Constructing a Modular Synthesis Album with Richard Devine

Richard Devine with his modular synths.

Richard Devine works as a sound designer by day and an artist by night. He’s recently finished an album called SortLave and went about creating it using an elaborate modular synthesis rig. Synthtopia’s Synthhead locked down an interview with Devine and asked him about his creative process and the unique gear he used to write the album. Synthtopia also managed to get their hands on some stunning photos of Devine’s modular setup.

Devine got his start with modular synthesis using an ARP 2600. He states that “The ARP 2600 is a semi-modular analog subtractive synthesizer. It was a wonderful introduction into the world of sound shaping and synthesis.” This is the same synth that Ben Burtt used to create the iconic sounds of R2-D2 in the original Star Wars films.

The process Devine used to create his album was fascinating. He describes that “For most of the tracks on the album, I set up 5 to 6 cases of Eurorack modules. Each case would play at one point in the track; sometimes two cases would play for just the first two minutes. All of the cases would share the same clock signal.” Devine goes on to explain how he would record up to 20 different takes of a single patch, and then listen back to them and select his favorite for the album.

Devine’s day job is no less exciting than his evening artist endeavors. He works with Apple and Google doing sound design work on new projects that they’re developing. Devine explains how he was, “asked to create all the Ambisonic ambiences and UI sounds for most of their [Google’s] new VR apps, like Photos VR, YouTube VR, and most recently Google Earth VR for the HTC Vive system.”

To view pictures of the Eurorack modular units and Nord G2 modular units that Devine used on his SortLave album, read Synthhead’s full interview with Devine via Synthtopia. It dives into a lot of great details, with a particular emphasis on Devine’s modular synthesis workflow.

Charles Hoffman is a Mixing and Mastering Engineer at Black Ghost Audio. After graduating from the University of Manitoba with an English degree, Charles completed his education at Icon Collective in Los Angeles, CA.

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