DITCH THE LAPTOP!

Stepping out of the box can give you a whole new perspective on how you perform and produce, and it’s now easier and more reliable than ever! Let’s get connected...

Over the past two decades, music making software has gone from being cutting-edge new technology to an absolute staple of modern production setups. Whether in professional studios, home music making environments or on stage, it’s rare to find electronic musicians working in a way that isn’t focussed around a computer. In fact, for many modern producers, a laptop, interface, monitors and controller might be the only hardware they need, with all creative duties handled exclusively within ‘the box’.

Recent years have seen more and more producers swing back in the other direction though, avoiding reliance on software in favour of hardware-powered creativity. The year 2018 is a particularly good time to take your music making out of the box – the abundance of affordable gear from the likes of Korg, Roland, Behringer and Arturia has made hardware music making more accessible than ever, and the roaring popularity of Eurorack has opened up countless creative avenues for those willing to dive down the rabbit hole.

Over the next few pages, we’ll dive into a few different approaches for creating and performing electronic music using fully laptop-free setups, as well as quiz a few artists about the routes they take through the out-of-the-box world. While our example setups are far from definitive – there’s no right or one way to work with hardware – hopefully they’ll offer you some ideas and insight into ways to unleash your ideas without turning to software. Time to dig out some leads and get plugged in…