Creating sounds and sample libraries is a topic of great passion to me. In the video on the left side, I show you the studio enviroment and talk about the procedures and the ways I create sounds, virtual instruments and I talk about my sources of inspiration. For any sounddesign request or related questions feel free to use the contact form.

Read an extensive interview on Zero-G website

For those of you who are not familiar with me and my work, i would like to tell you a bit more about my background

I came in touch with electronic music around 1988, when I discovered EBM and the Belgium New Beat in a local record store, where I used to buy Acid- and House vinyls. EBM and New Beat felt very new and innovative at this time, and I was addicted at once. 2 years later, that Techno and Rave thing appeared, which was very energetic and revolutionary. I bought tons of that stuff by R&S Records, MusicMan, 80Aum, Overdrive or Harthouse on vinyls, but one day in 1991, I visited my first rave party and watched the DJs: They took the needles from the vinyls, but the music kept playing on. At this time, I recognised the topic "mixing" and was on fire at once. Short afterwards, I spent my whole money for 2 Technics SL-1210 turntables and a Vestax mixer, and learned the technical side of mixing, and the musical side as well. After first small gigs I played at bigger events. It was a great experience, to let the people feel the energy of that machine music called Techno, and I learned a lot about electronic music while playing and listening to that stuff. Around 1994, I started first tracks using just my Home computer, an Amiga 500. After 2 years of researching and producing, in 1996, I released my first 12-Inch on the german label "Draft Records" and several follow-ups. In 1997, the game changed completely for me: I bought my first synthesizer, a Roland Juno-6. It felt very different to work on real synthesis instead of moving blocks on a computer screen. With the years, I dived deeper into the sound, and it changed the way, that I consumed or listened to music, extremely. And also, I became more and more interested about sound design. Overall, producing music and sounds became more fascinating to me than "just" playing music.

What inspired me to start producing sample libraries?

Since I have been involved into electronic music, I always have been extremely interested in the process and the technical side of creating sound and synthesis. As I started producing Techno and House, which is essentially "machine music", it was very exciting to explore all the opportunities to create sounds from scratch, but also to deal with the technical challenge. Techno as unconventional, technological and reduced form of music, based on less musical rules than other conventional musical styles, gave me pure freedom to discover sound design in a more intuitive and unaffected way. The first gear I bought was that classical cheap and used equipment with lots of technical restrictions and reductions, but it have been exactly these machines which forced me to be creative or to try things I never would have tried with all this mighty, expensive synthesizers or samplers. For example, not one single synthesizer I used offered any storage of settings, so I had to decide right away to use or not to use a created sound. The same thing on samplers back in these days: With a total of 1 MB or 2 MB storage for sampling, you had to be very creative to use every single bit of that machines. I think, starting and working this way influences me still today. In times of total recall, nearly unlimited options or molecular sound design opportunities, I prefer using uncomplicated machines because I like to stay very close to the sound without having too much alternative options. From the beginning of my own productions, it was very important to me to use self created sounds, I understood this as my personal sound signature. In my understanding, creating a unique sound from scratch is worth to spent every single second, and it also is a very exciting process, because so many unexpected things can happen. Within the last years, the idea of creating a sample library grew constantly, but it always ended up using the created sounds directly and spontaneously for new tracks or on new releases. I am very critical about sound on my own productions, and lately I thought, if my sound creations inspire me that much myself, they also will have a chance to inspire or to support other musicians.

About sources of inspiration and education when I started producing music and sounds

