![]() parquet chat w/ BEN WEBER |
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The german producer Ben Weber based closed to Hamburg started his musical career in 2007. Since then he released his music on several labels such as Stil Vor Talent, King Street Sounds or his own label Konfluenz Audio which he founded in 2017. His Parquet debut Ep „The Glade“ has been released in 2016. Since then Ben is part of our Parquet family and delievered us some amazing tracks in his typical unique style. We are more than happy about his contribution to the upcoming PARQUET200 release in form of his new track „Aegir“ which proofs once again his smart productions skills and good sense for music. Time to bring Ben into focus and ask him a few questions about his beginnings, a typical day in his life, favourite studio gear and more. (May 2019)
When did you start listening to electronic music? Has there been a crucial experience?
In the mid 90‘s, at the age of 16 I was invited to a Goa party in Gorleben. I loved the fusion of Metal riffs and Trance, the typical Sun Project sound of this time, and fell in love. Before this experience I was a fan of Punk, Rock and Metal and played guitar and drums. In the late 90‘s I bought my first groovebox, the Roland MC-303 and from this point on my vision of music started to grow. I´m still listening a lot to Alternative Rock, Pagan Folk and Black Metal. I think this inspires me and I transpose elements to my productions.
How does a typical day in your life look like? How many time do you spend with making music in your studio?
I´m a speech therapist and had my own practice for 13 years. It is a lot of work, but it allows me to fill some time with music and teach children with auditive perception disorders for example. Together we create their own songs with some of my studio gear. I have nearly 100 songs made by my patients, and they are all awesome. The rest of my time is spent with my wonderful family and our 2 dogs. I also love to go out and inhale nature whilst riding a mountain bike tour or hiking. This is a creative motor for me. A lot of my tracks result from thoughts of the wonderful landscapes of the Nordheide for example. Creativity and time management is not easy for me. I´m full of ideas, and two or three times a year they come to fruition. A production needs months to finished... that doesn´t make it easier hahaha.
Talking about producing. Which DAW are you using and which instruments are your favourites? Can you reveal to us which instruments you have used for your new parquet200 single „Aegir“?
I’ve been using Ableton for 10 years. Diva and Omnisphere are my favourite VSTs, but I also have a big heart for hardware. The idea of „Aegir“ was the first pattern I programmed on a Synthstrom Audible Deluge that I purchased at the end of december 2018. What a great little machine!!! It is so versitile and easy to use. A stunning device which I have connected with my Studio Electronics/Roland SE-02 to create the „Aegir“ bassline. The pad and arp are made with the Juno-106 and Jupiter plugouts in Rolands System-8. For the final result I recorded it in Ableton and worked it out. I love Waves VSTs for mixing, bus compression etc. At one point in the mixing process I was stuck so i took a mixing course to get „Aegir“ sounding the way I wanted to. There is always room to learn new things on this journey. The whole production process for these 6,25 minutes of music took me nearly 3 months besides my work. But I still enjoy it and feel each individual part.
What do you wish for the future of your project? Are there any news you want to tell us?
My music project is, at first, personal compensation for me....until an idea is born. Then it comes to obsession. Expect new music full of my weird visions and melodies as always, I hope to have more time with writing music in future. A few month ago I moved to a new house and at the moment I´m building a new studio to advance my passion for music production.
Your 3 favourite Parquet Recordings tracks?
Donatello – Falling Stars (Love the feeling, partitures and mixing of this new gem)
D-Nox & Beckers - Secret Games (Alltime favorite)
Township Rebellion - Challenger (Banger... played it in my podcasts)
More infos about Ben Weber:
https://www.facebook.com/BenWeberMusic
Booking contact: info@konfluenzaudio.com