Erol Alkan made his name in electronic/indie crossovers of the noughties with huge remixes for Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers and Justice. And his production work for Mystery Jets, Late Of The Pier and even Duran Duran cemented him as a go-to for guitar bands looking to break onto dancefloors. This episode, we talk about programming Nokias, accidentally digging through Soulwax’s record collection, and how he can make any sound unique.
Erol Alkan made his name in electronic/indie crossovers of the noughties with huge remixes for Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers and Justice. And his production work for Mystery Jets, Late Of The Pier and even Duran Duran cemented him as a go-to for guitar bands looking to break onto dancefloors. This episode, we talk about programming Nokias, accidentally digging through Soulwax’s record collection, and how he can make any sound unique.
STUFF WE TALK ABOUT (SPOILERS AHEAD)
https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/424/Sinclair-ZX-Spectrum-48k/
https://soundcloud.com/thechemicalbrothers/music-response
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_500
https://milocostudios.com/studios/battery-studio-1/
https://www.konkstudios.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Dl3VQ2K2U
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini/apple-m2-chip-with-8-core-cpu-and-10-core-gpu-256gb
https://www.macworld.com/article/1677460/mac-mini-upgrade-hub-storage-ethernet-sd-card-ports.html
https://www.strongroom.com/studio/strongroom-1/
https://www.genelec.com/previous-models/1031a
https://www.genelec.com/1032c
https://audiogold.co.uk/product/rogers-jr-149/
https://www.pomaudiodesign.com/
https://chandlerlimited.com/mini-rack-mixer/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_Chroma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_String_Melody
https://soundcloud.com/beyond-the-wizards-sleeve
https://thermionicculture.com/index.php/products/the-culture-vulture-1-17-192012-03-20-11-02-02-detail
https://reverb.com/uk/item/2910172-trident-fleximix-console-mixer-wood-silver-finish
https://reverb.com/uk/p/stc-4033a-dual-element-microphone
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-gb/at4040
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185994760664
https://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/juno-6
Chris Barker:
I'm Chris Barker.
Will Betts:
And I'm Will Betts. And this is Music Tech's my Forever studio podcast, brought to you in partnership with audient. And this time we're coming to you from Tile Yard studios in London.
Chris Barker:
In this podcast, we speak with musicians, producers, DJ's and engineers about their fantasy forever studio.
Will Betts:
The studio that our guests dream up is one they must live with for eternity. But even in studio foreverland, we do have some rules, don't we?
Chris Barker:
Yes, that's right. The rules. Our guests get to choose a computer, a Daw and an audio interface. Those are free, but then they only get six other bits of audio equipment.
Will Betts:
However, there's one more rule.
Erol Alkan:
No bundle.
Chris Barker:
That's right. Choosing a package of software or hardware that is sold as a bundle will not be allowed.
Will Betts:
This time we're joined by a critically acclaimed producer, remixer and DJ.
Chris Barker:
That's right. Our guest has remixed people like Daft Punk, the Chemical Brothers. He's worked with bands like late of the pier, the Mystery jets and even the mighty Duran Duran.
Will Betts:
He's also a passionate gear nerd with some amazing equipment in his own studio. So this might be a challenge for him.
Chris Barker:
Could be challenging. That's right. This is my forever studio with Errol Alkyn. Welcome, Errol.
Erol Alkan:
Hello.
Chris Barker:
How are you doing today?
Erol Alkan:
I'm all right, thanks. It's pretty early. Sorry, I got coffee.
Chris Barker:
It's whatever time people are watching or listening to this at.
Erol Alkan:
That's right, yeah, exactly.
Will Betts:
Outside of time.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, yeah.
Chris Barker:
Fantasy forever time.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, absolutely.
Chris Barker:
Okay, so you sort of heard the rules there. Yeah, I mean, before we get into building the dream studio, let's talk about little getting into this old production game. I mean, you started off as a musician or a DJ or a bit of both. Like, how did that start?
Erol Alkan:
My earliest attempts at making sound or manipulating sound goes right back to when I was probably about ten or eleven years old. I had bought a. Well, my father finally given in and got me a spectrum computer that was after. For everyone who don't know the spectrums, they were these tiny little computers the size of an iPad. They had like rubber buttons on them and they only had forty eight k of memory.
Chris Barker:
So which was advertised. That was a thing, though.
Erol Alkan:
It was actually the Spectrum 48K. Yeah, that was the name of it. And so it was extremely basic. Sounds was monophonic, and if you wanted to make sound or make a melody, you had to program it by going beep a number, which was the note and then a comma, and then you put another number after it, which would be the length of the note. And then you put, like another thing in to make a space or a rest or anything like that.
Chris Barker:
Like tracker software meets making a melody on the old Nokia phones.
Erol Alkan:
It's more like the melody on the Nokia phone, actually. Exactly like that.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
Like. Like 20 years ago. Yeah. So I remember making ringtones. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Me, you, the one in the friendship group that made everybody's ringtones for them. That's what I was.
Will Betts:
I only made my own. I only bespoke for myself.
Chris Barker:
Oh, I hide myself out. Did you get me something from the vending machine? I'll do the neighbor's theme tune for it.
Will Betts:
What was your go to?
Erol Alkan:
What were you programming on there on the spectrum or the Nokia? Oh, the Nokia. You know what? I only programmed one because it took so long. But I always thought it sounded like a good rhythm tone and, you know the opening synth line from the chemical Brothers music response.
Chris Barker:
Okay, okay, right.
Erol Alkan:
You know that line? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That one I thought would sound great on a Nokia just because of the. It's like a square wave sort of sound. And I just thought it would anyway, and it did. So that was the only one I did on there. But back then on the spectrum, my uncle tasked me with. He asked me, oh, can you do the theme from Knight Rider on that? So I spent an age programming the theme from Knight Rider on the spectrum.
Chris Barker:
What was his purpose for that?
Erol Alkan:
Well, I think I just want to.
Chris Barker:
Dream of the theme from Knight Rider, mate.
Erol Alkan:
But we were both fans of Knight Rider. You know, it's like one of those things where you kind of, like, go in, like, you know, you got the opportunity to do something. You know, what. What piece of music is important to you enough to. To go and, you know, mimic it or copy it or something like that.
Chris Barker:
So your first route into making sounds was. Was programming. Was.
Erol Alkan:
Well, I was a programmer, actually. I mean, I got into computer programming first. Really, like, so I learned how to program. Well, I mean, back then when you used to buy computer magazines, there'd be a section that, like, reviewed games. There'd be a section that was news about games that were coming, and there'd be a whole programming section. So I would read these things cover to cover. So I'd be like, well, why don't I try to write my own code? Why don't I learn how to hack software? You know, which is why I ended up doing. And, you know, you do those things where you'd go in and, you know, you find the bit of code that how many lives it gave you in the game and then you'd give yourself like 100, you know, so, you know, I learned how code works and then from there I kind of dabbled in ASCII code as well.
Erol Alkan:
But then shortly after that I got an Amiga computer which 500. It was 500, yeah, Amiga 500. And that came with a piece of software called soundtracker. Oh, yeah. And I bought a digitizer which plugged in the back a big clunky thing and you could. I kind of like. Like took the output of my stereo that I had in my room at the time into there and then would, like, sample just bits from records that I liked, you know, like little bit. I mean, because so many productions back in the late eighties would have like, little bits of, like, public enemy things in there.
Erol Alkan:
First thing I did was just like, go and find those little bits of, like, flavor. Flavor Chuck D, in other words, and have a hole, like, get them all sampled in and save them onto a disc and whatever. And then, you know, I was listening to a lot of rave then as well. So, you know, you'd sample, you know, breakbeats and the eight men break or whatever, you know, so the sort of.
Chris Barker:
The kind of indie guitar side that some people might know you for in terms of the bands you've worked for and, you know, you know, you can play. You're a musician as well, right? Like that came later.
