Pyn – DiscoPopGrin

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

The Cut-Off knob on my Dave Smith – Prophet 6. I use this a lot when I play around with arpeggiators.

DSI Prophet 6

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

No, I’m always looking for new things/stuff, although I’m really happy with my Prophet 6 and Korg Poly 61 synthesizers.

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

My MacBook, a microphone and a guitar to write the basic of a new song/idea.

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

I don’t really have a wish like that at the moment.

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

Yeah maybe the Roland MC-303, it’s really difficult to program it, so I don’t use it a lot.

Roland MC303

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

I started playing guitar and I still do, so I guess guitar is the most important instrument for me. Ableton Live made me develop my production and beatmaking skills.

PYN and sparkly Telecaster

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

Still a guitar, a computer with Ableton and a microphone. And I would still want to learn how to play guitar first, it’s great to learn an instrument so you can play and sing your own songs.

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

I guess microphones, it is a constant search to find the right one that completely suits your voice.

Blue Mic and Shure SM7B

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

Use Guitar Rig on other instruments than just guitar. You can get crazy sounds when you put a Guitar Rig on synths, vocals etc. and tweak them to a cool sound. And of course the reverse knob in Ableton, who can live without that these days 😉


Artist name

PYN

Genre

Pop/Disco

Selfie

PYN

Where are you from?

Bloemendaal, The Netherlands

How did you get into music?

Playing guitar since I was 10, writing and singing since I was 15 I guess 🙂 When I was 21 I started my study at the conservatory.

What still drives you to make music?

Listening to new and old music of other artists drives me to be create, and ideas that pop up in my head drive me to stay creative.

How do you most often start a new track?

It can start by an instrumental idea I have, or a melody or line that pops up in my head.

PYN at the pink guitar

How do you know when a track is finished?

This is the most difficult part of music. It is never really done, so at some point when I am happy and my team is happy, I send it to mixing and mastering engineers and they finish it.

Show us your current studio

PYN’s studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Make room for playing while you’re creating. The fun of creating must never disappear.

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

My latest releases are the song ‘Spring Fever‘ an up disco track and ‘Night Drive‘ an 80’s duet with MATTEO.


[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…
]


Samplik Prost – Simple Sample

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

Tascam 424 Varispeed knob

This is the varispeed pitch control on the Tascam 424. My favorite knob. I like that you can use it to get a completely different song.

[Editor: This is a classic machine and that knob is a personal fave too]

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

I really like to shoot music videos on the street and I’m missing some kind of rig/stand for my kit.

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

Pocket Operators Operating

This is 3x po33 po-32 po-35, two reverb pedals, a bunch of wires, sony TCS-580V stereo cassette-corder and zoom recorder. Everything fits in one backpack

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

This is a stereo extender for mono devices

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

Yes, this is rk004 by retrokits. Great device, but I didn’t need it

rk004 by retrokits

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

This is po-33. I don’t know how it works, but every time when I pick it up, I create a new track.

Teenage Engineering PO33KO

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

PO400

I think it’s a modular synthesis. Although it’s not too late to get to know it better.

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

Ahahahah great question. This is a po-400. It really helps to understand the principles of working with sound, but sometimes I don’t understand anything at all.

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

On the PO33KO, if you select the filter mode, turn the encoder in different directions and hold the record button, you can get an amazing result. An example can be found here 👉  https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt3cRKzlq8y/    


Artist or Band name?

samplik prost / In Russian it means a “simple sample”.

Genre?

Disco house chill hop.

Samplik Prost

Where are you from?

Moscow, Russia

How did you get into music?

In middle school, my friend taught me how to play the guitar. He’s left-handed and I’m right-handed.It was fun. After that, I couldn’t stop making music.It’s always been a hobby. We played punk rock and alternative. It was a long time ago.But 3 years ago when I got my first pocket operator, I became interested in electronic music. I realized that there are no genres and that you can experiment as you want.

What still drives you to make music?

Most likely, this is a search for new ideas and solutions. It’s like searching for diamonds.You know they are there, but you need to dig a lot. But sometimes you find them right away.

How do you most often start a new track?

I start by searching for a nice chord, then drums and of course vocal samples.

How do you know when a track is finished?

When I feel that everything is in its place and I can start making the next track.

Show us your current studio

I want to move some of my stuff to the wall to free up my workspace.

Samplik Prost Studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Steal Like an Artist / True, I haven’t read this book, but I like the title.

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

My first experience in creating music in this style  https://youtu.be/X5oRReeCTMQ
But my main experiments I am posting here:

https://www.instagram.com/samplikprost/


[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…
]