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INSIGHT 005

LANDO


Known for his pioneering work with Lazer Sword, native Californian Lando relocated to Berlin in 2010 and has continued to steadfastly develop his sound ever since. His uniquely stripped-down production style is powered by infectious basslines, trippy melodies, and machine-driven grooves. With standout releases on respected labels like Rush Hour, Hotflush, Numbers, and Ultramajic, his distinctive approach behind the decks has led to notable gigs at some of the world's most iconic venues, including Berghain, Fabric, Sub Club, Dimensions and Tresor, where he's also held a residency. We caught up with him to get his perspective on the studio and the boundlessly rewarding process of art, craft, and experimentation.

MFA: What inspired you to first start producing music? And what was your first piece of gear you picked up?

I guess my overall inspiration that officially spawned my production journey was the amalgamation of music absorbed while working at various different record shops and music stores (Independent, Mom & Pop, chains, etc.) between Sacramento and San Francisco in the early 2000s. I’d hone in on a specific sound of music heavily collected back then, making personal mixtapes of tracks with collective similarities (mainly sample-based boom bap rap beats during that window of time), and started further focusing in on techniques they used, songwriting structures, and the relations between drums vs. melodic content. I started becoming more critical of it, recognizing what I would change or do different in certain tunes and compositions. It became obvious what my next step was. In 2004 I began using an E-Mu SP12 Drum Sampler and Acid Pro 6 software, gaffling samples from any rare weirdo records I could get my hands on.

Gotta love a record-shop origin story. So can you walk us through your creative process when starting a new project these days? How do you find and develop your ideas?

As some may know now, I’ve fully went backwards and currently use the very archaic, simple, yet rewarding ’80s production approach. Everything’s MIDI now, and I sequence some of my fave digital ’80s synths, samplers, drum machines, and effects with an Atari 1040 ST computer. It just works. It’s back to the basics with very reliable rock solid MIDI sync between all my MIDI instruments, old and new. It helps me personally focus more on the creativity and quick ideas and sketching. I’m performing music more again and I’ll just play MIDI notes recorded into the Atari ST, quantized or looped to my liking (in old school 1986 C-Lab Creator sequencing software) and I just build from there. Initial ideas start anywhere from playing synth notes, drums, or random noises depending on my vibe at that point in time. I’m still forever learning about production ways of the past. It’s helped my creativity and focus extremely, as opposed to the temptation to endlessly noodle around and micro-edit with so many plug-in options in modern DAWs. But that’s just me and my own creative issues I’ve had to overcome over time.

I think imposed limitations is always a good strategy to deal for these things. After taking these limitations to the, uhh, limit - how would you say you balance technical skills with creativity in your productions?

Doing the old-school style MIDI studio production, recording full MIDI phrases or patterns into the Atari ST helps me personally focus more on the hand-on creative side of things, and the technical skills needed are very minimal, which is key for me. Besides the console mixing, a little compression and just trusting your ears, there’s not much more technical skills involved. The creative aspect takes front seat and I guess experience in knowing how melodies and patterns gel together helps produce results.

But so even with these limitations, do you ever get stuck? If so, what happens when you hit a wall? What are your tricks or strategies for getting unstuck?

I really think the key for me to overcome walls is to just be more open-minded. Sometimes I’ll have a clear vision of an exact type of sound stuck in my head that I really want to materialize and I’ll get too hyper-tunnel vision with it, thinking its the only thing to help tie the other elements together or something. I have a rule to try three separate attempts between synthesizing a sound from scratch or building from already made patches. If I’m unsuccessful after three attempts I just move on to a totally new sound or characteristic altogether. Every so often its fun to take a chance with random note or pattern generators and record the MIDI notes. It’s good for stumbling upon interesting sequences to test using different synths when stumped on melodies.

Can you share a particular project or track that challenged you creatively? How did you overcome those challenges?

For me it’s not any specific tracks or projects that I’ve found challenging, it’s me making things challenging for myself. From time to time I can get overly determined and too obsessed with creating or even reproducing a specific sound. I’ll pick at it too much and just ultimately have to make the decision to just move on. I have to keep an open mind and start elsewhere with a new idea and it usually turns out just as interesting, if not better.

You first became known with your Lazer Sword project. What can you tell us about the role collaboration has played in your work? How do you approach working with other artists or producers?

