Words John Murray Hill Digital Nation 71
Photography Kmeron: www.flickr.com/photos/frf_kmeron/
resisted them for years but when I got into them I through a microphone and have it instantly ar-
did so in a massive way.” ranged on a board in front of me’. That would be
a very instantaneous way of working but hideously
Large portions of music producers – even those complex to program.”
regarded as technically proficient – don’t un-
derstand the core principles of music produc- Exile’s personality type is hard to grasp. He’s a ge-
tion. They’re not one with the machine. They nius, no doubt. He dives to unfathomable depths,
ultimately just want to create and dislike reading swimming through technical sewages for sponta-
manuals, and as such see the computer as a wall neous, free ends. Exile’s personality is a marriage
that they must hurdle or smash through. “Because of two polar opposites. “I don’t really understand
of that frustration, that’s why I do what I do,” says it – I definitely have got a bipolar personality – I
Exile. “That’s why I justify spending so much time go through these phases of locking myself away,
on this. The experience of building an instru- which is where I get ideas of what I want to do.
ment exactly how you want to and then playing it Like at the moment, I’m into creating computer
at a really big show… you just feel like the track is programs that write music themselves but in a re-
coming from your body. That experience is really ally intelligent way. It’s massively idealistic, and I
what I’m about – it’s the pinnacle.” get so excited thinking about the grand possibili-
ties but also the little stepping-stones needed to
So, Exile’s ‘machine’ he created using Reaktor’s complete the journey. Programming intelligence
modular interface is like some sort of creative into computers … you actually have to create a
exoskeleton allowing him to enhance his per- real symbiosis between you and it because it’s not
formance levels. “I still write tracks in the studio a top-down kind of programming. If you pro-
and use conventional things like Pro Tools,” Exile gram in a hierarchy and say ‘I’m telling you to do
continues. “It’s a nice experience but it doesn’t this’, it won’t work so well. You actually have to
compare to getting up on stage in front of people flow with the computer.”
– literally walking up there having no idea what
you’re going to do and so the whole thing is a re- Who knows, perhaps one day Exile’s program will
action to what’s going on in the room.” make better music than him in half the time? For
now though, he’s still the master: “My new album
Exile is a classic case of the creative individual – has come out on Warp Records called ‘Listening
he thrives in the spotlight and being spontane- Tree’. It’s kind of like abstract pop.”
ous. It makes him feel alive and as if he’s living
life on the edge. What he’s describing is similar to And it’s one of the most interesting things you’ll
what freestyle MCs go through when they enter a hear in 2009 – a reflection of his live show [Tim
cipher or a battle. “The thing is, everyone’s idea Exile is reserved in person but absolutely wild and
of simple and functional is actually totally differ- unchained during performances]. Just check out
ent,” Exile opines. its first single and video on YouTube – ‘Family
Galaxy’ – and scope its nutty tempo-change from
Many producers prefer simple software like tech house to drum & bass for proof.
Spectrasonics’ Trilogy and not feature-rich ones
like Native Instruments’ Absynth or Reaktor. The ‘Listening Tree’ seems like a new genre. “I hate
latter programs are sometimes counterproductive using the word, but some do and it seems to com-
for creative control freaks demanding mastery of municate with a lot of people – and that’s RDM…
their tools. “Probably one of the downsides of us- with pop. ‘Listening Tree’ is made on Pro Tools
ing developed software is that it’s just not going via various soft-synths and obviously Reaktor.
to suit anyone perfectly, apart from maybe the There’s a lot of NI Massive in there; quite a bit
developers.” of FM8 and also Hybrid – the DigiDesign synth –
which is really crappy, but good for this and that.
Most producers clearly never think outside the Structure 3, the basic DigiDesign sampler, was
box like this. “So, by getting into someone else’s great for taking things out of the audio timeline.”
software [i.e. anything that’s not made by your-
self], you’re actually trying to map your ideal way So, now Exile’s going to blitz this album live?
of working onto someone else’s, and there’ll al- “With the live thing, when I’m playing the songs,
ways be a partial match but never a complete fit. it’s pretty much like laptop karaoke – changing
For example: take Garageband. It’s offers a really the effects on my voice and so on – 60% is im-
simple way of making music, aimed at a specific provised using my live machine.”
kind of user. It’s the perfect way for casual fans
to make music – it gets rid of all the bullshit that And what’s the live machine actually called –
programs like Logic throw in your way. But that something crazy, right? “No… the file’s called
kind of simplification is such a niche one, and ‘live patch’, it’s really boring,” Exile sniggers.
the more it’s simplified, the more it alienates
other users. So, my machine that I use for live But somehow, the unassuming title of Exile’s
performance is, in a lot of ways, very simplified. digital weapon is totally befitting of his surprising
It has a specific way of working – totally fluid. I personality.
imagine that people who have grown up using an
Akai MPC, for example, would probably be re- How can Exile stay sane? Will he turn into either
ally frustrated with some of the ways that my ma- a megalomaniacal elitist or paranoid, delusional
chine works. But if you want simplicity, you kind wreck on his one-man mission? Answers to these
of have to understand the complexity behind questions, and more, in his new album ‘Listening
this because, let’s imagine that someone says, ‘I Tree’ – out now.
just want to be able to physically record a break
www.kmag.co.uk
K70-71_Exile.indd 71 29/4/09 13:26:12
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