Erol Alkan:
Well, the whole thing about being, am I, you know, into electronic music or am I into guitar music? I mean, for me it's just music, you know, it doesn't like. Music has always been like language to me, you know, and it's how you understand or decipher certain language and if you're able to even repeat it, if you're able to speak in that language as well, you know, there's certainly a load of musical styles that I would never attempt to try to speak in, you know, because I don't feel fluent in it in that sense. So that's a good way to do it. I just absorb what I absorb and I try to put out what I feel. I want to communicate, really. So guitar, I mean, back in 1990 when I was sampling things on my Amiga or whatever, I was listening to pipe radio, plus I was watching top of the pops or the chart show or whatever and being completely blown away by guitar bands at the same time. I wasn't ever told that you had to choose one or the other apart from a little bit in the playground where some kids would be, you know, they're into something they're not into something else. And to me, that just baffled me, like, why?
Chris Barker:
Why that attitude was really important because, you know, you were at the forefront or one of the people at the forefront of that. That fusion between sort of club culture and indie culture, you know, because indie kids weren't going to, you know, see DJ's really. And then it all sort of did happen with things like LCD and the nights you were doing and like, bands and acts like Soul Wax, too many DJ sets and that kind of, again, that same attitude of just like being sort of genre agnostic as such. Like, we just like good tunes.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, exactly.
Chris Barker:
That united that night out crowd, though, as well. I mean, I remember going to your nights and it being like the goth kids, the indie kids, the Ravers, you know, it just didn't matter.
Erol Alkan:
It didn't matter. I mean, I still. I'm still. I mean, I was surprised then when. When it was like a big thing that, you know, like, you know, this is happening or you're doing this or. And just to me, and also, like, you know, when I met Dave and Steph Solwax as well, when we first met, and I first, like, went through their record collection. I mean, we first met when they were actually djing at their own after show party in dingwalls in like, 99 or something like that. And I went and introduced myself.
Erol Alkan:
Cause I kind of, like, I kind of got in touch with them about playing it trash in 99. So this is well before all that, you know, a lot of stuff happened for all of us. And the first thing they said to me was like, really nice to meet you. Could you just look after our records for one sec and, like, put one on? If it runs out, we're just gonna quickly run to the back to do something. I was like, yeah, sure. So I went straight into the booth and they had. They used to, like, cart around these huge crates of records, like vinyl records, like eight or nine of them. And I just was like, going through their records, I was like, oh, my God, it's like, really.
Erol Alkan:
It's like my record collection. But it was the. Also the connection was the variety of music. You know, it wasn't just one kind of thing. And it's amazing when you kind of come across people like that in whatever kind of creative field that you're in, because, like, a lot of the time, the creative fields are, you know, there's a lot of, like, fences or borders within them, you know, because it's easier.
Chris Barker:
To survive if you fence yourself in, really, because people know what they are, you know, they know what they're booking. If they're on that side.
Erol Alkan:
There's also gatekeepers to those things as well. People do guard their corner and, you know, they're very specific about who comes in and who doesn't. And, you know, when we kind of. When we were at that point in time, you know, we hated all that stuff. You know, there shouldn't be gatekeepers. You know, gates are there to be. To be blown off. You know, it's like they're not there to be, you know, like, everyone should have a voice in what they're looking to do, and people can, if they like it, they can be part of it.
Erol Alkan:
If they don't, that's fine, you know.
Chris Barker:
Well, let's get started on the studio building, Kate. So the first thing we ask, and again, this is probably going to be influenced by your entire career in the music industry. Where in the world would you put.
Erol Alkan:
Your dream studio in London? 100% in London. London? Yeah. I mean, yeah, London is. I mean, now you've said that. Now I'm just thinking anywhere.
Will Betts:
Anywhere.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. Yeah. No, it would be London. I feel it'd be London because ideally it would be somewhere that I could go to frequently. Far more frequently than I'm able to even now. You know, London's my home. I'm very much. I was born in London.
Erol Alkan:
I'm very much influenced by London. A lot of, you know, a lot of my friends are here.
Chris Barker:
So when you say London now, obviously London's a big place. Are you thinking kind of north London?
Erol Alkan:
Definitely. However, though I would say I've worked in studios all over London, and I've always enjoyed traveling to studios. I've always, like, for some reason, we've been putting a project together or whatever, and it's like, what studio can we use? And part of the journey, I think, is quite important when you go to a studio, because you're kind of like, there's a little bit of preparation that you kind of do in your head or whatever. And that differs to, like, if you're driving to a studio, if you get in the tube to studio, you know. So, I mean, for instance, I used flood studio for the second ride album that I did, and the Dran Dran recordings, and that is assault and battery. And that's. That's only like a 20 minutes drive from. From where I am, you know? So that was kind of like a.
Chris Barker:
Great place as well.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, it was absolutely great. And also, it's such a great creative environment. Like, when I was there, you know, there'd be like, Alan mould be downstairs or it would be like, flood, who's, you know, whoever he would be working with. And he'd be, you know, going into the kitchen and bumping into, you know, some really amazing, inspiring people, you know.
Chris Barker:
So do you. For the. For those projects specifically, do you get to choose the studio or. Yeah, so, yeah, so for the Durandran project, that was your decision?
Erol Alkan:
Because for that one, my opening kind of feeling towards the whole thing was that I really wanted to capture the rhythm section live. So I really wanted a great sounding live room. I wanted live drums. I didn't want it to be done in a control room.
Chris Barker:
Had they recorded there before?
Erol Alkan:
No.
Chris Barker:
Did you feel any pressure in, like, that choosing and it not. Because it'd be quite easy to go. We'll do Abbey Road or we'll do somewhere fancy. That's Duran Duran, you know.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. I mean, I really liked it because, I mean, I've known Flyd for a while and he's always been super, super supportive towards me and as Alan Mulder as well. So I really liked that environment. I thought it was a really great environment to take a band into. And I also felt that what was there, you know, with the. With the. They got the old desk from that east bit. Wessex Studios in there and they.
Chris Barker:
Big Ssl.
Erol Alkan:
No, it wasn't. It's. I think it's an Amec. I think it might be Amec. It's the one that. Nevermind the bollocks.
Chris Barker:
The time I was there, it was. It had like a red. Red leather. Everything was red in there. I think it was before.
Erol Alkan:
How long was there?
Chris Barker:
Long time.
Erol Alkan:
Oh, right.
Chris Barker:
They had red ns ten s and red. And like a red. Red leather wrist thing on the desk. I can't remember what the desk was, but, yeah, the whole room was red, but it was actually kind of a cool thing.
Erol Alkan:
So. I like red rooms. Yeah. So basically. And also he has a whole load of amazing synthesizers in there as well, which I knew that Nick would really appreciate being around, as would I. And it was also a place which was kind of. Everyone could kind of reach within reason. Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
You know, it's also important to make sure that, you know, everyone is not put out by getting there.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. They kind of ride.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. It wasn't a selfish decision. I did, actually. I was aware of where everyone would be and traveling into it and stuff like that, so. But I just was a fantastic environment to take a band like that into, you know, and as the same with ride as well, we tracked all the drums for the second ride album I did in their.
Chris Barker:
Before Duranduran. So that's why you knew it was a great sounding live room.
Erol Alkan:
Exactly, yeah. Yeah. And also, you know, the engineers who work there as well, you know, that's also a reason to go to somewhere as well, because, you know, it's how comfortable, you know, you feel somewhere as well. The relationship you have with them, all those things, you know, them understanding what.
Chris Barker:
You'Re trying to get out of a sound as well. Like, in terms of micing and things like that.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, yeah, exactly. So it would be. So the dream studio would be. Would be in London, I would probably say. I would say, like, you know, my favourite studios that I've used in London. I mean, there's something about it. I just said, I really love conk as well. Danny Cratchend.
Erol Alkan:
There's something just particularly just old school about it. It's got this kind of amazing, like, it's like stepping into the past, you know. You know, but in a really positive way.
Chris Barker:
But we think in north London and what kind of. What kind of vibe. So, like, how do you like your environment? Is it kind of.
Erol Alkan:
Well, if I could build a studio myself, it would be geared around having a great sounding live room. Obviously, I would take from all the kind of environments that I've were live room.
Chris Barker:
Inspired by assault and battery, inspired by a bit of Kong.
