Blake Robin aka Luxxury is an artist, producer, DJ and remixer, known for his iconic edits. But you might also know him as the co-host of the celebrated One Song podcast. This time, we chart his journey from drummer to producer via a collection of important four-track tapes. We also talk musical gatekeeping, keeping a DIY punk-rock ethos in the studio, and find out which legendary artists he'd pilfer instruments from.
Blake Robin aka Luxxury is an artist, producer, DJ and remixer, known for his iconic edits. But you might also know him as the co-host of the celebrated One Song podcast. This time, we chart his journey from drummer to producer via a collection of important four-track tapes. We also talk musical gatekeeping, keeping a DIY punk-rock ethos in the studio, and find out which legendary artists he'd pilfer instruments from.
Season 7 of the My Forever Studio Podcast is supported by Audient, and the incredible new iD48 audio interface.
https://audient.com/
https://audient.com/products/audio-interfaces/id48/
STUFF WE TALK ABOUT (SPOILERS AHEAD)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_(2010_film)
https://www.ableton.com/en/live/
https://focusrite.com/products/scarlett-18i20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass_Point_Studios
https://johnbonham.co.uk/drumsetup/drums.html
https://www.gear4music.com/Drums-and-Percussion/Ludwig-Vistalite-Zep-Set-26-5pc-Shell-Pack-Amber-with-LM402-Snare/1YRS
https://equipboard.com/pros/cliff-burton
https://www.behringer.com/series.html?category=R-BEHRINGER-TRUTHSERIES
https://www.neumann.com/en-gb/products/microphones/u-87-ai
https://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/product/u47/
https://www.neumann.com/en-gb/products/microphones/u-67-set
https://www.ableton.com/en/push/
https://www.ableton.com/en/move/
https://www.trufru.co.uk/product/pineapple-white-chocolate-coconut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Blackwell
Chris Barker:
Hi, I'm Chris Barker.
Will Betts:
And I'm Will Betts and this is the music tech My Forever Studio Podcast brought to you in partnership with Audient.
Chris Barker:
In this podcast, we speak with musicians, DJs, engineers and producers about the Fantasy Forever Studio.
Will Betts:
The Fantasyland studio that our guests dream up is one that they must live with for the rest of time. But even in the world of Studio foreverdom, we have a few rules.
Chris Barker:
Indeed, our guests will select a computer, a DAW and an audio interface. Those are free items that we let everybody choose. Then our guests will choose just six other bits of studio gear, plus one non studio related luxury item.
Will Betts:
However, choosing something sold as a package of separate software or hardware as a single item is not allowed.
Chris Barker:
Our guest this time is an artist, producer, songwriter, touring DJ and remixer whose edits have become legendary.
Will Betts:
That's right. And you might also know him as one half of the hosting duo behind the hugely popular One Song podcast.
Chris Barker:
Indeed. But with so many talents and so much musical knowledge, how will he decide his Forever Studio in just six precious bits of kit?
Will Betts:
Let's find out. This is my Forever Studio with Luxury.
Chris Barker:
Welcome, welcome.
Luxxury:
Hello. Good to be here. What a flattering introduction. Thank you.
Chris Barker:
Well, I've been playing your edits for a long, long time and, you know, all over the podcast as well. And yeah, apologies about the pun in the intro. We have a Luxury studio item.
Luxxury:
You can't escape it. I've chosen a name that is inescapably bound to be. If you, if you have heard of me or know my music for the rest of your life, you'll get a little bit of a. Oh, I said that it's just the way it is. Oh, oh, it's just a little.
Chris Barker:
Oh, it's just one of those little luxuries, I guess.
Luxxury:
Unavoidable. No, I mean, I think I love the idea that it's infiltrated your consciousness and it's incepted. It's like a little free advertising, rent free in your head forever. Yeah, but no, I certainly didn't realize it would be as effective as it has apparently become.
Chris Barker:
Incredible. Right, well, you heard a little bit of the plan of this, of this podcast of trying to like sort of shrink down your studio. But before we get into any of that, let's talk a bit like a bit about your background and, you know, and making music predominantly. I mean, there'll be a lot of people that sort of know you as the musical knowledge man from the podcast. But, you know, obviously making music was where it all began. Right.
Luxxury:
I mean, fandom is where it all began. I would say that just being an obsessive music aholic, listening to records as a teen and reading the liner notes, I mean, you know, no small thing about music knowledge. I wonder what it would be like now to start from the same starting point at eight, you know, as a teenager. Because when I would buy a new order record, I'd look at, well that's a bad example because they had no information. When I would buy any other band's music, you would look on the back and you would see titles that would correlate to the music, the song title. You would sort of have a sense of tracks one through five on side one, not to mention the performers and what they look like and placing faces to names. And nowadays it's so easy to love a band and not be aware of a single maybe band member's name or you know, truly having a sense for what the flow of an album is because you just sort of listen one song at a time in a mix. So my starting point is being a fan and then wanting to understand how to make it.
Luxxury:
I had friends in high school who were guitar players and I could, I didn't know how to make music. So I was, I was their drummer. So at least I could show up and hang with them and then into college drumming, into, into importantly into my career. Like I still, I wasn't really a musician. I was trying but failing to participate in somebody else's musical project. As a drummer you're limited. You're just like waiting for the call. As a non writing drummer, I should say.
Luxxury:
And then my life changed because of gear. Because in New York City I would just be. I had my guitar, I had a little four track and I would just come up with riffs and then they would just sit there and accumulate over the course of, you know, one minute to the next in that tape I would never go back and listen to. I didn't know how to like take what these ideas were and string them together and make something complete out of them. So I had this stack of tapes when I left New York and I came to San Francisco and I bought Pro Tools and I looked at Pro Tools and I looked at the tapes and I was like, how does this become that? And I found an ad in Craigslist where somebody was offering to help some people set up their home studios. And it was the early days of the 001, the Digi 001 Pro tools because they're the first consumer grade. It was $1,000 is a lot of money before the Mbox.
Will Betts:
Oh yeah.
Luxxury:
And somebody came over and helped set it up. And she input. Her name was Patti Boss. Full credit. I love you Patti Boss till the day I die. Because you took that stack of like 30 tapes that had like 50 riffs each. I had like a thousand dumb ideas. And she put them digitally into a file so I could rearrange visually and start to piece together.
Luxxury:
Oh wait, idea 90 on tape 20. I like that. That's a hooky verse potentially. Oh, this is a hooky chorus. And gradually I put narrowed down those 30 tapes into one tape which was called the B B T A L L tape. And I would drive around listening to best bits together. At long last was that particular acronym. And finally it clicked and my first batch of material came from the computer, enabling my brain to find songs in all these ideas floating around.
Luxxury:
First my brain and then these four tracks which were useless to me. I admire anyone who's ever written a song based on using a Tascam. Like I just could do it.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, it's quite. It's quite difficult that we've become quite visual creatures with music and it's. But it was such a leg up, wasn't it, when you could see.
Luxxury:
I think it's also a personality type or a brain type. Just the way I was built was I needed to see it in order for. Even though it's music ironically, I had to see on the page just what all of the ideas were so I could allocate them properly.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, like a puzzle you had to solve rather than.
Luxxury:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I've always thought of it as like a tapestry, a visual puz. So you know the band Justice. I was taken when I heard their early interviews where they were talking about themselves being designers and using GarageBand. It totally made sense to me. Hearing what their music sounded like, knowing they were designers and using this very simple tool set like GarageBand in the earliest days was like, you know, it's like Fruity Loops. It's all you need. Like it's proof positive that the tool matters less than the creativity.
Luxxury:
But I totally got that they were piecing together ideas visually. I just loved. I totally connected with that.
Chris Barker:
Well, that whole French scene had that. I think I interviewed Mr. Wazzo once and. Cause he was like. He was like a film filmmaker.
Luxxury:
He's a filmmaker. Oh, you're right.
Chris Barker:
So like flatbeat and he's made these weird.
Luxxury:
These weird like horror movies about tires.
Will Betts:
Eating you and stuff.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, he was basically kind of, I guess like John Carpenter style, where kind of just was wanting to make music for his movies. And he. He made like analog Worms Attack, the album with flatbeat and stuff on it. That was kind of. I think he did it in video software because I asked him how. How he got that kind of wonk to stuff.
Luxxury:
Mm.
Chris Barker:
And in a very sort of classic French, nonchalant way, smoking a cigarette, all the cliches. But he was so cool. He was just like, yeah, I just used my one finger. And he. Because he didn't have, like, he didn't have bars in his. His door was for video, so he only had frames.
Luxxury:
It wasn't gridded out musically, so it wasn't gritted out.
Chris Barker:
So he would just drag. So he was seeing it where it needed to land, but he was, you know, just by eye. So you would get those kind of little. A few frames out would be so many beats out. So you'd get your kind of wazo time.
Luxxury:
I love that. I totally. I totally identify with that. That's. That's. Yeah. The power of these tools is, like, transformative. Like, I really am such.
Luxxury:
I mean, I don't want to jump ahead, but I will say the tool set that I use, I recommend constantly to people I work with that are musicians but aren't sort of like producers, more like top liners or melodists. Kind of like I was. I'm just making this connection, like in the same way, when I was a drummer, I was at the mercy of other people. I want to empower people, other songwriters I've worked with who are top liners. And I'm always saying, you have just buy. Do what I did. I bought Ableton. I sat in a cafe with the manual for 48 straight hours.
Luxxury:
And I just. Top to bottom. And it doesn't all make sense, like, as you're reading it, but these concepts, like anything, they sort of drip through. And then six months later, you're like, oh, that word nudge. I remember reading that word nudge. Like, oh, that's. That's what I want to do here. So the tools are just incredibly.
Luxxury:
We're very fortunate to live in an era where we have access to these creative creativity unlocking tools. Because I remember the before, this is the after, where I lived through it before. I didn't have access to this.
Chris Barker:
And you don't actually need to read the manual anymore because you just get Google LM to read the manual and then you just ask the questions and it just teaches you. It's amazing, right?
Luxxury:
Or just, you know, Certainly, certainly the YouTube clips and the TikTok clips from those YouTube clips. Like, there's probably a, maybe a German word for this, but there's a phenomenon that I think we've all experienced throughout our lifetimes where the base level of talent just rises over time. Like in 1978 or whatever, like Eddie Van Halen, like out of nowhere, every kid, every 13 year old guitar player can finger tap. It's just like bass line for a musician.
