Ableton Live
“For over ten years, I was using Impulse Tracker to write and Ableton for live performances. I slowly made my way to Live when I realised I could execute most of my ideas more easily with it.
“I think it’s really important to be able to get your ideas into the computer quickly and efficiently. I’ve set up a pretty awesome template that makes it easy to start writing a new piece of music.”
Ableton Operator
“I’m not a big VST person, but I do have one or two go-to tools. Ableton’s my platform, and I also rely on a bunch of Ableton’s onboard synths.
“If you’re familiar with my recent music, you can probably tell that I’m a serious fan of Operator. I just love how versatile its synthesis is.”
Ableton Max For Live
“I do love the Max for Live effects, like the Convolution Reverb, Dedalus Delay and IRCAMax Freezer.
“People often overlook the Max for Live MIDI effects, but the LFO is incredible! The fact that you can assign it to control literally anything in Live is very inspiring.
“Another powerful tool is the Envelope Follower - used correctly, it can produce some insane-sounding stuff!”
S-X 808 Paradise
“The bulk of my previous work was very sample-heavy. With Human Energy, I wanted to step away from sampling and get more into synthesis, writing my own melodies and writing my own chord progressions. That said, I occasionally end up layering the Max for Live drum sounds with some of the S-X sample packs. Their 808s are well-recorded and super-beefy - the sort of samples that can really make your song slap!”
Output Audio Exhale
“You won’t find many third-party VST synths on my computer, and you won’t find many [effects] plugins, either.
“Apart from Max for Live, there are only a handful of others - including Output Exhale - which I use alongside Plogue’s Alter/Ego. Not only do they sound great, but they help me sort out vocal ideas without me having to sing them!”
Read Output Audio Exhale review
Machinedrum’s new single, U Betta, is out now on Ninja Tune.
