How did you first get into electronic music?

Well, I initially got into electronic music when I was in high school. I was listening to a lot of early industrial music, like Coil, SPK, and Skinny Puppy. I eventually became interested in more abstract electronic music, after inheriting my friend's old record collection. From there I discovered the music of Morton Subotnick and John Cage. Then, I started to get into sound design and new approaches to musical composition. I began composing my own recordings and started to buy more gear. This was between '92 and '97. I got my first computer in '98, and started working the the digital domain.

You’re very well-versed in the early, academic electronic composers, who or what turned you on to this music?

Like I mentioned, I really love the music from Morton Subotnick and Stockhausen. I was initially turned on to their music through a close friend of mine named Tim Adams. He was my analogue synthesizer tech for many years. He introduced me to the world of academic composers. From that point I started to study more composers and find out about new labels and electro-acoustic music. Academic electronic composers of today still intrigue me and I constantly find new ideas from this area.

You got a record deal pretty early on, what is the history of that?

That was funny, because I never really had any intentions of releasing my music. I was just exploring sound and doing it more as a hobby. I was approached by Drop Bass Network in '97, who wanted to release a collection of tracks from me. At that point, I was still building up my studio and learning new recording techniques. As things progressed, I was approached by Communiqué, Schematic, Chocolate Industries, and Warp Records.

You recently got to perform some of your music in 16-channel surround along with Trevor Wishart. How was that experience for you?

That show was put on by Cycling74 and Asphodel Records in San Fransciso at Recombient Media Labs. Naut Humon had asked me if I was interested in doing the show with Trevor Wishart, and I was totally blown away. Trevor is one of my favorite composers, and I'm also a fan of his DSP algorithms within the Composer’s Desktop Project. The show was a complete success. I basically divided it into two sections that were 45 minutes each. At Naut’s facility he has it set up to work in 16.8 (with 8-subs), so I converted some of my 5.1 mixes to take advantage of that. It was a mind-blowing experience hearing my music in 16.8. Think of a multi-dimensional asteroid field of sound.

You also have an education in graphic design under your belt, has that affected the way you go about doing sound design?

I have always approached sound in a visual way. I like to apply the principles of design that I learned in my 3-D classes at school to sound. The visual elements like repetition, color, tone, rhythm, and texture can all be directly applied to sound. Visualizing sound has helped me shape it and control it in ways that set my approach apart from other sound designers and composers.

You’re quite a collector of synthesizers of all kinds, what are some of your favorites?

Wow, there are so many classic synthesizers that I have grown to love over the years. Some of my favorites lately have been the Access Virus TI, Hartmann Neuron, Clavia Nord G2, Roland V-synth, Alesis Andromeda, Korg Radias, and my Devilfish modified Roland TB-303.

How did you make the transition into using computers as a synthesis and composition tool?

It all started back when I discovered Native Instruments Reaktor. It was called Generator back then. I was looking for software that would allow me to make my own instruments and samplers. It was one of the first environments that would allow you to do that. I was extremely impressed with the versatile range of modules you could choose from to create your own instruments. I built many ensembles in Reaktor. Then after this I started to get into other software packages like MAX/MSP and the Kyma system. It started to really pick up and software synthesizers and composition tools really took over the music industry. I became increasingly interested in the new tools and started using them more and more in my day-to-day compositions and projects.

You’ve worked extensively with some of the more esoteric software applications, such as Supercollider, Csound, and the Composers’ Desktop Project. What drew you to these tools originally?

I am constantly searching for the most interesting and exotic sound design tools for my own music and sound design projects. I have always loved environments where you have options to manipulate the sounds in as many ways as possible. Csound and SuperCollider are two software environments that allow you to choose from a list of objects or opcodes and then let you fully customize your signal flow. You can make some really advanced sound processing engines and sound generators.

Have you used any of the iZotope plug-ins as compositional tools?

Yes, I love all of the iZotope plug-ins. I have really been enjoying Trash and Spectron. Trash is amazing. I love the wide range of parameters and control for adding high quality distortion effects to sounds. I love how you can chain pairs of distortions together or apply distortion independently to specific frequency bands. It’s my secret weapon of choice for destroying drum kit sounds and string textures. The other favorite iZotope plug-in is Spectron. I look at this plug-in as my Swiss Army knife spectral effects toolbox. I love the spectral morph and smear options. I do a lot of customized sound design for film, TV, and video games, so this plug-in is heaven sent! You can create so many beautiful soundscapes and custom effects with it. I use it on almost every project I do.

Any words of advice for aspiring electronic musicians?

Stay in school!

To learn more about Richard Devine visit www.richard-devine.com.