Chris Barker:
But nobody wants that on their songs anymore, so it's. That's the irony.
Luxxury:
Well, yeah, fair point. But the bass level, I mean, you just, if you're like me and your FYP is serving you on TikTok. Just music. Yeah, music, music, music. You know, there's the baseline musicianship. It seems as though for this generation is what the top tier, you know, maybe, maybe minus one might have been in the 70s and 80s.
Chris Barker:
My comment there wasn't a dig at that Van Halen style or tap in particularly. It was the fact that it's. People have an eye and an interest for, you know, high quality performance and virtuosoism, if you could call it that. But only on TikTok. They don't want it in the actual songs on the radio. They don't have like epic solos or, or all of that kind of interesting.
Luxxury:
Right, right.
Chris Barker:
So the music's got like more basic outwardly, but if you do, if they can see you doing it on TikTok, you can get a lot of attention.
Luxxury:
But there's something to what you say. I think I've just been listening to the new Lady Gaga album, Mayhem, because we just did an episode about her. It's just one of those things. I hadn't really paid attention to her other than knowing all of her songs. And then when I was really locked in on researching her for the episode, I realized how talented she is. And I kind of. I think I noticed in the background over the years that she does. She has brought back some stuff.
Luxxury:
In the earliest days she had bridges, you know what I'm saying? Like she and Saxon did things that had been. She had sack solos like Born this Way. She was. She's been very creative about ensuring that there's this incredible balance of simplicity. So dead on melody, radio, earworm hit song bigness that requires a simplicity to it, while also kind of throwing in these little nods to not complexity, but musicianship. Maybe that's the word I'm looking for. So this, this new record, I was trying to count all the hooks on Abracadabra and the fact that she's making use of portamento in the most incredibly, that's not innovative per se, but it is in the moment. It's happening like that is unusual.
Luxxury:
Like it jumps out of the radio to your ear and that is a creative choice. That's. It's musicality, I would say it's. I don't know, there's something special about it that I appreciate and she does it. Throughout this record there'll be these choices and decisions that are like, you know what? I can be Top of the Pops, but also kind of throw stuff in there for the musos. I can throw stuff in there for the instrumentalists, the music historians. You know, I'm going to play a note that's sort of in between all of the notes. We're leaving the 12 tone scale behind.
Luxxury:
It's not even microtones, it's. It's microtones of microtones. So anyway, I thought that was really cool.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, I think it takes a lot of musicianship and like kind of classical training to be able to have that enhance your music and not ruin it in terms of pop. Because I think one of the worst things I ever did was get a little bit of musical knowledge and start playing instruments because I make better music when I was a kind of bit more innocent to the rules.
Luxxury:
There's something to that.
Chris Barker:
I think you have to get really, really good before then you can go. It's like having a little bit of knowledge in cooking and you just start adding too many ingredients. You don't really know what you're doing. And then the Michelin guys just serve you a tomato and it's the best tomato.
Luxxury:
The history of electronic music being made by DJs is so many wrong choices. Like this acapella going with this bass line or whatever it is. And like musically speaking, they rub, there's a note or two or like they're just off by like a few cents in terms of pitch because one's coming off of a vinyl record and it's like a little slower. All of these choices are part of the unusual thing I was alluding to in Gaga. Surprise tends to be the thing about music and not perfection and not finding a new melody or a new set of chord changes. Something just surprising jumping out of the song tends to be what grabs you and that's what you want to go back for. So I think for a lot of electronic music history, you know, I just flashed to, you know, in Marshall Jefferson and Move youe Body, it's like that shit is off. It's like the piano is not matching with the.
Luxxury:
With the 808, so. Or the 909. Maybe it was an 808. I'm not sure. The point is, is like the wrongness oftentimes is what makes it special and different and stand out.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. I mean, I remember Stonebridge, the remix he did of Show Me Love Robin S. That was obviously his.
Luxxury:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
He said that he didn't really know, but that. That thickness between the bass line and the kick was because I think the accident, by accident, the kick was like in like a third key up or something. It basically just sits with that bass line and makes it really thuddy and big and late. It was years later when he worked out that's what he'd done. But at the time it was just like, oh, that sounds good.
Luxxury:
Like, oh, I love that you said that. Yes. 99% of everything I know came sometimes years after doing it or hearing it. I mean, the kind of thing about doing this podcast that's wonderful gives me a chance to slow down in literally within a song, within the stems, which is what we play, and sort of like listen and think about what's happening, how does it make us feel, what did it do for the song? But it's at that level. Like, you're not really doing that when you're making music. Some people are. Yeah, A bunch of people are like, probably. I actually, though, think I was just about to say jazz musicians and.
Luxxury:
Or heavy metal. Like, when you are at that level of technical proficiency that you do know your instrument and your modes and et cetera, I think there are times that you're like a millisecond ahead of playing the Mixolydian scale. You're like, I'm going to go Mixolydian here. But I also think that really often it's after the fact that you put language maybe to what you did. And it's same with. On the mixing and on the production side of things. Sometimes you're like, I think this needs a compressor. But sometimes you're just kind of like experimenting and stuff.
Luxxury:
Just sounds good. And it's later you're like, oh, that's why that sounded good.
Chris Barker:
I spent a lot of time making tutorial videos for various companies with various producers and DJs, very big producers and DJs. And more often than not, it was really difficult to. For them to put into words what they did without it sounding really dumb. And it's not dumb because they were making hit records. But, like, you can't make a tutorial about Somebody that's made a record by literally turning something all the way up and then going. Turning it all the way down and then going, okay, somewhere in the middle. And it's not like, I'm not that brutal, but that's kind of what it is. It's like you're finding out you're walking that road of your equipment and all of the.
Chris Barker:
And clicking buttons and seeing what happens and experimenting.
Luxxury:
But I'm glad you're bringing this up because it's an anti gatekeeping stance. I mean, we talked before we started taping. We're working on our next episode. We're taping on. On the show. One song, Little Shout out to Myself, is about the Clash. So I'm like, steeped in Clash right now. I'm like, living documentaries and books.
Luxxury:
It's really fun. Like, I'm. I'm just absorbing that and it's reminding me, like, oh, duh. Lesson one of punk rock was do it yourself. A. Just get it out there. The creativity matters far more than the perfection and the production. And then, like, you know the cliche about three chords and a.
Luxxury:
What is it? Three chords and a. I forget what the famous line is, but the three chord cliche, besides not being true, but for the most part, you don't need many chords being the idea. I love the fact that. And I kind of maybe the soapbox here that I was inspired by what you just said is I think people shouldn't feel intimidated by their lack of knowledge because I do think it's a fairly common thing when you're talking to other musicians. Even, like, I've noticed it, like, there are some musicians that I'm talking to about coming on the show, and I want to make sure they don't think we're gonna quiz them about, like, what mode they were using.
Chris Barker:
We have that as well on this show.
Luxxury:
And it's like, we're not gonna try and stump you, right?
Chris Barker:
No, no, exactly. Yeah.
Luxxury:
I want to just build people's confidence to push back against this kind of imagined committee of judgment of, like, you know, it's like if you wear a band T shirt and you only know one song, like, it just seems like people will bully that person. Like, okay, name three Nirvana songs. You know, you buy that at Hot Topic, you know, like, or K. And like, I understand where that comes from because people feel a strong connection to a band that they know a lot about and they're, you know, whatever. Like, I. I recognize that because I have a lot of bands and music that I also Adore and am steeped in the lore about. But I feel as though, because culturally we do have this received idea that, like, you might get quizzed about something and humiliated publicly because you didn't know enough, which is, like, insane. Anyone who would do that, their insecurity is what's happening in the conversation.
Luxxury:
And you don't know as much today as you will. Tomor much as the dumb cliche is. I know so much more. We're at episode 78, episode one to episode 78 and episode 156. I'll know that much more than I do today forever. The best case scenario is the learning goes on forever. So I would encourage people to take the punk rock ethos of, like, I want to do it. I'm going to try it.
Luxxury:
And it's not going to be good for a while. But maybe some of those mistakes will be like those rubs I was talking about with, like, early electronic music. Some of those mistakes maybe foment a new genre. Like, you don't even know, like, the imperfect stuff might be what. What makes it special.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, it's. It's doing it enough. And it is quantity. And then you find the quality later. Like, look at you with your tapes. You know what you said? You just got loads and loads of ideas, and you just dig and find it and keep making the. You're not gonna stop doing ideas because idea one wasn't the one.
Luxxury:
No. And you'll always have a ratio of, like, weight, the number of ideas to finished product. I remember there's a Brian Eno documentary that inspired me a while back when I think maybe around the time I was starting, and he said the same thing. He's like. He's pointing to his hard drive or alluding to the fact that it's like, even for Brian Eno, you know, one of my musical idols and icons, it's gonna be the case that you have some terrible ideas that you never go back to. You have some ideas that you start and, like, take to the next level, but they never quite make the final cut. And then there's a bunch of songs you finish, and only 10 or 12 of those make the record. Like, it's always gonna be a huge ratio of, like, initial spark to completed product.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Luxxury:
So generate more like you're saying, just generate, generate, generate.
Chris Barker:
Well, jumping off that punk rock sort of ethos. Are we gonna go punk rock on the My forever studio? Let's. Let's get in. Let's dig into the gear and get the. The three free items out the Way. So.
Luxxury:
So this doesn't count as the dream? Like no. Should I aim high?
Chris Barker:
It's your fantasy. You can have whatever you want.
Luxxury:
Okay.
Will Betts:
There's no budget on anything. Sky's the limit.
Luxxury:
Okay.
Will Betts:
And we're gonna, after this, we're gonna find out where in the world you're gonna put your studio. But tell us about these three free items. First, your computer interface and Daw.
Luxxury:
Well, I'm. I'm too locked into Apple Macintosh, you know, and Ableton. Like they, those are the life changing products for me. Those are the ones. Even though I did start on Pro Tools. And in the middle I think there was reason. By the way, whatever happened to reason? Propeller has a plugin now.
Will Betts:
It's plugin. Yeah.
