Richard Devine designing with AudioCubes

A while ago we went to Winter NAMM (in January 2008), to show the AudioCubes. We were lucky to hang out with our good friends Kyle and Ryan from Subtractive, they have a studio in Santa Monica and do a lot of great sound design and composition work, while at the same time producing film and working on their album (see the Test Short Starfish remix contest from a while ago, which was featured on Percussa’s main website).

Ryan and Kyle have been AudioCube users since the very beginning, I think they have serial number 10 on their cubes. They introduced us to Richard Devine, and naturally a discussion about his work and music technology emerged.

If you would have to put a name on your genre of music, what would it be?

I would say it would definitely be experimental electronics in general terms. Some people say my style is “IDM” or “electronica”, but I feel it’s much darker and cerebral.

Who would you name as your influences musically?

So many! Autechre, Aphex Twin, Black Dog, Warp Records, Global Communications… I love all music, and listen to new music all the time. I go to see shows still all the time too, and find lots of inspiration when listening to other artists. I love early electro acoustic music, like John Cage, Stockhausen, but i love many new composers as well. I often feel that some of these artists were pushing the envelope of musical composition. I really like the work of Trevor Whishart and Autechre. I love abstracted music.

If some readers might not have heard about you yet, which track or album would you make them discover as a point of reference?

Maybe try out “Lipswitch” on Warp Records, or “Asect:Dsect” on Asphodel Records. My favorite was “Aleamapper” on Schematic Records, which was a very strange record of ambience and found sound recordings. Lots of people discover my work through remixes too.

Do you also work on other projects like film music, music for publicity, games…?

For sure I work all the time doing this type of work. I have decided to start my own little boutique company “DevineSound” with my fellow friend and partner Josh Kay from Phoenecia/Schematic Records. So far it has been very fun and successful. I work as a professional sound designer now, working with many audio companies developing new audio content for other software/hardware companies, as well as creating sound design for film/TV/video games. I just recently finished up work for XBOX360, and Sony Media. I have a new sound library that I just released that was signed to Sony called “The Electronic Manuscript” (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/devinemanuscript)

What would you call the biggest achievement in your musical career?

Wow, this would be a hard question to answer. There is so many things that I have done that I have been grateful for. Honestly I would have to say that it would be that I have been able to make a living at music and support my self, doing what I love to do. I have worked with many amazing people and made many new friends in the music industry, and had some of the most amazing experiences. Music has allowed me to travel the world, playing shows from Iceland to Australia. I feel very blessed that I have had the opportunity to make music for a living, and making music that I feel is a true expression of who I am, and having no creative restrictions. It is quite odd that I have been able to keep going this long, because I would have never guessed, because my music is so insanely strange and left field.

How did you ever get into making music?

I started out DJing at the age of 16 in high school, and from there I began buying equipment, and built up a small studio. I have since kept building up the studio and continued to create, record and research new sounds.

When you go into the studio, how do you start on a new song? Do you have it already in your head before, or do you just start experimenting and see what happens?

I usually start out with a sound. I like to start out with a sound that I generate within the computer, synth, sampler, or something that I have captured with my microphones. I approach a song more like a jigsaw puzzle with different sound clips, and texture pieces, then start putting everything together. Sometimes I just begin with a simple groove and build from that groove. Sometimes it goes beyond a simple groove and it’s a massive entanglement of layers, that play against each other to make a loop. I sometimes make melodies too, and build the rhythm around the notes, but I usually like to work more from a percussive standpoint.

Did the way you make music change throughout the years?

I first started out using drum machines and samplers. I learned my basic techniques on the Arp-2600 analogue modular synthesizer. I would say that my approach hasn’t changed that much, the tools have changed though. I generally try to make something new and strange with each musical piece that I create. That has always been my goal with making music.

When you are making music, do you sometimes have the feeling that you are missing a tool, that you want to do something that isn’t possible yet. If so, what are you thinking about, what tool would you wish that existed?

Well, I have wanted many cool tools for making music. I would love something like the Interactive Brainwave Visual Analyser (http://www.ibva.co.uk/ ) that records your alpha and beta wave activity, and can convert that to musical information and/or notes. I would like something like this but even more advanced to where it would pick up more brain activity to compute rhythmic structures, and musical notes. It would be amazing to expand on this idea. To somehow directly connect to your mind, and make music. That would be amazing. I love alternate controllers too. I have many different controllers for different applications, and I am constantly investigating new ways to play musical information. I have been researching touch screens, the Tenori-On, Monome, Korg Kaoss Pad and custom analogue and digital control surfaces lately. I really like anything that will make me think differently.

Which elements attracted you in the AudioCubes when you got in touch with them?

I loved that they worked with the idea of sensors. That you could interact with them or have the AudioCubes react to each other and you have lots of interesting possibilities. Lots of room for experimentation, as the concept is so radical.

How did it go when you used them for the first time?

