AUGUST 10, 2023
artist and producer nosaj thing, aka jason chung, is an old friend. we met for the first time back in 2010 when OP-1 was revealed; chung was making beats on OP-1 for the ''make beats'' competition with stüssy, and his first album, drift , had just been released. today, he's past his fifth record and stopping by stockholm for a long awaited visit after playing sónar in barcelona.
NOSAJ THING
his latest record, continua , is chung's first big collaborative effort, and a leap out of his comfort zone. "as someone that just started making beats in the bedroom… also being more introverted, it was a huge challenge for me to really step up as a producer and learn how to communicate with multiple personalities. this is also my first album with luckyme and dom who runs the label… i had like this dream list of artists i wanted to work with and he told me, ''hey, i hate to break it to you, but you're gonna have to send some dms.'' … i guess then i just understood that if you have this idea, you have this vision, and you want to work with someone, it is always going to mean more if you reach out directly. and a few of those were very difficult for me. i had drafts for a few weeks or even a month [before i sent them]. "i think everyone on the record were artists i was already listening to for several years, so it was almost like this was the cast in a movie i had in mind… so i just kind of already knew that it was going to work and fit."
NOSAJ THINGS STUDIO
chung's cinematic intentions are clear throughout "continua". calling on artists well-versed in the realm of ethereal composition like julianna barwick and duval timothy, to notorious mood setters like toro y moi and coby sey, chung and his supporting cast have released one of the most lowkey survival soundtracks of the past year. this collaborative approach flowed from the studio to the records visual language, working with creative director eric hu, and calling in photographers phil nisco and donovan novotny for the music videos . the blueprint emerged from his production process, one that has always been inspired by moving image. "last year, we saw this film called 'memoria' , and of course 'koyaanisqatsi' . i played that film a lot during this record, and i was just like, 'this movie came out in early 80s. what's our version? what can we do?' donovan is such a talented photographer, i just told him 'hey, just make video stills of what you do already.' he was just so hyped on that idea."
WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEOS FROM "CONTINUA".
these videos also formed the basis of nosaj thing's new live set design, developed with japanese artist, daito manabe, for this years sónar festival. "since my first album… i would always write music with the tv on mute. it's just always been my thing. [i put on] whatever i like to watch and just use that as inspiration. "i guess for me, whenever i'm creating a new idea of music, images just come into my head. but i think also just being in the day and age of information overload, maybe it just helps me not look at anything else. you know what i mean? in a weird way, it just helps me focus, just like putting on more of a slow film. "i really love static shots….that's been a huge inspiration on the most current live show. it was something i wanted to see. usually when you see tour visuals, most of the time just fast moving, so just to see something just more like a static image or video, it's just refreshing to me."
NOSAJ THING AND DAITO MANABE AT SÓNAR FESTIVAL THIS YEAR.
JUNE 29, 2023
alexander wessely has worked with some of the worlds biggest artists. from the weeknd, rihanna and drake, to 070 shake, swedish house mafia and avicii – the multimedia artist has had a front row seat to the phenomenon of idol worship. this experience, directly observing the hyperreality of celebrity, is what has shaped the concept of his latest exhibition.
ALEXANDER WESSELY
"kortex" is wessely's most extensive solo exhibition yet. showing at stockholm's fotografiska museum, he attempts to "remove the outer shell, showing the core and the essence of the human underneath, in their most fragile state" through marble sculptures, video and light installations, soundscapes, and 3D photography. "i started working with all these physical marble sculptures four years ago, it's sort of the final stage of a 10 year chapter. the whole theme of 'kortex', which is bark or the outer layer in old greek or latin, came very organically after working with artists on a high level. creating sculptures, set design, scenography, creative direction, and sort of creating the worlds around these artists. the fans and admirers in the crowd, they have this godlike type approach to this person who is just a fellow human. they adore this person, but what they actually adore and obsess about is a shell that's added onto that person. it's the shell and the persona… that's why the marble, which is a very hard material but extremely fragile at the same time, symbolizes us as humans very well."
WESSELY'S MARBLE SCULPTURES
the exhibition is dark, the marble figures dissected and raw. a rolling drone sounds in the distance as a murmur of a voice becomes louder upon approach. one of the pieces in the exhibition is a poem written and read by 070 shake, playing out of an OD-11 subtly encased inside a hollow marble pillar.
