Dave Smith Instruments In the Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Tom Darom

You can find the full interview with Tom Darom here.

"Tom Darom is an Israeli producer, composer and keyboardist based in Tel Aviv, Israel. She tours and records with the Balkan Beat Box as keyboardist and programmer, is A&R/creative director for APE Records, and is also a composer for TV, film, and media. Her recent work, Shadow of Truth, is a 4-part documentary on Netflix. She received the DocAviv Best Original Music award in 2016 for the documentary Death in the Terminal. The movie also won the Best Israeli Film award.

“I live in an environment that is a melting pot of cultures, rhythms, religions, languages, and conflict. This obviously filters into the art that’s produced here. Many of my scores cover these issues. Much of the music I produce, and artists I work with are an intricate weave of eastern and western influences. Our generation is fortunate to be able to search for what defines our complex identity. From this a new, hybrid middle-eastern sound has been born.

We chatted with Tom about how she’s using the Prophet-6."

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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Pro 2 and Kush Arora

You can find the full interview here.

"San Francisco-based Kush Arora has been producing eclectic and electrifying underground music for a diverse audience for nearly 20 years. Whether he’s making Indo Caribbean Dancehall, reworking kuduro, or creating ambience, his signature sound traverses genre lines and connects dots few dare to combine. His project Only Now assimilates his many influences, including Buraka Som Sistema, Wax Trax Records, and film soundtracks. As Kush puts it, Only Now’s roots are firmly planted in unbridled experimentation and a wall of sonic low end. With his 10-plus record discography, Kush’s work has been featured in The Wire, Spin Magazine, Fact Magazine, and many other avenues in the tropical bass, dub, dancehall, and Indian music scenes. His remixes and collaborations span artists as diverse as Balkan Beat Box and Gappy Ranks.

As Only Now he’s released 4 EPs, with 2017 sharing Timeslave from Mexico City’s Infinite Machine and Elements on vinyl from France’s POLAAR Sounds. He’s currently collaborating with N1L (Berlin, UIQ), Lechuga Zafiro (Uruguay), and Abstractar (an Oakland metal act). Only Now’s performance highlights include playing alongside Kode 9, Dj Lag, Shambala Festival (CA), Low End Theory, SXSW, with a recent performance at the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts

We chatted with Kush about how he’s using the Pro 2."

You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments Launches "In The Spotlight with the PRO 2" Series with Michael Wooten

You might recall the Artist Interview series from Dave Smith Instruments posted here. They just launched a new series focusing on users of the Pro 2. Their first interview, which you can find here, is with Michael Wooten.

"Michael Wooten is a young multi-instrumentalist and composer and a recent Berklee graduate, where he studied under jazz greats such as Tia Fuller, Greg Hopkins, Hal Crook and Terence Blanchard. Originally from Philadelphia, Michael has shared the stage with artists such as Sheila E, Terri Lyne Carrington and Ledisi and has worked on upcoming records with trumpeter Darren Barret and drummer Lenny White. His main focus, however, is his own original music, which while rooted in Philly’s rich musical tradition, draws from a plethora of different influences and experiences.

We recently caught up with Michael between projects to talk with him about about how he’s using his Pro 2."

via @dsiSequential: "NEW! DSI kicks off #DSIPro2 #synth artist interview series. See the first one here: davesmithinstruments.com/michael-wooten/ pic.twitter.com/qPXSa3xDTu"

You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Jordan Lawlor of M83

The next in DSI's In the Spotlight interview series is up with Jordan Lawlor and the Prophet-6 here.

"Jordan Lawlor is a producer and composer based in Los Angeles, touring and recording with the group M83 as well as with his own project, J. Laser.

We chatted with him about how he’s using the Prophet-6."

You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Pro 2 and Zardonic

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"An icon, a globetrotter, an innovator and an outstanding performer, Federico Ágreda Álvarez is a multi-talented award winning keyboardist, DJ, composer, producer, and remixer. He is best known for his rock-infused, Electronic Dance Music, one-man-DJ project, Zardonic, which seamlessly encompasses Glitch Hop, Breakbeat, Electro House, Dubstep, Drum & Bass, and Hardcore Techno with shredding Metal guitars and commanding vocals. Donning one of the Top 10 Best DJ Masks in the world, Zardonic has peaked at #1 on Beatport Drum & Bass, and Amazon’s Hard Rock & Metal Bestsellers, with original releases in Skrillex’s own OWSLA imprint, UK’s legendary renegade hardware, Dieselboy’s Planet Human, AK1200’s Big Riddim Recordings, and now exclusively signed with multiplatinum label entertainment One Music and released in Japan through JVC Kenwood Victor Entertainment Corporation.