At the age of 11, I discovered the radio stations BBC and BFBS, which regular played the British Top 40. Besides that typical Pop music of the 80s, they also played a lot of Synth Pop, which was completely different from the german music I have listened before. These Synth Pop sounds (like beats, pads, synths, keys and effects) sounded so different, and I always tried to figure out, which instruments have been used to create these fresh sounds. From the inspirational side, I am musically very influenced by acts like Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, Soft Cell and Yazoo, because I always felt some kind of magic about the sounds they used. Later on, I realised, that they used keyboards called synthesizers and drum machines, and from this moment, I was fascinated about these machines. Speaking about educational background, Techno with its early Rave era has been the perfect education to learn a lot about electronic music, musical structures, the energy and the functions and roles of sounds, how it all works together and what about the magic behind. The things I discovered and learned about Techno and electronic music also worked for me when producing House, Drum&Bass, Jungle and Chillout. I understood all these electronic music genres as revolution: Far away from that classical band thing, not restricted by that musical rules of genres like pop or jazz, and you needed just a few machines to express yourself musically. Finally, over the years my musical way led me a away from the hard, minimalistic Techno stuff to the more mellow and melodic side of electronic music, like Trance, Deep House, Lounge and Dubtechno: Here I found a way for myself to combine my passion for Synth Pop influenced sounds and harmonies with the energy of electronic music. My first inspirational software I used, was ProTracker running on an Amiga 500 Home computer in 1989: It featured 4 mono tracks at 22 Khz with at least 1 MB of RAM, but to me it felt like a door into a new world when creating first Techno tracks on this machine. Still today, software is an important topic to me besides using hardware. Hardware offers me a direct and musical access to the sounds, software often makes things possible you can not realise based on hardware without spending incredible much money. So, I take the best of both worlds. I am not the kind of guy who puts too much philosophy into this topic, for me just one thing counts: If it sounds right, it is right.

My focus is to use primary hardware equipment - what to say about my personal favourites?

There are a few machines I never would give away, but the rest of my studio equipment changes from time to time. And that for an important reason: I like to deal with different equipment regular to learn new things and to change the way I work. If I wouldn't work like this, I would come to a point where everything would feel like routine. It is exciting to learn how to program a new synth or effect, and it changes the way how I design sounds. I keep myself in motion, thats a great inspiration. Echo Factory Volume 1 has been created primary using the Roland D-50 (great for raw and breathy sounds), Roland JD-800 (realtime sound design), Roland JV-2080 (excellent source for pads), EMU ESI-4000 (sampling and LoFi effects), Korg PolySix (mostly basslines), Lexicon PCM-92 (longtail reverbs), SPL Vitalizer MKII-T (to add some spice and overtones), TC Electronic D-Two and M-One (delays and smaller rooms) and that cheap LoFi stuff by Behringer, which sounds exactly that metallic and cold as I like it. Speaking about the synth side, I have a clear favourite: The D-50 by Roland. Don't know, but this synth has its own life and sometimes acts very unexpected, which results in very unconventional sounds. My unit is from 1988, and it will be the last piece of gear I would give away - we are partners in crime.

How to use that stuff in sound design and sample libraries

I used my gear in very different ways. One method I used was to play the synths live synced to the metronome of Logic-X and to record these sessions as audio. In the next steps, I programmed the outboard effects. Finally, I recorded the audio file again including the mixing console and the effects. I also used the EQs of the mixing console to modulate the sounds and to add some spice. Another method: I recorded the audio files again and controlled the outboard effects in realtime via MIDI parameters to archieve very lively results. I also recorded an audio file a second and a third time with microphones to have a "real" room recording, and finally I mixed the original audio and the room recording together. The basslines all have been created on a Korg Polysix using MIDI events because of a more precisely timing, all the rest have been recorded live with synthesizers, effects and mixers.

Are there any specific virtual instruments which inspire me?

One source of inspiration is the "NI Kontakt", because of the option to create own and very unique instruments from scratch and to use the internal scripting option. As web programmer, I like any kind of codes, and in addition, in Kontakt I can create custom GUIs and develop an instrument which exactly does what I want. Another favourite is the free "Odin II" by The Wave Warden. I really like the modular options and, most important, the sound, it is pretty good and has something I miss on some other softsynths. It is easy to handle, but you can even create complex and living sounds within minutes. Thats a good and important point for sound design. But more important as softsynths are the effects to me. I primary use outboard gear for effects, but I would not go so far to say, that hardware is better than software - both have unique characters. Both are different and both doing a great job, but I like more that haptic thing with knobs and faders, every time it lets me act much more musically than working with the computer mouse. On the software effects side, I really like to work with all that stuff by "Valhalla". It delivers excellent results and sounds special very often. The last to mention is the "TAL-X" by TAL Audio. That delay inspires me also very much, it feels controllable and uncontrollable at same time, it has some kind of its own live, like the early tape echoes. I like that feeling very much.

Does the process of creating a virtual instrument or plugin gets more challenging as technology advances?