I’d say I’m pretty used to collaborative projects by now. Though sometimes it can be a little frustrating if you’re both at times too stubborn and set in your ways, two minds can definitely be greater than one. The extra input really helps you tap into alternate creative strategy that you wouldn’t necessarily arrive at on your own. There’s really something special to be said about pressing record and just free jamming together with other artists, feeding off one anothers contribution and capturing this “sweet spot”, even if only for a second then looping the playback of that magic. A lot of unique standout character can come from joint effort. Multiple hands are cool too with live modulation and knob tweaking while the other plays the keys, ha.

Yeah, that collaborative magic is hard to top. So how do you stay inspired these days? What fuels your creative appetite?

Listening to vintage ambient music and jazz really helps towards creating foundational melodic inspiration. Dissecting the chord progressions and taking it your own direction can be quite satisfying. I’ve also been a sucker lately for ’80s sound effects and film score sounds. Sometimes I’ll just start with similar sound effects (owning some of those same exact synths of yesteryear doesn’t hurt) and build a track around that. It’s a very backwards process I realize, but cool compositions can come from it. There’s no rules anyway, right?

Yeah, switching up the starting point is key. What’s your latest tool or technique you discovered that you might be excited to share?

Well this technique isn’t new by any means, or groundbreaking, but I just discovered a Beat Repeat option in the sequencing software I use - of course this function originated from Roger Linn and MPCs / Linn 9000, etc., but it was a well useful function that I quite missed back when I was using a Push controller with Live. My Industrialectric RM-1N guitar pedal is still a big favorite on pads (and drums) for gritty drones and textures, which I’ve been using again lately. It’s a shame they just announced they’re shutting down. Amazingly dense pedals.

Any unique advice would you give to aspiring music producers who are just starting out?

I’ll say it again: trust your ears. Listen to finished mixes on multiple systems for reference. Try not to get too caught up in perfection and precise automation. Embrace the happy accidents! Some of my favorite things come from accidents and synths going haywire - in a good controlled way. Take risks, go off on weird beat tangents if your tracks begin to sound too monotonous, and keep people guessing.

Keep ‘em on their toes! Crucial. And what about advice for ongoing practitioners? Any tips for staying engaged with the process of production?

 I would probably give ongoing practitioners the same advice as beginner producers, ha. But overall: keep taking risks. Remember to experiment with musicality and groove. To be totally honest, there’s a lot of boring crap out there these days, especially in the “techno” realms. Of course I always love absorbing inspiration from solid grooves of the past.

Yeah, always a good reminder to venture out of your comfort zone. Can you share any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re excited about? What can we expect from you in the future?

My close friend and amazing designer and 3D artist Michael Tan and I are finally wrapping up a special ’80s goth inspired project called Display Act. I haven’t been this satisfied with a project in a bit. Cold flangy effected guitar business, combined with vintage drum machines and arpeggio synth work makes for very fun music making. I’m also continuing work on an upcoming full Ambient / New Age album that I’ve always wanted to do. They’re a couple departures from my usual dance track releases but a lot of similar elements sit in the same vein. All in all, though it’s been a while since my last release, and a long lull full of research and finding myself again creatively, I’ve been enjoying production again and heavily inspired - so stay tuned for future projects to come.






I’M STILL FOREVER LEARNING ABOUT PRODUCTION WAYS OF THE PAST. IT’S HELPED MY CREATIVITY AND FOCUS EXTREMELY.









SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS COME FROM ACCIDENTS AND SYNTHS GOING HAYWIRE - IN A GOOD, CONTROLLED WAY.










FROM TIME TO TIME I CAN GET OVERLY DETERMINED AND TOO OBSESSED WITH CREATING OR EVEN REPRODUCING A SPECIFIC SOUND. I’LL PICK AT IT TOO MUCH AND JUST ULITMATELY HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION TO JUST MOVE ON. I HAVE TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND AND START ELSEWHERE WITH A NEW IDEA AND IT USUALLY TURNS OUT JUST AS INTERESTING, IF NOT BETTER.









KEEP TAKING RISKS. REMEMBER TO EXPERIMENT WITH MUSICALITY AND GROOVE.


















Follow Lando on Instagram and Soundcloud.