INSIGHT 010
BRENDON MOELLER
MFA: You’ve had a storied career under your own name and also under aliases like Echologist and Beat Pharmacy. How do you think about your musical identity these days? Do you have plans to revisit those aliases?
BM: Honestly, I have such an insanely eclectic catalogue because my musical identity is constantly evolving. There's still so much I want to explore. I'm a work in progress. I will likely revisit most of my aliases at some point but in an effort to keep things fluid and flexible I will only think about what alias a particular project gets once the project is complete.
That makes sense - sometimes the music defines the project. Looking back at the past couple of years, with albums like Signals, Further and Vacuum, what have you learned about where you’re at creatively right now?
I'm feeling more inspired than ever. I view the rewards and challenges of the creative process as sacred, magical. I have figured out a good variety of workflow strategies so when something's not working I can switch things around easily. I have also learned that doing is the key. No magic gonna happen unless you're working.
Too true. You’ve always been hard to pin down stylistically, yet there’s a distinctly lush, spacious, dubwise atmosphere that runs through your work. Do you think about that as a signature, or does it emerge naturally? In other words is it more a force of habit, or an aesthetic you deliberately pursue?
It's a signature of sorts that has emerged naturally I think. It's got a lot to do with personal preferences. I'm a bit of a space cadet in case you couldn't tell by my obsession with reverb, delay, and granular synthesis. I deliberately pursued these elements at first and now they come built into the workflow.
When you begin a new project, do you tend to start with a clear concept in mind, or is it more a case of experimenting with sound and letting the music reveal itself?
Yes, I tend to have a concept or style or sound in mind when starting a project. That said, I leave the doors wide open so that I can explore the outer reaches of what will work and be acceptable for said project. If I venture too far off and stumble onto something interesting, I save the idea on my desktop so I can return to it at a later date and take it further. As far as letting a music session or jam reveal fresh ideas or concepts, I do this regularly. I absolutely love starting with a completely blank canvas.
That’s super interesting. I love the freedom to stash what you’re working on when it’s maybe good, but not necessarily appropriate for the current project. So then what’s your process for starting a track? Is it different every time, or do you usually start with drums or a melody or something like that?
I usually always start a track using my hardware. I have a work desk. I will proceed to assemble a few bits of kit (synths, pedals, sampler, effects pedals) on the desk, get everything hooked up and in sync and then I will begin jamming. Sometimes I will start with a synth sequence, other times a beat, or just try and get a weird loop or atmosphere going. Once I get the machines grooving I multitrack all the elements into Ableton Live, making sure to capture as much live mixing and improvisation as possible.
Love that you create a hardware palette like that, must be nice to help focus. Also it’s so great to capture the wild moments of improve; these can add so much life to a production. Anyway, I’d love to hear about your recent work for the Quiet Details series. You had to respond quickly to a very specific conceptual brief. How did that experience shape your creative approach?
That was an amazing experience that came together very quickly. The concept for the album came to me very quickly as a result of the heatwave I was experiencing at the time. Once I got the green light from Alex at Quiet Details I immediately began field recording elements to be used for the concept. I recorded as much much raw material as I could for a week and then went into the studio. The field recording immediately sparked all kinds of ideas for pads, atmospheres, and moods. I think within two weeks I had sketched out all the tracks. Then I finessed it, and it was done. The conceptual brief was so inspiring that I couldn't stop. The process certainly made it obvious again how much inspiration and purpose can come from a well formed concept.
I love the field recording element but had no idea about the heatwave, which connects it even more. Shifting focus, I have to say there’s a very human looseness to your percussion, even when you’re using machines. How intentional is that sense of imperfection?
It's 100% intentional. I love loose, almost ramshackle percussion. It compliments a narrative moraI think. I rarely quantize. The looseness also stems from playing things in live using my Roland Handsonic HPD20.
That HPD20 explains a lot - what a cool piece of kit. You often create lush evolving soundscapes that have an indelible vitality to them. Can you walk us through how you build those textures? Ho do you use sampling and processing to create that sense of movement?
For the last few years my process has been to play some chords using my poly synth and then use granular synthesis, LP and BP filters and reverb to create movement and dynamics. Granulator III and Delta-V Spacecraft are my go-to granular synthesizers.
And what’s your digital workflow like? What sort of tools are you using in Live these days? And where does the DAW sit in your process overall?
