Richard Devine on creating presets for Concept and using Krotos software in CyberPunk 2077 Concept preset creator Richard Devine is an award-winning sound designer and electronic musician. His music, characterised by complex rhythms and heavy use of DSP, gained popularity after remixing Aphex Twin‘s “Come To Daddy”. Making his debut in 1995, Devine has released music on labels including Schematic, Warp Records and Detroit Underground. We had the opportunity to catch up with Richard about his contribution to Concept, his background and love of synths! Read the full interview below and hear some of his Concept presets in action.

Hi Richard, thanks for your contribution to Concept and for taking the time for this interview. We’re curious to find out a little more about your background. What was growing up in Atlanta like, and how did you get into music and sound design?

Hi Krotos! I would say I got into sound design sort of by accident in 1998 when Native Instruments asked me to contribute samples and presets for many of their first virtual instruments. I had no idea that working for them would eventually lead to much more work in the fields of TV/Games/Movies and other projects.

As far as music goes, I got into making music back in high school. I started out buying lots of records in the early nineties, djing at early rave parties around 1992. I was fascinated by the idea of creating my own music so I began building a studio shortly that year after. I have since released 7 albums and continue to make music and work as a sound designer for Google today.

We’re curious about some of your early influences, was releasing your first full-length on Warp an aspiration of yours?

I would say early on it was the work of composer’s like Morton Subotnick, Stockhausen, and John Cage. Then I eventually discovered the work of Warp Records and Aphex Twin. This was a big turning point for me. I knew that I wanted to create this type of music but with my own personal twist on things. I dreamed of releasing music with Warp, and that dream came true when I gave Autechre a demo copy of my tracks, which eventually lead to Warp releasing my first full length album in 2001 “Lipswitch”

You work in both the sound design and music fields, do you get more job-satisfaction from either aspects of your career?

I would say for me it’s equally satisfying doing both, as each process is interrelated related to creating something in the end. It’s like making the Lego pieces first then assembling the parts into a bigger picture.

Are there any highlights from a recent project you’ve worked on?

I think one of my favorite recent projects was designing sounds for Jaguar’s new I-Pace electric vehicle. I was responsible for creating all of the in system navigation sounds as well as the interior and exterior EV motor sounds. It was one of the most challenging jobs I have ever encountered.

You’ve been using Krotos software for a while now – how do you incorporate our sound design software into your workflow?

I use almost all of the Krotos software for many of my projects. I worked on the CyberPunk 2077 game earlier this year for CD Projket Red. I used Reformer Pro and Dehumaniser 2 for many of the sound effects in the game. Krotos make such great tools for building sonic gestures quickly. I love the UIs and built in libraries are wonderful. It’s perfect for people like me who need tools to give them results very quickly that is of high quality.

You contributed a fantastic selection of presets for Concept and you’ve had a chance to fully explore the soft-synth. What do you like most about Concept?

I love the interface and the modulation options they present in the plugin. I really fell in love with the X/Y automation mode. This spoke immediately to me, as one of my favorite plugin suites from back in the day was Hyperprism for Mac OS 9.2. Now long gone, but the idea is similar in Concept in which you can record automation gestures within a X/Y field then apply that data to effects/synthesis parameters. It’s so great to see this here.

Could you tell us some more about the presets you made for Concept? What process did you go through to achieve them?



I tried to make some presets that showcased some of the unique features of Concept but at the same time give users some interesting sounds that would work in any musical context. I love the use of cross modulation of the built in oscillators. I tried to create a variety of stuff that would hopefully be an inspirational springboard to creating even newer sounds.

And finally… do you have any wisdom for those starting out in sound design? Thanks again for your time, Richard!

Stay in school, you are never a master of anything. I tell people that I will be a student for life. ☺