Having remixed platinum-selling british legends Bullet For My Valentine, crème de la crème Industrial rock pioneers Nine Inch Nails, Billboard top charters Pop Evil, Norwegian black metallers Gorgoroth, Ukranian pop rockers Semargl, Japanese metalcore revelation Crossfaith, award winning producer Celldweller and UK electronic rock pioneers The Qemists, while getting remix treatments from Heavygrinder, Black Sun Empire, Neonlight, State Of Mind, Evol Intent, Counterstrike, The Outside Agency, and producing the debut album Freakshow by New Jersey shock rockers American Grim as well as the comeback album of the legendary New York metallers Eve To Adam, Ágreda represents an undeniable genre-defying force that relentlessly pushes all boundaries and standards of the mainstream and the underground scene, never settling for any rules, and pioneering the sound that is now predicted by the curators as the future of music."

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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Noir Et Blanc Vie (Stephen Fitzgerald)

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Noir Et Blanc Vie (Stephen Fitzgerald) is a Keyboardist, Producer and Videographer from Los Angeles California. Not only accomplished in the world of music, but video as well, he runs the successful channel of the same name. He produced his first record for the band Orangeburg Masscre at just 18 years old. After attending Berklee College of Music, he moved from Boston to Los Angeles to assist at the legendary Track Record studios in North Hollywood — working with artists such as RZA and David Banner, and contributing for songs for Allen Stone. He toured with his own group, Godsons, and most recently produced tracks on The Self Help Book from the artist Kwesy Mojo. He has also created content for Synth with Pedalboards and The Beginners Guide to Eurorack. Noir Et Blanc Vie is a passionate keyboardist who believes it’s never too late to find a love for learning music. We chatted with him about how he’s using the Prophet-6 and Tempest."

You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

P.S. Don't miss Noir Et Blanc Vie's Star Trek themed REV2 review here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the OB-6 and Sunshine Jones

You'll find the full interview at Dave Smith Instruments here.

"Sunshine Jones is an electronic musician from San Francisco, California. He is a production machine that seems to be in constant motion. Hand made releases, full fledged vinyl releases, customized eurorack modules, hand built synthesizers, tutorial videos, consultations with manufacturers, beta testing, and non-stop encouragement for people who are curious about getting their heads together about playing live electronic music.

From 1991 – 2005 he was one half of Dubtribe Sound System. While Dubtribe continues to perform periodically at festivals and special engagements, Sunshine travels the world solo these days playing 100% live improvisational electronic music, and hosting the Play Live! seminars where he discusses how to play live music as an electronic artist, and what it means. His aim is to encourage people to get started regardless of what gear they have. But his focus always comes back to doing it without a computer, without a tablet, and without a phone. The idea is to play live, and get into the moment. He is also a well-loved, and well-traveled DJ.

He has produced, recorded and released music on Jive, BMG, Universal, Defected, King Street, Oh! Stockholm, Cosmic Disco, Treehouse Muzique, and dozens of other indie labels. He also operates the San Francisco-based record label, The Urgency Of Change. For more information about Sunshine Jones, visit his website."

You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

RIP Ikutaro Kakehashi, Founder of Roland

via Tommy Snyder:

"Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland, father of the TR-909, TR-808, Godfather of MIDI, and someone who I have collaborated with for 38 years, and also considered him as my 2nd father, passed away at the age of 87. He was a super funny, wonderful and gifted human being, and his contributions to the musical instrument world , and music, touched millions of people worldwide. RIP dear Taro.........."

This was shared only 5 hours ago. I am not seeing an announcement from Roland. I will update this post if anything new comes in.

Sad day today. Another legend and hero lost.

Update: added a few videos below including a pretty nice tribute. If you know of any other good videos featuring Ikutaro Kakehashi, send them in.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Computer Magic

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Computer Magic is the spacy, sci-fi-influenced synth pop project of singer/songwriter/producer Danielle 'Danz' Johnson. A native of New York, she began collecting vinyl at age 14 and started her own music blog a year later. By the time she was 18, she was DJ’ing in New York City while studying at Hunter College. Three years later, Johnson moved to Florida and began making her own music and began posting her atmospheric electropop songs online in 2010, adopting the Computer Magic moniker as an homage to This Is Spinal Tap.

After releasing a few free EPs, she re-recorded some of her songs for the White Iris label, which issued the Electronic Fences EP in 2011. The following year, the Orion EP arrived on Kitsuné, which led to the release of a Japanese compilation via Tugboat Records.

Computer Magic became so popular in Japan that Johnson made several albums just for her fans there, including 2013’s Phonetics and 2015’s Mindstate. During this time, she also issued the EPs A Million Years/Another Science and Extra Stuff.

