Octave One: "Once We Got The 909 I Was Hooked. That Machines Like A Drug, I Could Listen To The Kick For Hours"
After the debut of Derek May's epic Transmat compilation Techno 2: The Next Generation I Believe (1988) , Lenny and Lawrence Burden went online and formed their own label, 430 West.
Often backed by the Lorne brothers, Lynn and Lance, the duo's commercial success came a decade after the murky waters of techno/house destruction, and the Burden brothers rarely gained the limelight.
Known for their high-energy live sets using hardware amplifiers and sequencers, their authentic approach to performance has consistently delighted crowds around the world.
Meanwhile, Lenny and Lawrence continue to push their musical boundaries with their latest album Never On Sunday , a funky mix of ambient, atmospheric and acoustic electronica with remixes of Orbital and Scream.
Growing up in Detroit, was the techno influence inevitable?
Lenny: "When we started in 1989, techno exposure in Detroit came mainly from radio and clubs, but there wasn't much so you could easily miss it. Derek, Juan and Kevin formed and Virgin had their first techno- album, Detroit, released ( Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit ) Actually we were on the second album, Techno 2: The Next Generation , so technically we were part of the second wave and it was starting to spread at that time.
You have three other brothers. Did he grow up in that house?
Lawrence: "We all play music at home. Sometimes it can be chaotic. My mom loved playing music at home no matter how bad it was, but she always wanted us to be involved in music .It was a form of discipline because she knew where we were.
Do you share the same taste in music?
Lenny: “More or less the same, but not exactly. I'm not a jazz fan, but Lawrence and Lynelle paved the way for Bob James. At home we were exposed to things like soul, RNBA and Elton John. Basically anything you can think of, so our tastes definitely clash a lot.
Lawrence: "Lenny always liked the hard edge and I had to learn to appreciate that because my taste was more jazz and R&B - like Barry White and Al Green. We're all age gap, so our younger brothers, Lance and Lorne, hip- brought a new style of hop and R&B.
What was the sequence of events that led you to combine your talents as a couple and form Octave One?
Lenny : "We've been taking music lessons since primary school. Lawrence played saxophone in the band and I played trumpet and drums. Actually we started as a trio with my brother Lynel and went the same way as many cats. They were doing electronic music then, some platinum thing
We thought it was amazing that we could create an entire song with so little equipment.
“A lot of electronic music was made in low-budget basement studios, so we bought some drums and a synth and started teaching ourselves. We thought it was amazing that we could create an entire song with so little equipment.
Lawrence: "Lenny and Lynley bought the first group, but they didn't keep money because I was always a happy person who stocked everything that came home. They had a Kawai R50 and a Bought Korg DD-1 drum machine and I started improvising with them.just doing drums.Later the guys bought Roland TR-909 and 303.
Lenny: "Actually, our first synth was a little Yamaha PSS-480 toy. It had Yamaha DX100 speakers and powerful bass, which made us want to get one of those. We just plugged it into the amp."
Lawrence: “After we found 909, I was baptized; That instrument was like medicine, so I hooked it up to a speaker and played it all day. I could listen to the sound for hours as the sound improved as it played; Talk!"
How did you get signed to Derek May's Transmat label with Lisa Newbury on your first single I Believe ?
Lenny: “We've sent out tapes to people to see what we're doing and we've been turned down several times; But we worked and studied in an apartment.
"The weirdest thing was my neighbor Marty Bonds, who was in 500 Model with Joan Atkins, and his roommate was Jay Denham, who ended up in Transmat as Fade to Black. Carl Craig's sister lived upstairs, so we had our own had a techno corner in our apartment (laughs). At first I don't think Derek May heard our tape; it was Carl."
Lawrence : "We met Carl at Alan Oldham's house and we started kicking it. After that, Carl pushed Derek to listen to our music, but I don't think he understood. Anthony was the engineer at Shaki's Metroplex -studio and when Juan Atkins was going out of town, unbeknownst to him, his brother Eric was going to rent the studio, so he started renting the studio that we paid for Eric and Anthony Design.
" I believe that's how the song came about. Then Shakir sent us the music with the songs that were going to be on Techno 2: The Next Generation and Derek took it from there."
Around the same time, 430 West... you started your own account.
Lenny: “With the exception of Richie Hawtin Plus 8 and Carl Craig's Planet E, not many people started their own labels back then. We did it out of necessity because Derek didn't put much music on Transmat and we were ready for the next release. At that time there was no internet and no books to read that explained how to record or manage a record, how to produce and distribute a record. We borrowed money and fax machines and went completely blind.