Erol Alkan:
I think. Conk and assault and battery have two of the best sounding live rooms that I've used. I mean, the garden as well, which used to be Matt Johnson's, which is now a. It's now a storeroom for pre manger, I think.
Will Betts:
A great sounding store room.
Erol Alkan:
Fantastic sounding storeroom. That was also brilliant as well. Like, those three rooms were.
Chris Barker:
Should get a monkey sandwiches jump kit in there as like, a promo video. That'd be quite nice.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
So if you had to pick one.
Chris Barker:
Just removing sandwiches to get the acoustics right. One sandwich at a time.
Will Betts:
Wow, that's true acoustic absorption.
Chris Barker:
Just open that packet. Actually.
Will Betts:
The bread's quite tuna, actually.
Erol Alkan:
Oh, God. Yeah.
Will Betts:
So would you steal one of those rooms or would you kind of take elements of each of them?
Erol Alkan:
I think I like the kind of compact nature of conk. It's kind of, like, narrow at the end. There's a little. Where the old control room used to be. They've got a piano in there. They've got a grand piano in there. This was last time I was here. Last time I was there.
Erol Alkan:
So it might change since then. And then I liked how it was big, but it was just still small enough to feel vibey, like, not cavernous, you know? And I like how. I actually like how when you're, like, not when you don't have too many options, you have to think on your feet. You have to think creatively. Because I think that's when you sometimes get the most interesting results. Like, you know, setting up an amp in the toilet and then, you know, you've realized that there's a shower in there as well. And so you think, God, what would happen if I put, you know, open the door a little bit, put a mic in there against the wall, and you get some insane, like, slap delay thing to the guitar sound that you wouldn't have got if you'd have set it up in the wooden box that's been designed for it, that's been perfectly kind of, like, treated for there not to be any reflections or something. You know what I mean?
Chris Barker:
That's how you get original sounds as well.
Erol Alkan:
Exactly. And sometimes when you're talking about music or if you're kind of sitting with someone who's remotely interested in hearing these things and you're talking about how certain sounds have been achieved, you go, oh, yeah, that sound. We did that by doing this or whatever. And it kind of. There was one later pier thing, I remember when we tried to create a reverb chamber by holding practice amp into the air conditioning and then finding the other part of where the air conditioning was, the other part of the studio to mic it up from there. You know, it didn't work. But, you know, these inspiring things, I think, are what give you what make a little bit of difference. Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
You know, energy and that excitement that goes into it.
Will Betts:
It's like a bigger version of the Cooper time cube, that garden hose, the one with the garden hose in it, but, like, even bigger version. So that's one of those weird experiments. Have you got any other weird experiments you did in the studio to kind of.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, loads. Oh, God. I mean, there's loads of things. Like. I mean, maybe it's not weird, but, like, you know, when there's a. Like the Hoxton Square, there's a studio there, local studio there where we did, like, two doors down. I remember I'd. I'd kind of, like, a few weeks before, I'd.
Erol Alkan:
I'd seen a documentary about. I can't remember what Bowie song it was on, but I think Tony Visconti set up a series of microphones along a corridor that were gated and would open up based on how hard a snare was hit, recorded in Hanza tons. To try your own version of that.
Will Betts:
I didn't even mean that wasn't prepared. I just.
Erol Alkan:
You might have had a pret manger t shirt.
Chris Barker:
I've actually got a pret t shirt on. Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
You know what? It's not like, a lot of. It's not studio.
Will Betts:
That room is now a ballroom, so.
Erol Alkan:
All right. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Will Betts:
Same thing. Sorry, that was weird.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. But, you know, you kind of, like, get these. You know, you'll hear about how something is done. You try your own version of it, you know, and somewhere, you know, you'll get a different result, obviously. But it's the. It's the inspiration, you know, it's that kind of. Wow. Rather than using, you know, adding a reverb to something or, you know, like, double tracking it or whatever, we try this idea and, you know, we did that.
Erol Alkan:
Did it on two doors down, actually. I think it's on the. On the snare, on the chorus. I think we did it on there. And. Love the sound of that record. Thank you. Might have actually taken the snare and doubled it, double tracked it in the corridor and recorded it from, you know, from there.
Erol Alkan:
Or might have, like. Might have reamped it, something like that. But.
Chris Barker:
Well, let's hit that point. You said you like limitations, so this is going to be perfect for you.
Will Betts:
Just lock in the location. We're in north London with a great sounding live room. You're essentially stealing conk.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
Or are you a bit of conk? I'd steal a bit of. I would actually also steal a bit of thing from a certain battery, in the sense, where there's other studios in there. There's just something that kind of brings you out of your. Out of your world a little bit when you bump into other people in a corridor, or if you're like, you know, or if someone else calls you in and says, hey, can I get your opinion on something? Or I want to play you something or something like that. I don't know. For me, that's really. That's really nourishing, you know, rather than just being, like, completely closed off, you know? I mean. Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
I mean, I spend a lot of time doing a lot of stuff on my own, you know? So, you know, it'd be great to have the opportunity for there to be just other people around as well.
Chris Barker:
Right, well, let's lock that in, and then we'll move on.
Will Betts:
Your three free items.
Chris Barker:
The three free items. So a computer a DAw and an audio interface.
Erol Alkan:
Okay, that's kind of easy. Okay. So the computer's easy. And I could be quite specific about which one as well, because up until trim 48k with an amiga, lights on the side, it would be. It would be the new Mac mini M two, the new one. But I would say this to anybody who's on the lookout for these. Cause I speak to a lot of people, and I used to have an old cheese grater, you know, the Mac Pros, since like, 2010 or something. And I completely, like, like, what you call it, fully loaded.
Erol Alkan:
Is that fully loaded terminal? I spec'd it out like I had the most ram you could put in it. I had, like, each chassis had a hard drive in it, and I was running everything off the board and rather than externally and, you know, that kind of thing. So that got to the point where you just couldn't move up Oss and it meant that, you know, some specific bits of software weren't working anymore. And it just got to the point where, like, I'd even. I'd even.
Chris Barker:
It was time.
Erol Alkan:
It was time. But I mean, I even. I even forced the firmware upgrade on it. Like, you only got to, like, if I'm right, I think it only goes up to 1.2 on the firmware. But I found a workaround to get up to 1.3, which meant you could still get a few more oss. Right.
Chris Barker:
So I don't know if it's coming back out.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, there's. Yes. Somewhere on the Internet that some people wrote some code to do that. And I did that, and I got it up another bit of the firmware, which is totally safe, and I managed to get up another os, which meant that a couple of other things started working. But then, you know, it was just. It was just like banging your head off a wall, really. And so I thought it's time to upgrade. I did my research as to what of the new Macs I could go up to because, you know, part of you is thinking, I'm just gonna get them the fastest Mac that I can because it's gonna future proof you.
Erol Alkan:
But that's not necessarily the case in this, because people are talking about getting, like, the Macs. The studio one. Yeah. Which is more for, like, I was.
Chris Barker:
Gonna say we should upsell dreams here. Surely, from a.
Will Betts:
We could.
Erol Alkan:
Upsell your dreams.
Will Betts:
Upsell your dreams to a Mac studio.
Erol Alkan:
I don't want it.
Will Betts:
Don't want it?
Erol Alkan:
No. Okay. Because I don't want it. Because, like, I don't need it. I mean, this is what I did. And I'd recommend this to anybody out there who wants to basically get a really good machine that's gonna be super fast and really great value. I got whatever that Mac mini m two is. That's like 1400 quid, I think 16 gigabyte.
Erol Alkan:
And I think it's 500 gigabyte hard drive. Hard drive, right, yeah, I've got one of those. And then you can get these chassis right for like 99 pounds, which sit underneath and it basically expands the connectivity. It gives you some USB outs and stuff on the front, sd and stuff like that. But there's also a little bit in there where you can put. And this is what I did, I put a two terabyte, like, little drive in there and it's literally on the board because it's connected by USB C. So you've got a load of, like, space and, you know, for the. For what you're paying for that machine, you know, it's gonna last you about ten years or something.