In 2015, Johnson launched her Channel 9 Records label, which released her official debut album, Davos, a set of songs she recorded with producer Claudius Mittendorfer. After two more EPs (2016’s Obscure But Visible and the following year’s Cody & Danz, a collaboration with Cody Crump), Johnson released Computer Magic’s more personal second album, DANZ, in 2018."

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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the OB-6 and DAN MOORE – MODULUS III

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Modulus III is an instrumental live electronica trio based in Bristol, UK and comprised of multi-instrumentalists Dan Moore and Drew Morgan, with drummer Matt Brown. The trio recorded their self-titled debut LP at a live performance in their home town of Bristol. The resulting record was released in 2018 on vinyl, CD and digital.

Despite having the chops of top-level session instrumentalists, Modulus III’s musical manifesto is a reaction against the tendency for virtuosity for virtuosity’s sake in a lot of modern/nu jazz, and is more philosophically akin with the post-Sun Ra-esque aspirations of fellow post-jazz, electronica space cadets such as The Comet Is Coming, the hypnotic, polyrhythmic explorations of Steve Reich, and the expansive, improvisatory ethos of early 70’s Miles Davis. We chatted with Dan about how he’s using the OB-6."

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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Dan Zank

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Starting out his career primarily as a jazz piano player, Dan Zank has toured the world with a host of artists ranging from Maynard Ferguson to Blood Sweat & Tears. Dan eventually left behind a life on the road to work as a full-time composer for Yessian Music. Through Yessian, Dan has composed music for television, including show themes, live events, and commercial music for many global brands. He has also worked extensively in the Themed Entertainment and Experiential industries, scoring attractions in multiple cities throughout the United States, UAE, China, and Europe.

His work has been recorded or performed by The Budapest Film Orchestra, Bratislava Symphony Orchestra and Choir, Seattle Music Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony and St. Louis Symphony orchestras, and he has worked in some of the most famed studios throughout the world, including recent work at Abbey Road Studios in London, and George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch in California.

Dan’s work as a composer and arranger has garnered a multitude of awards, including New York Festivals awards, Addy awards, two London International Awards, a Telly Award, an AMP Award, and multiple D Show Awards. Dan has also received Best Original Score and #1 Music/Sound Design Chart accolades from Creativity, Screen, and Shoot Magazines.

We chatted with Dan about how he’s using the Prophet-6 and OB-6."

You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the OB-6 and JAIME FENNELLY – MIND OVER MIRRORS

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Mind Over Mirrors is the ever-evolving project of composer, harmoniumist, and synthesist Jaime Fennelly, who buttresses his modest instrumental foundation of Indian pedal harmonium with an array of tape delays, effect processors, as well as Oberheim and Dave Smith synthesizers that belong to the world of classic analog electronic composition. Both as a solo artist and with various collaborators, he creates immersive interdisciplinary work that NPR has described as “an out-of-body experience.” His explorations of the natural world’s sensory dimensions and the dialogues between cultural traditions — vernacular and avant-garde — have led him down a path of creating work that deliberately situates itself in a questing, edge-of-earth spirit. After five solo albums on several labels, Paradise of Bachelors released Fennelly’s first work for an ensemble, Undying Color (2017), followed by Bellowing Sun (2018), which was commissioned for its world premiere live performance by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago."

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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Julian Cisneros

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Julian Cisneros is a passionate, creative, full time composer based in Los Angeles, California. Julian’s professional career began in 2010 composing music for iOS apps and progressed to working with a multitude of clients in the corporate, film, and television industries. Some of Julian’s clients have included Disney, Lucasfilm, RED Digital Cinema, Warner Bros., Hasbro, Chris Burkard Studios, Patagonia, Huxham Creative Studio, Vizio, Dolby Digital, Panasonic, and many more. Julian currently resides in Santa Clarita, California with his wife Briana, daughter Ayla, and son Jude.

We chatted with Julian on how he’s using the Prophet-6"



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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Christian Matthew Cullen

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Christian Matthew Cullen has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry as a musician and producer. He is best known for his enthusiastic and soulful playing style and uncanny ability to sound design classic and modern sounds from master recordings in a live setting.

Over the last 15 years as a professional, Christian has traveled the world recording and performing on TV, radio, arena and theater tours with: Night Ranger, Abe Laboriel Jr. (Paul McCartney), Alan Parsons, Alex Ligertwood (Santana), Andy Sturmer (Jellyfish), Bo Bice (American Idol), Brad Gillis (Ozzy), David Pack (Ambrosia), Deen Castronovo (Journey), Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Henry Paul (The Outlaws), Jack Blades (Damn Yankees), Jim Peterik (Ides of March), Jimi Jamison (Survivor), Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple), Joe Zook (One Republic), Johnny Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynrd), Kevin Cronin (R.E.O. Speed wagon), Martha Davis (The Motels), Mickey Thomas (Starship), Bobby Kimball (Toto), Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Robbie Dupree, Rik Emmett (Triumph), Spencer Davis, Styx, Tommy Shaw, Vince Neil, and Winger. He also composes and sound designs for TV and radio advertising, film, video games, toys, and eLearning for clients such as Fox, Ford, Merrell, Google, Disney, Smirnoff, V-Tech, Tomy Infantino, an Party City."

