The studio
UK-based producer Amit Kamboj has been pioneering his own dub-inflused ‘half-step’ brand of drum ‘n’ bass for over a decade now.
In that time he’s released tracks as AMIT on scene-defining labels including Commercial Suicide, Exit and Metalheadz, touching on Eastern percussion, techno, reggae and more in the process.
Here, ahead of his latest release, The Parallel EP, due 3 March on his own AMAR label and featuring regular vocal collaborator Rani, Kamboj invites us into his studio to give us a tour of some of the gear behind his productions.
AMIT: “Symmetrical setup consisting of a Mackie D8B, Mac Pro & a pair of Alesis Monitor One’s. I’ve tried many pairs of monitor speakers but still revert back to these as I know them so well. When I tell people I still use these they think I am joking.”
SE mic
“SE pop shield, mic and reflection filter. Mainly used by Rani when she pops by but occasionally used by me on tracks like Acid Trip and Killer Driller.”
Korg Z1
“Korg Z1, often sampled but mainly used as a controller keyboard.”
Lyrics...
“One of Rani’s lyric sheets, burn after reading.”
Robots
“The other band members, these guys are very important during a session.”
Guitars
“My guitars - used on a lot of my recent material such Human Warfare, Killer Driller and I’ll Cut You Down.”
Rack gear
“A rack of stuff that occasionally gets roped in. The Novation SuperNova and effect units produce some interesting results when I’m stuck for something.”
Violin
“This violin has come in handy on tracks like You Look Better Dead and I’ll Cut You Down.
“Aged seven I was actually kicked out of violin class for not doing as I was told. Rather than copy the melody the teacher was showing me, I was more interested in making random horror screeches and atonal sounds. GET OUT!”
Controllers and pickups
“Some Faderfox units that I use with Ableton, great for live manipulation.
“In the centre you see a guitar pickup wired to a 1/4-inch jack, this is the most used item in my whole studio. Like a doctor’s stethoscope, I’m able to record the vibration of everything from the inner ambience and circuitry of a hard drive to the mechanics of a CD drive - every track has this device somewhere.”
Toy radio
“My dad gave me this when I was five and I buried it in the garden.
"The chimes sound weird and out of tune and the wind up mechanics make a grinding sound that sounds very unique. This and the guitar pickup go together very well.”