I might even get rid of some stuff in order to help concentrate on less stuff and master the equipment that I have. “Actually I’m really happy with what I have. So with all of his current studio hardware and software, is there anything left on the Mousse T. Like he says, he likes to mix and match older and newer technologies so uses a great selection of plugins as well, the five best of which he's revealed below. Oh, and a dope BSS compressor in my final master chain.”Īnd of course Mousse isn’t all about hardware. “As for the outboard gear I proudly own a Manley Massive Passive, an SSL G series compressor, Chandler preamp, Chandler Limited Abbey Road TG-1 compressor, two Distressors, Urei 1176, Vertigo Sound compressor, Lexicon 480L, Ensoniq DP-4, Teletronix LA-2A, Roland Dimension D, Vintagedesign CL1 MKII compressor and a Vintagedesign Pre-amp CA-73. “Although being a big fan of Arturia software synths, I have quite a nice collection of the ‘real’ stuff like a Yamaha CS-20, a Prophet-10, Minimoog, Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, Yamaha grand piano, a Yamaha upright and a variety of Roland keys. It’s my big kindergarten where I get to play around - it’s total freedom! I use an RME soundcard and a SSL 24-track Madi AX Converter with an Apogee clock. “I still use the almost 40-year-old Mitec EX-Series console as a kind of summation for most of my signals coming out of my DAW and for all of my analogue recordings. “My love for combining analogue and digital music production is very noticeable in my studio,” he explains, sitting in the lush surroundings of his current setup at Peppermint. Mousse invested in a large format German analogue desk back then, which he still uses today, although the computer has thankfully been updated to the latest Mac and most of the other gear – one or two Akai samplers aside – has also been updated. Although I knew the good old times, recording to tape and so on, working with digital techniques has opened up countless opportunities for the creative mind, especially when you make use of it in a musical way.” I started using the Atari in 1990 and it was definitely the way forward. “I had the urge to move faster and to just try out different stuff. However, his first experience of computers came way back at the start of the 90s. Basically I was doing so many back in the day that the industry couldn’t help but notice what I was doing which led to more jobs, more income and a much greater profile.” The early Mousse gearĪnd as Mousse’s production stature grew, so his studio filled with both analogue and digital gear, a balance of which he still maintains to this day. In 1993 I had a regular income from my productions and remixes which were a big thing back then. “Obviously there are different levels of being successful,” he notes, “but when you start out, it’s a big achievement when one is able to live from music in any way. (“There’s even a rooftop restaurant! Basically it’s a beautiful oasis for creativity for music.”) And it was also back in ‘93, that he started making proper money from his music. In 1993, Mousse founded Peppermint Jam Records with partner Errol Rennalls and the name lives on in his current recording studio, part of his Peppermint Pavilion, a complex also used by record companies and other studio owners. I was doing so many remixes back in the day that the industry couldn’t help but notice what I was doing I then started producing and remixing other people’s records.” I started my career writing songs, without knowing I was writing songs, when I was 18. "Still, I started as a DJ and also developed my songwriting and production skills. After finishing school, it became very clear to me that I wanted to be a professional in music but my dad wasn’t very fond of that idea at all. However, after hearing Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, Mousse suddenly found what he was looking for. “I knew instantly that I wanted to do music for the dance floors. I had a bit of a music education playing the organ and then later on experimenting at home with basic equipment and playing in bands as a keyboardist.” Both of these musical styles weren’t for me back then, but I always loved music and started to collect records as a teenager, more on the rock side of things at first. “My mother loved Tom Jones and my dad was vibing to Turkish music. “They were listening to a lot of music at home,” he explains. But as worthy as that career could have been, his parents were also influencing him in more musical matters as well.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |