Get With The Programmers: Special
As we have a special piece of software in the form of Baby Audio’s I Heart NY, it only seems appropriate that we have an especially extended Get With The Programmers with the company founder Caspar Bock…
Computer Music: Tell us about your own background and how you got into the music and software world?
Caspar Bock: “I have been into music production since my teens, starting with a Roland MC-307 Groovebox and a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. My professional career used to be in advertising, where I worked on creating digital products for clients. So the idea of marrying my passion with my profession – by forming a plugin company – felt like a natural step.”
: When and how did you start Baby Audio? CB: “We started Baby Audio in 2019. I was living and working in New York at the time so we launched with the product I Heart NY [as given
away with this very issue - see five pages ago!]. It offers a simple solution for the classic New York compression sound. Since then, we’ve kept pushing ourselves with every new release and our user base has grown incrementally.”
: What is your company’s overall philosophy or approach when it comes to software development?
CB: We want our software to be as fun and gratifying to work with as a hardware setup. Great hardware is often defined by its restrictions – and the fact that each piece of gear has its own unique sound. That makes it fun for producers to build their own collection of gear and evolve a signature sound. We felt that software often lacked this kind of personality where you can really ‘bond’ with it – so we’re trying to bring that sensibility into our products.”
: Tell us about your biggest plugins…
CB: “Smooth Operator is a hybrid EQ, compressor and resonance suppressor. It adapts to your signal in real time and compresses the frequency spikes that make a track sound harsh or muddy. You can create a desired EQ-response curve for your track and the plugin automatically optimises the signal for that, banishing the stuff you don’t need.
“For Spaced Out, our idea was to create a Space Echo for the 21st century; not by emulating the original hardware, but rather by taking its ethos and starting from scratch with all the algorithmic firepower at our disposal in the digital age. It’s a lush wet-fx processor that combines reverb, delay and modulation to let you create beautiful wet-fx chains.
“TAIP is yet another tape emulation plugin (as if the world needed another one!). The difference, however, is that we’ve used AI/ neural networks to emulate the hardware, which, in our opinion, gives a behaviour that’s truly analogue and non linear. We’ve also calibrated the plugin to encourage more drive/ colouration than other tape plugins. This makes it suitable as a saturation/distortion tool.”
: How do you think your plugins will change the way we make music?
CB: “We want to make it easy for anyone to make their tracks sound like a professional mix. Once we’re at that point as a society/industry, the competition becomes about who’s the most creative – and not who’s got the most expensive gear or best studio access. In some ways, we’re already there – in others, we’re still getting there. Our plugins are a small but passionate contribution to this change in music culture, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
: What are your five favourite plugins made by other companies?
CB: “Korg Gadget because it’s so smart of a company with Korg’s legacy to package their entire heritage into a simple and fun production environment. It’s great for idea-starters as well.
“Native Instruments Kontakt because they made a platform that enabled smaller creators to release independent products (in the form of their own Kontakt libraries), leading to more variety for end-users.
“UVI Vintage vault just because I’m a synth nerd and they’ve done such a good job of capturing the sound (and looks!) of the gear they’re emulating.
“Antares Auto-Tune because no other plugin has probably made more of an impact on the sound of popular music. Whether you like it or not, you have to admire it.
“Celemony Melodyne: that thing is magical.”
: What would you like to see developed in terms of software technology?
CB: “Tools that make it easier to do harder things. Because that will free up headspace to be more creative.” : What advice have you picked up from working in the studio? CB: “Those who finish their tracks go further!”
: And from the software industry?
CB: “Follow your passion. Keep raising the bar. And remain humble.”
: What have Baby Audio got planned for the near future?
CB: “We’ve only made effects so far – but we’re getting into instruments in 2022. We’re very excited about that!”
: You must get asked about music production all the time. What is the most commonly asked question that’s put to you, and your reply?
CB: “I guess it’s still the analogue vs digital debate – or sometimes just hardware vs software in general, and what is better. My reply is that no matter what side you’re on, you’re going to be right about it. It’s all just a mindset, and you decide on your own restrictions.”
: Do you have a home studio and if so what software/hardware do you have in it?
CB: “I have a home studio. It’s mainly softwarebased, but with a few pieces of hardware to spice things up.”
: So what other gear would you like for it?
CB: “I’d love to get a Roland Jupiter 8 one day; I just can’t believe the price inflation of that synth in the past five years. It almost feels silly at this point, to me.”
: Finally, what is the future of music production in 100 words?
CB: “Writing, producing and engineering – maybe even mastering – will all melt together and become one process, where each individual part is dependent on the others. Plugins will play a big role in this transition and allow people to express themselves more freely. Everyone will eventually sound like a pro, but not everyone’s sound will be original. The true originals will come from all walks of life and elevate their sound by doing the ‘wrong’ things. Sometimes they’ll have years of experience. And sometimes they’ll have almost none at all.”