Interviews - Front 242

Front 242 - Daniel Bressanutti - Interviewed by Darrel Hughes.

Front 242 was formed during 1981 in Aarschot, near Brussels, Belgium by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen, they released the first single "Principles" with the hit song "Body to Body” in 1981.

In 1982, Patrick Codenys - keyboards and Jean-Luc De Meyer - vocals join Front 242 and they release the single "U-Men" followed by the first full-length album "Geography". This album already displayed the synthetic pulse of kinetic energy driven music that would become Front 242’s signature sound in the following years. In 1983, Dirk Bergen left and Richard 23 joined the band as stage performer and vocalist.

Front 242 invented a unique pioneering sound which they call Electronic Body Music (EBM), with their long discography list of innovative releases spanning the last 28 years, the most recent release being "Moments", an exceptional "Live" recording encompassing the very best of Front 242's compositions.

Front 242 decided to re-load their old analogue sequences into the new generation of synthesizers and carefully re-designed all the sounds to match the spirit of their time. The result was proposed on a worldwide "Vintage Tour" that is still running today.

Now seemed the right moment for Darrel to interview Front 242 regarding their passion and lust for music technology, old and new...

DH: Do the members of Front 242 each have their own smaller personal studio set-ups or do all the members meet at a main private jointly owned studio facility?.

Daniel: Set-up differs from just a computer to a small home studio.

DH: Define how your personal home studios are set-up and configured to each of your individual requirements?.

Daniel: Everything is built around my DAW computers (Dell XPS Desktop 24" / Imac 20") running Cubase or Nuendo 3 - Cubase 4 or 5 and Logic (just for sculpture!) on Mac (when playing live outside 242 I use a Macbook Pro with Logic) input out via Neve 8816 / RME Digiface and Multiface + ADI 8 (I use a Yamaha OV1 for some FX returns, Lexicon 480 / Line 6 Echo Pro), I also use the Yamaha by overloading the inputs (distortion) on certain sounds the rest of the room is filled by analogue synths (some remain all the time like the Roland System 100 and the Modular Synth (Doepfer, Livewire, Make Noise, Tip Top), some I just set-up when needed. I use the VL7 or Poly Evolver as master keys. I also use Avalon 737 / 747, DBX160SL, some TL Audio stuff (EQ1, 2, C1 from the old Classic Line).

DH: To what degree did you condition your studio environment with acoustic sound proofing and treatments?.

Daniel: I did some acoustic treatment, but it is a work in progress.

DH: Do you think its a myth to need to clean up the electrical mains feed to a studio with regards to powerful asymmetrical and symmetrical interference filtering such as potential surge and spike protection, earth ground loop chokes, radio noise interference?.

Daniel: I suppose it is a myth, as long as no problems arise from the mains feed, never had a problem, and I just apply basic ground loop and filtering and surge protection techniques.

DH: Define your main studio audio monitoring system and its entire configuration and specifications?.

Daniel: Depending on the job (recording, arranging or mixing) I use ProAc Tablette Pro 8 or ProAc Tablette 2000 Signature as speakers (I also check on my hifi system (ATC SCM 50) and the music system in my car. On the ProAc I use a Quad 405, and sometimes the Electrocompaniet ECI 3.

DH: What microphones do you prefer to use currently in the studio and for which specific tasks?.

Daniel: Not a big specialist, AKG C414, Sennheiser 421, some Shure Beta 52 / 56, some oldies from Nakamichi and Beyer.

DH: To what degree are Front 242 perfectionists regarding the construction of their studio environment and the pursuit of using the best materials?.

Daniel: Not at all, being at ease is more important on the final result than a perfect set-up.

DH: Do you not mind compromising for a solution or do you only seek to fulfill the perfect ideal no matter the level of personal taxation to achieve it?.

Daniel: We don't mind compromise on technical issues.

DH: How do you feel about the technology change over from hardware synthesis to software synthesis?.

Daniel: It's lost the touch feeling and speed.

DH: With so many types of sonic synthesis available now, which do you prefer and why?, also which do you dislike and why, if any?.

Daniel: I still go for analogue because of the sound, but even more because of ease.

DH: Do you prefer to use Mac or PC systems in the studio?, if so, why?.

Daniel: Whatever does the job, I like Mac a bit more because it is a nicer machine to work with (design and software concept), but I can understand bankers and nerds go for PC (boring and does the job with no extras).

DH: How do you feel about 64 Bit software being developed so slowly in support of the 64 Bit processor environment due to the slow migration from the established 32 Bit processor environment?.