Luxxury:
Pretty great tool that I just haven't thought about. But Ableton is the one especially because what I make musically involves all of the inputs. It's samples, it's midi, it's me performing for a while. They've still not quite nailed compared to Pro Tools. I'd say the micro of bass and guitar and vocal like stuff I record that is live from instruments or my voice is still a little easier in Pro Tools. But I gave up on it being perfect. I used to rewire them into each other. It was like, it's fine, it's good enough.
Luxxury:
So Ableton is the one. My Mac laptop is the one. And what was my third one?
Will Betts:
Hang on, is it just the Latest and greatest MacBook Pro?
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
Is that all you want?
Luxxury:
I mean it's whatever is on my desktop. Yeah, I guess. This is a MacBook Pro. I'm not terribly precious about it. Sure. This is a pretty good machine. I'm not, you know, I'm not using like something from the late 90s or you know.
Chris Barker:
But don't forget it's not what you're using now, it's what your fantasy. So if you wanted like some super.
Luxxury:
I don't have an. I just don't have enough of an interesting imagination. I'll. I'll put the imagination in the place. I know I'm a big disappointment to all of us. I. I think that my imagination will maybe take off when we get to the geographical location. But right now I'm happy with this.
Luxxury:
It works. Listen, don't forget freaking George Martin was here. He'd be like, you got 50 times more than we had. You know, at the peak of like rubber sole white out. Whatever he did.
Chris Barker:
He did have like 12 staff musicians.
Luxxury:
He did have. Well, can my third resource be human? No.
Chris Barker:
I don't want to give four guys in lab coats a. Lester doing the mics. Yeah, yeah.
Luxxury:
If I can have a paid. A well paid staff, that. Actually, that's not. That's not a bad point. Okay, no, hold on. I thought of one. In my fantasy, I don't have a live drum kit with a, you know, drum room and the mics and everything like that would be amazing because I'm. My first instrument after piano lessons when I was, you know, seven, was drums.
Luxxury:
And I would love to have the ability to play drums every day instead of annually, which it currently is.
Chris Barker:
Okay, well, let's just lock in those three items. So we've got a Mac going. Laptop. We go in like top spec laptop, basically.
Luxxury:
Right, sure, sure.
Chris Barker:
Ableton. And then we need an audio interface.
Luxxury:
Oh, okay. Sorry. I jumped ahead with that drum kit audio interface. Not super precious. My focus. Right. Scarlett is fine. It's fine.
Luxxury:
I'm not terribly creative in terms of like, the technique. It does the trick. It records accurately and then I can mess with it. That's where the magic happens. That's why I love Ableton. That's why I love music production. Okay. Because my ability to manipulate once it's a waveform is infinite.
Luxxury:
Like, I mean, it's crazy what you can do with that sound. Layering it with other sounds. Like it's, you know, adding my own bass lines to.
Chris Barker:
So which particular Scala interface? Because there's a few. Right. Are you gonna go?
Luxxury:
Well, I guess this is the 2i4 that I'm looking at. Okay. Is this. Is there a better one?
Chris Barker:
There'll be like an 18 input something won't. They will.
Luxxury:
Listen, I'm. I am the up.
Chris Barker:
Sold some dreams.
Luxxury:
Well, an angel got its wings.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
You have a Scarlet 18i20, which is a. Looks like a rack size.
Luxxury:
Oh, for my drum kit.
Will Betts:
Yeah, exactly.
Luxxury:
Maybe for the drum kit that I'm talking about, you'll need all those inputs that I'll be needing. Good point. Good point. Okay, you've convinced me to dream, to dream bigger.
Chris Barker:
Hang on to that drum kit idea because you might be disappointed later.
Luxxury:
I don't know where this is going.
Chris Barker:
Okay, well, you only get six items after those. Those are your three free items. But before we go on to your first of your six final studio items, let's talk about dream studio. Where would you have it in the world? What would it look like? You know, as in the room, the styling, the vibe. You're somewhere hot. Are you somewhere cold? Are you in the woods? You in the sea?
Luxxury:
Sure. It's probably an island. You know, my brain flashed to Compass Point and, you know, the Chris Blackwell fantasy and all the great records that were made there. Grace Jones and TomTom Club and whatever else. Like, so. And then having Sly and Robbie like Compass Point, I'd like to take that over from Chris Blackwell. And we'll take that once he passes. Perhaps he'll leave it to me because he heard it on this podcast.
Chris Barker:
Well, we can just.
Luxxury:
Chris, if you're listening. Love your work. Not crazy about some of your financial dealings, but we'll have to get into that. But I would like to. I will take over Compass Point for you in the Bahamas.
Chris Barker:
Okay, nice.
Will Betts:
So Compass Point in the Bahamas, the place that was used for recording ACDCs back in black, as well as many. Oh, many, many others.
Luxxury:
They recorded that there as well?
Will Betts:
They sure did, yeah.
Chris Barker:
That does not sound like a record that's recorded in the Bahamas, does it?
Will Betts:
They were all wearing Bermuda.
Luxxury:
Not at all.
Will Betts:
Shorts the whole time, apparently.
Chris Barker:
Well, and school shorts.
Luxxury:
That's a wonderful image. Brian Johnson with the, you know, schoolboy cap. News agent cap pulled down. But also Bermuda shorts.
Will Betts:
Yeah, we assume.
Luxxury:
But I guess Angus was already doing the shorts thing, so that's, you know, it's not that better.
Chris Barker:
It just sounds like. I don't know, this must be some weird studio or sound ocd. It's like a synesthesia for weather. It just sounds like a record that was made somewhere cold.
Luxxury:
Yeah. And miserable. Like Birmingham.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Or Sheffield, I would say.
Luxxury:
No shade on Birmingham. I don't know anything. Is Birmingham miserable?
Will Betts:
Seems.
Chris Barker:
Shout out to everybody.
Luxxury:
Black Sabbath comes from Birmingham. Right. So that's why. That's what made me think of it.
Chris Barker:
So without dissing the city, but you know what I mean? Like, with. You get like. Like Detroit, Berlin, you get these kind of hard, hard, cold, sort of brutal cities making hard.
Luxxury:
No shade on Brummies. No. Is that what they're called? They know the hardness and they're probably proud of it. Like Detroit, just like you say.
Chris Barker:
I just can't imagine, you know, craft work getting recorded in. In the Bahamas or things like that. So acdc, that's a surprise. A surprise. But then I suppose at that point they probably had loads of money, go to the Bahamas. Probably keeps them out of trouble as well. There was a little bit of that with that studio, wasn't there? Like, trying to get them relatively locked down to make the album.
Luxxury:
I think the idea that there's such an eclectic range takes it even further because I was sort of more in that Post punk and the Grace Jones and everything. But yeah, if we can also do hard rock there and get that type of number one selling vibe that we get out of, you know, You Shook Me All Night Long and Back in Black I'm down. So. Mutt Lang. That's interesting. I had no idea. I'll have to investigate that story. AC DC are notoriously unfriendly to their music being used in, you know, YouTube situations.
Luxxury:
But I do have a fantasy that one day we'll do a. An AC DC episode. But yeah, big fan of that band.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, amazing.
Luxxury:
I love how it is. Just straight ahead, straightforward rock and roll and it's got pop melodies on top and you're like hard rock, hard rock. It's like. No, these are pop songs.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, yeah. Amaz.
Luxxury:
And Trick maybe the kind of more thick headed, you know, people into like Judas Priest is the best example of that. I love the fact that Rob Halford was right there the whole time being Rob Halford and you know, brought in a whole bunch of different groups as a result of that being the way it was. Anyway, this is unrelated, but it's a fun conversation.
Chris Barker:
So we're in the Bahamas, we've got a Scarlet what, 1820 interface.
Luxxury:
I can't believe I brought a Scarlett to the Bahamas. Like I'm bad at dreaming big. I'm be the first to admit that.
Chris Barker:
Well, so from now on you've got six. So that's all you've got so far. Your Mac Ableton and your Scarlett interface. So from now on you've got six other bits of kit left. So let's go in on item number one.
Luxxury:
Is it that drum kit? Do I get to. You can, you know, get the Alex Van Halen, I don't know, Tama Nightmare. Like four kick drums in a circle with a gong. I want one of those.
Chris Barker:
Yes. Okay. That sounds amazing.
Luxxury:
Okay, I'm gonna with that big time. I'm gonna do double bass. I'm gonna have a friend sitting on the same drum throne back to back. We're gonna have four double bass. We're gonna have double double bass. It's gonna be fucking sick, man. I'm gonna fuck it up. I don't know if I can say fuck, but I just did because it's fun.
Luxxury:
When you're talking about heavy metal, you gotta say it.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Like trap hi hats but with kick drums. Yeah, that's nice.
Luxxury:
Yeah. Black blast beats.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. So talk us through. Whose kit are you stealing again? Tell us about the kit. It's the.
Luxxury:
Well, I said you know what I said, Alex Van Halen. But let me backtrack on that. I'll take. I'll get John Bonham's. That clear one. The sort of yellowish clear one.
Chris Barker:
Was it Ludwig?
Luxxury:
Might have been. I'm not sure that's a good question.
Chris Barker:
I can't imagine doing clear. Maybe for Bonham.
Luxxury:
Yeah, anything for Bonham. But he definitely has the gong and, you know, and I'll get just a bunch of trees, those thick sticks that he used, and that will be. That sounds like a dream to do that. And like look out a window facing whatever body of water ice, the Caribbean, I suppose. But you know, the bay in front of the Bahamas, you know, that sounds like a dream. And did we say that people count as gear? I think we did. So I think I know that we didn't say that. My dream said that.
Luxxury:
My dream. But it's not like a. It's not an unpaid labor thing. It is a. Here's what it is. Here's my dream. I alluded to this before. I still to this day want to be in the Strokes or the Clash or the Ramones.
Luxxury:
I want to be in a band with, like, my brothers. And now I've done too many episodes of our show with deep dives into, like, songwriting splits to not be naive about how rarely rare it is for that to last more than a few minutes before someone gets pissed off that they're getting less than the other guy. Less credit, less attention, less money. But my fantasy for this show is that I'm in the Bahamas with Ableton and Mac, big old John Bonham drum kit. And I mean, I would. Even if it's. If this is how it works, if four of those pieces of gear are my four. No, three.