OD-11 IN MARBLE
"our collaboration goes back four years. from our first sort of sit down, i was inspired by [070 shake] and her vision and her mentality… she's like all feels, all the way. she's so curious and well rounded. when i showed her this work, which is called 'humans', she was very inspired. and she started talking about us being born naked and how when we die you won't be able to tell the difference between us… when she started talking about it i was like, 'okay, stop, i need to record this!' and so we recorded this very genuinely on the phone. it's not scripted or anything, she was just talking as she looked at it. and it's sort of a comment on the exhibition theme, but also a conversation with herself being dani and herself now also being 070 shake." you can experience wessely's exhibition "kortex" at fotografiska in stockholm, now showing until september 17. learn more about OD-11 here
JUNE 8, 2023
we sat down with our friend raz fresco last week on the release day of "pocket operations II: forty seconds only", his second record filled with tracks made exclusively with PO-33 K.O.! "i'm raz fresco, mr. marvelous himself. i'm reporting live from 'the bakery' here in downtown toronto, canada. i'm a rapper, producer, photographer, and work with videos. long story short, i'm a renaissance man."
RAZ FRESCO WITH HIS PO-33 K.O.!
fresco's history with the PO-33 isn't particularly long, but it is prolific. in the search for new gear after his akai mpd broke in 2021, he found the missing piece in his production workflow. "i was like 'yo, i can make beats on the go?' cos' before i was tied to my computer for my whole life as a producer." today, PO-33 is a mainstay in his production setup and at the nexus of his "pocket operations" project. "there've been times where i've brought it to the record shop when i'm digging for records and i can sample there, right away on the spot."
FRESCO'S PO CASE IS FROM BEAT MAKER'S BOUTIQUE
taking his PO-33 from record stores to walks by the lake, fresco's hyper-curiosity found satisfaction in the creative possibilities of the tiny sampler, a mindset that finds itself at home within a legacy of beatmakers throughout history, including his own uncle. "my uncle is in the reggae hall of fame, his name is earl zero. so i'm directly tied into the early dub scene… and that scene was revolutionary in the sense that they made the electronics an instrument. that's part of my dna as far as building your own sound." from mozart to dilla, music has always been a reflection of its time - the machines, architecture and cultural movements of the moment all locked in a tennis match of influence. being a student of hip hop, this knowledge only reinforces fresco's determination to be a part of the conversation.
PO-33 K.O.! IN FRESCO'S FAVORITE CASES
"in the timeline of hip hop, certain pieces of equipment came out and like they've been so substantial… there's a point where there was just a turntable and then all of a sudden there were two! then the mpcs and SP 1200s came out in the 90s. there are producers that are associated with these machines because their understanding of sound and their usage of them revolutionized hip hop. in the 2000s, around the time ‘madvillainy’ and these things dropped, they had the roland SP 404 and the first 303… they're like, 'yo, this equipment has a different workflow!' it activates your mind to work differently. [the pocket operator] is another step in the evolution… i just wanted to be one of the people on the timeline too because i see it and i know that this is a moment. i wanted to capture the moment and show the system was upgraded."
LISTEN TO "POCKET OPERATIONS", THE PRECURSOR TO "POCKET OPERATIONS II"
check out raz fresco latest album "pocket operations II: forty seconds only" here explore PO-33 here
MAY 4, 2023
last week, a teenage engineering remix of the song "overswum" by the swedish prog band hög sjö was released, created by teenage engeering's own jonas and josefine, recorded at pontus winnbergs studio skolhaus. the creative process behind the remix involved experimenting with super collider to generate a random structure of the piece. the intention was to break away from traditional song structures and create something unpredictable and dynamic. the synthesized voices of the teenage engineering choir were added to create an otherworldly atmosphere in the music.
OP–1 FIELD TOGETHER WITH TEENAGE ENGINEERING CHOIR
the project was an experiment to see how the ideas and processes of product development could be translated into music creation. “the idea behind the remix was to create something that sounded like a half-broken toy were the gears sometimes would shift into place and create coherent music and sometimes just output stumbling tones and rythms” after creating the super collider soundscape we went to the skolhaus studio and recorded the teenage engineering choir along with more organic sounds like rhodes and old synthesizers.
