Soundtoys is opening the doors of its Burlington, Vermont headquarters for a series of sessions designed to make the company’s vintage and analog gear collection, passionate knowledge and experience, and creative workspaces available to artists who hold unique perspectives on the intersection of sound, creativity, and technology.
These sessions will be captured through film and other mediums in order to explore and document the creative process. The resulting work will be released as part of a new series titled Deciphered: Artists In Residence.
The concept for the series stems from the company’s desire to capture moments of inspiration brought forth by the inevitable spark between artists, the rare gear collection, the Soundtoys team, and the unique environment at the company’s headquarters.
For years, Soundtoys has been collecting rare and sought-after audio equipment in order to investigate, experiment, and identify what gives each make, model, and individual unit its special character. Through careful curation, the collection has grown to become a resource for Soundtoys to share and explore with artists seeking new sonic territory.
The first installment of the Deciphered series features internationally acclaimed composer, producer, and performer, Julianna Barwick, as she creates original music on a custom-designed effects rig purpose-built by Soundtoys to complement her ethereal sound and hypnotic layering.
The resulting signal path led her on a lush, reverb-soaked journey through a who’s who of legendary spatial effects including a Lexicon 224, an Eventide H3500, a Publison Infernal Machine 90, and Julianna’s favorite, a 600 pound vintage EMT 140 plate reverb.
After spending time learning the ins and outs of the gear through a collaborative session with the Soundtoys team, cameras rolled as Barwick explored, improvised, and created multiple pieces of entirely new work live, without overdubs, edits, or backing tracks.
As the session wrapped, she posed an intriguing question, “Can I make a record here?”
For more information, including a fascinating video, please visit the Deciphered website.
