Q & A. CURRENT EQUIPMENT?

What equipment do you currently play and why? 

As I mentioned earlier, my studio today consists exclusively of virtual instruments. Over time, I have invested significant amounts of money to assemble a set of highly complementary tools, selectively drawing from the catalogs of the major companies that dominate this market, such as Native Instruments, Arturia, Spitfire Audio, UVI, Orchestral Tools and a few others. To these essential instruments, I have added more specialized and experimental synthesizers, such as Vital, Loom, Synplant, Myth, Novum, and others. I have also selected granular processing instruments that allow me to radically transform audio files and some of my recorded tracks, and I have acquired the entire Metasynth environment for its sound design potential.  Finally, I acquired an MPE keyboard (Midi Polyphonic Expression), which opened up fascinating musical possibilities, less for emulating acoustic instruments (guitar, violin, etc.) than for the new expressiveness it allows with purely electronic sounds and the possibility of creating complex and evolving textures, where the tactile and gestural dimension plays an important role. For the most abstract and atmospheric passages of my music, I use a Roli Seaboard 2 keyboard in a very intuitive way, focusing on textures rather than the notes themselves. While a classic MIDI keyboard produces a musical typography, an MPE keyboard allows you to create a kind of sound calligraphy, full of curves, sinuosities, flourishes, and arabesques.

I follow the commercial offerings in terms of VSTs and plugins with attention and interest, while remaining very selective. I don't think I'm the target audience for many instruments, which are sometimes backed by somewhat tiresome marketing campaigns geared towards dance, techno, or cinematic music. I often pay attention to the creations of independent developpers who design experimental tools, particularly for sound processing. For some of the more complex synths I use, I also buy ad hoc sound banks created by musician-programmers whom I have come to know and respect... 

 

 

Originally published in AUDION MAGAZINE #83, August 2025.

Interview by Andy Garibaldi.