Jeremy Blake (aka Jeremy Leaird-Koch) is the kind of omni-dimensional talent who that seems tailored for the age of Web media. Yes, he’s an electronic musician, but … have a listen to his SoundCloud, and you’ll find the common thread is craft more than genre. And yes, he’s also a video editor, who’s also making imaginative and dazzling visuals.
Let’s instead just wander into his studio, virtually speaking, and let him play for us on a nice, assembled gathering of custom hardware.
And drifting off on this chillout groove is a nice way to take a pause in your day…
Ableton – Clock and recording | [Sonic Potions] LXR drum machine (clock from Ableton – clock to Zaquencer) | Behringer BCR200 – running Zaquencer | 2x MeeBlip [SE] and Access Virus A (Zaquencer) | [Teenage Engineering] OP-1 (clock from Ableton tape loops and live playing)
It’s all a nice rig, desktop units pouring over with personality. We’ve talked before about how nice the Zaquencer sequencer on the BCR is. The OP-1 pads sound gorgeous. And it’s really nice seeing the LXR drum machine as a centerpiece (instead of something more obvious like an Elektron, perhaps). It’s a remaining open hardware kit design even as others have disappeared, and while it’s not the easiest build, it’s a really cool bit of kit.
One of the bits of hardware is, of course, co-created by CDM. MeeBlip designer/engineer James and I been revisiting our own MeeBlip SE lately; he’s got not one, but two of them here. And there are things we like about it, even if we prefer the sound, controls, and filter on the newer model. I love the way it sounds here, though, which could certainly be applied to the Child of MeeBlip, MeeBlip anode.
More from Jeremy’s music feed:
And I love this “Vanitas” release:
On the visual side, here’s his showreel – see, this kind of Renaissance-do-everything approach is what I love about the California scene at its best (Jeremy is Oakland-based):
[S+V] – sound+vision 2014 Showreel from Jeremy Leaird-Koch on Vimeo.
More:
https://soundvision.bandcamp.com
Lovely video.
Lovely video.
Lovely video.
very nice! and digital all the way. i like that.
very nice! and digital all the way. i like that.
very nice! and digital all the way. i like that.
Wow, damn. This is crazy.. thanks for the write up!
I will say that the pads on the OP-1 are half FM synth, half samples from an old eLab set, so I can’t take total credit for the sound design. This was my first time using the Zaquencer, and I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do. Same for the LXR, which was built about a week ago. They are incredibly powerful pieces of kit for hardly any money.
Overall I am blown away by what we as electronic musicians have at our disposal these days. Between hacks, DIY kits, custom firmware or software, and cheap amazing quirky synths : it’s a great time to be doing this kind of stuff.
Wow, damn. This is crazy.. thanks for the write up!
I will say that the pads on the OP-1 are half FM synth, half samples from an old eLab set, so I can’t take total credit for the sound design. This was my first time using the Zaquencer, and I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do. Same for the LXR, which was built about a week ago. They are incredibly powerful pieces of kit for hardly any money.
Overall I am blown away by what we as electronic musicians have at our disposal these days. Between hacks, DIY kits, custom firmware or software, and cheap amazing quirky synths : it’s a great time to be doing this kind of stuff.
Wow, damn. This is crazy.. thanks for the write up!
I will say that the pads on the OP-1 are half FM synth, half samples from an old eLab set, so I can’t take total credit for the sound design. This was my first time using the Zaquencer, and I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do. Same for the LXR, which was built about a week ago. They are incredibly powerful pieces of kit for hardly any money.
Overall I am blown away by what we as electronic musicians have at our disposal these days. Between hacks, DIY kits, custom firmware or software, and cheap amazing quirky synths : it’s a great time to be doing this kind of stuff.
Wow, damn. This is crazy.. thank you for the write up!
I will say that the pads on the OP-1 are half FM synth, half samples from an old eLab set, so I can’t take total credit for the sound design. This was my first time using the Zaquencer, and I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do. Same for the LXR, which was built about a week ago. They are incredibly powerful pieces of kit for hardly any money.
Overall I am blown away by what we as electronic musicians have at our disposal these days. Between hacks, DIY kits, custom firmware or software, and cheap amazing quirky synths : it’s a great time to be doing this kind of stuff.
Wow, damn. This is crazy.. thank you for the write up!
I will say that the pads on the OP-1 are half FM synth, half samples from an old eLab set, so I can’t take total credit for the sound design. This was my first time using the Zaquencer, and I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do. Same for the LXR, which was built about a week ago. They are incredibly powerful pieces of kit for hardly any money.
