Robin Rimbaud, best-known as Scanner, has been pushing the boundaries of soundscaping since he first brought intercepted unencrypted mobile phone conversations to the world of the avant-garde on his self-titled debut album in 1993.
More than a couple of decades and tens of releases on, he provided Philippe Petit‘s Modulisme platform with a session and talks about it and his immersion in modular synthesis as part of Freq‘s ongoing cross-collaboration with Modulisme.
When did you first become aware of modular synthesis as a particular way of making music, whether as part of electronic music in general or more specifically as its own particular format, and what did you think of it at the time?
I first saw a Eurorack modular system in the studio of my good friend, American sound artist Stephen Vitiello, when I was working in Virginia, USA. It was something completely new to me, but the aesthetic aspect immediately appealed to me, the sheer look of the instrument. The absence of a screen, this chaotic jumble of cables and the sonic possibilities were all part of this. I thought it intriguing, but also way beyond me in terms of comprehension at the time!
What was your first module or system?
This was back in 2008, but I never bought any modules until early 2014. And even then, it was just a handful of modules from Make Noise, Intellijel, Doepfer. Bit by bit, not all at once was my start.
How long did it take for you to become accustomed to patching your own synthesizer together out of its component parts?
A little while, but I feel like I’m still learning. Then again perhaps I’m still forgetting, so everything seems fresh and new again.Do you prefer single-maker systems (for example, Buchla, Make Noise, Erica Synths, Roland, etc) or making your own modular synthesizer out of individual components from whatever manufacturer that matches your needs.
I’ve built up a substantially bigger system which holds the bulk of my modules, but I also have a number of separate cases for particular manufacturers, such as Mutable Instruments, Make Noise, Verbos, Befaco, Analogue Systems and so on. I find the format appealing and the grouping together of various companies aesthetically pleasing of course too!
East Coast, West Coast or No-Coast (as Make Noise put it)? Or is it all irrelevant to how you approach synthesis?
Probably no coast, but in the middle of the landscape, leaning more heavily towards the East Coast in my love of randomness and chance, and the deliberate lack of a keyboard at times. I feel no desire to replicate what I could do with a standard synth or software. I like the surprise element most of all!Do you tend to use pure modular systems, or do you bring in outside effect and devices when playing or recording?
There are no hard and fast strict rules regarding this. I use a Praxis Snake Charmer module in my main studio system which allows me to run eight channels of audio into the DAW, which I can then if I wish mix properly, add effects and master. At the same time my more portable cases are all entirely in the box without any additional processing or effects. I enjoy discipline and the relatively restrictive nature of such systems too
Do you find that you record straight with no overdubbing, or do you end up multi-tracking and editing tracks in post-production?
Even though I do multi-track the modular system, I tend not to overdub or combine the modular world of sampling or soft synths with it. The only editing that tends to take place is simply to clean up the beginning or end of a work, but otherwise I conceive of them very much like taking a photograph. They represent that moment in real time.Do you pre-patch your system when playing live, or do you tend to improvise on the spot?
I have played entire shows where nothing is patched at all and it all begins in front of an audience, such as here:
Which module could you not do without, or which module do you use the most in every patch?
There are some modules that never leave my live performance case as a good example – the Make Noise Morphagene and XOAC Devices Batumi. Then again, in the studio they are duplicated so play the same role there too
What do you think that can only be achieved by modular synthesis that other forms of electronic music cannot or makes harder to do?
The sense of discovery and surprise is something that has never left me with modular. It offered up a way to create work outside of a pattern I’d become accustomed to over the years, and therefore pushed me in fresh directions. In this day and age and ease of being able to make music using all manner of clever software, I thrive on the challenges and revelations that modular offers me.
Have you used various forms of software modular (eg Reaktor Blocks, Softube Modular, VCVRack) or digital hardware with modular software editors (eg Nord Modular, Axoloti, Organelle), and if so what do you think of them?
