Episode 30 is the conclusion of our two-part mix series with music and arts collective VAM. Dematchou recorded this performance live in the All My Friends studio using his modular synth. Catch our interview with him below.
Hi Dematchou thanks for coming down to the AMF studio the other month and recording our very first live set. You brought down your modular synth, which is an impressive piece of kit. What was it that drew you to modular synths and what can they offer a producer that other types of hardware can’t?
Really with modular, it’s the ability to specifically dictate certain techniques with sound. My main interest in music is really how things interact with each other, through experimenting over the years I’ve found what intrigued me most was discovering new ways to interface equipment together through different means, and modular synthesis is somewhat an extension of that. What I find it best for is assembling a system of different functions that allow you to process or route things in certain ways. As an example, I can do something like, plug a microphone in, use an envelope follower to extract the contour of my voice, send it into Max/MSP with something like the Expert Sleepers ES-3, and then control visuals, sounds, data, etc. Those elements can be sent in and out of the computer at will to control different elements, be combined or processed.
You played a 45 minute live set for us, how do you approach playing live? Do you pre-plan before a performance or does your set up allow you to play and create performances on the fly?
Normally I’m using solely a computer live, but with modular, it’s more improvised currently than I would like it to be. Really my perfect approach of playing live is to have parts that are fully arranged, but with certain elements that can be modified/performed throughout, and in the future that’s my aim. With the current approach, I’m just using my knowledge of synthesis architecture and rhythm to guide sections along. I do have what seems like quite a large system which you would imagine is capable of full arrangements, but it’s actually fairly limited in terms of the amount of simultaneous things it can do at any given moment, something that will most likely resolve itself as it expands!
Do you have any artists or producers you cite as inspiration for your productions?
My influences are quite varied owing to my musical background, probably most apparent are the Warp artists like Aphex Twin & Autechre, with regards to other electronic music probably Oval/Markus Popp. In terms of indirect influence on my view of music, for an idea of what I find interesting I’d like to mention the following: Mick Barr, Coil, Swans, Meshuggah, Daughters, ISIS, Puce Mary, Sunn O))), The Body.
Backtracking slightly can you tell us about your journey as a producer? When did you start making music and what spurred that decision?
Well, I’ve played guitar for around 16-17 years, my initial experience with recording was trying to record guitar-based music, which I found frustrating at that point as I lacked the knowledge to really know how to produce good sounding microphone recordings with an amp. I was interested in reading about vintage synthesisers when I really started getting into music, so that led me to picking up small pieces of equipment second-hand, things like the Korg Monotrons, cheap old Casios. Electronic music equipment just sounded identical when reproduced as a recording, so it seemed like a much easier way of expressing musical ideas in that medium. Since then it’s just been a process of an expanding selection of equipment that’s allowed me to write in more complex approaches.
What have you got lined up in the near future? Are their any events or gigs you’re playing that you can tell us about?
I don’t have anything currently lined up for the near future, whilst I finish off a postgraduate degree, but I’m aiming to play some shows over the summer. I find live opportunities are mostly dictated by people asking me to fill a slot or if I’m playing with friends on the line-up, etc. Until then, I use the facebook page to inform people about upcoming shows. (facebook.com/Dematchou)