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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Tempest and Martin Steer – Bad Stream

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Having grown up with and on the internet, Berlin native Martin Steer has transformed its pull into a concept album that is just as immediate and intangible as the digital world. Bad Stream is guitars and machines vanishing in the spaces between Radiohead, Moderat and Nine Inch Nails only to reemerge as Techno, Noise, and Drone. Bad Stream, then, is his modus operandi, a soundtrack to the feelings of resignation, isolation, and cynicism within neoliberal cyberspace and to that strangely numbing comfort of bodies transmuting into zeros and ones in real time. The album is available on Martin’s own ANTIME Records.

We chatted with Martin about how he’s using the Tempest."



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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Sequential In The Spotlight Interview with Patrik FK of Kommunity FK

You can find the interview on Sequential's website here.

"Patrik FK, founder/composer/shapeshifter of the highly influential Amerikan Deathrock/Gothic Rock group Kommunity FK, is a multi-instrumentalist, electronic, avant art-rock solo artist and composer who is creating within a genre that he refers to as “Avant Synth Pop Minimalism.”

“I only apply synthesizers to my sonic creations. No guitars are allowed within the making of my music. I compose all of my songs instrumentally first, then reflect on how the result evokes my inner feelings and thoughts. I improvise and just follow my muse. I draw from the DaDaists, Surrealists, and German Expressionists, which have been and influence since my childhood together with my own inner visions.”

Mata performs with a Sequential Mopho x4, drum loops, and drum machines. Patrik performs all vocals as well. No MIDI is used in the design of his music. His synth comes from a blessed endorsement given to him by Dave Smith Instruments in the mid-2000s.

We chatted with Patrik about how he uses the Mopho x4 in his music"

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You can find previous posts featuring Sequential's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With Tempest and I.W¥N

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Versatile producer I.W¥N is half of the Glam-Rap duo ANML BHVR with his fraternal twin and business partner Lex Plow, and releases solo material as HOT JOY. Descendent of a musical bloodline, I.W¥N is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in piano, synthesizers and guitar, who earned a B.A. in music composition, has produced music in genres spanning from ambient film scoring to hardcore hip-hop, and knows the secret is in the sound.

We chatted with I.W¥N about how he’s using the Tempest."

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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Sequential In The Spotlight Interview With Caspar Hesselager

You can find an interview on Sequential's website here.

"Caspar Hesselager is a classically-trained pianist working with a wide range of genres. He works in Copenhagen as a composer, producer, and pianist, as well as a mixing and mastering engineer, and has worked with a great many Danish bands in genres ranging from free-jazz to pop, indie-rock, and techno. He has recorded and released music as a solo artist under the moniker My Heart the Brave and currently works with Australian-native singer/guitarist Carl Coleman on their joint venture, Palace Winter. Having just released their second album, “Nowadays,” Palace Winter have received praise from The New York Times, NME, The Guardian, KEXP, KCRW, The Line of Best Fit, BBC 6 Music, Guy Garvey (Elbow), and Elton John on his Beats 1 show. Caspar has also composed music for radio, TV, and film, as well as having played hundreds of shows across Europe and Denmark as a synth player."

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Note, Sequential was formally Dave Smith Instruments. You can find previous posts featuring Dave Smith Instruments's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight with M83's Joe Berry and the OB-6

Click here for the full interview.

"Joe Berry is a member of M83 and joined them for their 2016 World Tour, playing piano, synth, ewi, and saxophone. In the off season, Joe is a freelance musician, composer, and educator, currently based in Los Angeles. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies with emphasis in both Saxophone Performance and Composition from Sacramento State University, and completed his Masters degree in Jazz and Improvisational Music at the University of Nevada, Reno in the Spring of 2012..."

You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the REV2 and SHANNON HEMMETT

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Shannon Hemmett is a musician and graphic artist from Vancouver, Canada. She plays synth and sings backing vocals in Vancouver post-punk/darkwave band ACTORS and is the lead vocalist for her own darkwave/dream-pop project, LEATHERS. ACTORS’ modern take on post-punk is a synth-drenched, cinematic brand of new wave with anthemic hooks and a compelling live presence. In 2018, ACTORS released their critically acclaimed debut, It Will Come to You on Artoffact Records and are currently touring in the USA, Canada, and Europe.

We chatted with Shannon about how she’s using the Prophet Rev2"


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You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.