Tag: songwriter

Teitur – Lassen from Faroe Way

[Editor: Oh, yes. It’s really Teitur! Equal parts singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist composer. Bridging nordic pop-folk and artful soundtrack music. It’s quite exiting to be able to bring you this interview … Enjoy!]

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

The Q-link knobs on MPC X are super satifying to use, especially when zooming in on samples points.

Studio desktop and Eurorack and Akai MPC X

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

I wish computers weren’t so… computery and so… fingers and mind only and that I didn’t have to work with constant digital issues and being a programmer. Like this morning spending 20 minutes trying to find a digital output inside a program, going on forums, just to lower a volume and then the next 20 minutes you are back working and the computer is like a wizard, doing actual magic.

Studio Mac Desktop

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

When travelling it’s just my iPad Pro or laptop if I am in the middle of writing something in Sibelius. I find it nice to get away from all the gear. If I am in the middle of a recording project I might bring an Apollo Arrow. Always bring a pair of SONY MDR 7506 headphones too.

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

I have seldom befriended software synths in my DAW, somehow drum machines and synths are best hardware for me, even though I love what you can see and do with them in the software programs. I guess it’s just a tactililty and digital vs analog audio thing. When I tour I wish pianos didn’t weigh a ton and cost a fortune. I have tried owning a digital piano and I just can’t play them. It’s like cooking with thin plastic utensils for me. I will rather break my back with a Rhodes or play in venues with pianos.

Studio backroom with gear

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

When I was seventeen I helped my friend sell his TR-808 for 2000,- kroner (270 euro), I regret not buying it. Today I try to get rid of what I don’t use after two years, so I only have what is useful. For me creating is a lot about learning to use what you already have and when you get something, make sure it’s a great version of it and not an almost-good instrument and then really learn it until wizardry.

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

I think it’s my two acoustic guitars Arlo & Betty – a 1968 Gibson Hummingbird and 1964 Gibson J-50 and my Yamaha U-3 upright piano.

The Grand piano

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

I (now) think the right creative mindset is way more important than gear. Knowing what, why and how you want to create. The gear is for your motor skills and to practice with and it’s good to start there early too. To start over, I would first study music, culture and people, practise a lot, learn my DAW, learn to play piano and an additional instrument.

Api mixing desk and Revox reel to reel and other outboard hardware

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

Apple lightning (or USB-C) to 3.5 mm headphone adapter. I mean, the people who decided that headphones should have several connections should be sat on a chair in front of a screen and watch all the footage of the world’s population one by one needing them, looking for them under beds, not having the right one, wedding receptions delayed, children crying etc.

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

Silence in music. The voice and shutting up.

Artist or Band name?

Teitur

Genre?

There is no bad music, only bad musicians.

Selfie?

Teitur Lassen

Where are you from?

Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.

How did you get into music?

It started with goosebumps.

What still drives you to make music?

The path to learn and discover is neverending, the reward is meaningful and in my priviliged part of the world we live in a musical golden age.

How do you most often start a new track?

I try to know what I want to do and achieve first and then I allow anything to happen. Often it’s best to start with a pause or walking my dog instead of pulling up a preset or hammering on a piano (that’s called practising). Write a form on a piece of paper, what, why, how, when and then have fun.

How do you know when a track is finished?

When it’s satisfying to listen to or when there are too many tracks and it’s finished in the sense that you know it’s time to start over.

Show us your current studio

Studio overview. Note hammock
Studio doggie and drums

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

Simpler is always an improvement!

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

https://ffm.to/kvaedi

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…]

Selsey – Dreamy Synthy Pop

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

The OP-1 crank. It’s just so loveable!

Cranking the OP-1

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

For me, it’s the OP-1. It’s a minimalist’s dream because it can do everything – drums, melody, bass, all the layers – in such an intuitive way. I’d make it fully MIDI compatible so I could integrate it into my Ableton workflow somehow; I’d make the keys touch sensitive; I’d give it 2.5 octaves instead of 1.5; and I’d give it a sustain pedal. Dream machine.

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

On a trip, I try to keep it light:

  • Nuraphones
  • OP-Z
  • OP-1
  • SP-404 (sometimes / for longer trips)
Travel music kit

To play a show, it’s more complicated! I add to that:

  • Yamaha Reface DX
  • TC- Helicon Perform VK
  • Shure Super 55
  • Zoom H6 as a mixer
Live music setup

I don’t have a commute, but if I did, I’d consider just bringing my OP-Z.

