Riva Starr's favourite music software
Ableton Live & Apple Logic
"When I got Ableton for the first time a few years ago, my life really changed. The easy ways to manipulate audio are gold for me, and working while I'm touring also helps me to keep my ideas and productions going.
"I don't mind at all about the 'not perfect' audio quality as I ReWire it with Logic. In fact, Logic's Enveloper and Bitcrusher are my secret weapons. Shhhhhh…"
Native Instruments Maschine & Komplete
"Despite the fact that I'm terribly lazy, I've still been able to get into Maschine and all the NI software. The instruments sound great and I really like messing things up with Maschine and Kontakt, creating weird loops. My fave instrument has gotta be FM8."
Universal Audio UAD-2
"I'm not a big fan of plug-ins when it comes to improving samples, but I gotta say that a couple really make my life easier! I use the UAD-2 platform, and my best purchase is the Little Labs VOG (Voice of God).
"If you want to make a bassline or a kick drum fatter than Ronaldo, then that's the one. SPL Transient Designer rocks it for me, too!"
D16 Group plug-ins
"Nice, simple and effective – three words that describe these plug-ins. I use Decimort and Devastator to get crunchy effects on the beats, or to add an extra flavour and make the groove more interesting. Good show on the TR-303, 808 and 909 clones, too!"
Goldbaby Samples
"I strongly believe that you'll never be able to cook up a yummy cake if you use bad ingredients, and that works for music too! Getting the sound selection right is the first step to a great-sounding track.
"One of the best at the moment for me is Goldbaby – they're creative, using a variety of sound sources (from standard drum machines to very unusual and rare ones) and processing everything with tape machines, analogue compressors, etc. I'm also loving the variety of quality samples offered by Loopmasters."
Riva's collaboration with Fat Boy Slim, Get Naked, is out now.