Chris Barker:
And is portability important to you?
Erol Alkan:
Then?
Chris Barker:
You need to be able. Do you need to be able to take that?
Erol Alkan:
No, because I've technically got three studios at home, so. And believe it or not, I'm about to set up a fourth. And you're gonna laugh as to what the fourth one is.
Chris Barker:
An Amiga 500.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. And I tell you how. Yeah, it is. Yeah. So basically I got my main studio, which is geared around this m two. I've got another studio in my record room where I keep all my vinyl. And I kind of start a lot of stuff in as well. Just, I like kind of being quite relaxed about being creative.
Erol Alkan:
I don't want to sit down and be like, I've got to do something. I like just opening stuff up and noodling and then noodling and then seeing what happens. Yeah, a lot of stuff starts off in there, but they're all kind of linked in some way. Like, you know, I can save a project, then I could put it into a studio and carry on there and stuff. So. And that's just another. Like, that's a 2020 Mac. Like, it's not the m two one, but it works fine.
Erol Alkan:
And then my laptop. Now, I kind of went against everything I said about working on laptops, but I'm kind of also happy to work on a laptop on a plane or in a hotel room or something like that to kind of start an idea or whatever. I don't really like laptops for music because I kind of equate laptops with email and kind of more admin based kind of stuff.
Chris Barker:
Still the same for djing as well. No laptop dj?
Erol Alkan:
Oh, no, I've never taken a laptop into a nightclub. No, never.
Chris Barker:
Same.
Erol Alkan:
And the fourth one is, I thought, you know, I've got this old sampler and I've got my Amiga stuff, still got all the software. And a friend of mine, actually, a neighbor who's, who's an equal geek in this way, I was chatting to him and he had a little box where you can convert the RF output of the Amiga to HDMI so I can plug it into a new screen. So I just thought I just open up and just see what.
Chris Barker:
I went down this road with the Commodore 64 and the profit 64 cartridge with Midi. Did you? They made a modern software for the Commodore 64 where it had a sequencer, a 303 clone, all using the SiD chips. And you could stack the Sid chips in the 64 to get more power.
Erol Alkan:
Right?
Chris Barker:
Yeah, but it was, for me, it was a bit of one of those holes. You go down and go, why am I doing this? I'm not making any music.
Erol Alkan:
I thought the same as, well, I'm like, why am I doing this? But then I thought, if it's just going to be an afternoon of just opening up and hearing it, seeing it and stuff like that, and it's fine. You know what I mean?
Chris Barker:
I'm just like, it was fun when it was set up and it was kind of cool. And you work in different ways when you're wrestling with, like, you know, the interface of a Commodore 64 or whatever, and it gives you. It coughs out different ideas and.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. And I've got the old Midi, I've got the midi like box, the digitizer and stuff like that. And I just thought, I mean, I don't know, I just thought, why not? So.
Chris Barker:
But for your dream studio, we're just locking in that Mac Mini.
Erol Alkan:
The Mac mini, yeah. I mean, it's just works. It's been so smooth, you know, and nothing is a strain on it. And I like that, you know, I like, you know, if I switch something on, I need it to be working there and then, as if I just. I'm very, very impatient in that way. So, you know, let's move on to.
Chris Barker:
Your get through these free items. The interface and the DaW interface would be fantasy. Don't forget, you can go big.
Erol Alkan:
Could go big. I mean, you see, the interfaces that I've loved, I really loved my RME 800. It's popular choice. Loved it. However, due to firewire technology no longer being supported by Apple. It will not work with my Mac mini. And however fantastical this studio is, they.
Chris Barker:
Have the new ones, new new rmes. I don't know.
Erol Alkan:
Yes, they do. And also they have this cool box, this link box where you can like link up like 56 channels or ins and outs or by adapt. Oh, it's Ada. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so I've got these. Actually, I can, I can veer off on a slight tangent here, because this week I actually spent upgrading the power supplies in my apogee sound cards. And because they're 20 years old, you can't actually find an exact fit for it.
Erol Alkan:
So the nearest fit that I could find, which came all day from America, was the right footprint, was the right voltage, everything, you know. However, it was 2 mm too high for you to put the lid on. So we had to angle grind the heat pads on the top and then put washers on the top to actually have it sit on there. That was what my Monday was.
Will Betts:
So doing that instead of like maybe just going, this has seen the best of the day, let's move on to another.
Erol Alkan:
I'm a big believer in recycling things.
Will Betts:
Good.
Erol Alkan:
And also they work and they sound great. And the equivalent to go out now, you'd be spending two grand on each unit to do that. And they sound great and they work. You know, I'm kind of, I'm really loyal to the gear that works for me. You know, I don't really, you know, like something, replacing something else has to, really has to. It has to really be time for it, like the computer, you know, because I suppose I get really, I get very stuck in my, in my ways.
Chris Barker:
With, well, and it's risky changing things when it's working and when, you know, when you're used to a process and a workflow and you're having success from it, you know, and it's your job and your career, it's like, is this going to set me back months?
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. You know, that's why people don't upgrade.
Will Betts:
I mean, I'm putting off upgrading endlessly. But in terms of your interface, what.
Erol Alkan:
You'Re going to interface, what's it going to be?
Will Betts:
I have to press you on this.
Erol Alkan:
I'm really climatized to using the UaD plugins, all plugins.
Will Betts:
Oh, hang on, hang on.
Erol Alkan:
No, no, no. But they come with a card, right?
Chris Barker:
The ones that come with the card?
Will Betts:
Just the ones that come with that particular.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. I mean, uh, any excuse for the best Apollo that you could probably get whatever. That one.
Will Betts:
Care about pres or no?
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, I like the pres on the Apollo.
Chris Barker:
The eight pre. Is it the x eight?
Will Betts:
X eight p. What's the one above that?
Erol Alkan:
If it's fantasy, what's the most expensive one you can get from UAd?
Will Betts:
I think the Apollo 16 is the biggest one, but doesn't have any pres on it.
Erol Alkan:
I'll stick to what I know, then I'll stick to the eight. The Axp, is it? Yeah. Xap.
Chris Barker:
And then the daw then of choice. This is the free item. You can select more things when we get to your six items.
Erol Alkan:
Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. Okay, well, all right. So I use. Whenever I work with bands, I use pro tools, basically. I find it for audio, for tracking, for the emulation of tape as such, you know, and editing. It's like, I'm just climatized to that, really now from like, you know.
Chris Barker:
And I guess from working in other studios. When. When you go to most studios, that must be the default.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, exactly. So, like, I have. I have recorded, like, bands in. In logic before. But, like, I don't know. I'm just used to pro tools for that.
Chris Barker:
Because the mystery jets was a balance of both, wasn't it?
Erol Alkan:
Because no mystery was all. Was all pro tools. But we use actually probably some logic because we did that across nine different studios. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
I think because I interviewed you back in the day. And I think because I remember that little bell sound on two doors down was the logic synth.
Erol Alkan:
Oh, yeah, that was. That was the logic synth. Yeah. But we. We, um. We literally, like, um. And then. And some later pier stuff was like, like pc synths as well.
Erol Alkan:
But we would just like, do the 3.5 mil jack out, straight into the desk, like.
Chris Barker:
And then into tools.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Use it like an instrument.
Chris Barker:
But anyway, sorry, back to Pro tools.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, I mean, Pro tools is what I would use to record bands, but fantasy forever. Yeah. I use logic more. Really. I do use logic more, especially for MIDi stuff and for remixing. And I found that if you'd asked me this, like, ten years ago, I'd say pro tools in that sense. But I think logic has. Has kind of take.
Erol Alkan:
Like, kind of. It's a lot. I don't know. I use better in a way because I've always used it as well. I've always liked it. But. But I'm super comfortable with it now.
Chris Barker:
For whatever kind of thing I need, things like that. It's sometimes a combination of you getting more comfortable with it. And the software itself getting better. So it's like, it's caught up in.
Will Betts:
A lot of ways. But, like, in terms of the remixing, then you said it, you prefer it for remixing. What is it specifically about logico that works for you?
