As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic is shaping the world right now (it's 2020). Plenty of friends have already caught the virus, and people seem to have learned to function in its shadow. The worst of the spring panic — when nobody really knew what was coming — has passed. The music industry was hit so hard that the government decided to direct some public funds toward helping artists. You can agree with that policy or not; the fact remains that professionals invest heavily in gear, take on leases, and a lack of work can grind you down.
In my case it's a much smaller matter — there's the occasional commission, but I also have plenty of time to make my own music, the kind not dictated by a contract (which is the best I can give). Still, to make good things, you need more than vision and skill — you need tools. You can see one of them in the picture above: the Arturia KeyLab 49 has joined the armory, right beside my Axe-Fx III (my trusty battle axe).
As much as the Axe-Fx opens up huge sonic possibilities, I can't get past the guitar with it. Its range is enormous — synths, organs, ambient, deeply psychedelic spatial reverbs, arpeggiators, harmonizers, massive distortions — but it's still a guitar underneath, and a trained ear will hear it. In some places, keys are simply irreplaceable.
That's where the Arturia comes in: a handy 49-key MIDI controller with a fantastic 6,800-sound bank in Analog Lab, plus a few extras (like Stage-73 and a synth package). The keybed is fast and pleasant to play, with 8 sample pads, faders for modulation, control knobs, octave switches and modulators — everything a keys player could need. So far I've tried dozens of sounds, mostly variants that pair a left-hand sequencer with a right-hand synth. I'm genuinely impressed — and a few of the sections I wrote with Radio Arkham were built right on it.
If this left you wanting more (and I think it did — I built up the tension and then pulled back, didn't I?), head over and take a closer look. The instrument's range comes across nicely there. And give the Arkham radio play in the Portfolio section a listen too. A proper solo release is in the works — more on that soon.
Stay tuned!