On that Nasa shit
On this episode of We Have a Technical, Bruce and Alex chat with Jason Amm of Solvent about his work as a producer and soundtrack composer on the modular synthesizer documentary I Dream of Wires. The doc has been getting some major attention since its announcement a few years back, and with the recent release of the soundtrack of original music, we thought it a good time to catch up with Jason about his experiences with the film, and how it changed his own creative process. Stream from the widget below, rate and subscribe at iTunes or download directly!
00:00: As with every episode, our theme music is “Black Cross (Dead When I Found Her Remix)” by ∆AIMON, available from Artoffact records.
00:50: To order copies of the documentary and the soundtrack and check out some very cool interview clips, go over to http://www.idreamofwires.org/
03:10: It goes without saying, but boy do we love and miss Mr. Butlertron.
04:02: We dig on the Commodore Ballroom, despite it being part of the hated House of Blues conglomerate.
05:45: IN 3D!
07:58: Check out Jason’s work as Solvent over on the official website, located hereabouts.
08:27: Oh you didn’t know?
19:03: Daniel Miller, Mute Records impresario, aka The Normal. A dude responsible for putting out a lot of records you own.
19:29: And if you aren’t, then what the hell is wrong with you? Get on that right now!
22:36: It does make it look pretty cool.
24:16: You can google these just as easily as we can, but seriously, look upon the System-100. Shit is beautiful.
41:32: Vince Clarke has a lot of gear.
42:35: Check “My Radio” if’n you ain’t familiar.
49:10: Witness the Gieskes VCO Fan in all its glory.
1:01:10: Moogfest 2014, where it’s hip to be square wave! (Oh god, we’re sorry.)
1:04:53: I Dream Of Wires on FB.
1:05:05 @IDOWdocumentary
1:06:30 Apples and Synthesizers was the original LP, Elevators And Oscillators its companion.
Principal Scudworth! [And back to the ‘cast…]
Pretty good listen for my thursday morning. I haven’t seen the documentary yet – I’m not sure I have the requisite 4 hours of patience in me. But once the shorter cut is available I’ll definitely check it out.
I found his point about Reason becoming a limited sound palette interesting. It strikes me that in the Industrial/EBM/Futurepop scene the same is true for certain pieces of hardware. It’s no secret that the majority of VNV’s Empires was done on an Access Virus. When I went to Kinetik 4.0 I couldn’t help but notice how many other acts were also using the Virus. It’s become so common I’m reaching a point where I can almost always identify one as soon as I hear it – the same way one might easily identify the sound of an 808 drum machine.
I’m not trying to knock the Virus; I’m sure it’s a great machine. But the idea of patching a selection of modular gear together to create a sound that is almost uniquely your own is definitely an appealing one. Perhaps I should reconsider my outlook on future hardware purchases?
It’s a very interesting thing to consider, although I think Jason also made the point that if you work hard you can make any piece of gear sound different. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get a specific, familiar sound, perhaps Jason was suggesting that the possibilities are what intrigues him more than anything.
Thanks for listening!