“I try and do things as analogue as possible just because you need to add less sauce later” Ex Mykah|

Ex Mykah is the experimental pop project of Bryan Senti, an LA-based musician of Cuban and Colombian descent. Having previously worked as a musician-forhire with the likes of Mark Ronson and Miike Snow, Senti released his debut single as Ex Mykah, Berlin

Lies, earlier this year. At the end of last month, Senti followed that up with a debut album proper, 16,17, which draws influences equally from classic electronic pop and contemporary R&B and hip-hop. FM caught up with him to talk synth and sound mangling…

When did you start making music?

“I started playing violin at the age of three and was prepared to go to music school on that but had kind of an early life crisis on the instrument because I wasn’t sure I wanted that to be my life. So I started studying composition and writing songs around 16. In the beginning they were classical pieces and folk songs inspired by Debussy, Prokofiev, Elliott Smith and Radiohead. The only gear I had was my sister’s piano, an early version of Sibelius and Fruity Loops.”

Tell us about your setup...

“I have a home setup, but am in between spots. I just got a new house, so I’m currently building a home studio in the garage. At the moment I’m renting my buddy Dustin O’Halloran’s place, and he has some nice gear. I try and do things as analogue as possible just because you need to add less sauce later.

“Currently I have a Moog Voyager, Prophet 12, Juno-60 (modded), Modor NF-1, MF-B Tanzbär, Jomox Alpha Base, Linn Drum, a bunch of modular stuff and lots of weird random crap and pedals. Then I also have a piano, violin and sax. I splurged on a Wunder CM7 mic so that’s my workhorse for recording, and I use a bunch of the usual UAD, Sound Toys, and FabFilter plugins.

“I love it when people clue me into to more niche stuff though, like Goodhertz etc. I like the stuff I have, and I really try not to buy shit for the sake of it. The only thing I would change is the space itself, so I hope this garage works out!”

What one piece of gear in your studio could you not do without, and why?

“The Sequential Prophet 12 is my workhorse. I just absolutely love that synth. It’s modern, distorts in all kinds of fucked up ways, and in general I can make stuff sound really weird very quickly.”

What’s the latest addition to your studio line-up?

“Modular stuff! I recently got the Shapeshifter from Intellijel – very deep and exciting. Modular is everything, and it’s gotten a lot easier to work with now that a lot of the setups have MIDI capabilities.”

What dream bit of gear would you love to have in your studio?

“A 1960s Steinway B.”

When approaching a new track or project, where do you start?

“When I start making a new track, I try and start with the story. This goes for classical music too. I feel like if I have a general idea of what kind of song I want to write, that really helps zero-in the production for the song. Otherwise it feels like I have way too many options.

“After that, I typically start with the chords, but I’ve been working on changing that by starting with percussion, melody lines, or just more general sound creation – for lack of a better term.”

What projects are you currently working on?

“I’ve started writing a big piece for choir and string orchestra that will get manipulated and added to electronically. I want it to be super bizarre. Outside of that, I have some other songs cooking…”