Luxxury:
Three bandmates. If they're my. If I have three bandmates, like from the Strokes, if I get Julian Casablancas, Nikolai Frateur on bass, and oh gosh, maybe Albert and I play drums and that's my band. And we do a complete pivot, a complete 180 from this whole God awful mixing production, electronic music garbage that I've been doing all this time. We're gonna be strokes 2.0. I guess that's the voids. You see where I'm going with this? I don't either, but it's got something to do with everything I just said. And now you have to land that plane because I don't know what to do with this.
Luxxury:
It's your show, right? Take what I just gave you. I don't know what to do with it.
Chris Barker:
So I'm gonna land it by saying, you're definitely not allowed any of that. This is a gear focused show. We are not kidd. Various musicians and taking them to a desert island so you can force them to be in a band with you.
Luxxury:
They would be happy there. They would be happy there.
Chris Barker:
That's what all stalkers say, isn't it? Like, he's just like, we would be so good together. We'd be so good together.
Luxxury:
Are you waiting for Julian to be done with his Voids album cycle so that he can write the next Strokes record that you play his bass lines to? Come on, join my band in the Bahamas.
Chris Barker:
Well, I'm sure you can write them letters and you can ask if they want to visit your Fantasy Forever studio. And considering where it is, I think you might. You have a good chance. But I think we're gonna have to move on with more equipment after this. Drum kit. So we've got Bonham's drum kit locked in. Do we know that drum kit?
Will Betts:
Well, yeah. So I found a Ludwig Vistalite Zeppelin set, which is. You might want to get it with four kicks and a gong. Did you say? Yeah, four kicks and four kicks in the go.
Luxxury:
Bonham famously only has the one kick. So actually I need to. I probably need to reduce the kick to the one. It's a different. We're working this out together.
Will Betts:
Okay.
Luxxury:
So that previous fantasy, I've left it behind. I'm already. If I can do. Because I can kind of do, you know, good times, bad times for a song, first record. You know how he's got that very famous. That single foot bounce? I can. I can kind of do that. I can kind of stress my foot out a little bit.
Luxxury:
I then have to take a break for a week. I can't play drums for a week. But I can just kind of like tense the muscles so they go.
Chris Barker:
So anyway, good, Good news. You've got forever to learn it in the studio. So. Because it's the Forever Studio, that's. That's.
Luxxury:
Oh, I didn't realize that that was. I mean, it's right there in the title, but. So I'm immortal.
Will Betts:
We've gone there before.
Luxxury:
But what else is forever? What were you guys thinking when you said forever and you didn't think about mortality? What's going on here?
Will Betts:
It's just no one's ever asked that before.
Luxxury:
It seems implicit. Maybe that's why. But yes, if I'm immortal, well, then what's the fucking point, you know? Like, it's all futile if we have forever lives, which we do, because karma is real.
Chris Barker:
Okay, well, we have the title for your autobiography as well.
Luxxury:
I'm so sorry. Four Kick Drums in a Gong. Is this off the rails? Are you. Are you wanting to digitally slap me across the.
Chris Barker:
No, this is what. It's slightly. And I'm still liking the idea of your book being called Four Kick Drums in a Gong.
Luxxury:
Four Kicks in a Gong. Yeah, that's me.
Chris Barker:
That's the luxury autobiography. Okay. Let's lock in that drum kit sounds amazing. We're having four kicks and a gong with it. And, you know, you don't have to use them. They're just there. They're in your studio, I think.
Luxxury:
I think it's four different drum kits. Then, like I'm saying, I need to be. I need to find four different drum kits.
Chris Barker:
We're in bundle territory at that point.
Will Betts:
Yeah. We're gonna hear the air horn.
Luxxury:
All right, I will. How about this? The three other kick drums, then, are kind of in a pile. And they're different sizes for different. You know, there's a jazz one a little smaller.
Chris Barker:
That's.
Luxxury:
You can.
Chris Barker:
You can build the kit and it's.
Luxxury:
A kit that you've bought and then deconstruct the kit.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. And you can do whatever you want it. But we. It has to be presented to us as a kit. Otherwise.
Will Betts:
Okay, this is.
Luxxury:
It's a. It's. It's. It's the bottom. But it's just the one kick. I'm. I'm pulling back from what was offered to me, which was four kicks. I just need the one.
Luxxury:
Yeah, I'm happy with the.
Chris Barker:
It's interesting because at the start of this, before we started recording, you were like, okay, I'm really into the Clash and punk. It's gonna be really simple for me. And within 20 minutes, the luxuries come out, and you're like, I want four drum kids.
Luxxury:
Well, you see, this is human nature. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, you enter into most interactions thinking, I'm a very virtuous person. And then once opportunity knocks and, you.
Chris Barker:
Know, there's some degree kidnapping musicians, we.
Will Betts:
Just have to die.
Luxxury:
There's peer pressure happening also here. There are two British people that are looking at me while I try to think of words to say. And it's a lot of. It's a lot of pressure. What's implied here is that what I'm doing needs more. Needs to be boosted. And this is how we get Elon Musk. This is how we get all the world's problems.
Will Betts:
We just had to dangle immortality and that's. That's where we've gone. Yeah, yeah.
Luxxury:
That poor boy was bullied mercilessly.
Will Betts:
Oh yeah.
Luxxury:
And now we all have to suffer the music tech.
Chris Barker:
My Forever Studio podcast is supported by Audient, makers of the ID range of audio interfaces.
Will Betts:
Yes. Building on Audient's decades of Design heritage, the ID range spans from the portable ID4 to the feature packed ID14, 24 and 44 interfaces. Plus an awesome brand new flagship.
Chris Barker:
Let's get into it. The new interface is called the ID48 and it completes the range with a whopping 24ins and 32 outs. It features switchable balanced inserts allowing users to record with outboard kit and easily process stems via hardware when mixing.
Will Betts:
Yes. Aimed at both producers and engineers, the ID48 packs in eight audient console mic preamps, advanced 32 bit ESS converter technology and that all new switchable analog insert technology too. Add to that professional must have features like ADA expandability, JFET DI inputs and customizable monitor control and it makes for a really serious audio interface for your studio.
Chris Barker:
Yes. The ID48 is ready to transform your studio for US$999, €899 and €749.
Will Betts:
Visit audient.com for more information and to explore the full breadth and features of the ID interface range.
Chris Barker:
Item number two.
Luxxury:
Well, let's see. I was thinking about this and I'm gonna go with I don't think this is a bundle but you guys have your rules and regulations. I. It's one of two things and you can maybe they both get buzzed. It's either my own pre existing sample library, my hard drive, no buzz. I didn't hear a buzz.
Chris Barker:
I think, I think that's given. I think you're allowed on the computer, right?
Will Betts:
Okay, yeah, yeah, you're allowed that. Yeah, you can have that.
Luxxury:
Okay. And then this might be a backdoor into that because that I'm ready. I'm ready because that, you know that folder within a bunch of folders, it has a bunch of break beats that I've been chopping throughout the years. My own little sample library, like stuff I found from an Italodisco 12 inch whatever. And it also has like some of the classic ones. It's got, I've got a whole bunch of, you know, 808 kicks in there. And then the third category is I have my splice sample library in there too. Now that's my question.
Luxxury:
To you. Does that count? My Splice sample library, which I update frequently.
Chris Barker:
You know, I think samples. For me, they're just files, aren't they? That's fine.
Luxxury:
Okay.
Chris Barker:
I mean, it sounds quite litigious. Your hard drive, though, absolutely is.
Will Betts:
It's a nightmare.
Luxxury:
Please don't subpoena it. Subpoena. Please don't subpoena my hard drive. That sounds. Oh, my God. Take it out of context. No, we don't want that.
Chris Barker:
That's the cliff for TikTok.
Will Betts:
No, it's not.
Luxxury:
Please. No. I have a lot of amazing samples in my sample library that are extremely useful. And maybe that brings us to our next tool, since I seem to get that one through, which would be my bass guitar.
Chris Barker:
Bass guitar. Okay. Yeah.
Luxxury:
Yeah. Okay. How about a fancy one? I would. I've always wanted. I've always wanted a Rickenbacker. I've always wanted a Rickenbacker base.
Chris Barker:
Do you want to take one from somebody?
Luxxury:
Cliff Burton from Metallica's Rickenbacker? Yeah, I'll take that. That would be sick.
Chris Barker:
And why have you. Why have you always wanted the Rickenbacker?
Luxxury:
That might be a visual thing. It might be just because it looks cool. It might just be because. And it might be because of Cliff.
Chris Barker:
Most guitars and instruments, it starts off as looking cool. Right?
Luxxury:
There's. Yeah, yeah, probably you're right. I mean, I think in a certain era. I mean, now it's sort of canonical that we know that, like Prince's Telecaster and Hendrix's Stratocaster and Angus Young's sg. Like, you know, these famous musicians are sort of tied to these different instruments. But there used to be a time when we didn't know that, or they were choosing, you know, in the 60s, they were just. I don't know, man. I'm kind of playing with this idea.
Luxxury:
Maybe at a certain point, it's a little bit of both. You're seeing your heroes and you're like, I want one. I want Chrissy Hines playing a Telecaster. That's so cool. I want to be like Chrissy Hind. And a little bit of. Maybe it's the person and the look. Maybe it's like the perfect combination is what locks you in.
Luxxury:
You know, there's an album cover where you're seeing. I mean, another one for me. I don't know if this is the same category, instruments. Is that considered one or two? Can I also do a guitar?
Chris Barker:
That'll be your third item if you get a guitar as well.
Luxxury:
Before we get to the guitar I've never had a Stratocaster, so I'm ready for that Strat. That's my third before the Strat. It's crazy to me.
Will Betts:
Can I ask you about your bait? You want a Rickenbacker, but what do you play now? Because there's so much sort of squishy bass on all of these.
Luxxury:
It's a P base.
Will Betts:
It's a P bass.
Chris Barker:
It's.
Luxxury:
It's in the other room. It's actually in the. In the. It's in our living room. Because I play along to records during the weekend and then I bring the bass into the studio during the week. But I haven't done that yet. But, yeah, I've got a baby blue P bass is the only bass I've ever owned. I've only owned one bass.
Luxxury:
That's a. That's a lie. I owned another one in college, but it got stolen. So this is the second and last bass in theory I'll ever own. And I've only ever owned one guitar, so I'm ready for that Strat. Maybe because I have a P bass, the Rickenbacker seems cool to me to have an addition and my. Yeah, so that's my answer.
