Alex Smoke mainly produces techno and electronica but recently has ventured into classical composition. He also runs a record label called Hum+Haw and has just created a sample pack for Future Loops called Dexter Sinister.

How do you approach a tune? Drums first? Melody?

It totally depends on my mood really. If I feel experimental, I'll fire up all the hardware and try and make some weird noise and melody first, but if I'm feeling like I have a clear techno idea in mind I'll mainly head straight for the sequencer and work on the drums.

Does your approach differ depending on which genre you are making?

Definitely electronica benefits from having the melody take the focus, whereas techno is clearly much more to do with the drums. Both styles benefit from some loose experimentation though. With classical it's even more focused as the melody and rhythm are so intertwined.

What time of day do you work best?

I've always been a night-owl and there's no question that working at night is really the ideal as the brain is in this slightly detached place which is perfect for music. But with the various other pressures of life I find I mainly work more regular hours now. I get up early and finish in the afternoon most days.

Where do you get your inspiration / motivation from?

It can be nearly anything, from a new idea for a machine in Kyma, to a film or book, or a way of using a certain instrument. The most exciting things for me are big plans that involve lots of reading up on and learning new techniques. Surprisingly, it's rarely from listening to music.

What do you do when you're not feeling inspired?

Drink tea and read a book. Or go for a walk round London. The golden rule for me is never to work if you don't feel inspired or you end up just forcing the issue and making yourself even more uninspired.

Where is your studio set up and what does is consist of?

I just have it in our spare bedroom, with all our records, and it's pretty cramped. I have a keyboard rack with the Elektron Monomachine, Nord G2 and the Capybara, and  a desk with my computer and the NI Maschine and a load of shit that I've pulled from my pockets. It's a mess. There's also my decks and mixer.

What's the boring, workhorse plugin/piece of kit that you use all the time?

I guess the EXS24 is what I use the most. It's used for nearly all my drum programming in Logic. Other things I use to death are Destroy FX plugins, Absynth and Soundtoys.

What's the best piece of equipment you've ever used?

Kyma / Capybara without a doubt. It's expensive and complicated but it is totally open-ended. It's always exciting to use and I've hardly scratched the surface. You can literally imagine some totally theoretical way of playing with a sound, and then actually figure out how to create the effect you're looking for. Normally you'll end up following some other tangent as you figure it out, but that's part of the fun.

Which sequencer do you use and why?

I use Logic because in the early years it was always the most stable and the best for playing with MIDI. I don't like the fact that Apple own it but it's still an excellent piece of software. I also use Ableton to play live, but I rarely use it in the studio as I don't use a lot of audio and there's no question that it sounds a certain way that I don't like.

Any new studio technology or gear you're liking at the moment?

The Fxpansion DCAM collection of synths looks like a trance toy, but they're without question my favourite software synths. They sound beautiful and incredibly analogue. I wish I had a hardware Cypher.

Any advice you can give us regarding mixdowns?

I'm probably quite atypical and not a good example as I have no great system in place. A lot of my music is badly mixed. But so is a lot of my favourite old music so I don't care. I use a few stages of gentle compression on the various sections and I always have the UAD Pultec EQ on my master fader. Also, I have lousy monitors on a desk in front of me and a bare wall behind me so I'm not one to give advice!

What production technique do you think is really overused / annoying?

Anything that's overused is annoying really... over-compression is a classic.

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

Nothing really. Learning on the job is what it's all about. An amazing number of people ask me how to get their music out and what to do next, then when you ask how long they've been producing they say "oh, about six months..."! Put the hours in and the rest will follow.

What have you been working on recently?

My main focus for the past six months has been a classical / electronic score for the silent film Faust. It'll be recorded by a string ensemble I've worked with before called the Scottish Ensemble, then mixed with the electronic elements and premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival before playing in other arthouse cinemas, if all goes to plan. I've also been working on new material the whole time so I've got quite a backlog now. Time to get releasing...

What do you have coming out soon?

The Lux album was out recently so I've been working on quite a few remixes for the first time in a while... I'd stopped because I wasn't happy with them. There's remixes for Chloe, Crimea X and on my own label for Automaton UK. There's also a co-production with Edit Select doing the rounds on Slant.

Who would you like to co-produce with?

Honestly, no one. I'm happiest on my own.

What tune would you like to remix?

I can imagine Burial being fun to remix. I like a vocal to play with.

Tell us more about your new sample pack...

I'd finished Lux and it got delayed for a million years so I needed a new project to get my teeth into. And Future Loops asked me at exactly the right time if I'd like to do one. It's a chance to hone your skills and experiment with new techniques so I made it as broad as possible whilst still being useful. It consists of techno, house and electronica styles really, but they're all interchangeable as Ableton and other programs are so good at time-stretching now. There's a lot of processes and texture in there... I'm a bit sad to share some of it to be honest!

Dexter Sinister by alexsmoke

 

• Alex Smoke
,
• In The Studio

Related Links:

• Alex Castañeda's Oil Painted Skateboards
• 55DSL X Alex Fakso - Fast Or Die
• Alex Young A.K.A Exhibition
• Goldie on classical music...
• Dark Atmospheres & SFX 02 Sample Pack

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