Erol Alkan:
Basically just being able to, for example, like if you bring the stems in of the remix that you're working on and then you want to then sync a load of outboard stuff to play alongside it so you can jam it out and record it back in or, you know, writing MIdi and all that kind of stuff and things like latency and whatnot. You know, I just warping stuff as.
Chris Barker:
Well now with the.
Erol Alkan:
And actually, you know what I got to say, you know, you know, I don't. I didn't have a. I didn't have a. I think I used to have like a waves, like, pitch shift correction thing on my old computer. But then since you went to a new one and you can't, you couldn't take your waves with you on the stuff. I was then a wave goodbye. I waved. Yeah, exactly.
Erol Alkan:
Nice. Very good. I didn't have auto tune or anything. And someone said, oh, why don't you just use one in logix? Really good. I was like, oh, right. I didn't know there was one. And then they told me where it was and it was great. I was like, so easy.
Erol Alkan:
Have something on board, you know, that's not a third party, that isn't even a plugin. You know what I mean? It's like in the interface. So the door, it would be logic.
Chris Barker:
Okay, we'll lock those in and then we'll start on your. These are your six items now. Okay, so item number one.
Erol Alkan:
Okay, item number one.
Chris Barker:
Think about what you've got already as well.
Erol Alkan:
Okay. Recently, I kind of was doing a lot of stuff in the box just for sheer convenience. And I mixed something. My friend's studio, Yeston Paulson, who's got space in strong rooms, one room, strong rooms, mirror studios. And we were kind of like doing a bit of a shootout between like, sound cards and converters and using his summing mixer. And just, just, I had forgotten, you know. And I take it for granted, the fact that it, no matter how good your mix sounds digitally, when you do kick it out into a sewing mixer through good converters and stuff and come back in and you do that properly, it always sounds just that little bit better. And, and I have got a Chandler TGI mixer, which I used to use on everything.
Erol Alkan:
Like, everything that went through my studio went through that and I stopped using it, and I was like, why? It's going through transformers and circuitry, which kind of, like, can give you a little better separation, arguably can give it just a bit of. A bit of a tonal, like, focus, you know? I mean, there's lots of different ways you can do this as well, even if you don't have a summing mixer. One thing that Steve Dubb told me, taught me when we were mixing the beyond the whiz sleeve album together, right, was what we were doing is when we had all the stems ready, we were literally just passing, like, the sums, like the drums, the bass, the guitar, the vocals, through a culture vulture. But the culture vulture wasn't really doing anything. It was like you'd listen to it and you toggle it, and it's minor, minor, minor, minor amount of whatever. But just from doing that, it just kind of. It just does something. It kind of, you can say, maybe shaves off a few of the something at the very top and very bottom or whatever, or it just focuses it in and you.
Erol Alkan:
And then when you kind of bring it back in, you listen to it. It sounds a little bit different. It sounds a bit more open at one point, I think might have done it on some of the mystery jet scenes did later pier as well. But we'd do, like, the stem mixes. You do a mix, you put it down to tape or whatever, and then you'd run off all the stems. And then we used to then do a digital bounce of the stems as they were sitting in the project, like eight channels or whatever. Eight channels. And then go between that and the bounce that we'd done, the summed bounce, and that would sound different as well.
Erol Alkan:
And we ended up sometimes using that version because there was just a little bit more space in it somehow. I really, if I was to be pushed to explain the science on it, I don't think I could, like, convincingly. But, you know, I trust my ears, which is, I think all you can do in this, you know, in this game, you know. So, yeah, I found that, you know, sometimes you'll do these kind of things, and it's a little bit, you know, not what you would expect, but it sounds good. You know, what's really important as well is to. Is, you know, if it sounds right, it's right, you know, and also the whole thing.
Will Betts:
Joe meek quote.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, if it sounds right is right. But also, you know, it's, you know, not to get too, you know, bogged down and stuff, because I tend to find that some people can kind of really kind of extinguish the excitement from what they're doing by kind of going too deep into that thing of, like, oh, it's this or it's that or, I haven't got this or whatever. And it's just like me on Commodore 64.
Chris Barker:
That was all excitement, was exchange.
Erol Alkan:
You need to make sure that you're kind of moving to what you're doing. You know, that's really, really important.
Chris Barker:
So item one. Are we thinking this Chandler, then? Is that what we're doing?
Erol Alkan:
I would definitely have the Chandler. Yeah, I'd definitely have a Chandler.
Will Betts:
I'm going to upsell you. Don't you actually really want an EMI TG 12345 mixing console?
Erol Alkan:
The real thing?
Will Betts:
The real thing. You could have the real thing from Abbey Road.
Erol Alkan:
Oh, God. I could connect. I could. Why am I being so, like, loyal?
Chris Barker:
That's why we're here. Up selling dreams.
Will Betts:
I mean, Chandler, great gear. And it's all based on this stuff. But you could go, can we just.
Erol Alkan:
Also address something about, like, if you were to say to me, you know, I'll give you a new Korg MS 20, a new one I've got. Or you can have an old vintage one.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
Or you offer me, you know, an Arp 2600. A new one or an old one. I would probably go for the new one.
Will Betts:
Why?
Erol Alkan:
Because I feel that I've got a lot of old stuff and it keeps going wrong and it keeps. It slows me down. It holds me back. And some of the things like the Corgi MS 20, new one, and, like, for example, the monopoly clone that I've got, I think, sounds as good. You know, I mean, fair play to the new pro one copies that they've made. I've got a lot of people who have had pro one s for a very long time. And they're super, super, super picky about what they like, what they don't like. And they're like, it's as good.
Erol Alkan:
And I think that.
Chris Barker:
And it only has to get so close. Then you have the reliability factor, and it's like, the reliability is really important.
Erol Alkan:
I mean, I know, like, every time a vintage synth breaks down and it's.
Chris Barker:
Months, right, to go out, get.
Erol Alkan:
Send it off somewhere, and it costs you half the value of the synth to get back and whatever.
Chris Barker:
One of the five people in the UK that can actually repair it as well.
Erol Alkan:
Exactly. And also, if you're one of the few people who can afford to do that as well, you know, it's like, it's I love vintage gear. You know, I've got an old polyvox synth that runs on diesel. You know, I mean, it doesn't know what it wants to make, what kind of sound it wants to make. You know, it's got a mind of its own, and I love that for that. And I don't want that to be reliable, but there's certain things that I need to be reliable, you know? So I think it's mixing and matching on these things, but taking on an old EMI forever studio. Forever studio. But is, you know, like, keeping it maintained.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Well, we do actually have a forever studio maintenance tech who's available.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. 24 724. Seven. Yeah. Okay. In that case, does that change things? It does change it, yeah. Because, you know, you want. You know, if these things are gonna work, you know, when they need to work, then.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. If we're fantasizing here, then absolutely. You know, what if we're talking about rather than you? You're right, actually. Why don't I just go for a neve desk instead if there's gonna be a tech around a Neve VR? Because that one they had in the garden was the one that we mixed fantasy black channel on. No, we didn't. We mixed that in the strong rooms. Was it a neve? They had a neve. They had a ne VR in the strong rooms.
Erol Alkan:
Room one, I think.
Chris Barker:
One strong room is. Yeah, I think one's a Neve and one's an sl. Right.
Erol Alkan:
Strong room. Yeah.
Will Betts:
VR 60. Strong room one.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, yeah, that one.
Will Betts:
That one. And do you want the one from strong room?
Chris Barker:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Erol Alkan:
Why not?
Will Betts:
Great.
Erol Alkan:
Money's no issue. I'm dreaming.
Chris Barker:
We had.
Erol Alkan:
And as a tech, we had the.
Chris Barker:
Guys from strong room on season one.
Erol Alkan:
Was it one?
Chris Barker:
Yeah, season one. So, yeah, we had Jake from. From strong room, so. Yeah. Sorry, the desk is gone.
Erol Alkan:
Right, that's it.
Chris Barker:
Item number two.
Erol Alkan:
Let's.
Chris Barker:
Let's move on to the next item.
Erol Alkan:
Okay. I'm. Number two would be.
