analog synth Archives - Martin Yam Møller

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

Of course, it’s the cutoff knob; it changes the tone so beautifully and effectively. But the decay knob is also one of my favorite knobs, because it’s the way to get beautiful pluck sounds.

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

For a long time, I thought the Sequential Prophet Rev 2 was my perfect synth, but since I got a Moog Muse, my opinion has slowly changed. It’s incredible how quickly and easily you can coax beautiful and powerful sounds out of the Muse.

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

Since I always go on vacation in a camper van, my setup has to be pretty small. Lately, I’ve been taking the Novation Peak with me on my trips. It’s an incredibly good-sounding synth and very versatile; with it, I can almost always do without additional VSTs.

Novation Peak, Arturia MicroLab and Laptop

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

I often use VST GForce Oberheim DMX as a drum kit. It would be cool to have it as hardware.

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

Most of the time, I have to sell hardware to buy new ones. But I’m slowly getting my setup together, I’ve tried a lot of things, and I’ve sold the Nord Lead and the Yamaha MODX, for example. It always takes me a while, and I end up idling around a synth, watching YouTube videos, or driving to our amazing music store in Cologne and testing it out there. Currently, I find the Vermona Performer MKII very exciting 🙂

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

The Sequential Prophet Rev 2 was always the most inspiring synth. A few years ago, I sold it to buy a Nord Lead. A big mistake… I sold the Lead and got the Rev 2 again.

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

If I had to start all over again today, the Moog Muse would be my first synth, and as soon as I have more money I would get the Rev 2.

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

I’ve had a Tascam Model 24 for a few months now. I finally have enough audio channels to keep all my synths connected at all times. This mixer is the centerpiece of my studio. I don’t know how I ever worked without it before 🙂 It’s so easy to integrate it into CUBASE and record with it.

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

I love processing my pluck sounds with reverb and echo to create a wide soundscape. I like to use Baby Audio’s Spaced Out and sync it to the MIDI clock. It can create very nice, wide sounds.

Artist or Band name?

Martin 🙂

Genre?

I actually find it very difficult to categorize my music into a genre; I don’t really think about it. I go into the studio with a certain mood in mind, and I’m usually surprised by the kind of music that emerges. I think you can hear that in my tracks on Instagram, too; they’re often very diverse.

Selfie?

Where are you from?

I am from Germany and live in a small town called Hilden near Düsseldorf.

How did you get into music?

I took my first piano lesson at the age of 6. Later, I played in many bands. Then I took a longer break and focused more on photography, which is how I earned my living. When my son showed interest in the piano at the age of 3, I was hooked again.

What still drives you to make music?

Music is my companion in all situations. Our house is usually filled with music, and I can best express my feelings with it. It often doesn’t matter whether I listen to music or make it myself.

How do you most often start a new track?

I usually do a jam session every Sunday, as I have the time and almost always feel like it. Sometimes I have a theme in mind; sometimes I spontaneously sit down at a synth and let myself be inspired. And sometimes I just sit at the piano.

For the past two years, I’ve also been doing this jam session: 31 days = 31 jams. It was very stressful on the one hand, but also very educational. There’s something really nice about spending a few hours in the studio every day.

How do you know when a track is finished?

Most of the time, I manage to finish a track for Instagram without having to keep tweaking it during mixing and mastering until it no longer sounds right. It’s a gut feeling when a track is finished.

Show us your current studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

It was especially helpful for me to keep the studio speaker volume down while recording and to listen to the finished mix on different speakers. I mostly work with my JBL speakers, even for mixing. I also have two older Kurzweil speakers, which I also want the mix to sound good on. Finally, I listen with headphones and then again really loudly with the JBLs.

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

Not the latest but one of my best jams 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpAfo5IjYWg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MmMxZTF4N2tzY2li

Latest jam:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKo9B_2JaAp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NDhoN2tobng2cjNv

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

Probably the Cutoff knob on my Moog Mother-32. I just love how dramatically it opens or closes the sound.

Moog Mother-32 Cutoff knob — Moog Mother-32

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

Pladask Elektrisk Tåken delay pedal. I would put three together (a Triple Tåken?) similar to my TC Electronics Triple Flashback delay.

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

It depends where I’m going, but I usually end up bringing the wrong kit and then get an e-mail request to create something entirely different. I’ve been trying to bring my Zoom H4N to capture sounds or found instruments and usually a Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator or three.

Zoom H4N and a bunch of Pocket Operators

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

My Omnichord OM-84 as a playable plug-in would be cool. Conversely, putting the complete Soundtoys plug-in suite into a pedal would be amazing!

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

I sold an Ibanez Gary Willis signature 5-string fretless bass for a Fender Jazz copy and cry every time I remember. I’m pretty careful what gear I buy now, generally, but there have definitely been a few pedals I questioned and re-sold rather quickly.

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

Probably a tie between my Warwick Infinity LTD 2000 bass and my Fender Telecaster.

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

First, a sufficient room to compose and mix in… but that’s not gear, so maybe proper room treatments… ok, ok, a nice set of monitors.

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

The short guitar pedal connector cables that always seem to break or crackle.

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

Maybe not a bit of kit, but in Apple Logic, the “Chase MIDI Note” option so that it triggers the MIDI note even if you start the playhead in the middle of the note.

Artist or Band name?

Chris Joye (but, I also created a handful of albums under the moniker Cue, and then also as Christopher Joye, before settling into my actual name)

Genre?

Typically a blend of indie rock with classical/soundtrack elements

Selfie?

Where are you from?

I live near Seattle, Washington.

How did you get into music?

My dad always played classical music on his big sound system and my mom listened to Oldies. I took piano lessons as a kid, but quit for sports until one of my brothers bought an electric guitar as a teenager and I decided to play it. Eventually, a friend convinced me to try out bass guitar and I was sold on that!

What still drives you to make music?

The endless options of blending sounds and textures. This can also be a hinderance, too, when you hit a creative block, but it still makes me come back to experiment more.

How do you most often start a new track?

Most of the music I create for myself, I’m still writing with the intention that it may be used in sync to video or a video game or some sort of storyful project later on. So, I guess, I usually start with a concept, maybe it’s a mood, or a theme, or a character or something. However, sometimes, I just mess around with sounds or chords and find an interesting combination.

How do you know when a track is finished?

I’m always intrigued by how a simple melody or chord or texture turns into a full piece. Something usually clicks at some point in the process where I feel like I’ve found the direction to take, I can never pinpoint it, but usually after the 4,000th time of playback, that I can generally feel when a song is done and ready to mix. Sometimes, I’ll add another element or two and if it sounds too cluttered or muddy, then I know I’ve nearly reached this point.

Show us your current studio.

Here it is, more or less.

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

One of my Film Scoring instructors at Berklee said something once that I always remember, “Just finish it and move on.” That may not motivate some people, but it resonates with me!

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

I released my 14th album, “Reposition”, which is an album of spacious ambient tracks that I wrote thinking of dialogue- or emotionally-heavy film scenes that just need a slow-moving “mood” for a backdrop. It’s available everywhere and here https://chrisjoye.bandcamp.com/album/reposition