I would say no. The technology does not advance that fast as expected. Its more the rising power of the machines and computers, we use, which lets us do more and complex things, but I don't feel that technology really changed extremely within the last 10 years. To write a piece of code or to design a custom GUI for an instrument still feels the same to me as years ago. The advantage today is, that I can address much more memory and CPU power than years before, so I can create much more complex things, which is essential for sound design. Thats my statement just as sound designer - as application programmer I would have answered this question contrary. Operation systems are changing continuously as well as algorithms or code structures. As sound designer and musician, I am far away from this side of technological changes.

What was the inspiration behind my first commercial sample library?

I discovered Dubtechno 11 years ago and was very fascinated right away about its musical structures and minimalistic approach. I liked that reduced rhythms and the ensemble of just a few sounds benefitting from weird delays and huge reverbs - these effects are acting like musical instruments in this genre and are very stylistic and specific. I see Dubtechno as musical evolution of early Detroit Techno, which also was based on this minimalistic chord stuff. As producer, I always was looking for that special sounds and samples, but I found it much more easier and more challenging, to create own sounds to have a maximum of control, especially about the modulation of sounds. In Dubtechno, its much about perfect unperfection, so as sound designer I feel a great freedom to try lots of unconventional things - and I like to use effects more in a way instruments are used.

What is the approach in initial stages of producing a sample library?

My approach always is relaxed, because creating sounds is always an inspiring and surprising job i do with lots of fun. So, if I have a vision for a sample library of a specific musical genre, I tend to start very open minded. Of course, every genre has its own character and specific sound signature I have to consider, but eventually I am a wanderer between lots of electronic music genres. On producing a library, I have some kind of specific sound already in mind, but not that specific that I would say it has exactly to sound like this or that. If so, I just would reproduce something which already exists. So I always try to evolve myself a little bit further or to look beyond the musical horizon, but I always like to stay within a context to give it all a sense. The best things in sound design happens surprisingly or unexpected, I define that as unique snapshot.

What projects and sample libraries to expect next?

As musician, I am very deep into Dubtechno, Deep House, Tech House, Techno, Drum&Bass, Lounge, TripHop and NuJazz. Of course, they are partly pretty different from each other, but it is exactly that difference which keeps me open minded and interested. From the sounddesign side, next up there will be a massive Lounge/Downbeat/NuJazz sample library, but I also will integrate elements and fragments of HipHop and Breakbeats. On the music production side, I am currently working on my next album, which will be released by the end of the year.

Now playing the last track

In times, where every hardware synth or software synth is shipped with already thousands of presets, it still feels like magic to create own and unique sounds from scratch - it is absolutely worth it! What confuses me most on that build-in presets of commercial products and gear, is the feeling, that most of them are sounding way too perfect - sometimes even steril. I often miss a soulful character or a specific audio signature. Dont get me wrong - there are truly brilliant sounds and presets out there by fantastic people and awesome producers. But i also feel that things repeat themselfs too many times. What do you think? Whats your opinion about? If you like to, drop me some lines or your thoughts by using the contact form.

"Zero-G Echo Factory - Dubtechno Mechanisms 1" has been created by german Dubtechno producer "Smooth". This full packed sample library is massively loaded with a total of 1,238 sounds and loops, along with 53 Kontakt6 instruments and a unique Kontakt user interface.

This unique sample library will give any Dubtechno producer a massive source of inspiration with a wide range of beautiful, dark, mellow, cold, warm and expressive samples and instruments. Explore over 6.5GB fresh and handcrafted, high quality sounds and instruments with a strong focus on Dubtechno but also suitable for many other styles of electronic music genres.

This highly versatile collection of unique Dubtechno sounds provides loops at 120 BPM and 127 BPM, additionally the chords section includes loops dry as well as complex processed, so you can choose the best options for your project. The 53 Kontakt 6 instruments with custom GUI allow an intuitive interaction with the included sounds. All of the samples are 100% original and royalty-free for your musical use.

As a long years sample digger and sound hunter i asked myself what to expect from my own sample library. And i found 3 points which seemed essential to me: Quality, usability and user experience. For a maximum of quality, i recorded all sessions in 24 Bit and 48 Khz and cut the loops very precisely and tested them over and over again. The sounds primary have been created for Dubtechno, but it also was important to me that producers of other electronic music genres would benefit from the sounds. So, the library will have a good usability, especially for multi-genre producers. The best sounds are worthless if you dont find them or if you have to search for them too long when inspiration needed. I was very careful to name the files precisely and to create a logical folder structure wouldnt drive the user mad. I really enjoyed working on this product - I hope you will hear it.