Chris Barker:
You're gonna need some monitors.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. Then I'd be the Genlec 1031 A's. Bam.
Chris Barker:
Look at that straight away.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, because I love genlet monitors. And I'll tell you why. Because they're really great to write with that. They're really great to. Really flattering. So whatever you're doing sounds and feels good, and it keeps inspiring you to keep going. And also, I really love mixing on them, but obviously, I have other speakers as well that I go between, but those are the main ones. And I think when you go down.
Chris Barker:
The range of, or up the range of genelecs as well. They stay quite consistent. That's what I like about them. Like, if you work somewhere, even on the little ones brought, like, on sort of the broadcast style radio studio ones, they just sound like the big ones, but without the low end or, you know, they don't. They don't change significantly from across the range. They sort of pretty consistent. So if you work on one set, you can generally work on a lot of them, like, if you go to other people's places.
Erol Alkan:
And you know what? I actually got into Genlex because through the generosity of Dave and Steph Solwax back in, like, 2004, I think it was, when I just said to them, like, I said, oh, you know, I don't have any monitors. Like, what do you think I should try to get? I didn't know where to start with monitors, you know, and they just, oh, hey, we've got some gen lex you can use. And they brought them over from Belgium, this is. But they're super, super jet generous and kind like that. You know, they're sort of. And have you got any of their.
Chris Barker:
Other kit probably in play.
Erol Alkan:
Right.
Chris Barker:
I was gonna say we had them on the podcast, and they kept forgetting that they had kit in, like, Australia or. Oh, didn't we lend that to.
Erol Alkan:
That's in a warehouse.
Will Betts:
Warehouse, yeah, that's in a warehouse somewhere.
Erol Alkan:
I had their chroma. Their fender chroma, yes. A couple of years ago. And also there was another synth as well. I had a string machine, a Logan string machine of theirs as well, which I used loads, loads of things. But, you know, it was there and it was looked after and it was used. And then when they'd finally remembered I'd had it, I was like, oh, yeah, yeah, hold on. That's yours, is it? I did actually tell them, but also with the Genlex as well.
Erol Alkan:
Like, I mean, you know, I had them feet for years, and I was like, hey, I've still got your genlex. Like, so when I got the bigger ones, they were the 1030s.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
And, you know, I kind of. I really liked how they sounded and I got used to them. And every time I'd go into a studio, I'd make sure, you know, that they had Genelec set up as well, alongside whatever else they had. So even if they had, like, they.
Chris Barker:
Became your ns ten.
Erol Alkan:
Well, there was always ns ten s there as well. Always. To be honest, if you in, like, tracking stuff, you kind of set it up on the ns ten s. Really? And then switched to the genlex.
Chris Barker:
So can we. There must be some more upselling of dreams here.
Erol Alkan:
1031 a's. And also they're discontinued, I believe.
Chris Barker:
Okay.
Erol Alkan:
So. Yeah. Yeah. But I know that they do. The ones. They do. Ones where they like.
Chris Barker:
Correct. To the room. Yes.
Will Betts:
Those on before, the Sam monitors.
Erol Alkan:
They're much bigger, aren't they? Good question.
Will Betts:
No, they look about the same size, but I could be wrong there.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Do you want to go with the ones you like?
Erol Alkan:
You can just keep the ones, can you? Is there.
Chris Barker:
We're showing a picture now for those listening.
Erol Alkan:
Okay.
Chris Barker:
But they're the square ones as well. They're not the egg shaped genelecs either.
Erol Alkan:
Oh. I gotta say, I'm not a huge fan of egg shaped things. Just generally, I like eggs.
Chris Barker:
What could say? What about eggs?
Erol Alkan:
I've got an egg shaped air fryer at the moment. Oh. I was thinking of switching it for a more rectangular shape. I just. I don't know why.
Chris Barker:
I've just unnerving.
Erol Alkan:
I.
Chris Barker:
Did you watch alien as a child?
Erol Alkan:
Maybe. It might be that. I don't know. It's, um.
Chris Barker:
Those. Those egg monitors you would have hated then.
Erol Alkan:
Oh, well, they.
Will Betts:
Those were Monroe sonic.
Chris Barker:
Monroe sonic eggs.
Erol Alkan:
Right.
Chris Barker:
Egg shaped speakers.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, apparently.
Chris Barker:
Good, because of the acoustics.
Erol Alkan:
Right.
Chris Barker:
Because they.
Will Betts:
That was the theory.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. I've got junior 149s as well, which are the cylinders, you know. Yeah, those are my hi fi. Um, but they're based on the old BBC monitors.
Chris Barker:
Okay. So we're gonna lock it.
Erol Alkan:
Genelec ten. Let's just go with it, I think. Yeah.
Will Betts:
Love it.
Chris Barker:
You know, we can always. When we go back, you can. You'll hear it and you'll.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. Active as well. So I don't need to choose an amp as well.
Will Betts:
Yeah. So item number three, then.
Erol Alkan:
Okay. So I built a compressor. Or I had a compressor built for me. It was basically an SSL clone. Okay. It was built by a guy pom, who built the boiler.
Will Betts:
Oh, the guy who does the palm childs.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. Fairchilds clunks so he built me a compressor. I said to him, I want an SSL compressor on steroids. And he built it for me.
Chris Barker:
Only equipment and things are allowed to be on steroids is a good thing, whereas humans, it's seen as a bad thing, isn't it? Generally, nobody goes, I want, like.
Will Betts:
It depends on the community.
Chris Barker:
He's like a normal human, but on steroids, nobody says that. But with gear and stuff, it's acceptable.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
They go on what kind of gear.
Erol Alkan:
Are you talking about? On steroids.
Chris Barker:
Okay, sorry.
Erol Alkan:
It was like supercharged. Like, it was just like, you know, the spinal tap of compressors. You know, it went to eleven sort of things and also he put a neve width module on it because when you. All the way to the right and you get the complete. Just the phase signal you can then hear your clocking. So if back then, if things were. This is when computers were a lot it was built in like 2006 or seven, 2008, 2006, seven, eight. So that if it was.
Erol Alkan:
If you didn't have. Right, you can. It still sounds digital and fragmented and stuff and you can hear that in the, in the sides, like more so than in the middle sore thing. So you go all the way. I mean it never really sounded like that to me but apparently that's what it did and it was called the Mustafa SSL 3000 or 4000 or something like that. It was 3000, I remember SSL 400 circuit, I believe. Wow. And you know, it's my own compressor.
Erol Alkan:
I actually had another one. I had one, I felt one made for Dave and Steph as well.
Chris Barker:
Yes.
Erol Alkan:
I think there's one sitting in their studio as well. Do we. I mean you know if I. If I'm coming out the chandler. Or in this case it would still be. No, it'd be the neve now near the neve. If it's coming out the neve it'd be. That'd be across it, you know and.
Will Betts:
So it's a what, like a G series bus compressor? Are we talking or.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, it's based on the. The outboard SSL compressor.
Will Betts:
Oh, so just a stereo compressor?
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, yeah, it's not based on the. It's not a desk one but, yeah, it's. But it's. It's got more umph to it if you need it. I don't know how he did it but put some extra high powered caps in there or something. So he's a clever bloke as well. Very clever bloke. Yeah, yeah, I mean.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, I mean he's. I mean he's built me a whole bunch of things. Like I would sometimes find junk like in a, in a junk shop, you know, just some valves or whatever, like on their own and I'd be like can you like turn this into something? I could pass audio through and stick an EQ on it and it'd be like, yeah sure, I need to do it. Put the box off. I've just got loads of handmade stuff in my studio. Just because you just come across things. And it's like, well, what would happen if you just put sound through it? What would it sound like? I've got an old fifties. What is it? It's some kind of amp and it's free valves in there.
Erol Alkan:
And so there are three different types of distortions. So we just, like, turn it into a distortion unit, you know. So I've got about half a dozen things that are handmade in my studio.
Chris Barker:
Amazing.
