You’re still getting acquainted with MIDI, and it seems that the KOMPLETE KONTROL S49 has been helping you in doing so?

I’m still learning how to use MIDI. I was always fascinated by it in the same way a lot of people are fascinated by analog hardware. I’ve fooled myself into thinking that using the S49 is like using a piece of hardware; a piece of hardware that makes my whole process of producing a lot easier. I’ve been using it to record MIDI clips and loops. I never learned to play keys, so when I record, I’m playing around until I find something I like. Previously I’d record using the Roland Juno- 106 and even if I found a good loop I couldn’t alter the recorded sound. The S49 makes it super simple to move around the notes and make it perfect, remarkably tight and slick. Then I’m completely happy with it.

With the S49 I map the MIDI keys for the whole track, so 5-6 minutes of audio and then I do another take where I record all the MIDI to an audio channel where I adjust the filters accordingly. The keyboard works exceptionally well with REAKTOR because it’s all so well integrated. The synths come alive in a totally different way. I finally feel liberated to experiment with KOMPLETE in the same tactile way that I’d approach using my other gear.

Around a year or so ago I saw that you were trying to sell off your entire collection of hardware?

I became anxious about my process of making music and wanted to sell everything, but in the end, I sold a few pieces and put the rest in storage. I realised that if I were to go through with it and sell it all off that I would regret it and have difficulty with getting everything back again.

How often do you visit the storage space to return a piece of hardware and exchange it for something new to add to your rotating setup?

I visit the storage space to collect something every three months, if that. My main home setup includes the MOOG DFAM drum machine, the EDP Wasp synthesizer, my laptop with KOMPLETE and the S49.

Right now you don’t have a studio, and you prefer to produce when you’re on the road anyway. Whether it’s on a plane, a train or sitting down in your hotel room for a moment before or after a show: what’s your setup for producing while you’re on tour?

I don’t need a studio in that sense. Of course, it’s nice to have monitors. At the moment, when I‘m on the road, I’m producing with the Erica Synths techno-system drum machine together with REAKTOR. I’ve really enjoyed using the Erica Techno System to make all the drums and then making all the synths with REAKTOR. The Erica modular has such a tight clock, so I don’t even have to sync it from my computer. I just input the BPM into the sequencer. It’s surprisingly very compatible with REAKTOR.