PATRIK BERGER
hög sjö is the artist moniker of the esteemed swedish producer, musician and songwriter patrik berger. his album with the same name was released earlier this year. listen to the song here
APRIL 6, 2023
recently, producer nick hook and visual creator laurel romero were in town and swung by teenage engineering hq. playing around with some of our recent, and upcoming releases, laurel showed us how she’s been using TX–6 to live mix her visuals. using an ableton plug-in (‘rokvid’ in this case), she turned the multi-channel mixer into a midi controller, assigning different parameters to different channels. this allowed her to spontaneously mix her footage with a range of effects, allowing for free-flowing, one-off collaborations with nick during live performances. “nick and i wanted to discover a way to unite our art. we made several attempts to record, edit… but i felt that we were missing something. we needed to complement the project… then nick introduced me to the mixer, and an ableton plugin that would allow me to use it as a midi controller. i started exploring with videos that i had and it turns out that it was wonderful. it was exactly what i had been searching for.”
LAUREL ROMERO
using the mixer as a midi controller was only the beginning of romero’s deep dive into how she can create unique visuals in the moment. “with the mixer, i have many options to move, control, raise, lower. so i think the task is to discover what other programs i can use, what can allow me to create more things? how can you use each button of the mixer and be able to suddenly combine two programs, as well as two screens, and be able to do it directly with the mixer. i don't know how many doors of creativity [are available]”
ROMERO LIVE MIXING VISUALS WITH NICK HOOK ON MUSIC.
“something important that i learned on my path, working hand-in-hand with nick, is how to connect with people, and the tools play a part in that. the people that i’ve connected with have seen what i’m doing, and understand that it’s possible for them to do it too. you don’t need to be an expert, the tools can be any kind of gear, but [the mixer] has allowed me to connect with people who are interested in learning how i use it.” explore TX–6 here
MARCH 16, 2023
if you run through the drum sounds on OP–1 field, you’ll find ‘classix’, ‘minimo’, ‘grits’ and ‘vinyl’ - all created by our friends at samples from mars. started by producer, engineer and dj, teddy stuart, they’re a sample label based in nyc focused on bringing vintage and rare electronic instruments to your daw.
RECORDING RIM SHOTS IN THE STUDIO
“my team and i focus on capturing old drum machines, samplers, synthesizers and acoustic drums, and processing them through gear that excites us, like consoles, tape machines, and pressing our own vinyl.”
SAMPLING DIFFERENT PERCUSSION SOUNDS
teddy has been playing guitar since he could form a c chord, but it was getting involved in music production that prompted a permanent shift in focus towards hip hop. he began expressing himself “in more sonic ways, by making beats and designing sounds. at the time, everything was done on a VS-880 multi-track and an SP-202, by playing drums, guitar and bass parts by hand.”
MIXING THE SOUNDS TO PREPARE THEM FOR PRESSING
jump to 2013. samples from mars is established with a goal of sharing “the history of these iconic (and sometimes forgotten) pieces of gear, their role in music, how we go about using them, and what that might mean for your music.” their unique and textured samples created from analog equipment was the key to crafting the vinyl drum kit for OP–1 field.
CUTTING ONTO VINYL
“we began by recording acoustic drum hits and sounds from some of our favorite drum machines. then we pressed that onto vinyl, and sampled the results cleanly in a mastering studio. after that, we scratched the record, to produce various sonic artifacts, and recorded more samples, processing them with eqs and compressors on the way in. finally, we grouped the sounds into kits that played well together and popped them on the OP–1 field.”
FROM PRODUCTION TO DESTRUCTION, THE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT SONIC ARTEFACTS FOR VINYL DRUM KIT
this attraction to raw and low-fi sound was how we first came to teddy’s attention, pocket operators were the gateway. “i was blown away by how gritty the sound was (uncommon for modern gear), and the innovative FX sequencing, form factor and low price was all very compelling. then, we made a sample pack out of it!” so how does it feel to create sounds that can inspire someone elses creative expression? “it’s the best part of the job! ...i’m most excited seeing music interact with the world around me.” explore OP–1 field here
OP–1 field
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MARCH 2, 2023
field desk is a space truss constructed from recycled aluminum and assembled with a double-sided formica birch plywood desktop. a part of our field rail system, it’s not our first time creating furniture , but it is the first range available directly from our store. it is also used by us every day, starting as our very own in-house workspace solution.