Overall I am blown away by what we as electronic musicians have at our disposal these days. Between hacks, DIY kits, custom firmware or software, and cheap amazing quirky synths : it’s a great time to be doing this kind of stuff.
Wow, damn. This is crazy.. thank you for the write up!
I will say that the pads on the OP-1 are half FM synth, half samples from an old eLab set, so I can’t take total credit for the sound design. This was my first time using the Zaquencer, and I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do. Same for the LXR, which was built about a week ago. They are incredibly powerful pieces of kit for hardly any money.
Overall I am blown away by what we as electronic musicians have at our disposal these days. Between hacks, DIY kits, custom firmware or software, and cheap amazing quirky synths : it’s a great time to be doing this kind of stuff.
KiNK who? always knew there was better talent out there than that hack
uh, why exactly does this indicate that KiNK is a hack? Is music something that needs to be rationed out? Is it totally impossible that – shudder – *more than one person* could have an inspiring desktop hardware setup?
hmm…music..whats the definition of that? oh right: “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion”. that’s just a text book definition of it. kink makes nothing relating to that and for some odd reason has been rising in popularity. and here is a textbook definition of a hack: “a writer or journalist producing dull, unoriginal work”. do you need more of an explanation?
if you’re going to argue that what KiNK is doing doesn’t even qualify as music, then there’s no point in continuing the discussion. Don’t feed the trolls and all that.
KiNK who? always knew there was better talent out there than that hack
uh, why exactly does this indicate that KiNK is a hack? Is music something that needs to be rationed out? Is it totally impossible that – shudder – *more than one person* could have an inspiring desktop hardware setup?
hmm…music..whats the definition of that? oh right: “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion”. that’s just a text book definition of it. kink makes nothing relating to that and for some odd reason has been rising in popularity. and here is a textbook definition of a hack: “a writer or journalist producing dull, unoriginal work”. do you need more of an explanation?
if you’re going to argue that what KiNK is doing doesn’t even qualify as music, then there’s no point in continuing the discussion. Don’t feed the trolls and all that.
KiNK who? always knew there was better talent out there than that hack
uh, why exactly does this indicate that KiNK is a hack? Is music something that needs to be rationed out? Is it totally impossible that – shudder – *more than one person* could have an inspiring desktop hardware setup?
hmm…music..whats the definition of that? oh right: “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion”. that’s just a text book definition of it. kink makes nothing relating to that and for some odd reason has been rising in popularity. and here is a textbook definition of a hack: “a writer or journalist producing dull, unoriginal work”. do you need more of an explanation?
if you’re going to argue that what KiNK is doing doesn’t even qualify as music, then there’s no point in continuing the discussion. Don’t feed the trolls and all that.
Another Oaklander who never plays out? DO you play out? If so, where?
Hah, I didn’t realize Oakland had a problem with non-public musicians. No, I don’t play out. I’ve never done the live thing outside of DJing, and I stopped doing that a long time ago. How about yourself? You in Oakland, doing stuff?
You should! I do indeed play frequently in Oakland. There’s an active scene of electronic music of all sorts. I keep, however, encountering folks getting “press” who don’t play out. It’s good to add to the sonic dialectic.
Gotcha. I’ve been over to the night in the Grand Lake area a few times that people like wake https://soundcloud.com/wake and Leon’s Bison https://soundcloud.com/leonbison have played at. Lucky Lounge, I think. Was cool! Always love seeing how people are doing their thing.
Shoot me an email, if you would : genericinbox at gmail dot com. I’d love to connect / hear about more people and things to check out.
Thanks for the post! Let’s all do more Oakland shows.
It’d be very hard for me to write about people’s live sets in Oakland when I live in Berlin, but I’m game to hear more about the scene. 🙂
Ha, book him! Book him! 😀
Another Oaklander who never plays out? DO you play out? If so, where?
Hah, I didn’t realize Oakland had a problem with non-public musicians. No, I don’t play out. I’ve never done the live thing outside of DJing, and I stopped doing that a long time ago. How about yourself? You in Oakland, doing stuff?
You should! I do indeed play frequently in Oakland. There’s an active scene of electronic music of all sorts. I keep, however, encountering folks getting “press” who don’t play out. It’s good to add to the sonic dialectic.
Gotcha. I’ve been over to the night in the Grand Lake area a few times that people like wake https://soundcloud.com/wake and Leon’s Bison https://soundcloud.com/leonbison have played at. Lucky Lounge, I think. Was cool! Always love seeing how people are doing their thing.
