[Non Standard Productions]

“Korg, EML, Roland, Eventide, Doepfer, MFB, Apple.” Sound gurus Max Loderbauer and Tobias Freund may have composed the pieces that comprise Sync, their latest nsi. album, but the conspicuous credit they give on the back cover to some of the most lauded names in electronics makes me think coordinated might be the better verb. Indeed, the names of these “pieces for drummachine and sequencer” are all written in a code that corresponds to the specific hardware used to create them, metal boxes ranging from the canonical (the Korg MS-20) to the idiosyncratic (the Make Noise MATHS). And while nsi.’s genius is the obvious spark that got this gear on its grind, and while these bleeps and bloops will sound familiar to anyone who’s been following their collaboration, Sync doesn’t feel like the group’s next logical step so much as a blatant restatement of purpose: these are nsi.’s machines, and this is everything they can do.

Their range is undeniably impressive. From downtrodden stutterings and twitches of aggression to surprisingly supple etudes that under less stringent conditions might have developed into club jams for Freund’s solo project tobias., these 24 fleeting interactions are a testament to the myriad possibilities a sharp producer can derived from very little. They also hammer home how much personality actual circuitry can exude. As the heirloom clicks of a veritable synth museum wheeze through a blanket of weirdly beautiful hiss and hum, a kind of creaky simulacrum of minimal techno emerges, sometimes maintaining a regular pulse and sometimes stripped of any sort of rhythmic center. If you played T++ or Alva Noto for a bunch of sentient pre-MIDI synths and asked them to imitate what they just heard, Sync very well might be the result. Loderbauer and Freund are nothing if not thorough in squeezing all the juice out of their gear: they’ve covered their bases so well that it’s honestly hard to imagine how they could have created a 25th track.

Whether they’ve been too thorough, however, depends entirely on how much their concept grabs you. By about halfway through, you may start having a hard time differentiating what you’re hearing now from what you heard ten minutes ago, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to wonder whether nsi. is still proving its point or just trying to make you drool over sick hardware. I think this album works best when you ignore any inherent vanity in the project and approach it instead as a kind of analog spa treatment: I pop on my headphones, shut my eyes, and let myself get poked and prodded for a quick fifty minutes. Because for all of its formalism and exactitude (and utter nerdiness), Sync has a curious warmth you may find yourself being drawn back to.

Few electronic musicians have earned the title of “mad scientists” as thoroughly as nsi., the venerable duo of Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer. Their productions are often the results of studio experimentation, allowing their analog synths and vintage drum machines to run wild and form tracks almost incidentally — the journey being much more important than the end destination. On Friday February 5th, as part of the Unsound Festival, nsi. will bring their sonic tinkering (and much of their analog gear) to New York City to provide the soundtrack for Andy Warhol’s seminal film, “The Kiss,” alongside Detroit techno legend Carl Craig, who will do the same for Warhol’s “The Blowjob.” There are 7:30pm and 9:30pm showings at The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, both of which will probably sell out, so get your tickets while you can.

Download: nsi., “Mont”

As an appetizer for this mouthwatering event, nsi. has generously provided LWE with the completely exclusive track, “Mont,” for your downloading pleasure. Derived from a recent live set, tts sustained, bittersweet piano chords are pocked by the click-clack drums puttering from their drum machine, shadowed by throbbing bass and unearthly affected vocals. Thanks to Max, Tobias and Unsound for track; make sure to check out nsi. February 5th.

Whether as a studio hand, engineer, remixer, producer, collaborator, or source of inspiration, Tobias Freund has been deeply involved in the music business for nearly 25 years. And where other veteran musicians might have been content to rest on their laurels, Freund is hungrier than ever, pursuing the depths of aural experimentation as one half of NSI. and crafting some of the best techno and house around as tobias. We can only hope younger generations look to the man as an exemplar of how to age gracefully. Mr. Freund was kind enough to enlighten us about his stance on computers in music, to explain how he stays prolific, and to offer advice to the next crop of would-be producers. (interview by Steve Mizek)

Back in the day you were a studio engineer for acts including Milli Vanilli. What did you learn there that carried into your own music? How was it to switch to making your own music?

