Giannis Kampiotis – GAS Newsletterer

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

The metal switches in general. Compared to knobs and sliders and all the other tactile elements of hardware, the metal switches feel the best to me. Every time I switch one, It’s like something SERIOUS is going to happen. They feel like there’s more decisiveness behind them.

Possibly an old Roland synth

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

Hmmm… Actually, no.

But (and there’s always a but) sometimes when I ignore the purpose of a piece of gear and I find my own purpose for it, then something happens where it becomes mine. Of course, since it was not meant to be used as I am using it, it’s almost perfect but it cannot ever be (perfect).

To make perfect gear (for me), I should create my own, which I have no interest in at this point of my life.

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

Pen & Paper.

I do not own any portable gear so when I am traveling, instread I do this:

I find new artists whose music I like, and I listen with the purpose of deconstructing their tracks. Understand their arrangement and uncover their techniques. Most probably, I am wrong and what I am hearing is not what is actually happening in their music. But that’s exactly the point. I’ve got a new technique which might or might not be coming from another artist (A.K.A. inspiration).

That is why I don’t like tutorials. I don’t want specifics. The ‘incorrectness’ is the feature.

Pen & Paper

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

I have no answer for this question.

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

I do regret selling… every piece of gear that I’ve sold.

Why do I keep conceiving my self that it’s the logical move? I should stop this nonsense.

Maybe a guitar pedal

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

It never is gear.

It seems as if they do (inspire us) but it’s not gear. It’s other people.

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

A fully-featured groovebox.

I actually recently started over (after selling all of my gear few years back) and it was with an Ableton Push. I sold it because I didn’t want to have the laptop ON to make music. So I sold the Push and when I was talking with the guy that bought it, I said “this is the best drum machine I ever had.” At the moment, I just said it as a way to tell him that if you’re OK with the laptop, this machine is amazing.

Akai MPC One

I went on to buy an MPC One because of all its features and the DAW-in-a-box thing. The experience of trying to have a DAW in just one tiny box (the MPC) is at least… meh. But then I thought about what I said about the Push. So I started using the MPC as a fully-featured drum machine and not as a one-stop-DAW-solution. The irony, is on Akai… OF COURSE the MPC is a drum machine. If you take it as such, it is one of the best. It’s a beast. But they went for the bigger market and marketed it as a hardware DAW. I also blame my self for listening to Akai for how the MPC should be used.


So my answer is: a groovebox where you can layer lots of effects.

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

The laptop.

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

It’s not new, it’s not surprising, and it’s not a trick, but it’s always magic. 

Recording with my phone the ambience of the room, the street, the beach, or wherever I am, and bringing that into a track… oof! It could be just a kick with that recording and I am instantly transported.


Artist or Band name?

I don’t actively release music. So no names/aliases. But, I sometimes upload recordings on my YouTube channel.

Genre?

Repetition.

Selfie?

🙂

Where are you from?

Athens, Greece

How did you get into music?

My father brought home a full blown hi-fi system, a lot of cassettes and later on, CDs. It was not conscious choice at the time, but I spent a lot of time listening to whatever was there. People noticed and the random gifts became cassettes, CDs, and headphones.

Many many years later, still in school, I walked into a friend’s room and he had these Numark CD-Players and a mixer. We did countless days-months of mixing and recordings. Then I found out about vinyl mixing. Many years as a DJ and then… Ableton… and then… hardware! 

What still drives you to make music?

Exploration and pure enjoyment of the act.

How do you most often start a new track?

The drums and looking for a nice call & response.

How do you know when a track is finished?

I never do.

I have around 30 mins every day to make a nice loop with a quick mix-down. I do it every day, and at the end of the week, I revisit the loops. If the loop still excites me, I record a quick jam with it. That’s it. Most weeks end with a recording with of a few tracks. I upload the mix on YouTube, I share it with friends that like listening to my music and I take a walk with my dog and my headphones and listen to the mix.

Quick, fun, fluent.

Show us your current studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Focus and Diffuse modes of thinking. 

That’s the birthplace of creativity. Learn about it and then, based on that knowledge, you will find what works for you and have creativity unlocked for life.

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

I run a newsletter where I interview music makers (hey :D) where they talk gear, creativity and show their studio. It’s gasnewsletter.com


Megan Leber – Modular Mist

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

Lots, but one of them is the “Tone” knob on the Desmodus Versio. Try turning that reeeaaally slowly 😉 Also every fader from Gaz’ modules (Big T Music LTD), they just feel so sturdy and smooth!

Rangoon and Monsoon from Big T Music LTD  eurorack module
Rangoon and Monsoon from Big T Music LTD

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

This is such a hard question! Well, a bit unexpected maybe, but I’m going for a VST here: Cycles by Slate & Ash. It’s just spot on for me, I could create an entire album using just that. The atmospheres you can get out of there, the subtle movements, the gorgeous effects, the sequencer, the granular part. It’s still so inspiring after 2 years of using it. I also love the Xone 96 by Allen & Heath, this mixer is perfect for my live performances.

