Electronic artist, producer, gear explorer, film composer, and modular master Robin Rimbaud has been releasing music as Scanner and other acts for more than four decades. Here, he gives us a more electronic expert viewpoint on what separates a demo from the finished article…
Robin Rimbaud’s early adventures as Scanner included sampling mobile phone conversations by way of a police scanner, but since then he has been involved in a vast range of other projects. He has been commissioned for sonic art installations by prestigious organisations including the Tate Modern and collaborated with artists including Musique Nouvelles, Michael Nyman, Alexandra Strunin, and opera singer Patricia Rozario.
Rimbaud has also soundtracked many films and other media, curated exhibitions and always been at the cutting edge of music technology. His latest projects include new label, Alltagsmusic (Everyday Music), which he set up, “to release both my own solo works, but also collaborations with other artists, as well as live album, film, ballet scores and more,” and he also presents an electronic music show, EarSpace, on Slack City Radio.
Robin owns some extraordinary gear and an amazing space in which to use it. Who better, then, to cast an electronic eye and ear over what turns DIY electronica into releaseready music?
What are the most common issues you hear with electronic music that hasn’t been professionally mixed and mastered?
Robin Rimbaud: “If I see the audio file is peaking, like a huge concrete block, then I’m cautious. I can turn up the volume – you don’t need to do this for me! The strength of a piece of music should come through beyond the sheer volume. Sometimes I would rather hear a roughly recorded demo than a saturated blast!
“Mixing is often an issue, especially regarding EQ and sounds battling for attention. Far too many ambient tracks have too much reverb. Reverb has an important role to play in all styles of music, but when it becomes the focus, I question: what is it hiding?”
How do you know when a demo has potential?
“I try to act like a casual listener, what you might call ‘inactive’ listening – the strength of the music can break through any routine, something that can stop me in my tracks and encourage me to want to learn who the artist is. If I’ve listened to a demo and forgotten what it was by the end, that’s not a good sign. ”
If there was one piece of advice you could give to people creating demos with the hope of releasing them, what would it be?
“Don’t send an hour of music to a stranger, send 10-15 mins of your strongest material. No label or producer has that level of commitment. Today, someone sent me almost five hours of music. Come on guys, be considerate!
“And remember, this is an art, not a science, so don’t get hooked
