EQ Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 8)

PUNCH IN TWISTING GROOVES Daedelus’ Loop Improvs Make for Surprising Beats B Y J O H N PAY N E Alfred Weisberg-Roberts—otherwise known as Daedelus—is a nattily attired young man whom one might like to refer to as a “DJ,” except that he’s really more of a 21st Century classical composer working in the experimental dance/electronic realm. However, Weisberg-Roberts doesn’t eschew the former label, even if the title isn’t likely to garner him the respect he deserves in the popular music press. In fact, his newest effort, Love To Make Music To [Ninjatune], is what he calls “a super-upbeat virtual homage to rave culture” that, in many respects, is a total departure from his more outwardly intellectual past work. While the admittedly anti-minimalist Daedelus does strip things down on this album, there’s still a truckload of sonic information vying for attention in these tracks. But for all of the thick compositions present within Love To Make Music To, it’s the fat, buzzing analog synths the maestro says give the tracks an in-your-face sort of sociability, and serve as the direct atavistic link to the beloved 1992 rave scene he celebrates therein. Weisberg-Roberts says that he decided to lean heavily on an ancient Roland SH-09 for his newest album. “In rave culture, the SH-101 is the most popular analog synth, and one of the first to have an arpeggiator—albeit in a real cheap form,” he says. “It wasn’t your kind of really fancy Jupiter synths—it was more a ground level kind of thing. A lot of the UK-artists had a love affair with it. The SH-09 is similar. It doesn’t have an arpeggiator, but it does have a unique bass sound. People talk about the Moog series having an amazing bass sound, but this is really different.” For additional variations on synth textures, he made extensive use of the MicroKorg and the Dave Smith Evolver, which marries analog circuitry with digital control. For sampling, Weisberg-Roberts goes directly into Pro Tools because of the “interesting harmonic distortion” he claims the rig generates. “It’s not the most savvy way of going about treating sampled material, because the converters on a typical Pro Tools rig aren’t the most pristine,” he says. “But I feel that it’s the ghosts in the machine that are giving you the personality. The dirt that you can get under your nails will make you happy.” Making use of the recent spate of software that simulates 8-bit and 12-bit sound was inevitable, he says, adding: “It’s funny how we talk about old equipment. It’s true that old gear can produce a kind of distortion that’s very melodic, and that has a warmth which is really endearing. It’s funny how that’s the bane of digital existence, these little imperfections. But it’s not everything, and it’s not the perfect choice for all my material.” Matching gear to the song’s needs is also why Weisberg-Roberts uses everything from cheapo Radio Shack mics to the built-in microphone in his MacBook to capture sounds—the 8 EQ JANUARY 2009 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - January 2009

EQ Magazine - January 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Bob Dylan The Killers Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Microsoft Windows Vista Apple Mac OS X "Lite" Software Roundup "Lite" Software Gadgets & Goodies Sounds Room With a Vu

EQ Magazine - January 2009

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