Why We Bleep Podcast 008: Colin Benders
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Buy Eurorack and other fine kit from episode sponsors, Signal Sounds: www.signalsoun... // Today we meet jazz and hip hop beatmaker-turned improvised-jamming modular wizard Colin Benders, in his London hotel room just hours before he was going to play a 3am set. We talk about abandoning the computer entirely, the bare minimum he could play a set with (and times he's been forced to do just that), thoughts about the value of live performance, essential tricks and modules, and much much more.
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Awesome! Half hour in. Proper interesting!!
Cirklon sounds interesting! Gunna check it out. Didn’t really think about it. But sounds like that might be the answeeerrrr!
The big catch I didn't mention beyond the price, is a one year (plus!) wait list(!!!) Welcome to come have a play when I get the hang of it!
Actually my two favourite pepole in modular synths
A great interview. i.e., a proper chat between two people who really understand and love their gear and respect each others talent, and knowledge rather than crappy standard questions and no rapport.
I learnt a similar lesson plugging in a new module only for it to start terminally smoking. I had 2 Doepfer units already in a small Doepfer box so I plugged in a module from another manufacturer by looking at which side the ribbon cable went into the socket. It was the other way round. I now look at the red line on the cable / power rail.
I miss Colin's epic live streams. Caught a few of those live on here and was really sucked in by the musicality, you could tell he was coming at it with some knowledge. Great stuff!
same! grabbed a snack, sat through these 4 hour sessions and was never bored :)
love his modular jams they are quite amazing.
I could’ve listened to both chat for an entire day. Watching Colin’s YT performances were always inspiring . Thanks for having him on.
Great conversation. This topic of Why Live? is even bigger than you realize. Applies to all types of performers and you guys really explored some interesting reasons why a mediocre live performance is better than a perfect recorded one. And don’t be so sure the audience doesn’t care. That energy Colin talks about comes from the audience and they can feel it when the musician responds to it. No recorded or DJ set can ever capitalize on that energy flow as well as you modular performers can. Thank you!
What a deep and honest interview. Very inspirational and motivating. You are both awesome.
Eff yeah Cirklon. Been on the wait list for six months or so. Been round the houses with Elektron gear (and loved it) enough to understand what it can do over and above the Elektron midi sequencers and why it's absolutely worth it. Looking forward to a vid on that, cheers :)
FinalForm what am I missing from elektron gear?
@@cmangrum1 yeah what is so great about Cirklon sequencers?
you guys were spot on with the micro sequencing and general soundgoodizer mixing concepts. those are the two things which would take euro from bedroom hobbiest to weaponized live instruments.
Really enjoyed the interview with Colin! It’s great to get some good advice 🤘
"Birdsongs and Fart Noises" Is going to be the name of my first modular LP. Thanks Colin!! lol!!
Please do a podcast with Baseck. And thank you for getting Colin Benders this time around..
Good shout that, love him
Great chat gents. Always great to hear other people’s journeys and approaches in this crazy world we are all a part of 👍🏻🎛
Thank you for doing the questions and giving lots of answers from Colin which I would have asked long time ago but never got to him.
looking back, I remember reading somewhere that Doepfer modules have always their red stripe downwards ^^ I feel ya mate, Doepfer can give you a heart attack when turning the rack on...
Last saturday I expanded my modular synths by a factor of 2 and invited a friend to come over and have a listen. I showed him some of your live rig video's to illustrate what I was getting inspired by. He showed me some vids by Colin. I binged for a dozen hours on his live stuff on YT. And now, 3 days later, you do an interview with him. Who writes this stuff we call ' Life' ?
Loved the interview! Perhaps you can expand on some of the idea's discussed here? Because it's pretty advanced and some stuff went over my head. Very insightful topics on mindset though. On the gear side, I'm now looking into the ER-101, and still debating internally between either the HexMix and the WMD PerfMixer.
Cheers!
Really enjoyed the discussion around playing live, definitely agree with Colin. Nice one
Once again a super interesting podcast. Thank you my dude!
Doepfer is one of the few manufacturers with ruthlessly consistent power implementations and they have excellent documentation unlike most other modules.
Where in their module manuals does it mention power though?!
@@mylarmelodies it doesn't. A module is a component and not a product. How to install the component in the system is clearly spelt out in the A-100 system manual (page 5) .
@@lindsaywebb1904 Everyone knows that there is an overall 'A-100 System Manual', do they? It's mentioned on the individual module pages, is it?
