Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Drums Week 25
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Guitar Amps
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Artist news
  • Drums
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Santana on Beck
  • Friday, I'm in Love
  • Knopfler's 4-note secret
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
Nadia Struiwigh
Artists Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
adam beyer
Artists "It feels like there’s a blueprint for electronic music - it's boring”: Adam Beyer on the evolution of modern dance music
rival
Artists “You end up doing different things with a plugin versus a hardware synth”: Rival Consoles on why he still uses a Prophet emulation – even though he owns the real thing
Lawrence Hart
Artists Lawrence Hart on the mixed blessings of classical training and being ‘scrappy’ in the studio
Silva Bumpa
Tech Breakout producer Silva Bumpa on the secret to creating sub bass and UKG rhythms
brian eno
Artists “Due to digital, music now has a terrible sort of housewifely tidiness”: Brian Eno on sonic perfectionism, Bowie and his new collaborative double album
Joe Armon-Jones
Artists Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones on the imagined musical apocalypse that inspired All The Quiet
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 7: Yungblud performs a live set on Denmark Street during the launch of his new store 'Beautifully Romanticised Accidently Traumatized' at 20 Denmark Street on August 7, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Nicky J. Sims/Getty Images)
Artists “I wanted to bring a new generation to this iconic street”: Yungblud launches his Denmark Street B.R.A.T store
ARMNHMR
Djs ARMNHMR on their tools of the trade
loukeman
Artists Loukeman reveals his favourite plugins and unusual production techniques
maria somerville
Artists “Ableton's more creatively fulfilling than Logic”: Maria Somerville on the DAWs, uilleann pipes and vintage gear behind Luster
daniel bedingfield
Artists How Daniel Bedingfield's bedroom-produced '00s No. 1 rewrote the rules of pop
Richie Hawtin
Artists “All my equipment kind of glowed and then shut down”: The weather event that shaped a Richie Hawtin classic
Eight producers
Artists "Turn a few seconds into a four minute, finished piece of music”: 8 producers show how they finish tracks
rudimental
Tech "It's one of my favourite synths": Rudimental reveal their favourite plugins for drum 'n' bass production
  1. Tech
  2. Recording
  3. Studios

In pictures: Erol Alkan's North London studio

News
By Future Music ( Future Music ) published 30 September 2014

The artist, producer, DJ, remixer and label owner shows us his musical home

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Welcome

Welcome

While it might sound like something of a cliché, Erol Alkan is an artist for whom ‘the music’ always seems to come first.

Between his seminal mid-noughties clubnights Trash and Durrr, his production credits for the likes of Late Of The Pier, Mystery Jets and Klaxons, his numerous DJ accolades and his countless remixes and collaborations, he has had plenty of opportunities for self-promotion over the years. Yet Alkan’s is a career built not on his own ego, but on using every outlet available to share, nurture and promote new music.

He’s also one of that rare breed of musicians whose talents aren’t confined by genre, with a career touching upon indie, electro, house, techno and beyond, with seemingly little regard for trends or fashions, even when he’s caught up in the middle of them.

2013 saw Alkan setting up his first purpose-built studio space, The Phantasy Sound, a North London hub for himself and the artists on his Phantasy record label. This played a major role in birthing a pair of stunning, yet very different albums: the lo-fi pop of Connan Mockasin’s Caramel and the warped electronic experiments of Daniel Avery’s Drone Logic.

It also resulted in Alkan’s first proper solo release, some 20 years into his career, in the form of the intricately-produced, club-focused Illumination EP.

With yet more new ventures on the horizon, including an excellent entry into the Fabriclive mix series, and a remix album as part of the sun-drenched Psych duo Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, Future Music headed up to North London to meet Alkan and take a nose around the new studio.

For the complete interview and a video studio tour, check out Future Music 284 (Autumn issue) which is on sale now.

NEXT: DAWs

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
DAWs

DAWs

“I use Pro Tools when I record bands, especially if I’m tracking drums, but Logic when it comes to using MIDI or anything like that.

“I’ve gotten so used to Logic 9 now. I’ve bought Logic X, which I’ve messed with a bit, but I haven’t really gone in deep with it. I’m a bit scared of Logic X actually.

“I tend to use the native plugins within Logic as I think they’re fine. To be honest with you, I haven’t found a stereo width plugin better than Logic’s one. EQ wise, they’re pretty good transparent EQs which seem to do exactly what you need an EQ to do. I tend to find that, if you’re not getting what you want out of a sound at that stage, maybe the EQ isn’t the main problem - maybe it’s another aspect of it? So I tend to use all of them in a pretty simple way, rather than expecting miracles from plugins.

“I don’t use any particularly esoteric plug-ins. I’ll focus more on what’s going in; that’s about 90% of it for me.”

NEXT: Homemade compressor

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Homemade compressor

Homemade compressor

“The Mustapha SSL-4000. It’s basically just an SSL clone that I’ve built with a Neve width module. If you whack it all to the far right you lose all the signal and you can check out your clocking as well. If your clocking is a bit dodgy, and it sounds all MP3-ish and digital, then that’ll tell you.”

