INTERVIEW WITH FIGURE

With every remix you do, you seem to transform these tracks into something new - adding a new layer of energy to them. how do you do that?

"With all the remixes I do, I rarely use the bass lines from the original track. Only two out of ten times I will. I think when people remix things, they need to make their version of that track, not show people how you can chop and rearrange the noises that are sitting there for you already."

What software do you use for producing and remixing?

"Man, I have used everything from a MPC2000 and guitar pedals to analog keyboards when I was growing up, but there was always a wall that I would hit.

"So I started using Acid 3.0 in 7th/8th grade and I kept on using it until it was version 6.0. At that time I started wanting to use VSTs and not analog gear, so I tried Fruity Loops because Acid was horrible for VST work and some of my friends were putting out mindblowing tracks with Fruity Loops. However, FL wasn't for me. I loved how you could make your own noise in no time at all (like a real synth), but the arragement view was the worst thing ever for how I work.

"My savior - Ableton, has the ease of FL, while it plays like a real synth and matches with Acid's cut and paste ease. So now I swear by Ableton, with Ableton, I have never hit a wall."

What synthesizer plug-ins do you use? Or are you mostly using loops and samples?

"My top VST synths are Massive/Ultra Analog (thanks Riptide!) and all the SugarBytes plug-ins. But in all honesty I never use presets, so Massive is the way I normally go since designing your own sounds is so easy and quick to get head deep with. I see no reason why you should use a lot of VSTs when something like Massive really has everything something like a real Moog does.

"About the loops and all that, I use drum packs for kicks, snares and hats - but at the same time I still layer things with sampled drum hits I find off records."

Are you totally hooked to your laptop, or is there still some hardware you have a crush on?

"When it comes to actually keyboards, I used to love my ASR10 and MPC2000 for sampling and hands down nothing touched my Roland Jupiter 8 for synth work. I used to live with a guy who just stock piled synths and gear. I would literally open a any closet (it was a four story house) and four keyboards would be leaning against each other, and he would always let me keep them in my room until I was finished with them.

"DJ wise, I'm on Serato for clubs and it will be staying that way for a while. But really - I am close to switching back to vinyl since most of the stuff I play out is older music, and I still spend more money monthly on records than I do on my rent."

  Soundcloud

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