1. Favourite knob/fader/switch on a piece of gear and why?
Right now I’m crushing hard on the faders of the Verbos Harmonic Oscillator. But in a longer perspective I’ve got to say the Octave and Waveform switches on the Vermona Perfourmer, the resistance and “click” is true perfection.
2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?
That would be my analog noise machine, aka my cat, Frasse. He makes all kinds of inspiring noises. But he would benefit a lot from a gain knob.
3. What setup do you bring on holiday/tour/commute etc.?
My laptop and, if not completely impossible, my trusty eurorack case!
4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?
The blisko cello kit from felt instruments. I absolutely love it, but I would love it even more if I could have a small(ish) stand alone device with knob per function.
5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?
I once bought and later sold the Waldorf Streichfett. Then I bought it again, and sold it again. Give me another year and I’ll probably have bought it a third time..
6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?
My Hammond SK-1. Right now I use it as part time Hammond organ and part time midi keyboard for using the Spitfire felt piano.
7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?
I would, as last time, get a piano first. Learning the piano and music theory is really the staple of how I approach writing music. I find it very enjoyable to compose on the piano and then arrange it for eurorack, strings and piano.
8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?
My laptop. I can’t say I enjoy working on the computer when making music, but I can’t see myself managing without a computer at this moment.
9. Most surprising tip/trick/technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?
Not really a trick, but I recently was surprised by how much I love the distortion you can create with Mutable instruments Veils just by pushing it towards the exponential mode. There are like a million sweetspots there when using it with various sound sources!
Artist or Band name?
Urba Doloro
Genre?
Somewhere between electronic minimalism and classical music maybe?
Where are you from?
Sweden, currently living in Västerås. It’s basically in the middle of Sweden, close by Stockholm.
How did you get into music?
I often went to a small record store called Jay’s records to buy a bunch of Bob Dylan albums when I was like 16 or 17 years old. One day the store owner told me he had put away something special for me. It was The Brown Album from The Band. It 100% blew me away and for the first time I understood why people love both playing and listening to music. I spent all summer learning the songs on piano. To this day the track King Harvest is still one of my absolute favorite songs of all time.
What still drives you to make music?
It’s a combination of doing it for myself because I feel a need to, but also to be able to communicate views on human society that I feel is not the most focused on in music. Urban alienation being the main theme I try to work with.
How do you most often start a new track?
It’s twofold. The creative process is generally started with reading scientific articles/books within my line of work, urban planning, to find topics to composer over. The actual writing of the music is almost always starts at the piano. I tend to start out with a few rules of limitations and then improvise over them for an hour or two. Then I try to find pieces of the improvisation I like and start arranging them.
How do you know when a track is finished?
I really don’t. I’ve had serious problems finishing projects the last few years. However, I’m really trying to find some kind of middle road right now by letting friends listen to my tracks. Based on their reactions (and of course my own judgement) I decide when things are finished.
Show us your current studio
I’m waiting for a new grand piano, which will spice up my “studio”. So for now it’s just my eurorack case, my laptop, and my hammond. I tend to try to move it around a lot in my apartment to stay inspired, here is a summer-version of my studio!
Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?
I’m going to go with something Todd Barton recently told me when discussing what to buy/not to buy and how to stay creative, he told me to “Follow the sound”.
Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.
My instagram always loves some support.
[Editor: Do you have a favorite tip, trick or way of working with any of the gear from this interview?
Then throw a comment below…]