Tobias Freund: I did my own music before I became a sound engineer. I bought my first synthesizer, a Korg MS-20, in 1980 with the money I earned at a summer job. Together with my school friend Lars I developed my interest in sound and recording experiments. Right after school in 1983 I had to finish my civil service before I started working in a recording studio as an apprentice. My equipment at home started to grow. I bought a drum machine (Roland TR-808), several effect units and samplers. Almost 20 years later and after engineering and mixing some successful productions like Milli Vanilli and Meat Loaf I quit my job to concentrate on my own music.

How did you first become interested in electronic music? What were some of the first electronic records that inspired you to produce?

I still think the time from 1977–1984 was the most innovative period in electronic music. I started my musical interest around that time and listened a lot to bands/artists like David Bowie, Cluster, Der Plan, Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Flying Lizards, Suicide, This Heat to name just a few. I was definitely infected by experimental music, music that had a little twist.

What’s going through your head when you make more conceptual stuff like “Beat Study One”? Or nsi.’s Non Standard Institute Plays Non Standards?

Well there is no concept behind those works. My music always develops out of experiments. I am combining old sequencer programs like Notator on an Atari, or the sequencer of the Roland MC-202 with new sound sources like Cwejman S1 or the Korg M- 20. The “Beat Study”s are results of those combinations. With Non Standard Institute Plays Non Standards it’s quite similar. In this case Max Loderbauer, my nsi. partner, was the sound source and sequencer with the piano and I treated him in real time with effect units.

How much do computers and their attendant sequencing programs figure into your productions? Do you find them useful?

As I explained before, I believe that different sequencers lead me to different music. I really prefer hardware sequencers to computer based sequencers like Logic or Cubase. For me it’s more fun to turn real knobs. I use Logic more or less like an extended “tape machine,” but for sequences I count on the individual groove of hardware sequencers.

Do you think the democratization of production through softwares like Ableton and Reason is a positive or negative thing?

I never use Ableton in the studio. Somehow I always have the feeling that I am cheating. The program makes everything so easy. Everything fits together and in the end there is just a lot of emotionless stuff going on. Sorry! That’s the reason why a lot of music nowadays sound so similar. Of course there are productions done with these programs that are brilliant, but it’s no fun for me. I only use Ableton for live performance, but actually I will be switching to a live set without computer in the near future.

Tobias awaits the future.

You’ve collaborated a lot over the years, with Atom Heart, Martin Schopf, and more recently Max Loderbauer and Ricardo Villalobos. What do you take away from your sessions with other producers? Do you and Cassy ever work on music together?

I have a very good and long friendship with the people you mentioned. I’ve known Martin and Ewe [Atom Heart] for 20 years. We went through a lot of different phases in our lives that affected the way we did music. With all these friends I developed an individual language and style. I also started to do music together with Cassy and it is again something completely new.

Which contemporary artists do you listen to these days? Which older artists have you been enjoying lately?

That’s hard to say; I am listening to so much different music, old and new. But recently I listened to the new Erykah Badu CD. She is not looking for the next hit, she is just doing music. Some old stuff I was listening to was Cluster’s, Grosses Wasser, one of my favorite records.

Do you ever look through your own discography to see what ground you’ve already covered? Do you ever look back for new sources of inspiration?

Right now I am re-doing my new website with a friend of mine. I had to scan all artworks of my releases and completed my biography. It was quite scary to see how much material I had to take care of. Sometimes I listen to some old DATs to find some inspiration, but I usually don’t listen to finished productions I once did.

A lot of producers who started around the same time as you aren’t making music anymore, and it seems like you’re just as productive as you’ve ever been. What is it that drives you to be as prolific? Do you feel you have a lot left to accomplish?

Well, I always had a job besides doing music. Five years ago I quit my job, five years I’ve been living of my music only. I have to be productive. I was always afraid to do this step, but it was the best thing to do. Also a great source of inspiration is my wife. For me there is still a lot left to accomplish, for example investing in a perfect sounding studio space. It is a great pleasure creating and listening to pure sound so I’d rather do it as real as possible.

What advice would you give to young producers trying to get started in techno/house?

Don’t start if you think money or fame is more important than music.