1. Favourite knob or fader or switch on a piece of gear and why?
The glorious Pultec EQ switches and knobs have the empowering effect of making you feel like you’re doing something meaningfully right.
It’s a cruel lie unfortunately.
2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?
The Roland SH-1000 is a magical wild beast. It has it all, mojo-wise and sound-wise – but lacks midi, stable oscillators and a decent keyboard.
Also – Dear Elektron please add 1 more LFO to the Rytm. It’s so close to perfection.
3. What setup do you bring on holiday or tour or commute etc.?
On holiday I will usually try and revert to my other senses, and give my ears a bit of a rest.. but I will occasionally bring a portable recorder to capture a few interesting sounds. (Like my father’s old Kenwood cassette recorder).
On tour (it constantly changes..) – Elektron Rytm/Analog4 + Roland AE7 + Moog Phatty/Jen SX1000 + Korg Wavedrum.
4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?
I wish we had more old school “ethnic” arranger keyboards in software emulation. Love those sounds.. and I can’t live without my quarter-tone mini keys:)
5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?
Yes, stupidity was inevitable, but regret is pointless. Lately I do wish I had my old Oberheim SEM to play around with.😢
6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?
I would have to give this one to the almighty Tascam 424. It’s how I got my first experience of producing and multitracking music, back in my teen years.
I recently recorded my “film Grain” album, on 2 cassettes, tape loops and bucket-brigade delays, so occasionally, it still puts its enchanting spells on me.
7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?
I’m pretty sure starting over with only a laptop, or a couple of groove boxes, would not feel limiting in any way.. as boring or predictable as it sounds.
But in case of a climate catastrophe or zombie apocalypse, I would probably be stringing a tortoise shell, at some point, and be fully happy starting over as the local weirdo bard.
8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?
I don’t think I’ll get any arguments against this one – surely, it has to be cables.
9. Most surprising tip or trick or technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?
Delay – it makes you play less.
Also, manipulating tape speed and sculpting reverb echo repeats, it really wonderfully showcases how music can explore the human concept of time.
Artist or Band name?
LennyTunes
Genre?
Bellydance music
Organic House
Folktronica
Warped Pop
Indulgent Ambient
Selfie?
Where are you from?
I grew up, mostly bare-foot and happy, in a communal agricultural cult, called a Kibbutz. And been living most of my life in the musical, strange and wonderful 4000yo city of Jaffa. It is still my main inspiration and muse.
How did you get into music?
No point in lingering over past mistakes.
I formed my first punk band with my school friends at age 10. Since then, I’ve never obsessed over anything as much as I did over music..
What still drives you to make music?
When you love something, you want to study it forever.
How do you most often start a new track?
Usually when I play and stumble on to something I like, find a pretty sound or have a melody in my head.. I keep a short recording of it as a note, and come back to it later, if it’s any good. I have a million of these, because it rarely is.
How do you know when a track is finished?
It’s never finished. You just have to let go.
I’ll just (sort of) quote the great Ben Burtt here – Songs are never released, they escape.
Show us your current studio
Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?
“Stay true to what you are representing, it’s not about you”. Someone luckily told me that early on..
On a more practical level – If you feel burned or musically empty inside, try just picking up a new instrument to play. Or buy a new synth.
Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.
With my latest release “Fine Sands”, I tried to prove to my self that club/dance/house music can be created with only live-recorded acoustic middle eastern folk instruments, and acoustically amplified synths. I had a great time trying my best. was I successful in any way?
Please check it out, my music friends –
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3YYNR3x
Album Visualizer on Youtube: https://bit.ly/3Xfif8C
Tascam Cassette ambient extravaganza: https://spoti.fi/3rSLnzo