Will Betts:
Beautiful. Beautiful. Tell us about the Strat, then. Why a Strat?
Luxxury:
The Strat has such a legacy between Hendrix and Nile Rogers. Like right there. That's plenty. Those are like the two ends of the spectrum of, like, what, you know, not everything good, but like, that's. Those are some pretty solid players with different genres and different sounds. So there's an eclectic range. I think the Strat might also be like. I'm pretty sure it's like a Ventures surf rock.
Luxxury:
Like, it's so much music that I like. There's like a Strat involved. There's a Strat in the mix. It's. It's also light. You know, the Les Paul. A friend of mine had that Gibson Les Paul, the really heavy one, the, like, the Slash. You know that that's a backbreaker.
Luxxury:
So why do that? Why have a messed up spine when it's an option not to? Yeah, the Strat. And then like we were saying before, it. It just does seem cool. But I think it's because of the players. I think because of Jimmy and Niall.
Chris Barker:
For me, and Color.
Luxxury:
For some. This whole conversation, I'm picturing a white Strat. I don't know why that feels in my mind.
Will Betts:
That feels like a Hendrix Strat, right?
Luxxury:
Yeah, it could be. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe there's some iconic Picture of him with a white Strat.
Will Betts:
I'm not really sure it's Woodstock where.
Luxxury:
That came from, but. Yeah. Is it Woodstock?
Will Betts:
Woodstock, yeah. So you would actually take.
Luxxury:
There we go. I was incepted. Yeah.
Will Betts:
So you're going to take the.
Luxxury:
I have no original ideas, and I'm fine with that.
Will Betts:
This is. I mean, that is one of the most iconic guitars of all. Of all time to have in your forever studio. So this is. This does feel like you are really embodying the luxury now. This is. This is. I think.
Luxxury:
I'm so glad. I was worried that I was taking us on a journey, but as long as I'm back in the realm of what this is intended to be, very much your world, I'm just a guest in. I feel much better now.
Chris Barker:
All right, so that takes us to item number four. Does it? Well, item number four.
Will Betts:
Yeah. We're racing three. Yeah.
Luxxury:
So we did.
Chris Barker:
And you've got.
Luxxury:
Let's just recap. I've got drums, bass, guitar, and samples. Right. Those are my four so far.
Chris Barker:
No, you've got. Samples are free. So you've got drums, bass, guitar, samples. They're on your hard drive that you got free at the beginning, so it's good.
Luxxury:
So I have three left.
Chris Barker:
Yep.
Luxxury:
I do need monitors, so get me some nice monitors. I don't know. How about this? I need a lifeline. What are monitors that I should want? I mean, I know about, like, Yamaha and S10. Like, our. That's, like the classic studio. But, like, what's. I don't know.
Chris Barker:
They're not fun, though, are they? What do we have a lot of on the podcast? We have a lot of the key audios. We have a lot of barefoots.
Will Betts:
Yeah.
Luxxury:
Okay.
Will Betts:
TCs, PSCs, Focal. Yeah, there's. Then there's the Augsburgers, which. Those crazy huge ones.
Luxxury:
See, this stresses me out because, like, I don't know. That's too many choices. Like, I like. I like it when somebody says, hey, that new. That new restaurant, Santos on Sunset. Really good. I'm like, then I'm going to. I'm going there.
Luxxury:
If I don't have that, I'm, like, spending way too much time because I'm very deliberate. I'm like a Virgo. I put too much time into it, and if I have to make a choice, you just named five or six things. That's five or six hours, potentially, of my life lost. I just want someone I trust to tell me which one, and that's it. My friend Brad. Brad Brique. If you're out there watching.
Luxxury:
Good friend composer in la. He loves that. So he'll go down a rabbit hole. My friend Devin o' Brien, I have friends that love that. I will ask them what to buy and buy it, and that saves me days.
Chris Barker:
Well, that said, then on that point, definitely the focals and the barefoots. Throughout my entire career doing odds and things in music technology. That's why those speakers, in my opinion, blew up. I don't know about you Will when. Through your, you know, journalism career, when you saw that stuff, as in everybody you speak to who has some barefoots or some focals, they will go, oh, my friend Blah has them and I heard them in his studio and then it's sort of. Everybody has that story and it's. It feels like word of mouth have just interesting. Created a barefoot and focal story.
Chris Barker:
And the key audio's a little bit now, the new ones, but they're, you know, they're crazy money, I think. Aren't they quite expensive?
Luxxury:
That's awesome. Like, thank you. That was very helpful.
Chris Barker:
In this studio. You're gonna need some heavy speakers in this studio and you might as well go big.
Luxxury:
Right here's where my. I have to. I have to. I have to build the picture back up again because this is. Requires imagination.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Luxxury:
I'm looking at my Shitty M Audio BX5 that I've had for 15, 20 years.
Chris Barker:
Horrible speakers. Horrible.
Luxxury:
They're. They're shitty. But I know what they are and I know how to translate. That's what matters.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Luxxury:
What matters is what. What is that lacking? Oh, I know that. I know to add that in the mix.
Chris Barker:
Like that's the way I have the eights, by the way. That's why I know they're horrible.
Luxxury:
I actually, they're. It's funny because they're standing on top of. Actually, Brad did tell me to buy these Behringer truth. Be something. Something. They're literally upside down, so I can't read the number because something. It's been years. For some reason they weren't working out, so they're now speaker stands.
Luxxury:
Oh, the truth.
Chris Barker:
The truth. Kind of like they were like the Mackie clones, weren't they?
Will Betts:
Well, that's right. Yeah.
Luxxury:
Something wasn't working.
Chris Barker:
We probably can't legally call them clones, but they were inspired by those kind of Mackie PA speakers. The HR. HR series. HR 8-8s.
Luxxury:
I mean, it should be noted based on what I just. The Baron. We're talking about Behringer. That's what I bought instead of the ones that they are based on. We're saying generously, like, I'm. I'm also just like super cheap with gear. Like, I just don't like buying stuff that's punk. Yeah, it's not.
Luxxury:
I mean, that's like a nice way. It's like an after the fact. It's like we learn things later and we're like, oh, that's called this. Yeah, sure, I'm punk. I'm doing it on purpose. I'm not just cheap, I'm cool. It's a punk rock ethos thing. If Joe Strummer wouldn't own it, then I wouldn't own it.
Luxxury:
It's not quite. It's not quite coming from that, but it's simultaneously cheapness. But it's also hearkening back to the George Martin line I said earlier. It's like, I have plenty. I've got plenty. Yeah, I have plenty of tools. I have plenty of. I know how my monitors work.
Luxxury:
I have experience. The most valuable part of it is like shaping sound and like learning how, you know, EQ and, and even panning, like all of the like and compression and volume and, and, and taste. You know, like the most underrated thing about all things, not just music, but creative in general, is like, it's a taste endeavor.
Chris Barker:
Rick Rubin, like, is that it?
Luxxury:
Yeah. Okay, I, I did. I didn't realize that. But he's not wrong. He's wrong about some other things, but he's not wrong about that. And I agree with the notion it's unteachable on the one hand, but you can sort of expose yourself to it. You can. I mean, listen, sorry to keep talking about my.
Luxxury:
Our podcast. One song. But like, we do.
Will Betts:
Please.
Luxxury:
There is an effort. I don't know if the word is subtly, but like, you know, song selection to us is because we're both DJs, and maybe one half of DJ Ness is what song you're playing. And maybe the mixing fanciness is one fifth of what's important. I think taste, selection, curation, having an idea of, oh, I haven't heard this before in quite this way far trumps how you're able to dial in compression in the most scientifically engineered. Like, I'm usually just turning knobs on my compressor until it sounds good, which I've heard many people say. Compression is like conceptually a little bit rough. I mean, I can describe it. I know what it's doing intellectually, but I'm not really sure what all the buttons do.
Luxxury:
It's all based on sound which is based on taste. It's just. Oh, this sounds good to me.
Chris Barker:
Nobody needs compression. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not into it anymore, honestly. I try it.
Luxxury:
Really? Yeah.
Chris Barker:
It's the Bruce Sweden I interviewed him for about Thriller a long time ago and like, there was hardly any compression on Thriller. And it's like, sounds amazing.
Luxxury:
He didn't need it. I do that, by the way. I do that with mastering. I stopped paying for mastering about five years ago and. Sure. Would it be a little better? Fine. Maybe. I want immediacy.
Luxxury:
I want to put this song out now.
Chris Barker:
Make it loud. I want to just put a clip on it. Done.
Luxxury:
I kind of. I what I'm doing. I'm about to out myself here. Like, I'll put all the waveforms if. When I put out a record, I'll put all the waveforms next to each other until they kind of look and sound kind of alike. And that is mastering by luxury. But that's shameful. Shameful.
Chris Barker:
Is it?
Luxxury:
George Martin's engineers are rolling in their graves. Fuck those white coated motherfuckers. They didn't know dick. The obsession with, like, knowledge and like, this is the wrong way to do something. That is silliness. Well, is it sound?
Will Betts:
I love.
Chris Barker:
I love all those stories about studio mistakes. That sound. I think I might have mentioned this before on the podcast, but it was. Is it guy from Portishead who was?
Luxxury:
Jeff Barrow?
Chris Barker:
No, Adrian Utley. Is it Adrian the guitar player? He was talking about one of the. When they were recording stuff early on and they didn't know what they were doing and. And they had like the mic at the back of the speaker of the amp, not at the front. And a lot of the guitar sounds were because they didn't know where to put stuff. And everybody's like, how do you get that tone? And now it's like people are thinking it's all these pedals or this signal path. And it was like, I just put the mic in the wrong place and it sounded cool.
Luxxury:
Yeah, that's so funny. I didn't know that story. I feel like I've heard a similar thing about like Studio One and Jimmy, like Coxson Dodd and some of those early, like classic rocksetti and reggae songs. I think something about, how did you get that famous bass sound? Right. Because bass. We have Jamaica to thank for bass in many ways. That's its own podcast, right. But I think one of the things I remember hearing Sylvan Morris or somebody say was, yeah, we, you know, I had A mic in the back.