Once I've multitracked everything into Live I begin work on two processes: first, arranging; then modulation and effects. I use Live's Arrangement view. I usually set up four return tracks with a variety of reverbs and delays. I might record in some more drum stems as the need arises. Once I have all the drum tracks I group them. Once the arrangement feels good I begin focusing on the mix and sound I’m going for. My favorite tools in Live are the Audio Effect Rack, Auto Filter, Echo, Drum Buss, EQ Eight, Envelope Follower, Grain Delay, Resonators, Reverb, and Vocoder. I use Drift, Operator, Drum Racks, Corpus, and Roar plenty too.
Lots of native Live devices - I rarely find a need to stray too far from them myself these days. Speaking of effects processing, your work as a sound designer for sample packs seems to have a deep connection with your own music. How does one process feed into the other?
The sample pack industry helped me survive as a musician for a number of years. I had fun challenging myself and learning new techniques. Many of those skills have found their way into my production workflow. I became acquainted with sample packs as a tool for producing right around the time the industry got going.
Right. Collaboration has also been a big part of your work over the years, from Andreas Tilliander to dub-techno pioneers. What does working with other artists bring out in you that doesn’t happen when you’re working alone?
I do enjoy collaboration. My first collaborative effort was playing drums in a rock band when I was in college. Working with instrumentalists or vocalists is especially inspiring. It teaches one how to find the sweet spots together. I hope to be involved in some interesting fresh collaborations soon.
Exciting - looking forward to those. So collaborating or otherwise, do you think of live jams as the heart of your creative process, or do you prefer to refine and sculpt ideas after the fact? Where is the line between the two, and how do you retain a balance?
I guess one could consider it to be the heart of the process. It could also be called the foundation. Honestly, sometimes I end up quite far from the original jam after sculpting, adding, and subtracting. Once a jam is multitracked into Live, the jamming continues until I settle on an arrangement that feels good. Then finessing and polishing begins.
Seems like a solid approach. You’ve spoken before about treating sound design as composition. Where do you see yourself pushing that idea next? Towards more abstract work, deeper modular improvisation, live performance? Maybe even audiovisual projects?
Good question. I think I would like to try my hand at audiovisual projects. Ive been thinking a lot about the concept and how to bring it to fruition. I'm also interested in live improvised performance in unique spaces. Another dream of mine is to tour the USA by car and play gigs in the strangest places. That said, I haven't decided on a live rig yet. I really need to figure that out.
That tour sounds like a lot of fun - and probably a great way to generate content too. Shifting gears, you’ve taken some strong stances in the past. How do politics or social awareness feed into your creative process? And what’s your view on political activism in instrumental electronic music?
I'm very engaged in politics. Difficult to ignore with the current state of our planet. My daughter is 19 and my son just turned 16. We end up talking politics quite a bit, possibly because of me, but they are also very engaged. I try to lead by example and encourage healthy debate. Promoting freedom, equality and human rights should be on everyone's radar in 2025. Building solidarity and community, inspiring hope, empathy and awareness seems the only way out of this insane mess we're in. Political activism can enrich instrumental electronic music by connecting it to social change, history, and collective experience. However, it is a choice - not an obligation - for artists and communities. Whether activism is explicit or implicit, electronic music offers fertile ground for both creative expression and societal impact.
I’ve always found the connection between the two to be more abstract than direct, though our Sonification Tools were designed to help bridge that gap - but I agree about your approach, and it’s great to hear your kids are so engaged. As you look ahead, are there any new tools, technologies, or creative challenges you’re particularly excited to explore?
There's no shortage of fresh tools for musicians who enjoy experimenting. Every week there's a new plug-in or YouTube video documenting a new method of approaching production. I think for me personally my intention over the next year is to figure out an inspiring live rig.
Can’t wait to see it. Any new projects you can share with us before you go?
There's new albums coming up on Samurai, ESP Institute and Delsin.
I VIEW THE REWARDS AND CHALLENGES OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS AS SACRED ... I HAVE ALSO LEARNED THAT DOING IS THE KEY. NO MAGIC GONNA HAPPEN UNLESS YOU’RE WORKING.
IF I VENTURE TOO FAR OFF AND STUMBLE ONTO SOMETHING INTERESTING, I SAVE THE IDEA ON MY DESKTOP SO I CAN RETURN TO IT AT A LATER DATE AND TAKE IT FURTHER.
ONCE I’VE MULTITRACKED EVERYTHING INTO LIVE I BEGIN WORK ON TWO PROCESSES: FIRST, ARRANGING; THEN MODULATION AND EFFECTS.
BUILDING SOLIDARITY AND COMMUNITY, INSPIRING HOPE, EMPATHY AND AWARENESS SEEMS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THIS INSANE MESS WE’RE IN.