@@mylarmelodies I think you know the answer to that - it's a very 'be a grown up' kind of stance...German if you will.. i do think they should have included reverse polarity protection, but they don't (I think i heard him say once that that might have been an oversight back in the day) but to change it after the fact probably doesn't make sense from a consistency perspective. The absence of shrouded headers, with Doepfer designs, is also bemoaned by some but this is also understandable because they can"t guarantee that the cables are correctly configured (Actually the only time i was caught was with a falsely headed cable and shrouded headers on my PS. Luckily all my power supplies (Elby Designs) have protection so nothing happened). I remember clearly the first time i plugged in modules and it was certainly a little intimidating but once you know, you know and with Doepfer you never have to think it might be different than before.
So great to see these guys I've looked up to as I develop my system in conversation with one another. And yeah, Colin's Doepfer set with that sample blew my face off. I recently made the mistake of buying an MPC X. Gonna sell it so I can get more modules...
Or you could have bought a Cv thing ;)
Fantastic interview as always. Truly the Parkinson of the synth RUclips world!
Fucking A, brother. This was one of
My favorites. I’ve been going through a difficult time in life, and have decided to put my music at the forefront of my focus, and live situations are a big part of my passion. This podcast has given me such a great perspective to think about. Thank you! You and Colin !
YESSS....Been waiting for this! Nice way to start my day :)
I always wonder why I don't see many people using an unclocked Voltage Block as a macro controller; you get 16 different scenes with 8 outputs right at your finger tips and it has save and recall.
Sometimes it is worth to read comments. Thanks for the great hint!
Great episode! Bare minimum for a gig is such an interesting question, and it's cool to see how talented artists get through it when the situation is forced upon them. :)
YEEEEEEEES! I´ve seen Colin Benders live once in Rotterdam and it was truly a spiritual experience. I´m yet to see the interview, but holy shit. This is going to be good.
Haven't even gotten past the intro, but I have to agree 100%!!! In the words of Paul Schreiber "ink doesn't cost anything" and shrouded headers only cost a little more than the unshrouded ones. Polarity should always be printed on the module!!!
I caught Colin’s performance for Modular on the Roof among others. I really dig his work as well as his approach and philosophy regarding modular! Thanks for another great episode and congratulations on that mega sequencer! :)
Just re-watched this 5 years later, still relevant :) Would be awesome to see a follow up and somewhat retrospective on all that happened since this episode from your perspectives. Everything was pretty fresh when this was recorded :)
Good idea that
The theoretical modules discussed at the end sound like some of the cutting edge mixing / mastering algorithms used in DAW plugins (gasp) like iZotope Neutron.
I like the idea of exponential Frames. One module controlling four, controlling sixteen. That's a powerful knob you'd have created right there. Or do what is shunned earlier in the conversation and base the initial control on Eurorack-ified MIDI controllers/sequencers (like the Hermod) and use a rack-mounted router like MOTU or Mio10 in an Intellijel-style 1U slot to generate complex/numerous outputs from a CC input, then use several MIDI/CV converters to turn that back into a fleet of CV signals that are sent to the modules they are intended to effect.
Or... actually... isn't the Cirklon capable of doing all of this itself?
I really liked the suggestion another commenter had about using the Voltage Block unclocked for recorded but fully controllable frame knobs. I think the Tetra Pad may allow for similar control as well, but I don't think it's as flexible as Frames.
Wish there was a "double like" button. Great talk!
Hell yes! Glad to see Colin on the podcast, can't wait to watch it.
For the record, I totally bought something (only a keystep) from Signal Sounds. You're very persuasive.
They’re good peeps that lot
Plus the keystep is ace
Captain Hindsight says: "What the hell are you still doing here? You missed your Wave!" Classic.
I've just bought an Alesis MMT-8 off eBay :D I completely love them :) Although, my main sequencer is an Octatrack MKII
Jason is the MAN... fantastic interview btw Alex - thank you for this, really eye opening and Colin is a living legend
I'll second that, Jason IS the man. Colin on the other hand...I could spend a whole weekend in front of my system and come up with nothing, what's the point...I've spent all that money. Then I put a Colin Benders video on and then I remember why.
Favorite Menu Module - Pamela's New Workout. Saves stuff too. menu isn't too deep. Lots of functions, clocks, and random.
Very inspiring. Thanks!
please consider a chat with the ALM lads, would love to know more about them, I f love their stuff
Trying to pin him down!! He’s super busy, there’s an Art+Music+Technology episode with him just recently you should check out!
Yes, make a MylarVideo of it please! None of them do it much justice (even the official ones!! they don't big it up nearly enough)
Humans at one with machines. In a music-means-a-lot-utopian-sort-of-a-way... Loved it. Thanks guys.