Daniel: Do we really need a guitar with a thousand strings (that we can, does not mean we should).

DH: What do you look forward to coming out soon in terms of music technology?.

Daniel: Nothing.

DH: Do you use enhancers, exciters, maximizers, vitalizers, if so which in particular do you prefer to use and for what specific tasks?.

Daniel: We don't use these tools as a rule or even for what they are supposed to do (I for one try to use them in overkill mode, because then these tools become interesting). If they can be used in a creative way, we will use them. After a while you realize that none of these are miracle tools and plain mixing gets you there eventually.

DH: What in your opinion is the pros and cons of the nearfield, midfield and farfield audio monitoring environments?, which do you prefer to utilize in the studio and why?.

Daniel: For the moment my room imposes the use of nearfield (not really monitors, I use passive ProAc speakers) it is my preference anyway, I always liked the ATC 50's, but you really need room for them.

DH: To what degree have you isolated and de-coupled your studio audio monitors from the surface they are resting on?.

Daniel: Just the usual foam pads.

DH: Does your main studio have an isolated sound booth for recording vocals?, if so define its configurational build and why you chose those specifications?, if not, what environment do you record vocals in, and why did you opt for that solution?.

Daniel: Studio is a big word, working in your apartment / house is really not a big deal when you produce electronic music. I've worked with all kind of vocals and usually the best came from a singer that is at ease with the surroundings, not the fact that it was a "studio".

DH: What do you think to 3 way audio monitoring systems, or monitoring systems that include a sub woofer unit?.

Daniel: If you solve the problems that can arise from using more complex set-ups why not, I would still go for simple and reliable even if it is not perfect and the reality of what people use at home kind of cools me down when it comes to set-ups (whatever speakers, mp3, computer speakers or worse listening to music on your phone!).

DH: What monitoring systems have you used for 3D Sound or 5.1 Audio?.

Daniel: Personally I went for ProAc Tablette Pro 8 and a Rel Sub (+ Rotel amplifier).

DH: What are your favorite DAW plug-in's, and most used VST's?, and why?.

Daniel: No favorite, I use whatever does the job, I like some of the Liquid Mix stuff when used over the top. By VST you mean instruments, I suppose I'm not really a big user of those (I'm lucky... I still have a big collection of analogue gear, Matrix 12, ARP Odyssey, Roland System 100, Yamaha CS30, Poly Evolver, a couple of Voyagers... Except for sampling / rhythm, the limitations of VSTI still bothers me, I really like sculpture on Logic.

DH: Do you add any compression or limiting to vocals during their initial recording?, or to any type of instrumentation during the initial writing stages?.

Daniel: Depends on the vocals, almost all of the time (from almost nothing to a lot) whatever makes them sit well, feeling wise on instruments, mostly electronic so I can leave compression for a later stage sometimes when using OTB electronic drums I will go for compression (more in a creative way than to enhance).

DH: How many different audio monitoring systems will you compare your final mix on for reference checking?, what are your working methods and preference's in this area?.

Daniel: 2 or 3 I like to play on my hifi system, computer and car.

DH: Do you ever reference check your mixes on studio headphones?, if so which brand and model do you prefer to use and why?.

Daniel: Yes, Sennheiser HD 650, good balance and definition (better bass than most).

DH: When recording vocals what brand and model of headphones do you prefer to use in the vocal booth regarding playback of mixes for the vocalist?, and why?.

Daniel: Sony (they are loud) and in your face.

DH: Do you prefer to use semi weighted keyboards or fully weighted hammer-action keyboards when composing?.

Daniel: I'm not a great keyboard user, usually I don't care, they all seem to work for me.

DH: How many and what size visual monitors (LCD) do you have jointly running when producing a track? And in what configuration do you have each of them presenting data for optimized efficiency to assist workflow?.

Daniel: PC 24" and Mac 20", Cubase / Nuendo / Ableton on 24", Sculpture on 20".

DH: When composing rhythm and percussion, which working method do you prefer to adopt, playing the beats physically into the software from an electronic drum kit or pad set-up, or totally to program everything from scratch via the LCD screen within the software?.

Daniel: A mix of all, Clavia DD4 plus pads, drum edit in Nuendo, Ableton to mash / repeat the beats.

DH: What types of control surfaces do you prefer to use and why when designing sound textures or when editing data during the production of the overall music?.

Daniel: Analogue synths or Yamaha VL as controller.

DH: What audio interface's do you prefer to use and why?.

Daniel: RME on PC, Edirol on Mac, RME is very nice and designed to last a long time (updates).

© 07-05-2009 - Copyright Darrel W Hughes.