Tell us about working with the big names in the studio. There’s something I’ve just seen, the Audigo? It’s a box and it syncs up with your phone and you can split up the files and you can edit it in your computer later. There’s so many things out there, there’s so many platforms. Whether it’s a project for school or it’s a song. It’s really all about accessing your experiences and your knowledge and just putting that down. These tools can travel with you if you find the time. Places like Sound On Sound in New York… Conway Studios… They have great foliage and botanicals outside. And I attribute hit-making to places like Right Track in New York in the ‘90s and early 2000s. We created a lot of hits at Master Sound with The Neptunes - also Sarm in London was a great studio. Is there a favourite studio that you like to record in? All recorded at Master Sound Studio here in Virginia Beach.” “It was all with the ASR 10 and the MPC60… Chopping up drums, loading the sounds, having the sound palette. It’s awesome that you would bring that up, because it’s awesome that it’s stood the test of time. We wanted to kind of modernise a Michael Jackson type of sound. We went to the studio and we brought up some ideas, to see where we were at. Justin flew down to Virginia and we had spent some time driving around. “As The Neptunes we’re managed by Rob Walker who resides in New York and he got us together. The Justified album with Justin Timberlake. It’s whatever I can bring to the table for a particular project.” We all have our influences and the music we listen to. Fixing frequencies here and there with the engineer. ![]() And over the years I came to be overseeing the sound palette… Adding beats and drops. When we started out recording I was the guy with the equipment. We started with the four-track, then we went from a 16 80 to an 18 80 to a 24 80… What It Is by Busta is all recorded on that 16-track 80.” We recorded Clipse, who were a local rap group. What did you start out recording on and who were you recording on it? That loop function… You can just loop away and it’s easy. Right now I’m into Ableton but before that it was Logic. I picked it up… And it was not what I expected. It was dark blue and it had generic writing - ‘Star Wars’ - and I thought it was the real one. “The first record I ever bought was Star Wars Moog… The Moog version of Star Wars. Everything from pop music to music from the dance shows. I would go into Roses, which is the five and dime store around here, and pick up 45s. Going into record stores and being fascinated by the charts. Then I strum a bit on the guitar, an old Gibson Flying V.” I kinda play a few scales and meditate with my breathing. What’s your go-to instrument every morning? Though sometimes I take the weekends off.” I’m a morning person, I get up because I have to so this is my nine to five. There’s a microphone and I’ve got the Tascam DS-D98 for recording. Is your home studio just for trying things out, or do you do full recording there, too? “There’s a soundpack on Splice that I was endorsing for a while and people have put some stuff together using those sounds.” I like this, but I like that… But Ableton, with those sounds, is great. “Right now I’m into Ableton but before that it was Logic. Then there’s my Rhythm Arranger and I’m using a Korg Kronos as a controller keyboard. “And I’ve got my trusty Access Virus TI Polar, there’s the OB-6, the Dave Smith P12 and a Prophet 08. That’s always a great go-to for a synth string sound. My friend gave it to me in exchange for some sax parts. “There’s also a Juno-60 that I got from the Clay Garden Studios in Norfolk here in Virginia. It’s been retrofitted with something extra inside so it’s boosted up. We were in California in Marina Del Rey and I saw it and bought it. That really taught me how to use the synthesizer. I just repurchased my first official synthesizer - a Sequential Circuits Multitrack. So, what do you have around you right now? I started with Casio keyboards, the MT series. And then I got into Nintendos… And Casios. My Uncle Marty gave me a Game And Watch I must have been maybe six or seven years old. ![]() I was always fascinated by robots and things when I was a kid. Some treat it like it's just a tool, but others love their gadgets. Tell me about your relationship with gear.
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