Luxxury:
It adds a little bit of something extra, which wasn't done with just the micing in the front or just the di. All of these experimental and mistakes. Right, theoretical mistakes. That's. That's what the line about the white coat set at EMI is about. It's just like, you can study it and it'll tell you from inexperience, like from the theory side of things. But the better way is just to mess it up and be wrong and after the fact figure out what you did and maybe never, maybe go through your whole life without the language for it. Yeah, like I said, like a year and a half ago, I didn't really know how to talk about, I don't know, claves.
Luxxury:
Like I've been studying claves because they come up a lot in the music. So I'm getting more of a sense of all these Afro Cuban and Afro Brazilian. Like I love that, but I didn't know it eight months ago. So being able to explain after the fact that or maybe never. Far better than getting a full. I'm sorry, full sail or all these degrees, you know, get your audio engineering degree. I'm sure it's quite useful. But don't have it replace trial and error.
Luxxury:
Don't have it replace putting a sample together that's in the wrong key with another sample. Like that's the real learning and that's how the world changes. That's how like stuff jumps out of the speakers for a listener.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, for sure.
Will Betts:
All of this is sort of. Of if it sounds right. It is, right. That's the, that's the saying, isn't it?
Luxxury:
That's it. I want to give every 10 year old, 15 year old, 20 year old musician that like just tattoo this on your wrist so you see it every day. That's more important because you're gonna get people saying, well, you really like that? That sort of. You fill in the blank. That's like, you know, the Charlie Brown adult. Like it doesn't matter what the words are. You get the point. Like avoid the gatekeeping mentality of you don't know enough.
Luxxury:
You don't know that band enough to wear their shirt. All of this is the same category of the gatekeeping. To keep you in fear of not knowing enough to deserve to do it. I mean, I thought punk rock got rid of that years ago. Kathleen Hanno is another hero of mine. She's a great documentary where she talks about. Cause there's a whole layer for women in music which is the male ego and the competitiveness about technical proficiency. And part of what's wonderful about her work in Bikini Kill and Latigra is like, screw that.
Luxxury:
Like, it sounds good to us. This attitude, these stories we're telling, these lyrics I'm shouting is what matters far more than whether or not I know my Dorian Scales. I keep on picking on modes, poor modes. They're fine, they didn't hurt anybody, but they're not important. They really aren't.
Chris Barker:
So. Well, let's pick some speakers. Basically, let's narrow it down. How big do you want? How are you going? Do you want some mammoth speakers or do you like it being a bit more of an intimate kind of, you know, close range speaker thing?
Luxxury:
I'm just gonna go with the vision we're building, which is Bahamas, drums, etc. Which is big. Just let's. Let's go big. Let's. Let's just like max out the credit card of Lord God Jesus, Chris Backwell's credit card.
Will Betts:
I'm happy with just saying for the sake of this. If you tell us a size, we'll just go punk rock and say some monitors that size.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, that's kind of cool.
Luxxury:
Yeah.
Chris Barker:
So you want big 18 inch in the wall, surely.
Luxxury:
Wonderful.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Okay, we've done that. We've solved that problem.
Luxxury:
Teamwork.
Will Betts:
Item five.
Luxxury:
Oh, boy. We have instruments, we have monitors, we have gear, we have.
Chris Barker:
Do you need a microphone?
Luxxury:
You know what I need. Yeah. Oh, thank you. Actually, I was thinking that I would like. It's time for annoyment. It's time. What's the big one? The 80, whatever. 86.
Luxxury:
I actually don't remember.
Chris Barker:
47. 87. 67.
Luxxury:
87, 87. Which is the best one? I actually don't know.
Chris Barker:
Between those three, I think 47.
Will Betts:
47 is the. The tube one.
Luxxury:
So the 47 is the one I want. That's like the top of the line there. I borrowed one once and that's my experience with it. I had a friend who is very wealthy and building a studio and he lent it to me, so I got to enjoy it. And it was. The difference was remarkable, as the planet of producers already knew. So it's probably been in the back of my mind forever. This is probably the number one actual fantasy that I have had that to one day I might own maybe the Stratocaster and the Rickenbacher.
Chris Barker:
Studio fantasy.
Luxxury:
Studio fantasy with the microphone. No, not. That's not where my proclivities lie. And no, for sure. Like a Neumann. The real deal. That's. That is worth One of those six slots.
Luxxury:
Let's make that.
Chris Barker:
Well, run us through the difference though, just for me as well, like, so there's 47, 67, 87. Is it just different vintages or are they actual different designs or.
Will Betts:
They are slightly different Designs, yeah. The, the 47 that, I mean it was branded as a Telefunken U47 in the US that'd be the one that you would have used most likely. And then so that's a tube, that's a tube mic and I believe that's a multi pattern. And then I can never remember the difference between the 47 and the 67. So you're really testing my knowledge here. But I know that the 87 doesn't have a tube. That's just a very clean regular capacitor often called.
Luxxury:
And what are the costs differences between those three?
Will Betts:
Well, so the, you can get a Newman Neumann 87 for about two to three thousand dollars.
Luxxury:
You can.
Will Betts:
The, the Telefunken U47 which has just been reissued is about 10,000 USD around there. And then the 67 I believe is somewhere in between.
Chris Barker:
But if you get the vintage 47s, they're like 30, 40.
Will Betts:
Vintage 47. Yeah. I mean.
Luxxury:
Oh wow.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, that was the one. Yeah, that was the one.
Luxxury:
I mean it's just one of those things where like I would love to own this gear. And this is the difference between feeling like, I don't know, I don't know, PJ Harvey slide standing right next to you. And you know, it being. It doesn't feel like a recording experience is part of what the magic of a U87 in the right context, in the right way, that is part of the magic of it. But also going harkening back to our like, but you don't need 10k to make a, a record. A ten thousand dollar microphone to make good music happen on a recording. You know, how many times have I read articles about records made with SM58s because the singer wanted the vibe of feeling like they were singing with a band. So you take a dynamic mic, that's 100 bucks and like so many times I've read that story.
Luxxury:
So there's a wide range of what.
Chris Barker:
You can do hits now with the kids with their, their phone, you know.
Luxxury:
That's right.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, yeah. And you know there's a lot of that. David, I think did the romantic homicide like and just so yeah, it's.
Luxxury:
What's the name of that? The app is called like Sankara. It's something Band Lab is who I Work for. Oh, I didn't realize.
Chris Barker:
Little drop there.
Luxxury:
Well, props to you and that company because that's incredible. That a kid. It's like next level. What I already felt like was punk rock and my. You know, from my story earlier about pro Tools into Ableton, like, I don't need to rent a studio. I don't need all the gear. Yeah, yeah, it's incredible. It's practically free now.
Luxxury:
I love that. That's. That. I love. I love. I love that creativity is more accessible to more people, basically.
Chris Barker:
I think there's certain bits of gear like the Neumanns and I guess SSL desks at one point and the SSL compressor, where they've been used so much in so many hit records that they sort of start to sound like a record. So when you use them, you sound like a record, if that makes sense.
Luxxury:
The coloration. Yeah, that might be specific to the gear. Evokes an era or an artist or a song. Which means that in moment, millisecond, 1 of your production, you're already piggybacking on an existing liked thing. Which is an analogy we can bring to so many, especially in electronic music. The second you turn on that 909 and put four kicks at 120, whatever four, you're halfway to a house music track. You're halfway to it.
Chris Barker:
I mean, I started as a drummer as well. And I remember the first time, you know, this is in like the 90s, when I went from like a really shitty garage drum kit, you know, that sounded like horrible pots and pans, to get in like a premiere proper kit. And it. And even just in the room before the recording, it sounds like a record and you're like, oh, yeah, I don't. And it's the same when people pick up a really good guitar and start playing. You play, you know, Gad on an amazing guitar or on a Steinway, and then suddenly it's like, oh, listen, you're actually.
Luxxury:
You're kind of inspiring me because you're right. There is that feeling of inspiration that comes from a piece of gear that. That does what you're explaining. And at the end of the summer, I'm turning in a book. And my reward for that is I will probably go to perfect Circuit Audio up the street here and buy something which might be the first gear I've bought in 10 years. That's my reward. It's coming soon. And you're saying that is getting me kind of pumped for that because, like, that's going to mean, wow, a whole new world Of I'll be inspired.
Luxxury:
Maybe I'll make stuff I didn't know I was going to make. That is the cool thing about gear.
Chris Barker:
Let's incorporate that. Let's make that the next piece. What are we on item number five now, Will?
Will Betts:
So this. We're on to six now because we've got the microphone.
Chris Barker:
Six. Oh, we got the mic, haven't we? We've got the Neumann locked in.
Luxxury:
In.
Will Betts:
We locked it in.
Chris Barker:
Okay, so let's find item number six. You know, so perfect timing.
Luxxury:
What am I going to buy when I get there?
Chris Barker:
Yeah, is it going to be a sin? Is it going to be.
Luxxury:
Yes, it'll. It'll probably. This is going to be one of two things. It'll either be. Actually it's kind of fun that this is. Now I've locked myself into the last one. Um, I've just learned about and haven't deeply read about this new piece of Ableton gear, which is a self contained unit that doesn't require the machine I've been looking for. I used to do my DJ sets as a live remix.
Luxxury:
DJ set. So I had in Ableton Live I would warp a whole bunch of beats and bass lines and acapellas and synth and I would be within, you know, I don't know, Michael Jackson song Beat it or something, Billie Jean call it for the sake of argument. I'd be within that and I would be starting to replace elements with the next song I would go to. And my entire. It was eight columns and a bunch of clips. And the fun of it for me was I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but. Oh wow. It's kind of cool when you throw in.
Luxxury:
I'll use her again. PJ Harvey vocal on top of, you know, this, this drum beat, this iconic kick snare from Billie Jean. And oh, by the way, I never left behind, you know, from. From three songs ago. I'm using that keyboard line from whatever song. So anyway, all this to say that the live version of remixing and DJing, I'm back into being interested in that because I. Before the pandemic I was. It was exhausting.
Luxxury:
So I just went to USBs and CDJs and record box and then I was like, oh my God, it's so much easier to show up for a gig and just play a song and then play another one. That was like. It was fun doing the live remix thing. Then it got exhausted.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Luxxury:
Yeah. Well, I'm ready to bring it back again, but I want to do it In a new way. And I think the vision is that it doesn't include a computer. So I don't know what piece of gear that is. There is a mystery piece of gear. I know that there are some samplers out there. I know that there's versions of the MPC with a screen that are a few years old, but maybe you guys have some ideas.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, I don't think there's anything Ableton based. I think, I think there's the Ableton controllers that can control Ableton like that, the push and things like that.