I was just thinking to myself that someone needs to bring Benders on a PodCast. I have been wanting to know what he is up to!
Nailed it. I liked the questions- hypotheticals, generally speaking, and specifics. But now I have more questions 🤔
When are you going to do one with Steevio?
Later this year hopefully!!
maybe Suzanne Ciani?
40:00 You blew his mind with the Befaco mixer. I've only been messing with VCV Rack, but the Befaco modules that are available there are fantastic. You should take a look at the rampage.
easier to use than Maths as well
Thanks guys ❤️🍄✊✊✊
Cool interview. Aha now we know how Colin received funds to buy the 50k plus modular gear setup package! Must be nice to have wealthy patrons :-)
Great interview, deep, thought provoking. Cheers :)
That Doepfer Quad VCO is really great. You can do 4 voices with 4 pitch cv. Or you can just do one with the master and it sounds pretty massive. You can detune each of them. They also all have a sync in. They also all have fm cv in so you can create a more complex FM voice or 2. Although it doesn't have sine wave unfortunately. Each channel has a 3 range octave switch, plus the master has it's own octave switch. Although I haven't experimented enough. You could say send 4 pitch cv to each channel and then send a "root" note to the main channel cv to transpose all the other channels.
To get a sine a perfect SINEwave, just add a Doepfer 184-2 (which can also crossfade!).
no hair-beard
hair-no beard
joking. I love both of them
This is gold 🤩
monthly inspiration, done!
That was a really enjoyable listen, thanks
It was a bit odd to hear you talk about the Hexmix whilst I am DIYing it right now… I had to put my iron down to type this.
XiXora Coool !
On the last point you made of doing something difficult. I'd say, effort does not always correlate with value.
Thanks and great show.
So enlightning , oh my motherfing GOD , its gonna be an expensive 2020- but pure , unadultred FUN !
Hahaha Alex best intro add EVER
The partridge of modular
He is the Guthrie Govan of eurorack.
You can repair your S&H module easily by pluggin in new chips. Its a cheap and anyone can do it. I can help If you like.
Gardening @ 31:38 yep
What is the best manual you've ever gotten with a modular? (off the top of your head)
Everything Mutable Instruments!
oof the pad starting 1:40 was too gorgeous! Would love to know how that was made
Total noob to euro/modular/synth/music in general
I listened to the audio podcast at work and found it as well as past episodes very interesting. The Mutable inst. was my favorite episode so far.
As cool as the cirklon is, I feel the Five12 vector smokes it at half the price. That being said, why do you think the cirklon is better?
Different beasts really - the Vector (not tried it btw) seems like it’s first and foremost a modular sequencer for doing algorithmic complex stuff but mainly for your modular and only 8 parts at once. The Cirklon could literally orchestrate an entire studio at once, 64 parts with USB, CV and MIDI gear being controlled, with extensive modulation and it does have a lot of algorithmic aspects too, though it feels less like that’s at the forefront of its design (but it’s still equally a part of it). To me the Vector feels like a deep eurorack sequencer, the Cirklon is capable of unifying your entire studio.
@@mylarmelodies Thanks for the clarification! Different beasts for sure. Perhaps the vector is more of a live beast. It can do more than 8 parts, up to 24 (I believe) by using 4 drum parts with each hosting 4 voices, not to mention chord parts... MIDI, USB, CV with deep programming, modulation, Ableton style clips, AND algorithmic as you mentioned. I’d encourage a much deeper investigation and surprise surprise, a review...
57:18 COWBELL
MEGA AWESOME!
21 Frames. Damn, I really want to see it.
this is great...
AWESOME! 🤙
Which mics are that on the table? They look neat.
RØDE NT5’s!
Wearing some sweet ‘dead cats’
Big up!
I want a Ciirklon but I can get an audience with the Pope easier and quicker. I know which one I'd prefer, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose
hah
Just put your name on the waiting list and you'll get one within a year or so.
What was that mixer you were talking about somewhere halfway through?
Befaco HexMix System!
Neat! ✨
Could you spell the name of the musician that you talk in ruclips.net/video/u292i_m3SQo/видео.html 1:06 ? I don't quite get the spelling..
Steevio! ruclips.net/video/CY8lR7Hkjyw/видео.html
Nice Fatboy slim reference
Am-az-ing! Also these plugs are getting weirder and weirder, I expect the next one to be in french or something.
Signal Sounds or Greek
listening in 2022 after the OP1F has been released. i can both afford that and think it's overpriced. but that's the exception that prooves the rule.
I’m pretty new to modular. What is side chaining?
