As they launch their own label, Ethyl shows us around the duo’s shared space.
Ethyl & Flori – My Studio
Ethyl (seated) and Flori (in computer) show us around their shared studio space.
The Rack
The rack, which features the interfaces and ADAT (including one that doesn’t work), the patchbay and a TL Audio EQ-5013 valve EQ. We run our stereo mix through the EQ. The drive sounds great and it adds that bit of glue to the mix.
Futureretro Orb
I love step sequencers. I bought this one years ago direct from the manufacturer in Texas. It ended up costing me a fortune with import duties and tax but we’ve got some good use out of it. You can hear it being used in ‘The Last Ninja’ that came out on Fear Of Flying at the end of last year.
There’s a remix function which shifts the pattern around and we used that to make the alternate pattern; the bass followed a beat behind the lead doing the same thing. The Octatrack has muscled in on this thing’s territory but it does have CV out so still has its uses.
DSI Evolver & The Gear Cycle
We tend to cycle through gear pretty quickly. There are some things that are mainstays which stick around but other bits of kit make an appearance, inspire us in some way then make an exit when we’ve stopped using them as much. We’ve made a concerted effort over the last year or two to scale back on gear and streamline things a bit, so you’ve caught us with a somewhat truncated version of what the setup was a few weeks ago. I’ve been having a bit of a shuffle around so a few things aren’t plugged in. Please don’t accuse me of pulling a Justice.
Elektron Analog RYTM & Octatrack
I bought these two boxes for a live set. It was the first time I’d used anything by Elektron so had to learn their way of doing things. Once you’ve learned one of them I think you’re pretty safe with all of them. I initially had a DSI Tempest but swapped it for the RYTM (with Kowton no less) and it’s doing more what I wanted the Tempest to do originally. The Octatrack is great because it has some pretty expansive step-sequencing capabilities and has somewhat phased out the Orb.
Moog Moogerfooger MF-101 Low-pass Filters
I love the drive on these things – so much so that I’ve got two so I can use them in stereo. We often run our drum bus through these, or sometimes the entire mix.
Phonon SMB-02 Headphones
Hands down the best headphones I’ve used. I got a friend to get them for me direct from just outside of Tokyo. I DJ with these too.
DescTech 1202
The cheapest 12-channel desk money can buy. I bought this off a church and had change from a tenner.
The Incomplete Tim Key
Essential reading:
Poem#636 – Untitled
I counted my wife’s hands.
‘One, two.’ I said ‘Two hands.’
She rolled over and faced the other way.
I think she knew I was avoiding the subject.
Illuminati
∆
Ethyl & Flori’s Lion City EP is out now on their own E&F Records imprint. Find them on Facebook (Ethyl & Flori) and SoundCloud (Ethyl & Flori).
12.14 AM
Interesting setup. What is the grey box on the shelf in the last picture … Korg? also what is the black rack-mounted item below the Motu 828 in the next rack down … Yamaha something? Justice Cross unplugged .. lol
02.35 PM
Awesome! I love the alter – that is almost a staple of the “My Studio” section – would also love to see what books are stacked up in the corner of that picture – every studio showcase should include an alter and stack of books!
07.36 PM
Pretty sure the grey box is a Yamaha SU10. Little pocket sequencer thing from the mid 90s.
06.48 PM
@Tony Mac Cool, thanks found it.
The SU10 is a very compact and portable sampler and sequencer. Best suited for the on-the-go musician it ultimately is a note-pad for musical ideas. It has a maximum of 4 simultaneous samples polyphony, 11.64 to 44.1 sampling rates, 54 to 19 seconds of sampling time (respectively), stereo input/output (using one-eighth inch mini stereo plugs), 4 songs with up to 100 events in each and a maximum of 48 samples can be stored. The 12 key-pads are not only used for editing and programming, but also for triggering samples stored within any of the four banks (bank a, b, c or d).
For professional use these specs are just not good enough. Its overall sound quality is questionable. However it features some pretty cool tricks that may interest DJ’s: a ribbon controller that can be used to filter the samples cutoff, alter pitch, reverse, scale, crossfade, hold and scratch samples. It features a VCF type filter with 3 resonant settings and a bandpass, highpass, or lowpass shape. It can even be used to filter an external sound source. Unfortunately the filter is ‘sketchy’ and prone to crackles, distortion and noise. Filtering external sounds have extremely low output too.
The SU10 won’t replace your real sampler nor should it be considered a professional sampler but it does have its place. If you can handle the limited sampling specs and very poor filter then the SU10 can still provide you with hours of fun and entertainment, but that’s about it. It has been used by Jimi Tenor, Autechre, and Scanner.