Soundcheck Portrait

Control freak: Moldover
Translated by René C. Kiesler ( http://dj.kiesler.at/ )

Moldover is a pioneer of creative controller use. The young musician and DJ from New York told Soundcheck interesting things about his setup and the right way to prepare gigs.

Moldover, alumnus of the music college in Berklee, is driving current controller techniques to the limits in his sets. Controllerism is the name of this new type of musical playfulness. Here, playback is used as a real instrument. Moldover is treating his sounds with every possible manipulation, breaks their structure, takes his material into new contexts -- everything live and On The Fly.

Center piece of Moldovers setup is a heavily modded Novation 25 SL MIDI controller. The keys of the 25 SL are either switched or have rubber glued to them to make them less slippery. Five additional cross faders, a Kurzweil ribbon controller as well as a Korg Kaoss pad have been integrated as well. On the software side, Ableton Live and Native Instruments Reaktor are used. Interesting: A freeware Reaktor plugin (BeatLookup by Chris List) is used on the Ableton Live master channel and permanently chops out 4 bar loops of the audio material. That way, Moldover can for example make sounds stutter or simply play parts again (Beatjuggling).

SOUNDCHECK: Moldover, how do you define "Controllerism"?

Moldover: In a nutshell, Controllerism is similar to Turntablism [the art of using turn-tables as instruments, ed]. Except you don't use turn-tables and mixers to make music. Controllerists use software as well as -- Surprise! -- controllers.

SC: You're using Ableton Live and Native Instruments besides other things. What do you like about these programs?

Moldover: Ableton was my entry drug to Controllerism. Having found a program with an user-friendly interface which is also useable for live performances was the thing that inspired me to my travel into the world of Controllerism. I included Reaktor because I needed a tool to enable me to break all rules which make Ableton as convenient as it is. Both programs harmonize well with each other. If you use them side-by-side, they give a good balance between convenience and flexibility.

SC: What kind of preparations do you take to be able to work with your setup reliably?

Moldover: For avoiding crashes and other annoyances I have a three point program:

  1) optimize your system. Don't run unneeded applications, turn off all background services. Also, test every single Hard- and Software element of your setup, get rid of what you don't need.
  2) do a load test of your system. Use each controller to its limits. Try out every possible combination of controller positions. You should unplug and re-plug every device of your systems at least once. Try everything to make your system crash. It's better to make that happen during the preparation than during the gigs!
  3) change nothing! Except you have time to repeat 1) and 2).

SC: You like building your own controllers. Can you tell us about your latest self-made controller?

Moldover: I just finished working on a new controller I built all by myself. Its better for my needs than everything else that's available commercially right now. It has features that aren't available anywhere else -- for example Twist Lock USB ports. I just wish it wouldn't have taken me thousands of dollars and nine months to get it done.

SC: How do you synchronize your system when working with a live band?

Moldover: As a controllerist, I've been already able to play with different groups. I've used headphone clicks, MIDI beat clocks, tap-tempo controls and free-tempo controls for that. I think that clocks and clicks are problematic in general. I prefer the flexibility and musicality you can reach by using free synchronization. I orient myself on other musicians, adapt my tempo on the fly and re-trigger my sounds during the performance.

(caption of the lower/right picture:)

New York musician and DJ Moldover is using electronic sounds like an instrument.