Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Guitar Amps
  • Plugin Week 25
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Artist news
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • Drums
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Plugin Week A-Z
  • You Oughta Know
  • Fake AI band
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Wrecking Crew
Recommended reading
Jean-Michel Jarre and Brian May
Artists Jean-Michel Jarre to release ‘audio visual record’ of his Bratislava mega-gig, which featured Brian May
Daft Punk
Producers & Engineers “We are the inventors of electro”: Emmanuel Macron wants French house to be added to UNESCO heritage list
dr dubplate
Artists “If you've got one follower or 10 million, that doesn't matter”: Dr Dubplate on "gatekeeper mentality"
Lawrence Hart
Artists Watch UK electronic artist Lawrence Hart build a track from scratch in his hardware-stuffed studio
Floating Points The Sunflower
Artists "I need to build a sound of my own": Floating Points hates festival sound systems so much he’s invented his own
Riva Starr
Artists “I have an original 909 – every time I use it I feel like I’m ruining it”: Riva Starr's studio essentials
Air
Artists 10 underrated Air tracks you absolutely need to hear
  1. Artists
  2. Djs

In pictures: Sébastien Léger

News
By Future Music ( Future Music ) published 17 November 2011

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

Intro

Intro

He's the casual French master of house and tech, blessed with golden ears and possibly the most bizarre monitoring choice we've ever seen.

Sébastien Léger has been releasing records internationally for over a decade, but in the last four years, Léger has become a globally recognised force in dance music production. His huge solo club hits like Hit Girl, collaboration with Chris Lake on their Mistakes EP and vast amount of remix work has marked him as one of the club's leading producers, with a golden touch when it came to big, spacious and melodic productions.

Léger's parents were both musicians and he himself was classically trained on piano and percussion. For the listener, this nod towards formal musical training might be something that's very obvious considering the melodic nature and evolving arrangements, but his ultra casual personality means it isn't something that Léger thinks important.

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13
The studio

The studio

His studio is similar to others we’ve seen in the tall and thin townhouses of Amsterdam – located in the roof space it’s a small but packed affair, with plenty of hardware and personality.

“I want to buy an 808 again because I had the 808, 606, 707 – all of them – but I had to sell them when I needed the money. Now I will probably buy them back at twice the price. I’m never looking for the
next plug-in or anything, just hardware machines.”

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13
Modded TB-303

Modded TB-303

"This TB-303 has been a little bit modified. I have an original here but it’s not MIDI. This is so I can program my basslines in my sequencer rather than the built-in step sequencer which is a nightmare.

"I just put some notes, like it’s a plug-in and it makes a nice bassline. There’s an overdrive knob which is a very subtle but there’s more switches and knobs for really changing the sound. And you can program the filter over MIDI so I draw in shapes in the sequencer. There’s no other TB-303 that can do that.

"Then I record the audio from the machine and I’ve got a nice clean bit of audio for looping or chopping. I can even add swing which the original doesn’t have. There’s endless possibilities."

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13
Monitoring

Monitoring

“I don’t know what to say about these Kinyo speakers. I bought them over ten years ago and they were the first speakers that I had for my computer so I used to listen to all my music on them.

"So I knew them so well by the time I started to use them to make music. These and Ableton are the perfect combination for me.”

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13
Nord Lead 3

Nord Lead 3

“This is my favourite synth – I know it very well and I’ve done all my famous tracks using it.”

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13
TL Audio Fat Track

TL Audio Fat Track

“I’m not using this for sub-mixing or stemming, I’m just using it as a monitor controller.”

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13
Future Retro Revolution

Future Retro Revolution

“Here’s another acid machine. It’s funny because I don’t actually make that many acid tracks. This was actually my first acid machine and is really cool and has a great programming interface.”

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13
Electrix Filter Queen

Electrix Filter Queen

“Yes, it's true! Before there were computer plug-ins, we had to filter things for real.”

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13
Vermona DRM-1 mkII

Vermona DRM-1 mkII

“This is very good but it has no MIDI so if you move it, that’s it. It’s good for the really crispy weird analogue sounds.”

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13
Moog Voyager

Moog Voyager

“It doesn’t get used much any more because it’s so much easier to use the Arturia plug-in that sounds pretty much the same. It’s a great piece of gear though and I’ll use it for the live show.”

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13
Mode Machines x0xb0x

Mode Machines x0xb0x

“This is a fake but sort of real TB-303, with the addition of MIDI it’s so much easier to program and costs less so is a great alternative.”

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13
Boss Voice Transformer VT-1

Boss Voice Transformer VT-1

"This is an amazing little device for making the robot voice effect, it’s connected up but I don’t use it much anymore.”

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13
Evolution UC33a

Evolution UC33a

"This is the controller for my live sets and I’ve made my own lovely customised design. It uses the colours mapped exactly to the colours I use when I’m making my tracks in Live.”

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
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
Jean-Michel Jarre and Brian May
Jean-Michel Jarre to release ‘audio visual record’ of his Bratislava mega-gig, which featured Brian May
Daft Punk
“We are the inventors of electro”: Emmanuel Macron wants French house to be added to UNESCO heritage list
dr dubplate
“If you've got one follower or 10 million, that doesn't matter”: Dr Dubplate on "gatekeeper mentality"
Lawrence Hart
Watch UK electronic artist Lawrence Hart build a track from scratch in his hardware-stuffed studio
Floating Points The Sunflower
"I need to build a sound of my own": Floating Points hates festival sound systems so much he’s invented his own
Riva Starr
“I have an original 909 – every time I use it I feel like I’m ruining it”: Riva Starr's studio essentials
Latest in Djs
TAKKUUK
“Everyone comes back changed”: Bicep on their new collaborative project with Inuit musicians
Lawrence Hart
Lawrence Hart on the mixed blessings of classical training and being ‘scrappy’ in the studio
Nadia Struiwigh
Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
 Deadmau5 Performs At The Seaport District's Pier 17 Rooftop on September 8, 2018 in New York City
“Your passport to deep vibes and low-altitude cruising”: Deadmau5 launches his own 24/7 Youtube stream
Daft Punk
“We are the inventors of electro”: Emmanuel Macron wants French house to be added to UNESCO heritage list
ARMNHMR
ARMNHMR on their tools of the trade
Latest in News
Joe Armon-Jones
Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones on the imagined musical apocalypse that inspired All The Quiet
Melbourne Instruments Roto-Control
Melbourne Instruments' Roto-Control gets Bitwig Studio integration following 2.0 firmware update
Waves 4th of July
Waves just made building a pro-level plugin chain a lot cheaper - grab 2 for $59.99 or 4 for $99.99
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: Celebrate the 4th of July in style with hundreds slashed off gear from Gibson, Fender, Alesis, Roland, Yamaha, Boss and more
Paul McCartney at the piano at Live Aid
Bob Geldof on how Paul McCartney’s Live Aid performance was almost a disaster
ai band
Who is behind The Velvet Sundown, the AI-generated band that blew up the internet?

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...