Will Betts:
The push 3 itself.
Luxxury:
There is a new one. There's a new Ableton one that's like.
Will Betts:
Oh, there's the move. Funnily I have a move. Yeah, you have one. Great.
Luxxury:
What's that? What's that? Tell me about it. Is that what I want or is.
Will Betts:
That not quite going to have enough? I mean, if you want to be doing live stuff as well, it doesn't really have that, the inputs for that. But you might want to try a Push 3, but it has a standalone mode, so that has an ARM chip in it. And that means that you can basically run all of Ableton but on a self contained push controller, essentially.
Luxxury:
That sounds exactly what I want. So. So my Ableton set that already exists where I've done the work that I just described looks like a giant spreadsheet that just because I've been building it for years, you know, before a gig I would take two or three hours to add one song. That's how long it takes to like just kind of get it. All right, that's. I have that file. So can I use that with the push 3?
Will Betts:
I think the limitation is on which instruments you use. Depending on are you using third party VSTs or are you just using the Ableton instruments? If it's just Ableton instruments, I think it's fine.
Luxxury:
Pretty much. Yeah. No, because it's mostly samples and then I have some special. I have some kind of like dubby effects that are like a huge part of it for me. So I'm bringing things in and out more like Elise Scratch, Perry King tubby version of it, you know. But those are all pretty. I think they're. I think they're all using existing Ableton plugs just, you know, brought together.
Luxxury:
Yeah, yeah.
Chris Barker:
I'm quite excited about this with djen as soon as. Because obviously a lot of DJ equipment now, like when you're using your laptop, has stems so you can stem stuff out and loop stuff live. So it feels like traditional DJing. But you can use stems. But there isn't just like what you said, there isn't anything DJing yet where you don't have to have a laptop. And I don't like taking a laptop to dj. But I reckon the next, the next version of CDJ will have. They've gonna have those stems buttons built in where you can just.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, because then it's the reason I never got into it. So fair play for you doing it like this is which with what you just said, it's the amount of prep you have to do to do those kind of sets. And it's like that's the joyless bit. Like doing the playing live bit is fun and fine and that feels like DJing the way you did it.
Luxxury:
But it's the prep like exactly. That's why like I said, when I. I'll never forget the first gig I came. I did a gig in Mexico, in Tulum. It was super fun and I showed up with all my shit and I did like, I even had to do sound checks. Like I had so much stuff that I got there early to sound check. But I had already started to learn record box and I brought a USB stick as a backup. Or in my mind I knew that I was wanting to hybridize it in some way.
Luxxury:
And the moment the night started, my vibe was like, nobody cares if I push a single button or bring in a single known loop from a Michael Jackson song. I'm playing songs, I'm just gonna play this. And then I went full CDJ and never looked back because it was not what was needed. And like you said, the preparation. I just had a whole bunch of songs that I could jump around and spontaneously go to this other song in this other folder that I didn't even know I'd be playing that night. That's. That's their performance and DJing. It's funny, I think about this a lot.
Luxxury:
Like it is a little bit of a binary. Like you're either in this DJ mindset of like vibing with the crowd and going with the flow and. Or you have a pre prepared set to a certain degree where you're kind of locked to it and you're doing a show, you're a little bit doing a show. And I mean, I suppose the dream is to like be somewhere in the middle and have the capacity that any given gig I can kind of turn on a dime and be like, oh, these people kind of seem interested and I don't know the tech.
Chris Barker:
I remember during that, during that transition period of when it became a thing that you could use Ableton to do those kind of shows. I'm not talking about you specifically. I'm talking about loads of DJ started doing that and not necessarily like remixing songs live, but like sort of performing their own tracks as kind of stems or multi tracks. Yeah, and I won't name the DJs, but like, there were DJs that would have like, they. Okay, we want to book you for a show. Okay, well, is it a DJ set or is it my live show? And like, literally the only difference really was. Well, there was the fee was the difference. But it was like whether they open Ableton or they open Tractor on stage.
Luxxury:
We did that too. My. My agent. That was. You're describing what was happening for me in 2018. Ish. That was absolutely the case. My booking agent shout out to Paul Cunningham at the time.
Luxxury:
So my friend. But at the time, that's what he did. He would pitch me or the, you know, interest would come in and like, which one do you want? And yeah, that was definitely happening. It's funny, you're right. It was kind of a moment. And you know, my learning experience was for the most part, the club, the. The booker, the buyer and the people behind the scenes would see me doing the stuff with my Ableton in my. And I had like a keyboard and I had like buttons to push for, like effects.
Luxxury:
I had a whole thing going on. Sometimes I'd sing. A couple times I brought a bass. A couple times I brought my friend out who had his Devin O' Brien, who I mentioned earlier. He would bring his 909 machine vintage. It was fun to mix all this stuff up, but 99% of the time nobody cared. Yeah, those people were coming to dance to music and occasionally look my way to go or, you know, a napkin or a phone with like a request. Like, that's what that environment is.
Luxxury:
A nightclub is for drinking and dancing and a stage is for watching someone maybe do a set, have a show.
Chris Barker:
And have something like a routine. Yeah, yeah.
Luxxury:
It's a bit of a binary. And of course, some people, you know who did it really well was Todd Terrier because he had a band, but that was also binary. He had the band or he was DJing. Yeah, I'm sure there are examples out there, but I can't think of any.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, I mean, Soul wax, too many DJs kind of styles as well.
Luxxury:
That's kind of so. So inspired by them. The whole. Too many DJs. Soul wax, couple of brothers making, producing, DJing. But then they had this band where they're covering songs and they're covering their own stuff and it's got remixes built in and you'll hear a vocal from a LCD sound system. I love that. To this day, I still think.
Luxxury:
I can't believe more people don't do something like that because it's so cool.
Chris Barker:
And especially when they did it as well, it was. It wasn't easy. They had to, like, they were recording, like, little clips of vinyl records into Pro Tools and then warping it, like, manually in Pro Tools. And then that whole DJ set that, you know, the Release. Too many DJs, I think, was done in Pro Tools. We had them on the show, didn't we?
Will Betts:
Well, we did indeed.
Luxxury:
Oh, no way.
Chris Barker:
I love those guys. Without patting ourselves on the back too much. It's a great episode because they have so much. So much equipment all over the world that they kept discovering things between them as brothers. Like, one was. One would be like, oh, I really want one of these. It's like, well, we've got one in a warehouse in. Do we? It's a good episode.
Luxxury:
Their career, to me, is pretty top notch as far as finding that bridge between being producers and being a band and being DJs. I love all that stuff. And they're mostly different enough that it can be difficult to merge them, but they are maybe pioneering the perfect way of getting all of those things.
Chris Barker:
Well, yeah, I think they were just part of that whole scene, weren't they? Like Errol Elkin, who we've also had on the show. And we haven't had James Murphy, but I'd love to have James Murphy on.
Luxxury:
Yes, I've been in good company. Those guys are my heroes.
Chris Barker:
But all those kind of guys. And Errol actually said it on the show, didn't he? That's one of the shows that's on YouTube where he says it's just music. He doesn't ever think about it as, like, electronic. And I can imagine that you feel the same way being somebody that is equally happy in a band as he is. Like pressing buttons on a sampler.
Luxxury:
Oh, sure, yeah. And all those guys were so influential that I never went to Trash, but I was aware that it existed. I would buy maybe Mix Mag or something. Had like a famous Errol Alkin mix during the kind of post Electro Clash years that I listened to.
Chris Barker:
A lot of those are. A lot of those Trash mixes are now back on Apple Music.
Luxxury:
Actually, I think I. I listened to that cd, like, until it was like, I wore it out. It was so good. And it would be like, you know, train T ramshmir remix into Duran Duran, you know, girls on Film, the. The night version. And exactly what you said. The fact that it was blending eras and genres, so inspiring to me. And he was doing that.
Luxxury:
You're right. Along with James Murphy. That was an era of. I mean, I suppose there's a long tradition going back to Larry Levan and before that, you know, David. What's his face at the Nancuso. Right. So that's a little bit disco, too. That's a little bit of a disco ethos that everything works, that you can bring a lot of different things together and they will.
Luxxury:
They will work.
Chris Barker:
Okay, our last item. Aren't we on the last item?
Will Betts:
No, that was it.
Luxxury:
I think we did all six.
Will Betts:
That's it. The push through. Standalone is the final item.
Luxxury:
I'm just. I just have some integrity.
Chris Barker:
Standalone. I thought we were getting.
Luxxury:
I could take advantage of your miscount, but I'm not gonna do it.
Chris Barker:
No, you. Yeah, there's been no hacks, actually. No hacks. No, no, no, no. Trying to get around the rules. Oh, okay.
Luxxury:
But did we. Did we land on what? The what? That sampler push.
Chris Barker:
I think it's the push three, Right?
Will Betts:
I mean, that's. That's what I assumed, but we can. We can keep exploring.
Luxxury:
No, that's. I love that I'm. I'm in real life. Gonna look into that too, because that sounds like literally, it will solve a need that I have.
Will Betts:
Excellent. That's what we want. That's what we want from this show. A little bit of, like, a little bit of reality.
Chris Barker:
Okay. But not too much, I guess, as we're winding up towards the end now, let's have a listen to Will. He'll run you through what you've chosen. So listen back to this. See how it sounds. And then at the end, we will choose your luxury. Excuse the pun. Item.
Chris Barker:
So at the end, we will choose your luxury item. Right. Will, take it away.
Will Betts:
We're in the Bahamas. The sun is shining. And we're at the reopened Compass Point Studios on the. On the island of.
Luxxury:
To the rescue. Here I am. That's my Lee Scratch Perry version. He can't sing. Doesn't matter. I love him. Sorry. I'm in.
Will Betts:
Sun is shining. And we're at the reopened Compass Point Studios on the island of New Providence. And importantly, we have an incredible drum room that has been built onto the entire complex for your free items, you have an Apple MacBook Pro M4. It's the biggest one we can get. Most powerful interface You've chosen the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 with ADA in and outs, which will come in handy later. Your DAW is Ableton Live Suite 12. And then for your main six items, item one is John Bonham's Ludwig drum kicks with just one kick. One kick, right?
