Color Moxie – A Bokeh of LoFi

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

Verbos knobs. They are red, they are smooth, you can spot them from a
distance.

Verbos

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

Tascam Portastudio

My Tascam Portastudio keeps on breaking, it’s very fragile, but I like tape
saturation so much. I wish they made new-old tape cassette 4 track
recorders.

Tascam Faders
Tascam knobs

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

Laptop, QuNexus and Shure 215 in ears. The QuNexus is super slim and
durable, the in-ears don’t use up much space in a bag and they block out
exterior sound pretty good. All of this fits in my laptop case.

Qunexus

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

Sonic Labs Fundamental is my favorite plugin at the moment. It sounds
very organic and has lots of character. The hardware version does exist in
real life, but I do not own it (yet?). I’d also like for a OP1 synth engine VST to exist.

Sonic Labs Fundamental

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

I should not have sold my Squarp Hermod. It was the perfect brain for my
modular setup.

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

OP1

The OP1. So many functions in a small format. Nice synth engines, 4
track recorder, built in microphone, speaker and built in battery.
Everyone loves the OP1.

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

Buchla music Easel and a Wurlitzer.

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

If this counts as gear; I hate having to use an iLok. It uses up a usb port for nothing and I’m always scared of losing it. As for real gear, I get pretty crazy about ground loop noise. Very annoying to have to figure out where it’s coming from in your signal chain and trying to fix it. It happens often when I mix eurorack, synths and my computer in a live performance type of thing.

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

For bass-y sounds, crank up the compressor on the OP1’s master, which will add lots of noise. After recording short sounds, add a gate in your daw with a very slow release and you’ll have a nice noise tail to your notes. Which will sound even better if you compress it again. Lofi.


Artist or Band name?

The Color Moxie.

Genre?

Spontaneous experimental compositions (?) I’ve just recently started
making one music video a day. It can be anything. It usually falls into the
synth / melancholic / saturated / overdramatic / noise category.

Selfie?

hi.

Color Moxie

Where are you from?

Melbourne, Australia.

How did you get into music?

Growing up, my older brother played drums. I wanted to make music too,
so I asked my parents if I could get guitar lessons. I had a few rock bands
which led into effect pedals. Fast forward a few years and now I’m into
synths, noise & sound design.

How do you most often start a new track?

I find a drum sample I like, chop it up and mangle it, until I start hearing
what mood the music is asking for. After that, i’ll find chords add synths,
and add some spatial textures to complete it.

How do you know when a track is finished?

When you run out of ideas.

Show us your current studio.

Color Moxie Studio desk

Not an offcial studio spot yet, but here’s what I had setup today.

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Record everything !

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

My instagram is pretty new:

https://www.instagram.com/color.moxie/

I’m also working on an EP which will be announced on that platform when it’s ready


[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…
]


Hainbach – Good 2 Have U HerrBach

[Editor: Hey! Look everybody… it’s Hainbach! Wuhu! – But seriously. It gives me great pleasure to present to you this interview with the wonderful artist and inspiration to so many a music gear junkie… Mr. Hainbach101 himself]

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

Genrad 1516. turn one knob and the other knob moves too. Magic!

Genrad 1516

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

Rohde und Schwarz UBM, best Bassdrum in the world. I only wish it was not 18KG.

Rohde und Schwarz UBM [Editor: Note the bend in the metal shelf!]

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

OP-1 for the longest time.

Teenage Engineering OP-1

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

Sonic Charge Permut8

Sonic Charge Permut8 should be a hardware box.
I am also working together with SonicLAB to turn an important piece of test equipment music into software. Fundamental it will be called, release is a few weeks away.

[Editor: This is a bit of an exclusive look at the upcoming VSTi. It has a lovely design and I really look forward to trying it out. Will stick a link here when it is released]

Hainbach & SonicLAB’s Fundamental VSTi

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

I wish I had kept my Roland SH2000, but I did not have the money to have it repaired then. Worst purchase was the Roland MC-303.

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

Ciat-Lonbarde Cocoquantus, the endless machine.

Ciat-Lonbarde Cocoquantus

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

Koma Elektronik Field Kit and Field Kit FX. These have everything to make a whole lot of music at a decent price.

Koma Elektronik Field Kit FX

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

Probably any computer I ever had.

Apple MacBook

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

Phasers are awesome drum machines.


Artist or Band name?

Hi, I am Hainbach, electro-acoustic composer from Berlin and I talk experimental music and gear on YouTube.

Genre

Experimental and ambient music.

Selfie?

Stefan aka. Hainbach

Where are you from?

Berlin, Germany.

How did you get into music?

I started with piano at age six and got hooked at 15 playing keys in a psychedelic rock band.

What still drives you to make music?

If I don’t make music I get withdrawal symptoms and get sad and grumpy.

How do you most often start a new track?

I write every day I can, starting with either a concrete idea or an experiment I set for myself.

How do you know when a track is finished?

A track is finished when I feel it does not want anything from me anymore, and vice versa.

Show us your current studio

Hainbach’s studio desk

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Best technical advice was three level technique for mixing, which I was introduced to by Tobias Levin. Basically by watching a peak/rms meter and grouping instruments into three level sets you can get a good mix going easily. Here is a video I made on that: https://youtu.be/FZ4XwbCI0Lw

Best Creative advice was a Little Plaque in my parents kitchen that read: the mind grows by what it feeds on. That had an impact on me as a kid, as corny as that phrase might be. It’s in this video: https://youtu.be/fCJdXA0wNTI

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

Check out my new album „Assertion“, wild oscillations and piano loops combining in a colourful world of hope against the the darkness of current events

www.bandcamp.com/album/assertion

[Editor: There are affiliate links to the relevant gear throughout the articles. It helps to support this blog. In fact, should you be needing some patch cables or guitar strings. Then clicking on one of the above links and buying any product that you prefer, will help the blog… doesn’t even have to be the ones in the link. Thx]