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 Artist Interview with MATIA SIMOVICH aka INHALT

Many of you should be familiar with INHALT from numerous posts here on MATRIXSYNTH. Dave Smith Instruments just posted an interview with him. You can find it on their website here.

"A resident of the San Francisco electronic and experimental music circuit for nearly two decades, Matia Simovich’s productions and sound design have questioned the line between forward-thinking, avant pop and the depths of the underground. He honed his craft at the now-infamous Asphodel Studios/Recombinant Media Labs where, as an in-house producer, engineer, and sound designer, he collaborated with the likes of M.I.A., Keith Hillebrandt (Nine Inch Nails), and many others responsible for pushing the boundaries of the pop context. Never one to shy from the dark or the unorthodox, his production style is equally inclusive: hardware-centric and exudes the decadence and lushness of the past while integrating the precision and speed of today’s studio process. As the founding and principle member of INHALT, German for “content,” he defined this production style via several records put out by cult power house Dark Entries Records as well as Cleopatra Records. Most recently, he has collaborated with Peter Baumann (Tangerine Dream) on the Machines of Desire LP and has started a series of Artist Patch Bank libraries for various synthesizers."

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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 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.

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 REV2 and Cypriot Pianist Nicolas Melis

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

"Cypriot Pianist Nicolas Melis enjoys an international career performing as a concert soloist as well as a keyboardist. At a young age, he represented Cyprus at the international music festival Steinway for Young Pianists in Hamburg, Germany. A graduate of the University of Music and Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,” Melis, who has studied Piano Performance in Classical music and Contemporary Improvisation, has won numerous competition awards both at a national and international level including the 1st Prize at the International Piano Competition for young musicians of H.O.N in Athens, Greece and a special prize at the 1st international piano competition of E.P.T.A. in Zagreb, Croatia amongst others.

He is a founding member of Cyprus’ leading blues band, The Zilla Project, who released their first album This One’s for the President in 2014. The band has successfully collaborated with a number of international artists including Adam Levy (USA), Bex Marhsall (UK), Gil Edwards (N0R), The Blues Wire (GR), and Panos Mouzourakis (GR). After having toured Greece in 2016 they perfomed at the Palais Des Natios in Geneva, Switzerland and enthused their audience with three more performances in the city. The band has also performed in London and headlined the August Full Moon festival in Crete.

Recently Melis collaborated and recorded keys for Loizos Pafitis’album The Underdog, and is slated to record for alternative rock band Belua’s second album. The Zilla Project’s next album is expected to be released in 2019.

We chatted with him about how he’s using the Prophet Rev2."

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

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet Rev2 and Zach Tenorio-Miller

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

"Zach Tenorio-Miller is the keyboard player and co-founder of Providence, RI art-pop trio, Arc Iris. Zach has collaborated with a wide array of artists including Kimbra, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, AC Newman (New Pornographers), Gene Ween, and long time collaborator and mentor, Jon Anderson (Yes).

We chatted with him about how he’s using the Prophet Rev2."

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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 Prophet-6 and RJ Thompson

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

"RJ Thompson has built a name for himself in recent months as one of the UK’s strongest up-and-coming singer-songwriters. His poignant lyrics and deeply-felt songs are set against a colourful (and at times nostalgic) soundscape that goes far beyond modern-day singer-songwriter stereotypes.

RJ’s hard-won success has come through consistence and persistence, having played innumerable grass-roots music venues, pubs, and clubs in his native Northeast England. His breakthrough came when a sound engineer for Live Aid organiser and Ultravox frontman Midge Ure was working at one of RJ’s open mic performances. The engineer liked what he heard and recommended RJ as a support act, leading to more than 30 shows touring the UK and Europe. Support shows with Gabrielle Aplin, Deacon Blue and Jools Holland (including a performance at the Royal Albert Hall) soon followed, as well as several EPs and a live album.

We chatted with RJ about 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 Sheenah Ko

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

"Sheenah Ko is a Montreal solo artist, a one-woman show involving analog keyboards and synths, driving beats, fierce enigmatic vocals, and often accompanied by contemporary dancers. She is the keyboardist, vibraphonist, and vocalist for many North American bands, including The Besnard Lakes (Jagjagwar), Thor Harris (from Swans), Kevin Hearn (from The Barenaked Ladies), and is an avid international performer crossing many different musical genres. Her duet act with contemporary dancer Brittney Canda Gering has been described as hypnotic, powerful, and emotional, and is often compared to Kate Bush and Portishead. Alone, they enchant entire venues with their emotionally-charged and extremely visual show.