Erol Alkan:
That's very cool. And they've been used on stuff, you know, you'll just be like, well, just whack the drums through that. Or, you know, I just find it as, you know. You know when people say, oh, you know, if you stick like, your drums through, like an old, like, ems, like synthe or whatever, it sounds great, you know, it's like, yeah, you just. You're just putting it through some circuitry and you like how it sounds on the other end. Yeah. It's just the same principle. You know.
Erol Alkan:
If you haven't got an eight grand sixties synthesizer you might have a. Something that you found in a junk shop that will give you something different. Whether you use it or not is up to you, you know. But to have that opportunity, you know, I think you've got two items left. Okay.
Chris Barker:
On the studio ghee. Sorry, three items left.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Three items left.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
So we're going with the SSL, the Mustafa ssl.
Chris Barker:
How any the boutique thing is gonna make it onto your forever studio.
Will Betts:
For item number four, you've got the SSL.
Erol Alkan:
But item number four, I mean, that is the main. That is the main one. I don't think anything else I'd really wanna take in. But I've already got a neve desk. Right. Yeah. But I bought a Trident flexi mix in like, 2006, I think it was. And it's like 22 channel desk of like a class double desk.
Chris Barker:
I'm liking this so far.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, it's insane. Yeah. Okay, keep going. It was. Well, basically it's like all. It's like top Trident circuits, like op amps and stuff in there and eqs and whatever. And originally they. Trident made these as monitoring desks for queen, apparently.
Erol Alkan:
And I think, I believe dare by the human league was mixed on one. And I also heard. I heard conflicting things that spiders from Mars was also mixed on it as well. But that might not be true. Or maybe part of it was tracked for it. I can imagine it from tracking because of just like. Yeah, I mean, the priests on it. Super.
Erol Alkan:
And. But what I did was, I really love how it sounds but I can't cart a 22 channel desk to other studios with me. So I had. The way the Trident flexi mix works is it breaks apart. Oh, nice. So you can pull a bucket. It's called a bucket, and you can pull a bucket out, and it's connected by cards and you've got eight channels. So I had a power supply modded onto it, put into a flight case, and I can take it wherever I want to go to.
Erol Alkan:
And I've got eight Trident Prixs and eqs, which you can use alongside anything else. So that is very cool. So would that be your one? Yeah, because I love Neve Prez as well, but it's nice to have an option. Yeah.
Will Betts:
You know, you've only got two items left. I notice you've got a lot of preamps here. You got preamps in your interface, you've got preamps in your neve, you've got preamps in the trident. You don't have any instruments yet.
Chris Barker:
Or microphones.
Will Betts:
Or microphones.
Erol Alkan:
Okay. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. All right. So, yeah, okay. All right, all right, all right, all right.
Will Betts:
Mild panic setting in.
Erol Alkan:
I would. You know what, microphone wise, just a good all rounder would probably be.
Chris Barker:
It's definitely what you're gonna need with two items left.
Erol Alkan:
SM seven B. Sure.
Will Betts:
As we're using right now.
Erol Alkan:
As we're using right now. I mean, because it's, you know, I would have also said an Re 20 as well, because, for instance, whatever instrument you want to put that across, that's always sounds fantastic. I've always loved them also, but this is more niche. But that Kohl's. And I can't remember the model number of it. It's the coals. We called it the pterodactyl because it looked like a dinosaur.
Will Betts:
The sort of egg shaped one.
Chris Barker:
Not. It's not egg shaped.
Erol Alkan:
Not egg shaped. I'm so sorry. Sorry, sorry. Please stay. It's not the ribbon. It's not the ribbon. It's the one that's a cardioid and a ribbon, I believe.
Will Betts:
Oh, the ball and biscuit thing, is it?
Erol Alkan:
No, it's literally looks like a. Is it the 43, 44 or something like that?
Will Betts:
Tell us a bit more about your experience with it.
Erol Alkan:
Oh, that was one. We'd always put it on the. In front of a drum kit and just, like, compress the hell out of it. And it always sounded great. And you'd kind of build your drum sound around that a little bit, you know? But it's also. If you only had, like, two mics on a kit, you know, I'd want that at the front.
Chris Barker:
That could be your last two items, those two mics.
Erol Alkan:
Or. Oh, God. Well, I'd only go for one mic.
Chris Barker:
Okay.
Erol Alkan:
Really? Yeah, I'd go for one mic. I'd go for. I go for the SM seven B. I think it. Because I think it's just super versatile and that's been a choice before, I think, as well. It's like.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, for that reason it's fine.
Erol Alkan:
There's also an audio technica one if you're on a budget. And I remember I had it recommended to me. Is it audio Technica 40. 40? Is that.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, that's a thing. That's a thing.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, I had one that's like a black one. Yeah, yeah.
Will Betts:
I had very standard looking condenser, but.
Erol Alkan:
That'S a really good all rounder if you like. That's the best. Back when I got 100 quid.
Will Betts:
Is it about three to 400 quid?
Erol Alkan:
About how much it cost when I got it in like probably about almost 20 years ago maybe something like that. And that was recommended to me off the back of. That's the best all round of mic you can get for under 800 pounds or something like that. And I really like that. I really like. All my microphones are a combination of kind of. I've got a Sony that I got, apparently used to blog to John Entwistle and the number, the more numbers.
Will Betts:
The one with the big sink on.
Erol Alkan:
The back, it's like a something 20. Oh, wow, Sony. You're really testing c 40.
Will Betts:
C 48.
Erol Alkan:
C 48. That's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. C 48. But I like, you know, I like, you know, like I say, it's a combination of like cheap stuff, you know, and not crazy. I mean, I don't own like a Neumann micro that I don't think I could ever justify buying one. To most of you, like spending 8000 pound on a microphone or something like that. It's just.
Erol Alkan:
It's just not in my. Sorry, but like the. It doesn't work for me in that way. I would rather. I would have to work with the limitation that I've got. Yeah. You know, if I. If I can only get a seven b or an audio technica or, you know, this Sony thing that I bought off giant whistle, you know, for not much as well.
Chris Barker:
Well, let's move on to your final item. Speaking of limitations again, what's going on?
Erol Alkan:
Really? Yeah. Loads of preamps.
Chris Barker:
So far. You're making music forever. Wizard logic and a microphone essentially.
Will Betts:
And a lot of preamps.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. But you know what? I've actually done a lot of stuff in production. I use my voice a lot. Like, I'll make. I'll make sounds with my voice and put it into samplers and use those as, like, pads or percussion even. Yeah. You know, well, if the sound's in.
Chris Barker:
Your head, you can nearly get it there. Can you?
Will Betts:
I mean, within reason, right? I mean, yeah. I mean, you're never gonna be Beyonce, but, like, yeah, you might be able to. I mean, what kind of noises are you making?
Erol Alkan:
What do you mean? Loads of different things. On a mystery jets track. You know, there's a track called velding Gray on there. We had, like, we called them gob hats because I wanted to accentuate the open hi hat part on the rhythm. And I was like, yeah, I wouldn't be a focal thing. So caps was playing the open hi hat bit on there, and we all went around a microphone and we did the part to accentuate it and brought that in to me. And it kind of. It just sounds a little bit.
Erol Alkan:
It just, you know, it's a little bit wonky because the rhythm is kind of wonky. So wanting to kind of push that aspect of it more. And, you know, I kind of, like, I've done it also with, like, pad noises and stuff. Like, you'll have a synth part, but then you pick up a mic and then you'll hum the same thing in there. Then you mimic, you know, filter it off and modulate it a bit and then you get another layer.
Chris Barker:
I don't think people do this enough, because people don't.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
It's the easiest way to get a unique sound. Yeah. Like distance from the mic. The mic. You're using your own voice immediately. There's loads of variables that cannot be recreated.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. If you listen to the beyond the wizardsleaf mix of reanimation of the bears are coming by late, it appear there's a horn part in there and a big part of that is my voice.
Chris Barker:
We had jungle on the podcast, and we're surprised to hear that a lot of the horns on there. Record on Jungle's record was just mouth.