EARLY SKETCHES
“field desk is a part of ‘field rail system’ - a construction system that allows us to build whatever furniture we need, without any compromises, an opportunity to create our office environment exactly how we wanted it. we created with portability in mind, wanting a system of products that would be easy to move location when needed, evolving with its environment as the context changed.” christoffer is the lead designer on the project, taking over the original plans from our head of design, jesper, and head of mechanical engineering, guffe.
CHRISTOFFER OHLANDER
“guffe created the core parts of the rail system, inspired by his background in camera rigging. the many fixing points on a rig allow for lots of different accessories and customizations. “we are an office with lots of people doing different jobs with different needs, from desk work to creating production jigs and making prototypes. the rail system allows for a range of add-ons using m5 screws, which you’ll see soon, but it also allows for your personal creations to be attached.”
FIELD DESK AT TEENAGE ENGINEERING HQ
with the purpose of the system laid out, the opportunity to experiment with materials and production followed. in the current climate, both literally and figuratively, we were looking to produce locally with durable materials. “when i was working on the final iteration, we had the goal of bringing production to sweden. we were offered to use CIRCAL, recycled engineering grade aluminum, from our manufacturer Hydro. this quickly became the obvious choice for the extrusion rail system. the table top is birch plywood at the core, and formica laminated on both sides so it can be flipped over if ever worn down.”
FIELD RAIL SYSTEM
field desk and rail system is our very own everyday workspace. since we liked it so much, we thought you might too. explore field desk here
FEBRUARY 23, 2023
over the last three years, los angeles based producer kenny beats has balanced back-to-back studio sessions with an unavoidable online presence, maintaining his youtube channel (the cave), twitch live streams (beat battle), and discord community, using the platforms to pull back the curtain on his production process. now with his debut album out, it’s time to switch up the pace, “a couple years ago it was two sessions every single day… so now i’m trying to make a little more time for dog walks and family and friends.” we doubled down on collabs with kenny this month to coincide with his last ever beat battle and the limited edition LOUIE PO-33, the latter celebrating the release of his debut album. “there was so much talent that it just spun out of control, and you guys were a part of some of our very early battles. so to wrap it up and have my final battle be with teenage engineering, it's crazy, because i never saw past the first few we did.”
kenny’s work is a result of obsession. he possesses an enviable ability to identify artists, tracks ids, compositional idiosyncrasies, and rare gear on demand - all the while, sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with a growing audience of aspiring musicians and seasoned pros alike. while he’s worked with the likes of vince staples, idles, denzel curry and rico nasty, his career can only be discussed with reverence to the community that he has nurtured from day one. “that's the most important thing, more than a platinum record, more than any accolades you get… making a couple of 100 people inspired enough to start playing an instrument or start songwriting or whatever it is, that'll actually change someone's life. me getting a trophy doesn't really do much for anybody.”
kenny first used OP-1 in the studio on “trina” by smino, but it might be surprising to some that teenage engineering choir has been the kind of creative disruption he’s always looking for. “i put the choir all around the room and played my OP–1 with it the first couple days, then i started realizing… i've never been able to pick and choose where I'm placing every single note around the studio as I'm playing a chord. there's stuff I'm using from you guys right now that I'm having trouble replicating in recorded music. just to be having conundrums like that in the studio, that's not something that happens often, you know. i just like things that spark a different part of my brain. I'm always worried that I'm going in circles, creating too many rules for myself, so if someone helps me break a rule, I'm in. “...if anyone reading this has ever watched hainbach on youtube, or anything like that; these are the kind of random gadgets that are coming up in songs with hit writers, and are making people excited in rooms where everybody's used to sitting at a rhodes or a piano or guitar or with somebody making a beat on a daw in front of them… are they real music things? or not? what is a real music thing? but whenever i put something in my studio and it looks weird, or someone doesn't know what it is, everybody who makes a lot of music gravitates towards that because they've seen everything else… things that might seem goofy or funny or a novelty thing, can end up being in a very, very serious piece of music.”
when it came to collaborating, it was simply a question of what and when. then with kenny releasing his debut album on xl records, the vision of what that could look like became a little clearer. “[the LOUIE PO-33] is the only place where i’ve given away sounds from my record. i've never shown anyone what i’ve used, i've never talked about what samples i’ve programmed with and i've never put out a sample pack… so people got to, for the first time, decode a little bit of what I've been using. “these collaborations are rooted in that feeling that we both have of giving someone that gift of going from, ‘I'm a huge fan of music’ to ‘i make music’. that is a life-changing thing.” explore PO-33 here
JANUARY 12, 2023
OP–1 field, now with vocoder! the vo(ice)(en)coder revolutionized music since it's introduction to the world by homer dudley at bell labs in 1938. designed to analyze and synthesize the human voice, iconic artists have employed the device throughout the years to make their synthesizers sing, from wendy carlos and bob moog, to kraftwerk, herbie hancock, beastie boys, tupac, daft punk, and countless others. now it’s your turn.
