“We practise the art of bettering ourselves through alchemical transmutation…” Philosophically minded house duo Dance Spirit show us around the 23rd Dimension.
Dance Spirit – My Studio
Our mobile “23rd Dimension” studio currently resides in Reagan’s old childhood bedroom. Since we are on the move so much over the years, we’ve gotten the studio down to the essentials, while of course always adding new fun bits and pieces.
Hub
We produce in Logic, using a mix of a few select soft synths and a plethora of effects. Our UAD Apollo Quad is the hub for all frequencies in and out and we rely heavily on its brilliant analogue emulation, managing to milk nice harmonics out of tones that were once otherwise flat through its proprietary plugin processing (try saying that three times fast!). The trees outside make for a nice inspiration and keep the mind at ease and in tune with the source of creation!
Elektron Analog RYTM
The Elektron Analog Rytm is our go-to for kicks, toms and the backbone of all our tracks currently. It just sounds so damned good. Super fun to play with and easy to get tricky with it on the fly. We tour with this piece so it’s definitely an integral part of the 23rd Dimension.
Beast
Another one of our favourite toys is our TB-303, modded out with THE BEAST kit. I believe it is number 7 of 7. We acquired this piece off of a close friend who makes insanely crazy (fast) acid techno, as well as being a hacker and regular performer at hacking conventions like Defcon! We will continue to remain on his good side… This piece is super special as you can take a sound from any source – pads, vocals, drums, whatever, you name it – patch it in to the filter input, and turn anything into instant acid.
Korg Minilogue
The Korg Minilogue quickly became a favourite in the studio as it’s super easy to dial in amazing sounds and it sounds oh so nice and fat and present, crisp and beautiful. We use this for everything from pads to bass to arps to leads and melodies… It’s super versatile!
Roland Space Echo
Our Space Echo was a super amazing acquisition. We really love the texture it adds to sounds. I’ve always wanted a nice Rhodes or Wurlitzer, but we’ve found a great workaround by running Logic’s Electric Piano plugin out of the box through the Space Echo and BAM insta-vibe. And, I mean, really… who doesn’t love messing with the feedback delay time on the Space Echo?
Library
Lastly, we enjoy filling our minds with abstract concepts and engaging in philosophical discussions and thought patterns. We practise the art of bettering ourselves through the ancient practice of alchemical transmutation and a lot of our goals as artists are to help people do the same. We all have our own paths that lead us to our own truths in life, but we can all be there to help each other along the way and grow and learn and become the best versions of ourselves possible. One day this library will take up an entire wall in the back of our future studio (and help to serve as a diffuser!).
Glitch
At the end of the day we just like to have fun, and create create create (glitches out tripped out mad love), and love and love and love some more! We are all creators, so let’s create an awesome future together.
Dance Spirit’s Kindisch Stories compilation is out now. Find them on Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud.
07.47 AM
nice spiritual chapter of the studio section!