Lawrence: "Lenny had a job bringing us to the post office so we could send all the packages cheaply. It's funny because we used to send people like Pete Tong overseas but we didn't know who it was . The World Health Organization". He was."
When all the digital synths came out, people started downloading all their analog synths. We remember when you gave enough gifts.
Lenny : "We were initially a vinyl label; record sales were our bread and butter. We got to a point where even a bad album could sell two thousand. Interestingly, before streaming became popular, Richie Hawtin gave us Vinyl Scratch shown, where you can play MP3s from vinyl records by syncing them with a computer.
“It's not working? We thought. You learn to adapt as you go, but the record company is not of the same mind. When album promotion doesn't equal sales, you have to change tactics.'
Lawrence: “Adapt or die, that's the industry. 75% of our income came from sales, but after a few years it came from tours. Everything is changing and changing, so if you don't adapt, you will surely die.
Octave One's second album, The Theory of Everything, seems to have moved out of techno and into rap/trip-hop territory. What inspired this change in your music?
Lawrence: “We've played different genres and wanted to experiment, but we didn't always play them for the public. The song Black Water lets us enter that new world, but we do what we want.
Lenny : “We used to record at home, but suddenly we had access to a really good studio. You can't go home from work without trying something. But our supporters are very good; They stuck with us, knowing we would always return to Octave One, and gave us the freedom to do whatever we wanted.
In 2000 they achieved great success with Black Water . Was that the inspiration that allowed you to mix tracks from bands like Massive Attack and Inner City?
Lenny: "It definitely expanded our audience but we've mixed before and we know Kevin Sanderson from Inner City. We were also asked to remix the Depeche Mode anniversary album and we wanted to do something slower like Behind the Wheel or Martin Gore , but we couldn't stop..They were basically our idols.
Tell us about the new Octave One album The new album is the Never on Sunday album , as it may confuse some people as they have released music that is never on Sunday.
Lenny: "We always tried to push ourselves musically and we thought we came across something interesting, but we were shy and thought it would be better to leave it on Absolute Sunday as an album. A few years ago we released a vinyl that included some of these songs and people really liked it, so during the pandemic we thought we'd take the idea and turn it into an Octave One album.
Lawrence: "The pandemic gave us time to take a break. We've been doing a lot of shows and always trying to get a dance floor, but now we're home and we don't have to worry about it, so we just things move and happen. So "Out there" was a lot of music heard, is the best way to describe it.
Can you describe how you feel about the album compared to previous Octave One releases?
Lenny : "We made some vocal tracks, slow tempos and dance stuff and sent it out to people. Scream did a remix and also Orbital, at the time we thought it should be an Octave One album and an Octave One- be title." It's Sunday. We decided to keep it."
Lawrence : "We actually did a show on Sunday in Rome at Absolutely, which was amazing. It was really fun and the applause we got was crazy. Sometimes it's just a matter of time, so when we see the reaction of see the crowd. We were ready for it.
Other than the remix, the album doesn't have much of a groove. Are there more instrumental tracks and some sci-fi sounds?
Lenny : "When we made the album we didn't know what it was, we knew we were. It took us a while to get it where it is now and we probably have 10 different versions of the songs mixed. Right now, the music is thrown and recorded in two weeks. When we made Ur Blackja , the album was played before people started playing it. And it was old before they knew it, so hopefully people will like this album give it a shot and go along for the ride We all made ten videos for the song so it's a full art project.
Kareena Mia gave voice in three songs. Are you involved from the start?
Leni : "When we did the show in Rome, we wanted to take a singer with us, knowing that we wanted him on some songs. As brothers, we are used to working together, so if we bring someone else , we already know Karina and we like how we live together."
You mentioned Orbital earlier, these same brothers and celebrities had a hard time working together on different things. How to avoid conflict?
Lawrence: "As a frontman, I was used to being quite dominant and I had to learn to give my brothers space. There is room for all of us, we just need to breathe."
Lenny: “It's about accepting everyone's strengths and weaknesses and letting people express themselves as needed. Lawrence and I are more together than we've ever been, especially when we're on tour and I understand what Paul and Phil from Orbital have been up to. I just need to know when to back off and let my husband have his place.
"With a lot of kids in the family, there's always a lot of fighting, but when they grow up, they don't want to fight anymore (laughs) . You want the music to be the best, and we're going to be strong. Let's stay together and add that energy." . Without them I want to live with my brothers."
