You've heard Nine Inch Nails and Ministry . Big Black
and Einstuerzende Neubauten . But have you heard Battery 9 , created and
produced by one man , a guitar , and a hi-tech studio of samplers , sequencers
and MIDI interfaces ? EVAN MILTON spoke to Battery 9's PAUL RIEKERT about
the creative technology behind the music .
mu'te : You did the writing , recording , mastering and production
on both Protskrog and Strop , but recent musical press has
raised questions about the quality of South African songs , noting that
our big acts are more about technical virtuosity than good individual songs
.
PR : Most rock musicians avoid technology outside of the guitar
world . They should try sequencing , not shy away so much from that way
of creation ; it might open their minds and we might get better songs from
this country . Ja , this craft and skill thing , you know , the guitar-hero
thing , it's sooo boring - putting your foot on the monitor and throwing
back your hair . If you can't say it in 15 seconds then keep quiet ! We
should tell them : " You can play all the notes you want , you've
only got 15 seconds." There's only one thing worse , [and that's]
when people stand around like they wish they were fishing . Most bands
here are too precious and don't stand back to say "that's really awful."
They say ,"That reverb is really good , we spent so much money making
the recording , how can people not like our music ?" They're not thinking
about the end product .
mu'te : And your music ?
PR : The ASR-10 sampler forms the basis , it's a great notepad
and has a primitive sequencer on board . You'll notice there's no PC on
stage ; it's all live and from the sampler which has built-in effects from
amp emulators to telephone effects , good e.q.'s , good delay effects .
I resample through those effects . I use an analogue synth , a Korg Mono/Poly
, which you can't MIDI up . I record it live onto a hard disc recorder
at 44.1 MHz , so there's no [sampling] rate conversion necessary for CD
, and then master it digitally . After sampling , it never leaves the digital
domain (Riekert likes saying "it never leaves the digital domain".)
Most of the sounds I use are "found" stuff from TV , conversations
, background noise on the answering machine , sometimes blended with the
synth . For example , I layered the sound of a hairclipper - it's got this
great hum , really close to your ear . I needed a bit of bass with this
hum and messed around with the synth . I created another layer in the sampler
and trigger the two sound events together . I like dynamic mic's [microphones]
, the response is closer to how my ear perceives things . If I start with
a really good sound , I'd go to the effort to record it naturally .
mu'te : But most of your sounds are ... shredded ?
PR : Shredding sound ? Hmmm , I like that word : shred
. It's actually totally arbitrary , the collection process . I use anything
. I got this beautiful snare sound with a box of matches dropped onto an
aluminium sheet - aluminium has a very hi-tech clang if you compare it
to iron , or steel or even zinc ; it generates a very clinical sound ,
like hitting a UFO . There's no way we'll play live hitting aluminium sheets
on stage - I put a mic either side , then blend that with a dull no-reverb
snare sound - a new nice unique snare sound ... I use a little DAT recorder
with a dynamic mic . I need it because the hard disc recorder is not portable
, it needs a UPS-type constant , non-spiky 220V supply .
mu'te : What about computers ?
PR : I prefer to press a play button , rather than click
a mouse when it comes to music . PC's are great for sequencing if you've
got a good MIDI interface . I tried using a PC , but for processor
intensive work I've discovered that you really need dedicated units , stand-alone
processors . PC is good for synchronising [analogue] tape with stuff ,
using say , Cubase . (He no longer requires this facility , since he now
starts with a digital source.) I do sequencing on the sampler , it's structured
like a drum machine , with fair control . You can't play half a sample
, trigger halfway through a [sampled] event , which is good , it forces
me to play stuff live because it's a schlep to edit .
mu'te : How's your studio set up ?
PR : It's fairly ergonomic , all low , all within reach
. Maybe a year ago "I had too many things . I got rid of all the crap
. It's a U-shaped outlay facing a wall : to the left is a view of Yeoville
, Sandton , out to Jan smuts , you can sort of make out the Magaliesberg
. I need to have a view when making music - that grey foam thing is not
the studio I would like to work in . Grey foam tiles are m pet hate .
mu'te : You've never sampled the sound of grey foam tiles ?
PR : I would probably just burn them , but now I hear they're
making them fireproof .
mu'te : Back to the studio ...
PR : The set-up is quite portable . Some tracks on Strop
were recorded in different locations , you get a different feel in a deserted
warehouse . In a hot room with a lot of empty space where no-one can phone
and you can't do anything but this , it does weird things to your head
. Like on "Kiss the Machine" I did maybe 20 mixes and
moved location to an empty warehouse , and got it , the one .
mu'te : Tell us more about your albums.
PR : Protskrog is just a word I thought up and I thought
it sounded cool . Sound-wise it was more experimental because I didn't
always know how to get the sound I wanted . The vocals and guitar tracks
and solos were recorded on PC , with some digital effects . It was done
in more of a clutter .
With Strop , I could go for the jugular . I knew exactly
what sounds I wanted , and could go straight there and do it , which influenced
the way the album sounds . It has a slightly more "no nonsense"
feel to it . Because I worked so much faster I could try out new stuff
- I hate going into a studio and being pressured for time . Like "Scream"
we played that live for six or seven months with different versions at
each gig until it clicked into place . I don't believe in the flawless
take , I believe in the perfect take . If there's one bum note in a take
, but it cooks , then that's the one .
Content-wise Strop is as funny as Protskrog
, but the jokes aren't always that easy to get first time . Sometimes a
whole song exists in inverted cammas , like "Cross No More Rivers"
. No-one thinks it's funny , but I think it's hilarious . Strop
is more song-based than idea-based ; the songs are more important than
the sounds in the songs . Not that the meaning is only in the lyrics ,
the meaning is often in the sound but the songs hang together better .
mu'te : Your favourite South African bands ?
PR : Plum are very funky , although they're slightly
Primus obsessed at the moment . I like watching Live Jimi Presley
, they're like another island that's within sight of this island
. I like the Springbok Nude Girls , I always watch their
whole set , wheras normally I would get bored .