OUR FAVORITE SCIENTISTS MICKE REUTER & MIKAEL ERICSSON ARE BACK AT IT DOING IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR OP–1 FIELD VOCODER
how to install now you too can try this effect, by downloading and installing the new free firmware update for OP–1 field.
TUTORIAL ON HOW TO USE THE VOCODER
M-1
artist and producer nosaj thing, aka jason chung, is an old friend. we met for the first time back in 2010 when OP-1 was revealed; chung was making beats on OP-1 for the ''make beats '' competition with stüssy, and his first album, drift , had just been released. today, he's past his fifth record and stopping by stockholm for a long awaited visit after playing sónar in barcelona.
chung's cinematic intentions are clear throughout "continua". calling on artists well-versed in the realm of ethereal composition like julianna barwick and duval timothy, to notorious mood setters like toro y moi and coby sey, chung and his supporting cast have released one of the most lowkey survival soundtracks of the past year. this collaborative approach flowed from the studio to the records visual language, working with creative director eric hu, and calling in photographers phil nisco and donovan novotny for the music videos . the blueprint emerged from his production process, one that has always been inspired by moving image. "last year, we saw this film called 'memoria ', and of course 'koyaanisqatsi '. i played that film a lot during this record, and i was just like, 'this movie came out in early 80s. what's our version? what can we do?' donovan is such a talented photographer, i just told him 'hey, just make video stills of what you do already.' he was just so hyped on that idea."
alexander wessely has worked with some of the worlds biggest artists. from the weeknd, rihanna and drake, to 070 shake, swedish house mafia and avicii, the multimedia artist has had a front row seat to the phenomenon of idol worship. this experience, directly observing the hyperreality of celebrity, is what has shaped the concept of his latest exhibition.
"our collaboration goes back four years. from our first sort of sit down, i was inspired by [070 shake] and her vision and her mentality… she's like all feels, all the way. she's so curious and well rounded.when i showed her this work, which is called 'humans', she was very inspired. and she started talking about us being born naked and how when we die you won't be able to tell the difference between us… when she started talking about it i was like, 'okay, stop, i need to record this!' and so we recorded this very genuinely on the phone. it's not scripted or anything, she was just talking as she looked at it. and it's sort of a comment on the exhibition theme, but also a conversation with herself being dani and herself now also being 070 shake." you can experience wessely's exhibition "kortex" at fotografiska in stockholm , now showing until september 17. learn more about OD-11 here
"in the timeline of hip hop, certain pieces of equipment came out and like they've been so substantial… there's a point where there was just a turntable and then all of a sudden there were two! then the mpcs and sp 1200s came out in the 90s. there are producers that are associated with these machines because their understanding of sound and their usage of them revolutionized hip hop. in the 2000s, around the time ‘madvillainy’ and these things dropped, they had the roland sp 404 and the first 303… they're like, 'yo, this equipment has a different workflow!' it activates your mind to work differently. [the pocket operator] is another step in the evolution… i just wanted to be one of the people on the timeline too because i see it and i know that this is a moment. i wanted to capture the moment and show the system was upgraded."
OP–1 FIELD AND THE TEENAGE ENGINEERING CHOIR
ROMERO LIVE MIXING VISUALS WITH NICK HOOK ON MUSIC
MARCH 3, 2023
OP–1 field, now with vocoder! the vo(ice)(en)coder revolutionized music since it's introduction to the world by homer dudley at bell labs in 1938. designed to analyze and synthesize the human voice, iconic artists have employed the device throughout the years to make their synthesizers sing, from wendy carlos and bob moog, to kraftwerk, herbie hancock, beastie boys, tupac, daft punk, and countless others. now it's your turn.