You and Lawrence seem like a very familiar partnership, especially on stage…
Leni : "a lot of us have accidents. First I was supposed to play live and Lawrence was DJing on his set before going on stage. I had his mixer and all the gear in front of me. And I was trying to get Lawrence on stage when he jumped. We didn't rehearse anything But then he was behind the mixer and the way we worked together in the studio was so organic.
அம்பு யாயு மையை கெர்கை தாயுக்க்கு; It doesn't matter if it's in a box or big, expensive analog hardware.
Lawrence: "When we play live, sometimes the crew will change and Leni will throw me a curveball, but mostly it's the place and the feeling of the crowd. We might have a basic idea of what we want to do, but there are no rules. We play with each other. And sometimes we forget that there are many people.
Are you going to sing in the same room?
Leni : "During the summer, we work far away, especially since Lawrence is only an hour away, but when we sing, we work with all our brothers. They are our production partners. This is our advantage over many other bands. . .
Does TR-909 play a big role in the studio?
Lawrence: "We don't trade instruments. You can buy something and sell it a few years later, but if we always sell it with a 909, we're done. We can start or try, but if you listen . It always plays our music on 909. That machine is very hot, and the car is warm. , so we like it because it is the last item we sell.
குக்கி கியை கியுக்கு 909 குர்க்கு?
Leni: "At first we didn't know what the compressor was, but we had a lot of things and the records weren't made the way we wanted them to be." If you want your record to be played in the same set as someone else's, you'll need to add compression and limiting, but first we'll add some feedback and EQ to the board and leave it at that.
How does TR-8 compare?
Leni : “We use Tr-8 a lot and everything is right in front of you and you won't have to do much menu diving. It was presented sonically, but 909 is not a fully digital machine, so each has its own unique sound.
We know the features of 909 well, so we know when people try us
"We know the features of our 909 so well that people can tell when they try it. Roland architecture has it: everything is unique. A Juno 106 doesn't look like any other because of age and accessory wear. TR-8S is a great drum kit, but 909 " is not a replacement.
Which hardware synth do you use the most?
Лени : "Roland MKS-80, which is basically the Super Jupiter rackmount version and MKS-70, which is the JX-10 (Super JX) version. TB-303, Arp 2600 and SEM সাই গেন্জিতি সাব্ডা ক্র্ত্যান্তান. We're using some native synths and running a lot of things with digital delay. Lexicon PCM42."
What is your location about the plugin in general?
Лени: “Мосрін цінтьер можете від від від віді, від від міста на сафра. We have many plugins. அம்பு யாயு மையை கெர்கை தாயுக்க்கு; It doesn't matter if it's in a box or big, expensive analog hardware. Our two brothers use Maschine and we have a complete collection of them; My job is to tie everything together and make sure it all makes sense."
What is the editor of your synth hardware patch?
Leni: “It's a KiwiTechnics patch editor that doesn't have many buttons for most gear. It has been pre-booked for most Roland rackmount staff editing and eight-part synth editing. You don't need to navigate the way the room is set up, just select the synth you want to play, open Pro Tools and hit record.
In the center of the studio you have a large 64 channel desk. How important is the quality of your voice?
Лени : "cool. We use a Madas Venice mixer on our live show and love how it opens up our sound and warmth. It's a great analog device, but we wanted to try to incorporate the Midas sound into our records, so for our studio I wanted to get an equivalent version. Lawrence plays the mixer like he's playing live and goes through everything. Even when our brothers sent us soft synths, they all crossed the board and gave us a warmer feeling.
Large mixing consoles are generally more expensive. Do you have a special offer?
लेनी: “अक्जन मुवाने अबर्जना अग्य मुवाने धन. When all digital synths came out, people started downloading all their analog synths. They thought, Oh, we can get all these great sounds digitally, why do we need the whole Roland piece? When you gave a lot of money, we remembered.
The same thing happened when Hall and Oats threw all analog stuff out of the studio and digital mixers started appearing in instant recall. It was great for us because we got Midas at a good price and now people are realizing its unique features, it is slowly starting to gain value.
We read that you make your own sound equipment. Can you give us some guidance on this matter?
Leni: "It was for our live shows, we wanted to make custom gear that would help us set up quickly or run our show more efficiently, like a power bank where all the gear plugs into a hub or takes existing gear and stitches. To make it fun, it works more efficiently because it's on a specific synth .
"Usually it's a lot easier to take something apart and put a new one on it, so it's more fun as you go. Of course, whenever you open things up, you void the warranty, so when a device breaks down on the road, opening it up and what can we do?" A good time to watch.
अक्टेव वानेर नेवर सांडे अक्टेव 430 वेस्त रोडे.
