Takeyuki Hakozaki – Pollypraha

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

I love the rotary switch that changes between record and playback on the Nagra 4.2. 
The beauty of the shape and the feel when turning it, is the best.

Nagra 4.2

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

Make Noise Morphagene is an almost perfect module. I love the wide range of sample changes and the very clear interface. 

Make Noise Morphagene

I like how easy it is to maneuver something that would be painstaking in software. 

The sound quality of the output is a bit peculiar, so a better preamp or VCA built in would be perfect. 

But currently I generally run ‘Shallow Water’ or ‘Analog Heat’ through it, so that’s not a problem.

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

I do very few gigs and try not to bring my instruments on holiday. 
However, I always use more than one Nagra for my exhibitions. So no matter where I play, I need a car.

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

For software that I wish was hardware, this is definitely ’GRM Tools’!
And vice versa, Ciat-Lonbarde Cocoquantus2.

Ciat-Lonbarde Cocoquantus2

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

I regret selling ‘Qu-Bit Electronix’s Chance and Prism, so much so that I bought Prism back!

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

The Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water.

Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water

I was really impressed when I ran a synth through Shallow Water for the first time.
Even simple, cold digital synth sounds and linear sine waves take on a warm, musical character. I completely fell in love with it.
I’m running two ‘Shallow Waters’ through most of the songs on my album ‘Season of Strangers’ which was released this summer.

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

Novation Peak maybe! It’s my favorite synth these days.
Peak is also used on many of the tracks I have released this year.

Novation Peak

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

Nagra reel to reel recorders. I use Nagras not only in my music, but also in exhibitions and art, and they are inseparable from my current expressive activities.

Nagra reel to reel

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

I guess I was experimenting with the Intellijel Shifty a lot, and was able to generate a canon.
By purchasing another Shifty, I was able to create complex canons from a single 1V/oct signal.

Intellijel Shifty

This is a huge digression, but bear with me (lol.)

As a teenager, I was struck by Steve Reich’s many musical techniques.
I didn’t hear his work in chronological order, but probably the first things I heard were “Eight Lines” and “Music for a Large Ensemble.”
These pieces are characterized by a technique in which a single note is found, and then the number of notes increases and increases until it finally becomes a melody.
I still think that this technique is one of the coolest expressions of music, as it combines beauty and perceptual pleasure.
I can’t use that technique in my own work though, because it would really be a rip-off of Reich’s work….
I was also amazed by his other famous techniques such as “phase shifting process” and “augmentation technique.”
I found it difficult to perceive the Serialism music that was popular in the 1960s, but all of Reich’s techniques are perfect for me, combining musical beauty and enjoyment.


Artist or Band name?

Pollypraha and Takeyuki Hakozaki

Genre?

Ambient, Minimal, Contemporary Classical.

Selfie?

Takeyuki Hakozaki in the studio

Where are you from?

Born in Kobe, Japan. Now living in Chiba, Japan.

How did you get into music?

I learned to play the trumpet in elementary school. After that, I guess I majored in classical guitar and clarinet. Later, I bought an electric guitar in high school and started composing music.

What still drives you to make music?

Making music has been a habit for over 20 years, just like eating and sleeping, and my body needs it.

How do you most often start a new track?

I often start by coming up with a melody line.

How do you know when a track is finished?

When I think that it’s good enough. I never feel that there is nothing more that could be done with a track, even once it’s been released.

Show us your current studio

Studio with a view
View of the studio
Pedals galore
Watkins Copycat Tape Delay
Studio at night

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

I don’t think I have ever received advice on composing music in my life.
In the sense that existence itself is advice, these are the artists I was passionate about as a teenager.
For painters, I was influenced by Sam Francis, for visual artists, Stan Brakhage, for designers, Martin Margiela, and so on.
Through these influences, I learned that expression has no boundaries or limitations. I also learned how to intentionally frame the absence of boundaries and restrictions.

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

Trope/Pollypraha

https://pollypraha.bandcamp.com/album/trope

It’s a recently released EP.


Chris Joye – Joy of Crisynther

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.

Pladask Elektrisk Tåken delay pedal
Pladask Elektrisk Tåken delay pedal

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
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!

Omnichord OM-84
Omnichord OM-84

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.  

Warwick Infinity LTD 2000 bass and my Fender Telecaster
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.

Short cables

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.

Apple Logic Chase MIDI 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?

Chris En-Joye-ing himself in his studio

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.

No Joye in Chris’ studio

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


Joel Negus – Synthing Classics

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

Cutoff on the Moog Sub25. Nothing like the ladder filter!

Moog Subsequent 25

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

The Vermona DRM-1 mkiii is amazing, but maaaan I wish the trigger inputs were on the front panel!

Vermona DRM-1 mkiii and Lyra-8

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

OP1 basically lives in my backpack if it’s not out in the studio. I’ll often develop ideas on it that end up staying on a track.

Teenage Engineering OP-1

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

Couldn’t come up with a direct answer to this question 😂 so decided to answer it by saying that the Arturia Polybrute beautifully blends software / hardware as a complete instrument.

A Strymon Zuma trying to hide an Arturia Polybrute

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

I used to own a Korg SV-1 until my dad passed his 1977 Rhodes down to me. I always enjoyed playing the sv-1 and realize I shouldn’t have sold it whenever I see one.

On the Rhodes again… I cain’t wait to get on the Rhodes again!

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

The Moog Subharmonicon!!! More ideas have started on that thing than any other instrument for me (except maybe the piano).

Moog Subharmonicon and friends

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

If I had known just how magical tape echo was, I probably would’ve wanted it sooner… but it probably wouldn’t have been first 😂

Echo Fix EF-X2

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

The helping hand for soldering!!!

A helping hand for soldering

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

I recently learned about the tails mode on the Earthquakes Avalanche Run – haven’t used it yet, but I couldn’t believe I didn’t know about that before I bought it!

An avalanche of eurorack! Run!!!

Artist or Band name?

Joel Negus

Genre?

Various, often in classical / jazz / electro-acoustic worlds

Selfie?

Joel Negus

Where are you from?

Born and raised in Chicago IL, but I’ve been in Cleveland OH for 15 years.

How did you get into music?

Both of my parents are professional musicians. Growing up, I was a boy soprano 🤵 and my dad had me sing on a number of commercials on the jingle scene. Eventually I fell hard into the punk rock scene, which turned to metal – I was a part of starting the band Born of Osiris. Changed directions in high school and focused on classical / jazz upright bass.

What still drives you to make music?

Creativity cannot be severed from relationships. The very act of making itself is collaborative – this connection to others is a constant source of inspiration.

How do you most often start a new track?

Playing an instrument and a spark hits. Recently though, trying to think more in silence before jumping in – starting more in my head. Always looking for different ways to compose!

Korg MS-20

How do you know when a track is finished?

I rarely “feel” that it’s finished, but I suppose it’s when I’m at the height of my excitement over it. I’ve found it best to wrap it up somewhat quickly when I’m really excited about how things are sounding.

Show us your current studio

A solemn of guitars
Bass-synth, bass-ukulele, contra-bass

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

We can’t just think about what we’re making, but the social context in which we’re making.

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

I just released a score I did for a modern dance company in town called Inlet Dance Theater. The piece was called Red Tape and was a total joy to collaborate on. Cheers!

https://joelnegus.bandcamp.com/album/red-tape-original-score