Not an inherently modular thing - it means one part (ie a Kick drum) makes all the other parts go quiet when IT goes loud
mylarmelodies thanks! So in a sense it’s turning on and off sounds, creating texture, for lack of a better word? BTW I really enjoy your videos. They have been helpful and inspiring. I caught a show you posted at what seemed like a science event. I listed to it while I was photographing a house for a client. It was great. I do wish you would post more of your performances. Please Keep it up. One more question, or piece of advice/guidance ... I have a Mother 32, as I wanted to experiment and see if I liked playing with semi modular synth as much as I like guitar (which I do) and I’m expanding to modules now. Was thinking of getting an oscillator first, or a VCA... as you can never have too many of those... If you have time to answer, do you have a suggestion. Thanks, again.
@@musictribetv9095 I'd get a Mutable Instruments Plaits or an old Braids to go with it! Regarding sidechaining, here's a daft (brilliant) tutorial: ruclips.net/video/gej-sIZDTVU/видео.html
Still sore about the burned Doepfer module? I agree with Doepfer's documentation being super detailed... but totally scattered across a 2002 webpage.... Which sucks as..
Haha, can you tell?
Awsome
it's not a lot of money. It's a bloody bargain. I've exhausted my BSP now. My old Roland MSQ-700 cost a bloody fortune!
re-watching this great interview
During "Lockdown" I found myself watching Colin's livestreams and it was mindblowing.
In the meantime, Colin has reconfigured his system and you should catch up with that process:-
ruclips.net/video/bhewyQ6zFRA/видео.html
PAL= 25fps, NTSC = 30fps, COLIN= 21fpsystem
The live modular improvisation is a fascinating issue.
Chemically enhanced youth couldn't care less if you played music from your phone as long as the stack ruffles their clothes, so what is it? Is it the rush of being exposed and so vulnerable to making a mistake? The adrenaline flow?
I play live a bit (modular) and always end up buzzing with the emotion as well as disappointed about the mistakes which always happen - regardless of anyone else noticing them or not...
Let's be real. Were you fanboy'd?
It is the one-man-band trap, all over again. A single person really can’t play multi-timbral tunes, without a lot of help, from sequencers, or backing-tracks, or like a DJ, playing the track and just tweak a few effects, and perhaps triggering some visuals.
Why not start modular bands…
In a band, each modular player can have their own rig. And it could allow for members to re-patch a bit live, in sections, where others carries the song.
Some would probably have shared modular studio/rehearsal room, with the upside of saving a bit of money on modular, as some can be shared, while still building a large system. Others would probably have their own set-up in their studio, but with the help of samplers and internet (DAWs in computers or iPads seems out of the question for a lot of modular musicians), it is possible to make demos either with mock-ups from one's own system or with samples received from other band members.
In general people seem to enjoy playing, creating and practicing music together with other people. There are those that want strict control over their music, however, making modular music doesn’t really allow that type of precise control, not when playing live, anyhow, and for some, letting that go, would open up for them to let other people be involved.
(Or perhaps modular driven bands, because having someone play drums/percussion can add a lot, in my opinion, and that could be a mix of acoustic drums and percussion as well as using midi drums for triggering analog and digital drums and percussion… and in my mind there is also always room for acoustic guitars and or a “bowed” string instrument (at times plucked), running through some effects, at least in a full show, if not on every tune)
Other than that, as I posted in a comment elsewhere on youtube… How about a clip launcher for hardware, with lots of CV and Midi, where each pad holds a sequencer track instead of launching external clips.
Beatstep/Keystep pro?
Great idea about the modular ensemble-let’s hope!
How are you getting these guest? Hookers and Blow or free modular gear
gel1912 Colin is actually a really chill guy that believes in sharing and building a community. He actually literally did by renting a whole block of houses and living and working there with musicians. After that, it moved to a building that used to be the music hall for a big city in holland that went out of use, that’s now called Kytopia. That’s also coming to an end because the city has other plans for the building but he and the other creators will find something else. This guy is a creative genius, not just on a musical level. If it interests you, you should research him, it’s pretty cool!
Bashing Doepfer because you CBA to type in "doepfer a-148" in google and check a picture of the module showing the orientation of the power cable? shame on you
When I could have read the manual to tell me?! Oh wait
mylarmelodies true their documentation is not the most user friendly but I just thought it was a bit over the top and uncalled for anyway I enjoy your channel and content good work
Given the amount of folks who have fried Doepfer modules I think it’s totally called for. Other manufacturers foolproof these things. Doepfer do not - and people make mistakes and get dead modules as a result!
Far too short interview.
sounds like you joined a cult. the church of Cirklon. (;