Interview with Steve Baltes

By Bert from Percussa

If you would have to put a name on your genre of music, what would it be?

Electronic music / trance & progressive

Who would you name as your influences musically?

kraftwerk, new order, cabaret voltaire, the cure, ultravox, the early yello … just to name a few

If some readers might not have heard about you yet, which track or album would you make them discover as a point of reference?

deep voices “you´re picture” is a good starting point for my trancy side, also i like the albums i´ve done with harald großkopf a lot (digital nomad, yeti society, holo syndrome). Last but not least have a listen to ashra´s live in japan cd´s vol.1 & 2.

Do you also work on other projects like film music, music for publicity, games…?

i worked on a track for the video-game gothic 3 as well as on a sample-cd for ueberschall (trance id vol.1).
also i´m very proud of my work i´ve done for the german artist mischa kuball (tower of power, yellow marker).

What would you call the biggest achievement in your musical career?

so far i was lucky to play some breathtaking shows around the globe: ashra in japan in front of 30.000 people was amazing … to name one

How did you ever get into making music?

at age 11-13 i remember hearing music from groups like visage, ultravox and of course kraftwerk what made me buy my first synthesizer. around 1993 (10 years later) a friend at the shop i used to work gave some tape to a record company without telling me, the next day i had my first record-contract (exxcelsior ep on le petit prince)

When you go into the studio, how do you start on a new song? Do you have it already in your head before, or do you just start experimenting and see what happens?

usually i have no idea what i want to do and just start to experiment with something…. sometimes it could just be a single sample, drumloop, a piece of equipment or a sound on a synthesizer. other days i just play some piano or strings on the keyboard which leads to a song …. also i really like to meet with friends and jam a little ….. after 3 cups of coffee and 3 hours of talking before

Did the way you make music change throughout the years?

yes, it changed a lot thru new technology. when i started i still used a multitrack-tape recorder synced up to a 133mhz PC and now almost everything move inside “the box” and i mix completely inside the computer, but still kept a few hardware synthesizers …..

When you are making music, do you sometimes have the feeling that you are missing a tool, that you want to do something that isn’t possible
yet. If so, what are you thinking about, what tool would you wish that
existed?

actually i just work with what ever is available, so if i forgot to to re-install a plugIn i just use something else …. i think today there are really no limits and the most amazing tools are all available …. i don´t really miss something, maybe in the future there might be better sounding soft-synths, I think in the case of analog-synthesizers nothing can beat a real analog synth …

Which elements attracted you in the AudioCubes when you got in touch with them?

first of all i just was amazed by the look and the way of a completely different approach to control soft- and hardware ….plus the visual feedback for performances

How did it go when you used them for the first time?

i used them live at a huge festival with ashra and was kinda scared since i only had a little time to really practice and prepare …. but everything went quite smooth, have to mention though that you have to set the cubes up properly on stage beforehand to get optimal use of the sensors..

How do you feel about technology influencing your creative process?

i really love to try out new things. a piece of hardware like the cubes could lead you to a complete new approach in making music… or sometimes fiddeling around with some plugin. last thing which really got me excited was a cicuit bent casio sampling keyboard for 200,- Euro which took me somewhere i was never before …

How many AudioCubes do you use?

i´m using a 4 piece set

Do you use them in the studio, for live performances, or both?

i mainly use them live, but with the new software like the loop shaper i started to more often jam with the cubes in the studio, great fun to produce random loops.

Which other hard or software do you use?

small selection: cubase 5, ableton live 8 with uad 2 quad & powercore firewire, rme multiface2, minimoog voyager rack, alesis andromeda, roland jupiter 6 & sh2-a, moog the source, access virus c, roland v-synth …..

Would you advise the cubes to other artists as studio tool?

if you looking for a different approach in making music or just some fresh inspiration definately YES … also don´t forget about the fun

How many times did you use the cubes already during your live performances?

about 6 times

Should making music be fun or do you approach it more seriously or technically?

it´s all about fun !!!

Would you advise them to other artists as a live tool?

yes, it´s a fantastic & outstanding way of performing!

Did you ever use the cubes during your dj-sets?

yes, in combination with ableton live.

Links:

• www.stevebaltes.com
• www.deepvoicesmusic.com
• www.myspace.com/deepvoices
• www.myspace.com/stevebaltes
• www.ashra.com

The 10 best records in the history of music according to Steve:

• kraftwerk “mensch maschine”
• kraftwerk “computerwelt”
• cabaret voltaire “the covenant, the sword and the arm of the lord”
• frankie goes to hollywood “welcome to the pleasuredome”
• ultravox “vienna”
• roxy music “avalon”
• yello “you gotta say yes to another excess”
• mark hollis “mark hollis”
• talk talk “spirit of eden”
• art of noise “whos afraid of?”