We chatted with her 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 OB-6 and Layne – Rachel Aiello

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

"Formally introduced to synthesis by Suzanne Ciani as her studio assistant, Layne (real name Rachel Aiello) composes field recordings, abstract auditory textures, and rhythmic concrète churns into a hypnotic aural terrain reminiscent of the inceptive work from her seminal female forebears in experimental electronics. Recently released on Karl O’Connor’s legendary Downwards Records, she displays her proficiency in creating a vast soundscape and spatial atmosphere. Most recently, she has performed a collaborative set with Suzanne Ciani for Always On, a Moogfest hosted streaming series.

We chatted with Rachel about how she’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 REV2 and Yair Albeg Wein

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

"Israeli-born Yair Albeg Wein represents the new generation of composers who combine their unique traditional musical training with the gift of technological shrewdness. Yair grew up in a house with a long tradition in the arts: his mother a graduate pianist and educator of the prestigious Warsaw Music Academy, his uncle Yossi Wein, a world-renowned cinematographer and filmmaker. Since a young age, Yair has shown exceptional musical abilities, from playing the recorder to wining first prize competitions for classical guitar in which he was rated as the best guitar player in Israel for his age group. Yair attended the Jerusalem Music Academy.

Yair has credits spanning Israel to London to Hollywood. His scores are featured in Israeli TV shows, feature films, and worldwide advertisement campaigns. Yair’s music is also featured in some of the most exclusive catalogs of the industry including Sonic Symphony, Really Slow Motion, Demented Sound Mafia, and Warner Bros.

We chatted with Yair about how he’s using the Prophet Rev2."

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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 Prophet-6 and Warren Walker of The Kandinsky Effect

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

"Warren Walker was raised in the rural Northern California gold rush town of Grass Valley. He became enamored with music at a young age, and by his early teens he was performing on jazz and blues gigs with his guitarist father, Thomas Walker.

Walker earned a BM from the University of Nevada’s rigorous jazz program, where he studied with stellar musicians such as Peter Epstein, David Ake, Hans Halt, Andy Heglund, and Larry Engstrom. After graduation, Walker lit out for Europe to pursue his career as a musician. In February, 2007, he settled in Paris, France and quickly forged ties with some of that city’s most adventurous players. In Paris, Walker formed the Warren Walker Trio (renamed The Kandinsky Effect), and began performing and touring internationally with it and other projects.

Walker maintains an international presence through various groupings with international tour schedules; including The Kandinsky Effect, oddAtlas, Collektor, and TwinLux.

We chatted with Warren 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 Rev2 and Alex Kopp of Third Eye Blind

You'll find the full interview here.

"Alex Kopp is a producer, composer, and musician who originally hails from Canton, Ohio, and is keyboardist for the band Third Eye Blind. He’s also working on various projects for TV and film, and is producing a variety of other artists.

We chatted with Alex about how he’s using the Prophet Rev2."

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 In the Spotlight With the Prophet 12 and Ivan Blomqvist

The next interview in Dave Smith Instruments In the Spotlight series is up with Ivan Blomqvist here.

"Ivan Blomqvist is a Swedish pianist/keyboardist, songwriter/composer based in Oslo, Norway. Working mainly with jazz and improvised music, he has a bachelor’s degree in improvisation and jazz from the highly respected Jazz department at the University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. He is currently working as a keyboardist and songwriter in the Future Soul band Rohey, as well as running his own Jazz projects: Ivan Blomqvist 3 Feat Hanna Paulsberg and the club sensation, Mozambique!

We chatted with Ivan about how he’s using the Prophet 12."

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 OB-6 and Kat Day

Read the full interview with Kat Day on Dave Smith Instruments here.

"Kat Day is one half of the British Berlin-based audio visual duo, The KVB. Originally formed in London in 2010, the pair is known for their prolific output, and has released 5 albums and a number of EPs. In the past year alone they have toured Asia, Latin America, and Europe, along with festival shows in South Africa and San Francisco. They are currently working on their follow up to 2016’s Of Desire which was recorded at Geoff Barrow’s (Portishead, Beak) studio in Bristol and released on Barrow’s label, Invada Records.

We chatted with Kat about how she’s using the OB-6."

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

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.