Latest Posts

Sound Devices: Why wZa Loves His Custom Roland MV-8800

November 4, 2015

Editor’s note: Each week, Cory Perla of The Public asks a local musician to tell us why they love their favorite piece of gear. wZa is hip-hop producer and member of the Buffalo-based hip-hop groups Radarada and Death Picnic. His solo debut full length, AzN CHiKz, comes out this winter. “I love this piece of equipment because it is very versatile and has it’s own unique sound. Not a lot of other beatmakers I know use one as their main piece of gear, so it helps separate my sound from other producer’s sound. It’s also great because it works perfectly for live performance with the bands I play in — Radarada and Death Picnic. It’s great in the studio or my bedroom when I’m making my own beats. I also love it because it has my own design to it, so when I play it, I feel pretty cool.” – wZa

Sound Devices: Why Andy Czuba Loves His Om-Bot Psychic Cell Doom Wave Fold Noise Synth

October 28, 2015

Editor’s note: Each week, Cory Perla of The Public asks a local musician to tell us why they love their favorite piece of gear. Andy Czuba is a noise artist and Sugar City volunteer. His projects include La Parka, a collaborative noise music project with Bobby Griffiths/VWLS, and Flesh Trade, his solo noise project. “I discovered the Om-Bot Psychic Cells two years ago. They are the creations of Shane Vannest/Strangecraft, a sound artist, sculptor, and mask maker from Pittsburgh/now Las Vegas. Upon first seeing images and footage of the synths, I knew I had to own one. Two years later and I own six. They are part noise makers, part art, part puzzles. The Doom Wave Fold has proven to be my favorite one thus far. It has had the most use and I’m still discovering new sounds within it. I’ve used it in every one of my set ups since[...]

Sound Devices: Why Sparklebomb Loves Her Casio SK-1

October 21, 2015

Editor’s note: Each week, Cory Perla of The Public asks a local musician to tell us why they love their favorite piece of gear. Sparklebomb is Angie Conte, an electronic music producer from Buffalo. Her most recent release is a full length cassette tape titled “Bring In The Night.” “It looks like it’s for babies, but the Casio SK-1 has 13 different envelope filters, a sampler, and the most fantastic voices. If you’ve ever listened to Sparklebomb, you’ll know that the haunting pipe organ and spacey brass ensemble voices have both been staples in mostly all of my songs and live performances. Little money was spent on my SK-1 but I have spent quite a bit more on the effects pedals, which I use to enhance its existing beauty. With the right tools, I can make it sound like a grand pipe organ or a synthesizer you’d hear featured in the[...]

Sound Devices: Why Space Cubs Loves Her $10 Cassette Player

October 14, 2015

Editor’s note: Each week, Cory Perla of The Public asks a local musician to tell us why they love their favorite piece of gear. Suzanne Lee Bonifacio is Space Cubs, a Buffalo-based electronic music producer. Her latest track, “Pearls” is out now on the L.A.-based label Unspeakable Records. “Reason is the program that is synthesis has never failed me. I’ve been using it since I started and adore the built in instruments and pretty much only stick to those for my MIDI instruments. AKG is the mic I prefer, as well, for it’s warmth and ageless tone. It just picks up all the nuances and is my closest musical friend. Lastly, this $10 cassette player has aided me on some rad ventures lately. It’s not even a 4-track, but I’ve been using it to record a lot recently. It’s been a ton of fun and even picks up some radio frequencies and buzzes to mess[...]

Sound Devices: Why Khari Waits Loves His BOSS DR-670

October 6, 2015

Editor’s note: Each week, Cory Perla of The Public asks a local musician to tell us why they love their favorite piece of gear. Khari Waits is a Buffalo-based hip hop artist who goes by the name Coleman J. Brahski. He’s also in a few hardcore bands, including BastardBastardBastard and On Point. “My BOSS DR-670 was the first stand alone drum machine I got my hands on and used it to produce my first rap project. What I loved most about this box is how overtly digital it sounded. A lot of drum machines will try to sound realistic, but the DR-670 doesn’t – it knows that it’s a simulation. I relied on it exclusively because I went to a Jack Topht show years ago and saw him do his set from his [Roland] SP-404. I didn’t want to bite his technique outright, but I knew that I wanted to perform with hardware so I could enhance[...]

Sound Devices: Why Lesionread Loves Their Homemade Travel-Sized Studio

September 30, 2015

Editor’s note: Each week Cory Perla of The Public asks a local musician to tell us why they love their favorite piece of gear. Lesionread is a electronic music producer from Buffalo. He just finished a cross country tour. “I love my case because it’s an ‘all-in-one’ portable recording studio. It’s got a lid and wheels attached, and it’s just the right size to fit in my car. My favorite thing to do is while touring, meeting other musicians in each city and hooking ’em into my box so we can record tunes on the fly.” — Lesionread

Sound Devices: Why Cory Loves His MicroKorg

September 22, 2015

This is how this column will work: each week, we’ll feature a piece of gear that one local electronic music maker loves. The gear featured here might be vintage, homemade, or brand spanking new, and we’ll ask one simple question about it: Why do you love it? I’ll go first. “I bought this [MicroKorg] synthesizer about 10 years ago to use in a band I was in at the time. We just wanted a way to add a layer of noise to our songs, and this guy did the job. I never mastered it; I suppose it’s not too late. What I honestly love about it is the character. I unearthed this last week after it sat in an extra room, unused, for a couple of years. I forget how that key in the middle popped out, but I do know that strip of duct tape with the notes for[...]

Nick Zammuto

November 6, 2014

Leaves cover the ground in a rural area of Vermont, where musician Nick Zammuto—known for the wildly collaged pop music he made with indie rock band The Books in the early 2000s, and for his heart-achingly beautiful and weird solo material—wakes up and feeds his kids. After having breakfast with his family he takes a short walk to a small cabin a few yards away—originally an unfinished tractor garage, which he converted into a studio by adding everything from a floor to insulation and soundproofing—where he’ll spend the day combining basslines and chopped up vocals, cryptic samples and driving drums. On a nicer day, he might chop some wood first or check on his bees. He harvested his own honey for the first time this fall, with the help of his wife and mailman. Zammuto lives a homesteader life, in which everything from his music to his music videos are do-it-yourself and produced in a self contained[...]