It took me a few hours to get the Cubes to work with my software, using the MIDI Bridge application. After I got my head around that, I was on my way, and I was totally sucked in. I was surprised to find that they had so many great examples on the installer CD. It really helped me see how many different situations you could use the AudioCubes in. I first went through the examples to see how many different variations and applications where possible. I loved the Ableton demo they had using the Cubes as triggers to play samples, and loops. I soon started messing with some of my MAX/MSP and Reaktor patches, getting into more complex sound applications. In the meantime I found that I have been designing my software environments around them. I found that I have been triggering sounds and my approach to some of my old software applications has completely changed because of the AudioCubes. It’s an entirely different way to play and react to sounds. I think it’s an amazing step forward in alternate controllers. I love that it steps completely outside the conventional controllers, that usually deal with the knobs, faders and keys.

Do you see its possibility of being a bit “unpredictible” as an advantage or rather a disadvantage?

I look at this as a total advantage. I love interfaces, and applications that are unpredictable. I tend to gravitate towards devices and software like this. You can discover new sounds, and how to play things differently with controllers of this nature. For someone like me who is constantly looking for innovative new tools, I find this crucial.

One box holds two cubes, enough for you?

I have four cubes, and I feel that is perfect, as you only have two hands to move, and trigger things. It’s great that you have four sensors per cube to work with. I found that even just using one Cube yields interesting results.

Do you use them in the studio, for live performances, or both?

I first started using them in my studio, and now I have started to use them in my live show. I see them working in both environments quite well. In the studio I have been using them with Cycling74’s Max/MSP and Native Instruments Reaktor 5. I have been recording my movements and triggers with them. They seem to work well with hand movements, and I am able to record very gestural movements, almost like a Moog Theremin. I recently used the AudioCubes on a new Sample Library that I created for Sony. We used them to control these custom Reaktor Drone patches, that were triggered by the AudioCubes.

Which other hard or software do you use?

I pretty much use everything. I love the Kyma System by Symbolic Sound, and I love the Elektron Machine Drum, and Mono Machine. My main sequencer is Logic. I also have been getting back into using Analogue Modular gear lately for sound generation.

Would you advise the cubes to other artists as studio tool?

Yes, absolutely. I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for something completely different to traditional approaches to controlling sound. For adventurous musical explorers not afraid to discover new sounds and music!

How many times did you use the cubes already during your live performances?

So far I have used the AudioCubes twice, but I am starting to get more comfortable with them, and intend to use them for all my future shows. I have been using them with Ableton Live 7, Yamaha Tenori-On, Elektron Mono Machine, and Machine Drum. The reaction is always, whoa! What is that! Those look super cool! Everyone is totally fascinated by them. They also look amazing when playing with them in a live situation in a club where they glow in the dark. Everyone loves them. They look so fun, and react to your hands and MIDI messages, and pulse to the music, which adds to the live performance. It really enhances the experience as the audience can see that the music is actually totally interactive with the performer and that he’s not just pressing a space bar on a computer which can be really boring. From the last two shows, I have gotten a flood of people coming up to me asking what they are, and how they work. The response has been amazing. I think it’s the most fun that I have had in years with any sort of controller device. Simply easy and completely interactive. You feel like you are completely triggering the sounds with the sensors and your hands, very responsive.

Should making music be fun or do you approach it more seriously or technically?

I honestly think I approach it from a little bit of both sides. I do a great deal of technical research and programming when it comes to making my music, but I also try to have fun, and really get a vibe or feeling across to what I am doing musically. I always try to find a balance between the two.

Would you advise them to other artists as a live tool?

I would totally recommend the AudioCubes to them. I think it’s one of those controllers that is so innovative that users will find new ways to apply them to different applications. So it will be interesting to see all the new development for software to work directly with them.

Did you ever use the cubes during your dj-sets?

I have been trying to experiment with Traktor Studio by Native Instruments and the AudioCubes. I am working on a custom .tks file that I want to give away to users after I am finishing fine tweaking it. I see great potential for new crazy things to happen. It will be only a matter of time when more and more artist like myself discover these amazing new devices. It is going to open many doors for those who want to take their music into new territory.

About Richard Devine:

Richard Devine is an Atlanta-based electronic musician. He is recognized for producing a layered and heavily processed sound, combining influences from old and modern electronic music. Devine largely records for the Miami-based Schematic Records. As a result of praise of his music from Autechre as well as a remix of Aphex Twin’s Come To Daddy, Devine recorded an album for Warp Records which was jointly released by Schematic and Warp. Though he has contributed sound design to a number of hardware and software manufacturers, he recently released his first official sample library through Sony Creative Software entitled The Electronic Music Manuscript: A Richard Devine Collection.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Devine

Links:

http://www.richard-devine.com/

http://www.myspace.com/richarddevine

The 10 best records in the history of music according to Richard Devine:

1.      Locust “Truth is Born of Augments” on R&S Records. Mark Van Hoen.

2.      Reload “A Collection of Short Stories”

3.      Aphex Twin “Analogue Bubble Bath 3″ Rephlex Records

4.      Autechre “Chiastic Slide” Warp Records

5.      Coil “Black Light District” World Serpent Records

6.      My Bloody Valentine “Loveless”

7.      Meat Beat Manifesto “99%”

8.      Herbie Hancock “Inventions and dimensions”

9.      Company Flow “Little Johnny from the hospital” Rawkas

10. Trevor Whishart “Fabulous Paris”