TALKING SHOP
The Berlin-based producer discusses sample influences and Game Boy-shaped synths
Working under the name Bearcubs, Jack Ritchie makes bittersweet, diaristic electronica that blends crisp breakbeats and celestial synths with introspective vocals that lift poignance from the mundanities of everyday existence.
Ritchie is one of a number of contemporary artists mining the UK’s rich musical history for nostalgic touchstones; breaks, stabs and wavering synth pads that recall ’90s rave and UK garage. What sets his music apart, though, is the way he pairs these hallmarks with modern production techniques and a deeply personal perspective exposed through his vulnerable lyricism.
We caught up with Ritchie to find out more about the analogue synths, effects plugins and production techniques that inspired his latest EP, Watching People Playing Tennis Out The Window.
When did you start making music, and how did you first get started?
“I’ve been fascinated with making sounds for as long as I can remember. There used to be a lot of instruments and bits of percussion and also an old tape recorder lying around in my parents’ house, so I would hit random objects and record them. I think the first ‘production’ I ever made was with one of my childhood friends, using software called Cakewalk, which could only have four tracks of MIDI and one audio track [laughs].
“We made a very basic garage tune using a shitty old drum machine and a webcam mic. From then on I learnt a bit of guitar and piano and started playing in various bands from funk to hardcore punk bands. Although I had heard a lot of dance and electronic music growing up, I didn’t really get into or appreciate it until I met like-minded people at university in Brighton. That kinda opened up that world for me and that was basically the origin of the Bearcubs project.”
Tell us about your studio/setup.
“I moved to Berlin about five years ago and for the last three years I’ve been lucky enough to have a studio in an industrial area in the city centre. For me, being able to create music with the bare minimum enhances my creativity, because I have to work within the boundaries of what I have at my disposal. At the moment I’ve got a Prophet Rev 2 synthesiser, which is very versatile for all kind of sounds and FX, a Moog Grandmother which I use on almost every song for bass and lead sounds, and a Yamaha DX7 which I use a lot for pads and I think is a very underrated synth with a very warm sound if you can program it a bit.
“Also I have a Korg Delta which is great for simple analogue-sounding waveforms, and lastly a Roland JV-880 which gives me very ’90s sounds. I try to record mainly as audio because I like to capture performances as opposed to recording data that can be tweaked later. Some of the best bits of my sounds I feel came from when I started mes