Xone 96 by Allen & Heath
Xone 96 by Allen & Heath

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

If I have to bring as little as possible I’d bring my Digitone or Tasty Chips GR-1 and Octatrack. But if I’d do a tour I’d probably add something.

Tasty Chips GR-1
Tasty Chips GR-1

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

Paulstretch and definitely Cycles + Landforms from Slate & Ash. Their software is mindblowing! And vice versa: Intellijel Rainmaker.

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

No! 🙂 You can learn something from every piece of gear. If something doesn’t spark joy anymore or stops inspiring you, just let it go. For instance I recently sold my Mannequins Mangrove and Three Sisters and I think many people would have kept them because they’re so hard to obtain nowadays. But that’s no reason for me to keep stuff.

Three Sisters Module
Three Sisters Module

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

All of my granular modules (Arbhar, Morphagene, Monsoon)! And I’d say that Cycles by Slate & Ash inspired me so much, that it really got me to produce regularly again and to feel creative. It even got me looking into modular again until I couldn’t stop myself from buying the first modules. Since I started with modular I got more and more inspired, especially by the granular modules mentioned above. With these modules, combined with a nice reverb/delay, you can create otherworldly soundscapes which can really carry you away and make you lose track of time. Love that!

Make Noise Morphagene
Make Noise Morphagene

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

I don’t think I would have done anything differently, other than getting into modular earlier on. The creativity I get out of that is unbelievable. Oh and I would have put my music out there earlier too.

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

Hmm, I would say the Octatrack? No, I think I could live without that (if I have to). Unanswered!

Elektron Octatrack
Elektron Octatrack

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

My D.O.MIXX (5-channel mixer module by Blood Cells Audio) has 1 aux send. I just recently found out you can switch between pre/post aux per channel, so if you choose pre aux you can cue your channel with headphones. I’ve now routed that aux send to my Xone 96 mixer (on send D) so I can cue every channel of my modular on there and this is huge to me for my live improvs!

D.O.MIXX (5-channel mixer module by Blood Cells Audio)
D.O.MIXX

Artist or Band name?

Megan Leber

Genre?

Techno and ambient/electronic (if I have to put a label on it).

Selfie?

I rarely take selfies! 

Where are you from?

Rotterdam, Netherlands. 

How did you get into music?

I remember I was always drawn to instruments from a very young age. When I was 10 my teacher put a piano (and later a guitar) in the classroom and I was instantly hooked. He taught me some stuff about chords and intervals and let me play after school. Later my parents let me buy my own keyboard from my savings and after that I got my first electric guitar. Never took any lessons, I always played by ear.
When I was 16/17 I got into electronic music production, when I put Reason on my laptop and a whole new world opened up! Soon after that Ableton followed and I got more and more obsessed. Got a few MIDI controllers and my first synth: a Yamaha AN1x. A year of studying Electronic Music Production, a few drum computers, synths and modules later: here I am!

What still drives you to make music?

I just HAVE to, it’s this thing I can’t stop doing. It’s what I love to do most and which will never bore me. As soon as I open my eyes I’m thinking about making music. When it comes to making music I’m a sponge. I always want to know and try more. My mind can be quite chaotic sometimes, but when I’m making music I’m at ease. It gives me this weird (the positive weird) feeling I can’t really explain, like all these endorphins are floating around inside of me. Endless possibilities!

How do you most often start a new track?

It sometimes starts with an idea or feeling in my head, something I want to try out, “what would happen if I do this?”. Sometimes I create a soundscape first, other times I start with a sequence on the Atlantis. What’s important to me is that I can completely lose myself in the sound design and slowly build a “mood”. But I also start without any idea/expectation and just jam.

How do you know when a track is finished?

Intuition. It’s just a feeling of being satisfied with the result. And to be honest there are always things that could have been changed after a track is “finished”. I also have to admit I’m bad at finishing tracks! I’m more of a creator and that’s what makes me happy. As soon as I have to stop creating and start mixing etc, I get bored or distracted and want to make new things… haha. 

Show us your current studio

It’s constantly changing! Here’s one of my most recent pictures, just before I hooked everything up again (cables cables cables):

Megan Lebers every changing setup
Megan Lebers every changing setup

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Can I also put my own advice here? 😀 Do exactly what you want to do and not what you think others might expect from you. Don’t follow any ‘hype’ because you think you’ll get noticed. Stay true to yourself! 

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

Check out Mystery Circles’ BandCamp on the 5th of June for a nice surprise! 😉 https://mysterycircles.bandcamp.com

[Editor: Megan’s IG can also be found here: https://www.instagram.com/meganleber]