NEXT: Pioneer rekordbox

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Pioneer rekordbox

Pioneer rekordbox

“Ever since rekordbox came along, it’s meant that I can pool all my music together and organise it in a way I understand.

“The great thing is that you can come up with your own system of working. I do feel a bit guilty about being able to turn up somewhere with a pair of headphones and a USB key, when you see bands with trucks full of gear and a crew of 30 people to play the same stage, but that’s the way DJing has gone. I still believe that DJing in its greatest form is just as creative and exciting as what bands can do. It’s just a great system, though.

“I’m curious as to what the next thing is going to be. I know that you can do a lot of things with mobile phones now, but I don’t trust them!”

NEXT: Yamaha NS10s

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Yamaha NS10s

Yamaha NS10s

“I just have them because they sound so bad. As they say with NS10s - if it sounds good on them, then it’ll sound good anywhere.”

NEXT: Effectron delays

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Effectron delays

Effectron delays

“I’m a big fan of the Effectron delays from the ’80s. They’re great, unpredictable delays. I like to send stuff to them and have it very, very low in the mix.”

NEXT: Roland TB-303

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Roland TB-303

Roland TB-303

“This is a recent purchase and something I’ve been wanting for a while. I’m in love with it - not just for the fact that it’s a 303, but also because it’s got cool things like CV out, so you can actually write a pattern inside of it and send that to other synths.”

NEXT: Korg Mono/Poly

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Korg Mono/Poly

Korg Mono/Poly

“This is a brand-new acquisition, so I’ve just been messing around with it.”

NEXT: Roland SH-1

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Roland SH-1

Roland SH-1

“It tends to do bass like no other synth I have. I’ve a trick that I do with it, that I don’t want to reveal, but there’s a workaround if you experiment with the patching capabilities. You can get some pretty amazing, deep, cranium-quaking bass from it!”

NEXT: Formanta Polivoks

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Formanta Polivoks

Formanta Polivoks

“I’m fascinated by Russian synths, in the sense that they were built to try and mimic what Moog was doing at the time. They kind of didn’t get it right, but they came up with something quite different.”

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Future Music
Future Music

Future Music is the number one magazine for today's producers. Packed with technique and technology we'll help you make great new music. All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more. Every marvellous monthly edition features reliable reviews of the latest and greatest hardware and software technology and techniques, unparalleled advice, in-depth interviews, sensational free samples and so much more to improve the experience and outcome of your music-making.

All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more. image
All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more.
Get the latest issue now!
More Info
Read more
Nadia Struiwigh
Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
adam beyer
"It feels like there’s a blueprint for electronic music - it's boring”: Adam Beyer on the evolution of modern dance music
rival
“You end up doing different things with a plugin versus a hardware synth”: Rival Consoles on why he still uses a Prophet emulation – even though he owns the real thing
Lawrence Hart
Lawrence Hart on the mixed blessings of classical training and being ‘scrappy’ in the studio
Silva Bumpa
Breakout producer Silva Bumpa on the secret to creating sub bass and UKG rhythms
brian eno
“Due to digital, music now has a terrible sort of housewifely tidiness”: Brian Eno on sonic perfectionism, Bowie and his new collaborative double album
Latest in Studios
Adam Audio H200
“A good all round headphone suited to recording, mixing and mastering”: Adam Audio H200 Headphones review
An Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII synthesizer on a blue background
I’ve looked through all 372 deals in the Thomann Easter Sale - these are the 5 deals I’d grab right now
Universal Audio Standard SD-1
“A versatile and durable dynamic microphone suitable for a range of applications”: Universal Audio SD-1 review
Universal Audio Standard SC-1
“Its robust construction, low self-noise, and ability to emulate a range of classic microphones make it a valuable asset”: Universal Audio SC-1 review
Abbey Road Studio One
Refurbished Abbey Road Studio One reopens with evening of "boundary-pushing expressive dance"
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish’s mix engineers reveal the star's “favourite part” of her smash hit, Birds Of A Feather
Latest in News
Marek "Ashok" Šmerda wears corpsepaint that makes him look a little like Hellraiser's Pinhead as he performs live with Cradle of Filth.
Cradle of Filth guitarist Ashok fired mid-tour, days after keyboardist wife quits citing low pay and “toxic” atmosphere
Rick Rubin .
"He made so many of those songs better with just one little nudge”: Daron Malakian on Rick Rubin
Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye performs on stage during the 'After Hours Til Dawn Tour' at MorumBIS on September 7, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
The Weeknd is looking to raise $1 billion using his back catalogue as collateral
Third Man Hardware x Black Mountain Roto-Echo: the roller wheel equipped delay pedal is a compact and performance-friendly stompbox that's available in black or limited edition white. Jack White has used it onstage and in the studio during the sessions for No Name.
Jack White’s Third Man teams up with Black Mountain for the Roto-Echo, a delay controllable by foot
Every Breath You Take video still
Sting sued by ex-Police colleagues for a share of Every Breath You Take royalties
bitwig
Bitwig takes its flagship DAW to "another level" with Bitwig Studio 6

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...