Synth historian Ollie Fricke will spend a pretty penny on a good bike

Olly Fricke is a musician and journalist whose work has appeared in Vote on Vote, Calm downand Mixmag. This involved using mathematics to explore Melodic potential From the Western 12-tone scale and deep diving Effects plug-ins. He even wrote a book tracking it Compound development From 1963 to 1995, a diagram of the change from analog to digital and back.

His new project is Gems wonA Coffee Table Visual History of Drum Machines from the publisher BIOX. Like other Bjooks titles, Gems won Full of gorgeous photographs, fascinating historical anecdotes and practical tips for getting the most out of your equipment, whether old Roland TR-808 Or a modern oddity like Erica Synths Thunder.

What was the first app you installed on your new phone or computer?

If I were to buy a new computer, it would almost certainly be my music computer, so I would install Ableton Live immediately. It’s a great music program, with a feature set that’s still amazing compared to when I started making electronic music with an Atari ST 520 that could manage almost any MIDI, with no sound at all.

What social media platform do you use the most (if any)?

Maybe YouTube, if we consider it social media. It’s great to have experts in almost any field explaining ideas, concepts, and methods. I watch a lot of science, math, chess, and of course electronic music. I could do with fewer algorithmic clickbait temptations, which is one of the reasons I’m not a heavy user of other social media platforms.

What’s the most disappointing gadget you’ve ever owned?

Vegetable slicers and dicers seem like a great idea, but they never work properly and never save you any time or effort.

What game do you have the best memories of?

elite On the Atari ST it was incredible. It’s world building on a shoestring (memory) budget with severe technical limitations, and the results are truly creative.

What is one thing you wish you had created?

As a musician, I wish I had written a song that the whole world would know and love, and that my fans would ask me to play it at every opportunity – until I was so sick of it that, in the end, I wished I had never written it. Perhaps this happened, and all these wishes came true!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

From my dad (I’m writing this, appropriately, on Father’s Day in the UK): “Say yes to any opportunity that comes your way – worry about whether or not you can do it later!”

What is your current obsession?

Drum machines! Search for Gems won The book reminded me of the primacy of rhythm in the human musical experience; How drum machines have capitalized on this need, thereby transforming musical culture over the past sixty years. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

What do you do when you need to focus?

I put it on www.rinse.fm/koolpick a set of drum and bass reels, and then I’m very happy (and focused).

What do you do when you feel stuck?

I remind myself of the infinite number of combinations of ideas. I once wrote an article that explained that there are 82 quintillion (82^18) 10-note melodies that can be written using the eight notes of an octave.

What’s the last piece of physical media you purchased?

Soundtrack on vinyl for a nice movie called Resinator. The film revolves around a mysterious compound from the early 1980s and a daughter’s quest to find out about her father, who invented it but unfortunately died when she was a child. I can’t recommend him enough.

What do you think is worth spending on?

High quality road bike. Compared to cars, bicycles are cheap, and you can buy machines that are not far from the quality used by the professionals for relatively reasonable amounts. The difference between a good bike and a regular bike is huge. Cycling in the countryside on a good bike brings me a great deal of happiness.

What will your resume slogan be?

Watch a man typing words on a computer. For the ages. Then watch him make music on the computer. Also for ages. Then watch him do some normal things related to the house, family, and car. Sometimes he gets turned away from getting on a plane to Berlin to go to his Kickstarter launch party because they changed the rules without him realizing it! It’s disappointing that this doesn’t turn the biopic into a movie falling-Write the scenario.

What’s the last GIF or meme you used?