Erol Alkan:
Mouth trumpet, that kind of thing. Yeah, I mean. I mean, there was a bit. I mean, there's some real horns in there as well, but, like, yeah, double dying. And I really love the natural modulation that your voice brings on things. And it's from. I don't know, it's. It's.
Erol Alkan:
It's your voice.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
It's. You want to connect with other humans, like, use it to your advantage, you know, rather than, you know, you can synthesize stuff and that. That's great. Obviously, you know, I'll get to that for my final thing. Probably some form of synthesis, but, like. But I. I really like.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
Using my voice in times. You know, there's. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Then synth is going to be the final item. Is it? And what's the old on you? He kind of wants to be versatile as well. Do you?
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, I.
Chris Barker:
Do you want something polyphonic or is it monophonic?
Erol Alkan:
I really. I tell you what, the synthetic that is my, like, what I love the most in the studio. And it's the first synth I bought, the octave cat. I love it. But that's got mine of its own as well. It's an animal. But I really. I bought a Juno six in, like, 2001 for, like, 170 quid.
Erol Alkan:
A blue audio in angel don't. If you remember that store. That was great. I put so many synths out of there. And when it closed down, I was gutted because. Weird.
Chris Barker:
It went under. Selling Juno's at 170 quid. Well, yeah, no, I know.
Erol Alkan:
Back in the day, I bought two arps from there. Bought an avatar, an arp axe from there. I bought Hofner bass. I bought my arp. No, my name mentioned Octave, which apparently used to belong to Dan Donovan from big audio dynamite. And he found out who I know as well. So I was kind of funny getting that. The one thing I know I wouldn't get is one of those huge modulars like the.
Chris Barker:
Well, you'd be. That'd be some kind of bundle.
Will Betts:
Would be a bundle. So you're not allowed it anyway.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, no, exactly. It's just. It's just like that. Yeah. I mean, I have. I haven't really dabbled in that side of things, to be honest with you.
Will Betts:
Because you're talking about the immediacy element as well.
Erol Alkan:
Right. Yeah. I just don't have the patience.
Will Betts:
And so, I mean, you said the Juno six.
Erol Alkan:
I just love. I just love the voice. I love its voice. I love the tone of it. It's just really. I find it really an emotional synthesizer. Really. I don't know.
Erol Alkan:
I just really connect. I've always connected with it and I've used it on so many things.
Chris Barker:
Again, it's a popular choice because it's immediate, but it's not limited.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
It's a strange. It's a perfect balance between it not being complicated, but you can get loads of variety of sound out of it.
Erol Alkan:
And you can also, like, you know, it's not really known. It's not really valued for bass, but for its bass sound as such. Because people tend to go for moves and stuff like that, or mogs and that for bases. But you can get an amazing.
Chris Barker:
It's on loads of records as bass as well.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, but it's always.
Will Betts:
You must have used it for bass on some records.
Erol Alkan:
I have actually. I have used it for it, yeah. But it's like. It's. People, I think, naturally, kind of gravitate to, I think, because it's. It's. It's so revered for. It's like pad nature and that kind of modulation and stuff like that.
Erol Alkan:
And the chorus.
Chris Barker:
The chorus on.
Erol Alkan:
It's beautiful as well, obviously, you know. But, yeah, I kind of. It's. It's tough for me to commit to something that I don't have experience of. Like, I could say, you know, like. Like some extraordinary rare synth.
Chris Barker:
But this is June 6. Not 60, not 106?
Erol Alkan:
No, the six. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, again, because I feel. I know, inside out, so I probably wouldn't want to lose that.
Chris Barker:
All right, well, let's pause. Let's lock that in and then have a listen.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
So will's going to take you through what you've just selected. Before we get onto your final. Before you get on to your final luxury item. So will, set the scene for us here.
Will Betts:
We're in north London in a studio complex populated by the great and the good of music production. With a great sounding live room based on conk. The computer is a Mac mini M two. And that's a bargain at only 1049 pounds.
Erol Alkan:
Great.
Will Betts:
If you want to upgrade, your interface is an Apollo X eight P. Your DAW is logic Pro X. And for your six items, you've chosen a Neve VR 60, the one from strongroom. For your speakers, you've chosen Genelec 1031. As you've chosen the custom pom audio designs SSL compressor clone called the Mustapha SSL 3000. You have a trident preamp bucket from the Fleximix. A short SM seven B for your microphone. And your one and only synthesizer is a Juno six.
Will Betts:
How does that work for you?
Chris Barker:
Sounds all right, actually.
Erol Alkan:
I think I'm gonna need some more ins and outs, aren't I? Digitally? Well, you're gonna run that VR off an Apollo. Could I just swap that out for a HD rig? Like just some kind of.
Will Betts:
Sure. You can change it to pro Tools HD rig?
Erol Alkan:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
A massive one.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. I'm gonna need it, aren't I? So I didn't think this through properly, did I? Which is exactly.
Chris Barker:
That's the point of the podcast.
Erol Alkan:
My studio, when I put together, I'm sort of like, I'm gonna need more than this. I'm gonna need more than that. So.
Chris Barker:
Well, let's think.
Will Betts:
You could do everything you needed to do with that, though. Say you've got the pro tools hd rig. You've got just one microphone, one synthesizer.
Erol Alkan:
I mean, using logic with everything that it has inside of it. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know, in respect of, you know, I. I've done a lot of things with just using onboard logic stuff or stuff within that bought into logic, because obviously we're discounting sampled sounds and whatever, so. Yeah, I think so. Great. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
Forever locked in.
Erol Alkan:
I think so.
Chris Barker:
So now, before we get to the end of the podcast, we have the non gear related luxury item. So something you want in your studio that isn't a bit of studio kit.
Erol Alkan:
I made a baffler. Right. A sound baffler. Okay. Right. A massive one right at the back of the room above the couch.
Chris Barker:
How difficult was it to make?
Erol Alkan:
Not hard. So I made a whole load of them before what I built.
Chris Barker:
Not baffling.
Erol Alkan:
I wasn't baffled by it. No, great, great. But I had. I used, like, this kind of acoustic fabric, and I had a picture of Donna Summer printed onto the fabric. Cool. Because. Because every time when I'm in the studio, I find that photograph of her and her smile and just her general aura, just. Just like.
Erol Alkan:
It's like sunlight in the room, you know?
Chris Barker:
And those records as well, of course, yeah.
Erol Alkan:
I mean, even those records. Anything to do with sound, just that smile. I mean, that's. That beauty, that image, because that was.
Chris Barker:
Kind of a big inspiration for new orders, blue Monday, wasn't it? Like the Donna Summer record.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah, it was. Our love was. Yeah. I mean, it isn't even about music. It's. It's. It's. It's just her.
Erol Alkan:
You know, it's just her whole. It's what she transmits. It's just beautiful. And so we have that at the.
Chris Barker:
Back of the control room or in the live room.
Erol Alkan:
I'd have it behind me in the control room. So you weren't really staring at the image whilst you're working? But I find that every time I turn around, it always surprises me. I always get smile from it the same way, like you just mentioned, like, you know, new order. Whenever I hear blue Monday, I hear it like I'm hearing it for the first time, every time I hear it, for some reason, I don't know, I'm not bored of that record. There's certain things that just have such a hold on you that.
Will Betts:
Is it.
Chris Barker:
40 years or so? 45 years.
Erol Alkan:
It's 40 years for Blue Monday. Yeah. Wow. Which is nuts.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. And it does still sound like you said the first time every time you hear it.
Erol Alkan:
Yeah. And I mean, I'm gonna need, I'm gonna need bafflers in the room, in the control room anyway.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Erol Alkan:
So perfect. Be a massive one behind me with, like I have in my studio with Donna.
Chris Barker:
Excellent.
Erol Alkan:
Lovely.
Chris Barker:
Well, or a cat.
Will Betts:
Let's go, Donna.
Chris Barker:
You get pets. You get pets and your loved ones and stuff, so. Okay, well, that, that concludes the building of the my forever studio for error Alkan. So thank you so much, error. Thank you for joining us. Okay, well, thanks for tuning in. We will see you next week for more adventures in the studio for Everdom. Goodbye.
Erol Alkan:
Bye.