hanging out with audiophiles hanging out with audiophiles

Im going to read from the press release this time coz its a good’n
The simpatico sophomore album by the unstoppably prolific Alex Paterson and fellow Orb original Andy Falconer is an epic sail through the sky at night. Helmed by gentle spirits with warmth in their hearts, ‘SETI’ feels cold and dark, yet also glowing and welcoming. Aboard a cosy candlelit spacecraft, the duo experience the cosmos as somewhere overwhelmingly infinite, yet reassuring and friendly. A sort of ‘ambient unplugged’, it’s full of acoustic instruments and nostalgic samples, folding space between the old world, and places where no man has gone before.
Dr Paterson speaks
“The first LP had a great reception and sold so well I couldn’t even get a copy myself. Andy is brilliant at making ambient music, and working with him is always rewarding. We understand each other’s brains – it’s easy and organic - so doing another made total sense.” He adds, “SETI stands for Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, but it’s also something you sit on, to chill out, which is why the album contains a Three Piece Suite. This record is musical ambience, which is what we like to make, rather than drone ambience, which there’s a lot of these days.”

That last point struck me as it describes the sensations I associate with the music of the Orb which is a sort of maximal ambient rush.
It’s a sound that whizzes me right back to my dreamy youth tbh when these guys were so responsible for making the soundtrack that accompanied me through my last years at school. It was a time when I needed music to blow my mind.
When I was told I could speak to an original member of the orb I was so curious to ask Andy how it was all made back in those days. We get into that right at the end of this chat as well as a walk down memory lane and up the present. 
It was great to catch up with Andy in Portugal. He’s had quite the life!
Let’s get into it
 

Bones....
Wind....
Caves....
A simpler time
When we apes first tooted.. the fluuuute
Yes it’s wild how far we’ve come and Matthew Herbert and I go back a bit too .. I mean not to the flute tooting era but we go back.
He speaks during this chat of his achievements as an evolved ape and many had me gasping ! 
He tells of multiple slippers that he can slide into to tap different sonic personas.
The making of 1000 pieces of music a year!
The upkeep of his musical organ filled with pigs blood.
Yes
The stories are wild in this one so
Strap in!
Did I mention we go way back?
Yes !
I was lucky enough to collaborate with him on a few notable pieces of music.
1) He played on the second super_collider LP raw digits on a track called gravity rearranging 
2) I was a singer on his album Goodbye Swingtime and joined him and the bigband at the Hollywood Bowl opening for Bjork in 2003 alongside Bonnie Prince Billy.
Hollywood bowl bigband? I mean come on!!
3) He joined me alongside Arto Lindsay, performing the most monumental show of my career at Sonar 2003.
That show was the real unveiling of all my efforts in the lab to make an impov looping performance with max/msp. Something I’d dreamt of for years and finally made real.
It was so fitting to have him and Arto come on for the final number and make a total racket with me.
We just all clattered it to the ground. A moment I’ll never forget and it was all down to Matthew really as it was watching him show using multiple boss echos in short looping mode that got me started on that road.
A brilliant and restless musical mind that has always moved in his own lane.
It’s a treat to welcome onto the show
Matthew Herbert
____
 
It’s been a while but I’ve some music to play from an artist and pod listener 
This time it’s from an LP called TRIPLE TRANSIT 
The artist is Braile and he makes some really solid Modular YouTube pieces too 
His new record is out August 8th on Hotflush recordings. 
Link!
https://braillesounds.bandcamp.com/album/triple-transit

Superbooth 2024 here I come
Im in a rush but I promised a show so here it is :)
This is the second celebration of a wonderful maker in the eurorack world.
Meet Instruo. 
The company was founded by Jason Lim who is the guest on this episode and we discuss how a company like this can exist in the wild electric world.
The kind of knowledge it takes.
The team that has emerged.
The nature of the design. 
We answer the all important question 
"do you feel the music of the mushroom?"
yes!!!
check out the modules here!
https://www.instruomodular.com

Im joined by Matthew Allum (ALM/Busy Circuits) as we discuss the origins of one of the best loved and most popular eurorack modules of all time
Pam’s New Workout (and subsequent PRO form)
How does a person go from having a thought of an afternoon to running one of the worlds most beloved modular synth companies?
All shall be revealed!
For those sensitive to talk of whittling, I must warn you there is mention of carpentry but it’s short lived and most of the chips we linger on are of the silicon and not wooden variety.
This is part of a 2 episode pre super booth special and I’ll be popping a few bit up on the patreon using an ALM based system to rinse it a little 🙂
Who’s coming to the booth!?!?!
This episode is sponsored by the tremendous fabfilter
They are celebrating 20 years in the game with a HUGE SALE
yes you can get 30% off Fabfilter plugins until May 1st !!!
Act now as these are some of the very best plugins on the planet.
Here’s the link. Click on y’all
https://www.fabfilter.com/shop

were you the co-developer of ableton live?
ah no
but Mr Henke
very much was.
Think about that for a minute.
It’s easy to forget as he’ll never bring it up without being prompted.
He’s not big on the dwelling and far more interested in his current obsessions.
Special interests (SPINS) as they are called are the things driving the REAL artists of which Robert is most certainly one.
I had one “job” interviewing him at this time. We were supposed to talk about the re-release of a classic monolake (Robert’s musical moniker) LP “Hong Kong” on Field Records.
There was a hint of that here. It loomed in the fog over the hills as we, the ramblers, became fascinated by objects more close at hand.
His tremendous work with the commodore PET platform as a primitive yet potent synth and drum machine for example.
His encounters with the art world (which he is not fond of)
his dislike of the infernal machine reverb ! ha. (also not fond it seems)
His connection to the tonal land of the PPG wave and the Synclavier (yes, he’s fond)
ah yes
I loved reconnecting with him after all these years.
He was always a brilliantly bright mind and continues to probe his passions to deliver wildly unique sound and light shows that stand apart from his peers.
oh and dont forget he’s the co-developer of ableton live!

With 20 albums under his own name and his instrumental group Cosmo, the man knows how to make a record.
He is a wildly accomplished and successful songwriter. For example in 2003 Harris he received the Grammy Award for Song Of The Year for Norah Jones’ breakout hit “Don’t Know Why,” from her debut album, Come Away With Me, which has sold almost 30 million copies worldwide.
Versions of his songs have been sung by artists as diverse as
Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Cat Power, Feist, The Black Keys, M. Ward, Brad Mehldau, Bright Eyes, Smokey Robinson, George Benson, Pat Metheny, Kandace Springs, and Solomon Burke.
I mean WHAT a list that is!
Songwriting collaborations have included Maya Hawke, John Zorn, Madeleine Peyroux, Melody Gardot, Papooz, and Lana Del Rey.
If you didnt think you knew Jesse, I bet you’ve heard his writing out there in the known universe of sound and by gosh he’s a real potent force. Even after all this success, he is very mild mannered and thoughtful in this nice rambling interview. He’s generous with his knowledge and a very easy guy to get along with.
I must say I hang my pod head slightly when reflecting on how old this interview is. Like a fine wine, I hope it’s benefited from a little time in the digital cellar.
Drink in the wisdoms y’all !