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A few minutes with A Guy Called Gerald.. | |
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Time+Space |
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A few minutes with A Guy Called Gerald..
I got involved with Loopmasters because I felt it was the perfect way to
communicate sounds and I wanted to encourage the Dance Music Producer. Of
late I´ve not heard so much music from Dance Music Producers.... only
stuff from DJ/Producers. Some of you probably didn´t even know there was a
difference.
What I did was to extract bits from my normal production day but over a
very long period of time.
It was such a long period of time it´s hard to recall the source. I have
such a diverse plethorer of sources available by todays standards but at
the centre of my system is Reason by Propellerheads.
Nowadays the only hardware I need is my body. Can you imagine I started my
life as a producer in my late teens. I had complete freedom to take my
time with everything. Luckily for me because midi was too expensive we had
to rely on DIN Synch and also CV&Gate and tape editing and had to make
every groove note-by-note. That was my world for the first 10 years of
production. I think there is too much emphasis on gear - we used to abuse
the gear because it was so cheap. Now people spend so much money on analog
stuff they are too scared to really use it and abuse it the way we used
to.
It was not as I expected. I have always created sounds for my own library
literally for over 25 years. In the old days I used 3.5" floppy and then
when DAT was invented I would buy 120 min DATs and spin everything I had
recorded on my analog 2" tape machine onto my DAT. It was very cost
effective and I would always develop new ways to recycle old sounds. So I
kind of used my old way and rolled some loops off during production. But
now it is a lot simpler - I just have to export loops; I love it. But
sometimes I do over complicate things for myself.
Using a studio that is built around a Hemi-Anechoic Chamber system makes
it easier to position not only where I want the sound to travel to but
also how its frequency changes over time. I´m not sure how I can clearly
explain this in DJ language...
I have friends who never heard the original techno sound and they only
know Ableton and Logic. I was curious as to how most managed to get the
same sound as each other considering the versatility of these programs so
I restricted myself to a program some people call a toy: Reason. It´s
basically a closed system as far as VSTs and such are concerned. But I
find it is a solid base for building ideas and executing sound
experiments. Don´t forget I did my first albums and I actually built all
my own studios from scratch from day one - pre-midi and pre-computer. All
for the love of this electronic music. So the sound from Detroit that
planted the bug in my noggin and which was instrumental in the inspiration
of the software developers steered me into creating Tronic Jazz. I wanted
to show that you didn´t need these original machines to make this music -
you just need your ear.
I learnt I must be an alien from another dimension. I don´t know how I got
here. I was in the studio when they asked me to share what I was quietly
doing for my own indecent entertainment.
I´m not the Chemical Brothers with loads of flashing lights. I keep it
real. I use a DJ mixer and two laptops and a keyboard controller: it´s
very simple. I try to be low maintenance for the clubs. All I usually need
is a surface to put my minimal gear and a stereo input to the P.A. This
should be easy for even the low-fi-est of venue. It is funny - sometimes I
get to the club and they look at me like I want them to rebuild their club
around me and all I want is a table!
All sounds are raw and need your individual attention. There are no
finished sounds. You are free to experiment - there´s nothing wrong in
music. You have more ways to manipulate sound than ever. Make the sounds
yours. | |
Inconjunction
with Loopmasters, Gerald recently released a sample collection as part of
the popular Artist Series ´Deep Techno Sessions´. Here, Gerald tells us
about the creation of that sample collection and his music production
´toys´ and techniques...
The DJ Producer multiplied as the low end production tools were oriented
around them. They produced tracks that made it easier and easier for him
to beat match and the soul of the music was diminished. The DJ Producer
were just making DJ Tools and not completed finished songs. The Dance
Music Producer all but disappeared apart from a few whose music was
rebranded as "intelligent".
Your
album tour is due to be announced soon. What is likely to be your typical
live set-up for this?