Shoot me an email, if you would : genericinbox at gmail dot com. I’d love to connect / hear about more people and things to check out.
Thanks for the post! Let’s all do more Oakland shows.
It’d be very hard for me to write about people’s live sets in Oakland when I live in Berlin, but I’m game to hear more about the scene. 🙂
Ha, book him! Book him! 😀
Another Oaklander who never plays out? DO you play out? If so, where?
Hah, I didn’t realize Oakland had a problem with non-public musicians. No, I don’t play out. I’ve never done the live thing outside of DJing, and I stopped doing that a long time ago. How about yourself? You in Oakland, doing stuff?
You should! I do indeed play frequently in Oakland. There’s an active scene of electronic music of all sorts. I keep, however, encountering folks getting “press” who don’t play out. It’s good to add to the sonic dialectic.
Gotcha. I’ve been over to the night in the Grand Lake area a few times that people like wake https://soundcloud.com/wake and Leon’s Bison https://soundcloud.com/leonbison have played at. Lucky Lounge, I think. Was cool! Always love seeing how people are doing their thing.
Shoot me an email, if you would : genericinbox at gmail dot com. I’d love to connect / hear about more people and things to check out.
Thanks for the post! Let’s all do more Oakland shows.
It’d be very hard for me to write about people’s live sets in Oakland when I live in Berlin, but I’m game to hear more about the scene. 🙂
Ha, book him! Book him! 😀
My dude!
not pictured : the launchpad I bought off you and still use all the time. 🙂
My dude!
not pictured : the launchpad I bought off you and still use all the time. 🙂
My dude!
not pictured : the launchpad I bought off you and still use all the time. 🙂
Love this. Thanks for making it @jjblack:disqus and thanks for finding and sharing it @Mr Kirn.
The link in:
> And it’s really nice seeing the LXR drum machine …
is pointed at a FB event page instead of the LXR page.
Fixed, thanks! 🙂 Yeah, that was a mistake, not an attempt at some sort of subliminal marketing… 😉
Love this. Thanks for making it @jjblack:disqus and thanks for finding and sharing it @Mr Kirn.
The link in:
> And it’s really nice seeing the LXR drum machine …
is pointed at a FB event page instead of the LXR page.
Fixed, thanks! 🙂 Yeah, that was a mistake, not an attempt at some sort of subliminal marketing… 😉
Love this. Thanks for making it @jjblack:disqus and thanks for finding and sharing it @Mr Kirn.
The link in:
> And it’s really nice seeing the LXR drum machine …
is pointed at a FB event page instead of the LXR page.
Fixed, thanks! 🙂 Yeah, that was a mistake, not an attempt at some sort of subliminal marketing… 😉
The Showreel is great too. @jjblack:disqus Did you have a part in the Lily Allen tune? If so, nice work! Sounds great. If not, even better: it fits the reel perfectly and it considering how much I enjoyed your music, says a lot about ego to decide to use someone else’s music when it works better for the moment.
Thanks Will, glad you liked it. I didn’t have anything to do with the Lily Allen track, but it won out for being recognizable and upbeat with an arrangement that lent itself to the pacing I was looking for. That and the lyrics are pretty great for a pop song.
The Showreel is great too. @jjblack:disqus Did you have a part in the Lily Allen tune? If so, nice work! Sounds great. If not, even better; it fits the reel perfectly and considering how much I enjoyed your music, says a lot about ego to decide to use someone else’s music when it works better for the moment.
Thanks Will, glad you liked it. I didn’t have anything to do with the Lily Allen track, but it won out for being recognizable and upbeat with an arrangement that lent itself to the pacing I was looking for. That and the lyrics are pretty great for a pop song.
The Showreel is great too. @jjblack:disqus Did you have a part in the Lily Allen tune? If so, nice work! Sounds great. If not, even better; it fits the reel perfectly and considering how much I enjoyed your music, says a lot about ego to decide to use someone else’s music when it works better for the moment.
Thanks Will, glad you liked it. I didn’t have anything to do with the Lily Allen track, but it won out for being recognizable and upbeat with an arrangement that lent itself to the pacing I was looking for. That and the lyrics are pretty great for a pop song.
Is this seriously, THE ONLY CDM story today??? “An editor.” HAHAHAHA Yeah Right! Nice JARRING cut to confusing overhead ‘reverse’ shot, You lost me at the hot from your “E CIG / VAPORIZER.” Fucking dumbass… And your editing projects? Reel? Is a mountain of shit. Garbage!
No need to be a dick, Nick.
Very nice 🙂
Very nice 🙂
Very nice 🙂