Model:Samples could be the affordable and accessible Elektron groovebox you’ve always wanted
Elektron looks to be making a move into the music technology mainstream with the Model:Samples groovebox. A more accessible and affordable proposition than many of the Swedish company’s other products, this is a compact device that’s designed to be picked up and played.
Model:Samples is a six-track groovebox that comes with 300 preset sounds that are supplied by Splice. These range from the familiar – kicks, snares, hi-hats, etc – to more esoteric tones. You can also import your own samples or additional sound packs.
It’s probably fair to say that this could be the most tactile and intuitive Elektron device yet, thanks to its one-function-per-knob control panel. This should make sound shaping a breeze, and your tones can be played using six velocity-sensitive pads. Patterns can be recorded live, or via the step sequencer.
Spec-tacular
These are the basics, but Elektron cites these other key features, too: > Control All lets you twist your sounds to oblivion. Then use Reload to take you back to where you started > Use Parameter Locks to automate parameters. Each step can have a totally different sound > Load six samples at once – just like a kit. This could be great when you have made a Pattern with Parameter Locks, LFOs etc. Load six new samples in order to instantly experiment and come up with unique and unexpected results > Write basslines and melodies using Chromatic Mode > New Chance parameter. Chance determines the possibility whether the sequencer steps on a track are triggered or not. Combining Chance with the Control All functionality can lead to many interesting results and happy accidents > Record sequences with/without quantization. Steps can be microtimed with individual Swing control per track > Individual Step Length and Tempo Multiplier per track > Class compliant USB audio 2.0
As things currently stand, it looks like the Model:Samples can only be powered from the mains, but a battery pack is in development.
The price is appealing, too: at £410, the Model:Samples isn’t quite an impulse buy, but it’s certainly going to tempt a lot of people, particularly those who’ve always wanted an Elektron device but have never quite been able to justify the cost or been scared off by their perceived complexity.
Further specs are available online at the Elektron website, and the good news is that the device will be released in February.
Look out for a full review in upcoming Future Music issues.
Spanish outfit Oso Leone make subtle, deftly-crafted music that blends live and electronic elements and touches on everything from guitar-driven soul to ambient electronica. After a five-year hiatus, March sees them return with a new album for Apollo Records, titled
Gallery Love. FM caught up with them to find out how it was made...
When did you start making music, and how did you first get started?
“It took a long time for us to start recording ourselves... We always worked composing from memory, then we started recording ideas with the phone, so I think that is the first musical gear that we used. We made lots of voice notes with ideas that we transformed into songs. Then we bought a small soundcard, and we’ve ended up having a decent studio.”
Tell us about your studio/setup…
“We wanted to build a portable studio to reduce limitations in the placement of the recording. For recording the album we rented an old cork factory, made of stone walls. That rural kind of construction gave us the acoustics we were searching for. Recording the drums was the most important thing for us, so we needed a room! So we brought some acoustic panels, a rack with a little bit of hardware (an Apollo soundcard, some tube preamps, a Revox mini-mixer and a compressor) and we started recording. Right now, the studio is in Barcelona. We use instruments, effect pedals, drums and percussion. Mostly analogue. For retouch effects or compression we use plugins, but normally the colour is complete before printing to digital. There’s a lot written about the dichotomy of analogue/digital; our only comment is that it’s hard to find the feeling in playing a plugin or pre-recorded sound. We play instruments, we’re old school!”
What DAW do you use, and why?
“We use Pro Tools and Ableton, both worked in the album. One gives the best technical tools, the other gives the best plasticity. But we compose and mix in both, we don’t care.”
What one piece of gear in your studio could you not do without, and why?
“A good laptop. The most important piece of gear for a music maker nowadays. It gives you the freedom of being anywhere anytime doing anything anyhow. I can’t imagine doing music any other way.”
Any recent studio additions?
“I love old gear, and usually purchase it from friends or second-hand. I’d say the last purchase was the Summit TPA-200B, an astonishing, warm piece of gear; it really sounds big.”
What’s your dream bit of gear?
“A grand piano, definitely.”
How do you start a new track?
“The process is so random that we don’t have any established method by now. We started composing on our phones and have ended up doing it in a more pro way, but normally when a song appears, it does it in an unexpected way, so who cares…
“The best thing for us is to have all the instruments plugged in, always ready to record. Then comes the editing part… or not. Some songs have disappeared because we took too long to take a decision. Above all, the process is pretty fresh and we usually end up making something that comes out more like a collage instead of a linear composition.”
What are you currently working on?
“Short term, we are currently working on the new live show. Long term, on the next album.”
“The best thing for us is to have all the instruments plugged in, always ready to record” Oso Leone|