Teenage Engineering OPZ

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

Arpeggios are my favorite musical tool. I really wish you could get the superfine arpeggio controls you have in Ableton on a hardware synth. And as a non-drummer, I would love to find a software drum loop maker as intuitive to me as the OP-1’s finger mode.

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

I bought the Midi Fighter Twister in the hopes of using it to make layered live loops with my iPad the way @KelbyKryshak does, which is totally awesome🤘. I soon realized that I don’t like using apps in my workflow – I think it somehow takes me out of the moment. I’m hanging onto it because I haven’t ruled out making a custom setup for it in Ableton, but that might prove to be more of a challenge than I’m willing to take on. Also, I have the Push 2, so I’m not yet sure what function or value the twister would add to that setup.

Midi Fighter Twister and Olympus camera

I’m kind of an aspiring minimalist, so it’s very possible that at some point soon I’ll say goodbye to it.

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

The obvious answer is my OP-1 – it gave me an explosion of creativity around learning basic music production techniques with drums and basslines and everything. However! My Reface DX has been my constant companion and workhorse in songwriting. First of all, it’s a joy to play.  The touch sensitive keys feel great, with smooth action. And as I am working through the hardest parts of identifying and defining melodies and chord progressions,  it is the perfect companion for me because its keyboard is small and manageable, while being big enough to play bass notes and chords at once. And the voices are so evocative and inspiring.

Selsey’s songwriting setup: Reface DX, OP-1, typewriter, and sake

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

It’s between the OP-1 and the Reface DX. The OP-1 for its all-in-oneness, and the DX for its beautiful sounds, relative portability, and space-pianoness.

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

My SP-404. The sticky buttons kill me (the phat pads I want are on backorder!), and sampling loops into it is such a pain. I love it to death, but at some point I wouldn’t rule out upgrading to a more robust modern sampler like the Octatrack.

Rolabnd SP404SX

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

The sequencer on the Casio-PT 30 is amazing. You can program it with a melody, and then push one of two “One Key Play” buttons to activate the notes one by one. So when you play it, it’s like you’re playing a solo, but it’s almost impossible to fuck up. You can see me do this in my cover of White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes, around the 1 minute mark: https://www.instagram.com/tv/Bs3KEAyH3k8/. I wish so hard that the OP-1 could do this.

Casio-PT 30 and OP-1

Artist or Band name?

Selsey

Genre?

Bedroom Synthpop

Selfie?

Selsey herself

Where are you from?

Northern California, but I currently live in Hong Kong.

How did you get into music?

Folk singer songwriters in high school got me inspired to pick up a guitar – Iron and Wine, Feist, Regina Spektor, Bright Eyes, Ray Lamontagne, that type of artist. I also learned classical and a bit of jazz piano in high school. Recently, I got really into making dawless synthpop after falling in love with the OP-1 at the MoMA Design Store in New York. I started making videos for Instagram and, well, here I am!

What drives you to make music?

  1. I relish the challenge of learning songwriting and producing music. Sometimes it’s torture but the payoff is addictive.
  2. The community on Instagram has been really warm and kind. People have created a place you really like to hang around.
  3. I just love singing and making music, so I can’t help but want to do it.

How do you most often start a new track?

I am only now learning how to use Ableton (my first DAW), so I’ll talk about my songwriting process instead. I sit down with my Reface DX, my typewriter or a notebook, and my phone to record snippets. I play chords randomly and vocalize until I hear something I like. Record it. Wash, rinse, repeat. Along the way, I try to get a sense of which snippets are more verselike or more chorus-like. Eventually I will have enough snippets to form a song. Then, I write the words, which is the hardest part.

[Editor: Yeah, lyrics are alwyas a huge pain]

How do you know when a track is finished?

When the words don’t make me cringe too hard; when every section feels like it’s part of the whole; and when the transitions between parts are not too awkward.

Show us your current studio

Selsey Studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

You’ll suck at first. Keep going.

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

I have a few things in the works. But for now, head to my Instagram to see some of the stuff I’ve done!

https://www.instagram.com/selsey._/

[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…]