty recording as samples or loops, and both excel in that.

7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?

If I had not much money I would start over just like I started 14 years ago, which means an iPad and apps in the AUM ecosystem. I think iPad music making is also a good combination of software flexibility and tactile experience. There’s lots of inspiring stuff to explore. If I had plenty of money I would go modular – always in a sample-oriented way, like granular and looping modules above all. That’s very tempting!

8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?

Zoom H6

My Zoom H6 recorder, it is annoying in that it is old and also for the fact that five years ago or so I decided to set the screen as always backlit when powered on: the constant high brightness level started whitening the corners about 3 years ago and now the display is all white except for a central circle, where I can barely see the levels. I will need to change it some day.

9. Most surprising tip or trick or technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?

Pladask Baklengs

This is not so much a trick or tip on a piece of gear, I probably have very little wisdom in that regard, but something I find useful to balance my dark EQ instinct, so to say. I very often tend to cut a lot the high frequencies while recording, but I do know that “they are good for me”, so I started using Baklengs by Pladask Elektrisk in its octave up mode right after Blooper, which creates a fluffy and digitally-warbly higher pillow of sound to lift up the whole piece. I mix it in as I go.

Chase Bliss Blooper

Artist or Band name?

M. Beckmann / the volume settings folder

Genre?

Ambient-drone-post rock

Selfie?

M. Beckmann / the volume settings folder

Where are you from?

Padua, Italy

How did you get into music?

Gawd, it’s been a journey! I was into techno-eurodance stuff between 7th and 9th grade, then a friend at school lent me a copy of Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson, and I was hooked. From mainstream modern metal (here is where I started playing guitar, obviously) I started exploring the fringes – drone, post metal, post rock, ambient, electronica… and here I am!

What still drives you to make music?

I love making sounds and compositions that evoke the feeling of nostalgia, even if it’s not attached to a particular event or person (I recently found out that this is called anemoia, the nostalgia for a time you never experienced). That’s it. Better making this music myself than waiting for someone else to please my taste.

How do you most often start a new track?

By throwing a couple of chords – or a melody if I’m really inspired – into my pedals, start looping and building up from there.

How do you know when a track is finished?

I always finish a track – and by that I mean that since my approach is mainly improvisational and recorded on the spot, I can’t and I don’t want to treat it much further on my DAW (even though I sometimes do it). In fact, the feeling of knowing that I will not need to expand on what I recorded with some post-production is what makes me say that I did something good and I can consider it finished.

Show us your current studio

Table of fx pedals
Studio desk

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

To force yourself into using sounds or gear that you don’t like in principle, or make you uncomfortable, and incorporate even bits of these into your music. I don’t always put it in practice, but I have to admit that when I do the results are very good, more original than usual. I can’t remember who said this.

Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.

Here’s a link to my bandcamp page with the latest releases, and to my social network pages:
https://linktr.ee/thevolumesettingsfolder