Luxxury:
Just one. Just one.
Will Betts:
Item number two is Cliff Burton's modified Rickenbacker 4001 bass. He's made several modifications, apparently, including removing the original pickups and installing a Gibson Mudbucker and a Seaman Duncan Classic Stack jazz pickup as well. According to the Internet, your third choice. This is a huge one. So you've stolen Jimi Hendrix. Woodstock strap.
Luxxury:
That's one, yeah. I don't deserve it by any stretch of the imagination based on my actual guitar skills, but I will play some chords, slowly record them, and then modify them once they're in the system to my liking.
Will Betts:
Perfect. That's what we need.
Luxxury:
Because instrumental skill is overrated. It is. No, it's great. Have some, but don't have too much. I don't know. I don't know where I land on this.
Chris Barker:
No. I think you've got to either have none or loads. I think in between is the terrifying point with that.
Will Betts:
I don't know.
Luxxury:
Isn't everybody in the middle, though, right? I mean, that's the bell curve. 80% of us are in the middle.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Will Betts:
And where are you, Blake?
Luxxury:
I'm definitely in the middle.
Chris Barker:
Okay.
Luxxury:
I would say my skills are best on drums, then bass and then guitar. I though, will do my best to honor the legacy, let's put it that way, of Mr. Hendrix's or Jimmy James. Born. Born James James.
Chris Barker:
Drums are the most important instrument on any recording, literally.
Luxxury:
His name is James James, by the way. I just want to point that out.
Chris Barker:
James. James. So good. So good. They named him twice.
Luxxury:
Mm. I'll try to do my best to honor his legacy with his white Strat from Woodstock.
Will Betts:
I like the idea of every time you pick up an instrument saying, I'll do my best to honor the legacy.
Luxxury:
I'll do my best. Before I play a note. Before I play a note.
Will Betts:
Okay, so item number four, you chose some big monitors, and I've looked up the monitors that were in. In Compass Point, and they were tannoy reds, so you can have those if you'd like them.
Chris Barker:
Yeah.
Luxxury:
Good enough for, I don't know, Steven Stanley. Is that good enough for whoever was running the boards there? It's good enough for me.
Will Betts:
Exactly. Item number five. You've chosen a vintage Neumann U47 and your final item is the Ableton Push 3 standalone with the intel processor option.
Luxxury:
Which is now I'm noticing before somebody else notices it first. I do know that I forgot to mention a board like a Neve or whatever.
Chris Barker:
Oh no, I don't need one.
Luxxury:
I'm aware that there isn't one in this scenario. And that does seem like a glaring, potentially glaring omission is that you can.
Chris Barker:
Go straight, you've got a lot of inputs on that interface, you'll be fine.
Will Betts:
And also you can connect the interface to the Ableton Push three via the ada. So you've got inside. Straight into the. So you don't even really need that computer that you've got.
Luxxury:
Listen, I'm not gonna front. I've never run a board before. I don't know how to 24 inputs and all the like EQs and I mean I would be lost. I would need an engineer for that. I'm sure it would make it sound better, but like I've never needed it. I can probably go the rest of my life without touching one. They do look cool. They do give you.
Luxxury:
When was the last time you saw some documentary with like frickin Bono or Dave Grohl not in front of a frickin like board in a studio.
Chris Barker:
That's how studios make their most money now is by doing corporate events and interviewing people in front of them for documentaries.
Luxxury:
It's shorthand for legitimacy and music to be in front of one on camera. But you don't need one anymore in quite the same way. So I'll just, I'll take the L on that. Nope, no board.
Chris Barker:
That's. That's. That's a good idea for a business. Just build a room that looks like a studio.
Luxxury:
Carbono and Dave Grohl to be interview.
Chris Barker:
It's just an interview room. Studio interview room. It just never works as a studio. It's just like, you know what, they have those fake private jets for influencers to take photos on. We could just do that for studios.
Luxxury:
I wasn't aware of that, but that makes that track.
Chris Barker:
Yeah. Okay, so we're on to the final luxury item. So this isn't a bit of kit and it's not a person and it's not a pet because you can have all those. So we're more thinking like if there anything that you would always love to take into a studio or something, you steal from somebody, something kind of you're.
Luxxury:
Saying something non musical that's important to the music making process?
Chris Barker:
Well, yeah. Or just important to you. Something that's important to you, that you would. You would always need in your studio. And like I say, it's not a person or a pet or anything like that.
Will Betts:
You can have those.
Chris Barker:
But it is a luxury item so it could be something ridiculous as well.
Luxxury:
I mean, I'm thinking something food related.
Chris Barker:
There you go. Okay.
Luxxury:
I could probably. I don't know how this translates to a thing, but if there's some way like a postmates account with an endless supply of ability to order excellent sushi.
Chris Barker:
Okay, well we've had quite.
Luxxury:
Quite so dumb. Well, it's not the first time you've heard that.
Chris Barker:
Well, was it Kuchka?
Will Betts:
Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
Chris Barker:
She selected a biohack like a biohacked sushi train that went straight into the sea.
Luxxury:
Oh yeah, I'll use that. We can share that. We can share that. Which means I get one more half.
Chris Barker:
Okay.
Luxxury:
That is still unused. So I'll share the luxury sushi train and I will add to that. What's another thing, it's probably food related again. The sweet, the dessert version of that, which currently I go through phases and currently my current dessert obsession is these white chocolate covered pineapple slices. They're just. I have to have them every night. We're several months into it. I haven't gotten sick of it yet.
Luxxury:
I probably will soon by the time this airs.
Chris Barker:
Is the pineapple fresh or is it like a freeze dried pineapple?
Luxxury:
It's frozen. It's not freeze dried. It's just that they make it. I think the brand in America is like true fruit Tru or something. But you buy it frozen. They've chopped up a real pineapple. It's very like. So it's fresh pineapple, it's much added, it's super healthy.
Luxxury:
Ish. And they've just added this white chocolate it on top of it and then you buy it and it's little one bite at a time. That to me, yeah, it's quite. I can't imagine getting tired of sushi music. Sushi and little white chocolate covered pineapple slices. Heaven. Heaven on in the Bahamas.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, that sounds good. I mean they're gonna melt, but it's nice straight out the fridge.
Luxxury:
There's no fridge in this place. Oh, come on, I gotta ask for fridge or electricity too? Do I have to ask for a toilet? Come on, you guys are making this up as you go along. What the hell?
Chris Barker:
No, that's it. That's. We've tricked you into It. It's another guess we've tricked into not having a toilet. And that's it. That's what the whole show's about. That was the ultimate goal of this podcast. When I started it, I was like, I'd love at the end of the podcast to tell William Orbit he's not got a toilet, and Butch Vig, all of my idols just at the end and go, ha.
Chris Barker:
No toilet for you.
Luxxury:
I trusted you. I trusted you, Chris and William.
Chris Barker:
They all did. Did. Everybody did. Okay. Well, that is one incredible journey we've been on. I think there actually but a bit of a learning journey for us and for you and a lot of Googling going on in the background. I think there will as well, wasn't there?
Will Betts:
Indeed.
Chris Barker:
Yes.
Luxxury:
I've enjoyed the experience. I have a vision now where before I was just whatever's in front of my face is what I'm doing. I'm that kind of idiot. In terms of.
Chris Barker:
Apart from the actual Bahamas location, it's quite an attainable little studio there.
Luxxury:
I feel like this is an attainable goal. We just need to get a hold of Chris Blackwell's handwriting and his. Find the location of his last will and testament, the file cabinet in which it is kept, and then just sort of do a little maneuvering there. And you know, Bob's your uncle. Is that something you would say? Yeah, that's like Dick Van Dyke, Chim, Chimney, cherry, British, I realize. But you probably don't say Bob's uncle before we go.
Chris Barker:
Tell everybody where they can find you. When's your show on? How can they get in touch? What have you got coming out? You got a book, right?
Luxxury:
So I AM Luxury with two X's all over the Internet, Instagram, TikTok, et cetera. And our show is called One Song. It's a podcast. You can also watch the video on YouTube. And then I'm finishing a book. It'll be a year before it's out there. But the book is about musical borrowing, so sampling, interpolation, my. My funny catchphrase and all the other ones that are not named that do exist but don't have quite the name recognition, I should say, because in addition to sampling and interpolation, there's some potential catchphrases.
Luxxury:
In a year from now, we'll see if it'll catch on. Let's see if contrafact catches on. Perhaps contrafact will catch on. Perhaps contrafactum different from contrafact will catch. We'll see. Time will tell.
Will Betts:
What is a contrafact? Tell us. What is a contrafact?
Luxxury:
Well, contrafact is sort of the basis of jazz, modern jazz, because it's when you take chord changes from another song, but the history of it is to evade copyright, but then you have a new melody on top of it and call it something else and maybe new lyrics. But it stems from the fact, as we all know, that chord changes are not themselves something you can own. But it was a very clever trick that was invented in the bebop era, late 30s. There's a fun story, I think Dizzy Gillespie and his band were recording a cover, and the engineer who worked for the label that didn't want to pay royalties on a cover said, stop. Don't play that solo. Charlie Parker. Mix it up a little bit. And from there we have a lot.
Luxxury:
Bebop is very much predicated on this idea. You have a new. You have a new solo on top of a known set of chords. So anyway, that's a long story. I Got Rhythm, that group of chords, the Gershwin song. If you are ever in a jazzer situation, according to legend, I'm not a jazzer. If you call out rhythm changes, then the band knows what to play because those chord changes are so legendary. There's a dozen, maybe more, other jazz songs based on I Got rhythms, chord changes.
Luxxury:
So. So that's contra fact in a nutshell for you.
Will Betts:
Wow. Super interesting.
Chris Barker:
Yeah, that is super interesting. But unfortunately, that is also all we've got time for. So thank you, Blake, so much for coming on the My Forever Studio podcast.
Luxxury:
Thank you.
Will Betts:
Thank you, Luxury.
Luxxury:
That was fun.
Will Betts:
Well, all that's left to say is thank you so much for tuning in, and we will catch you next time for another adventure into studio foreverdom. Bye bye.
Luxxury:
Bye bye.