I’m still loyal to software, don’t get me wrong. I use Reaktor Blocks and Softube Modular. I travel a fair bit and the opportunity to carry my “system” with me on my laptop is extremely helpful. I think they are also especially valuable to an ever-growing audience, interested in modular synths, who lack the financial resources to invest.
What module or system you wish you had?
The idea of a portable Make Noise case is appealing, as is Bugbrand, but let’s see what follows in time. I’m fortunate enough to be rather immersed already in many modular and synthetic joys in the studio! Frap Tools have been releasing some very interesting modules in the last years too, so I am keeping my eye on them!Have you ever built a DIY module, or would you consider doing so?
I’ve bought and built quite a few modules from THONK in Brighton and had great fun breathing fumes and burning my fingers over the years. Having said that, I’m not always entirely convinced that I’ve built them correctly and fear that I’ve made mistakes, and that they should probably work better than they should!
Which modular artist has influenced you the most in your own music?
There are countless artists using modular synths whose work I enjoy, from contemporary to older artists, ranging from Richard Devine and Caterina Barbieri, to Morton Subotnick to Michael Stearns, Datach’I to Luis Fernandes, Rodent and Walker Farrell, Keith Fullerton Whitman to Todd Barton.
The figure who probably influenced me the most was hardly a modular synthesist, but it was the American composer David Tudor (1926-1996). Tudor’s inclusive yet exploratory approach to the use of electronics in performance composition presented listeners with an abstract expressionistic ocean of sound, risky and ever inventive. Even marvelling at photographs of his set up at shows, neatly attired as always in black suit and tie, surrounded by a table of strange boxes, cables and obscure devices, was an inspiration to me to search out instruments outside of conventional means. My first thought on seeing modular synths was that I can finally own something like David Tudor. 🙂
Can you hear the sound of individual modules when listening to music since you’ve been part of the modular world — how has it affected (or not) the way that you listen to music?
Like sound engineers and producers, you tend to recognise particular instruments or effects. I remember when I first met Richard James in the very early 1990s, he commented on how he could hear the Alesis Quadraverb on some of my recordings. In the same way it’s easy to recognise certain modules like Mutable Instruments Rings in recordings, since it has a very distinctive sound. More than anything, it’s the structure and shape of how some works are presented to you that suggest they are using a modular system. In terms of listening, it hasn’t affected my way of enjoyment or appraisal of music. I’m just excited that so much new music is being produced!What have you been working on lately, and do you have any upcoming releases or performances?
My life and work tends to explore regions not always explored in traditional music production or patterns. I don’t tour for example, or play concerts to support a release. So, for example, I scored a permanent soundtrack to a working morgue in a hospital just outside Paris, to assist the bereaved in the rawest moments of their life. As such my releases are quite unusual. I just released the score to an exhibition in the MAKK Museum of Applied Arts in Cologne and my new album with clarinet player Gareth Davis is just out on Miasmah Recordings. I perform significantly less these days and have chosen instead to play around eight shows a year.
Can you outline how you patched and performed your Modulisme session?
For this piece, I decided to focus entirely on just one machine – the Buchla 200e. I picked this up in an auction a few years back and absolutely fell in love with it. I hadn’t prepared anything for this session, just patched up a few things to begin with, and then just let it breathe and flow over the course of an hour. I love how the Buchla lets you move the sound around so actively, keeping it alive and in motion. It’s a live recording with only a touch of reverb added, and no other instrumentation or effects.Who would your dream collaborator be for a Modulisme session or otherwise?
I’ve collaborated with so many wonderful figures over the years I would find it hard to think of someone, to be honest. I like surprises!
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Mark Sanders has been a professional drummer for almost thirty years. His diversity is unmatched, running the gamut between jazz, free improvisation, pop, avant-rock, modern classical, dance, new complexity, dub and folk. He’s one of the few free improvisers who integrates the learning that he accumulates from these broad activities: most improvising musicians’ approach rarely synthesises or overlaps their sets of experience from other styles. You would be hard pressed to find musicians currently working within free improvisation who he hasn’t worked with.
