Artists
Octave One reveal their favorite gear for live techno
The Detroit natives prep for a major slot at Movement
When it comes to live techno, few in the industry are as experienced as Detroit natives Octave One. The duo of Lenny and Lawrence Burden have been churning out live sets focusing on their relentless techno for decades and their dedication to the craft has allowed them to earn the reputation of being innovators in their field. Following the release of their sixth album ‘Love by Machine’, they’ve constructed a new live show, set to be featured at Movement Electronic Music Festival, which will showcase why they are revered masters of their hardware.
It’s clear from what they’ve produced on ‘Love by Machine’ that the human element is at the forefront, even if the music is machine-based. On the development of the new material, Lawrence says it was all about getting back to their roots: “We decided to go back to how we used to make our records, when we didn’t have so many ‘sophisticated’ audio devices. Back to when we interacted in the studio together as musicians.”
With Movement Electronic Music Festival on the horizon, Mixmag has tapped the Burden brothers to shed light on their favorite gear. Here they display their technical knowledge in order to provide a glimpse of how they develop their captivating performances.
1. Akai MPC1000
This unit serves as the master sequencer and master midi clock. It has two midi out ports for a total 32 midi channels. Enough channels to supply midi data to all of the synths, drum machines, and selected effect units. It also provides the master midi clock for various drum machines and samplers. It also has six audio outputs to send separated drum and synth hits to the mixing console. Right now it’s the Akai MPC1000, but possibly soon the Akai MPC live will take its place.
