Rich Aucoin | Interview | New Album, ‘Synthetic’
Canadian musical polymath Rich Aucoin recently released, ‘Synthetic’, a rare quadruple album – with its four seasonal LPs being staggered in six-month intervals over the next 2 years.
The album sees Aucoin exploring the instrumental electronic side of his studio work, with a range of rare and historic synthesizers utilised in its production. ‘Synthetic’s’ life began at The National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta in March 2020, which houses one of the world’s most extensive collections of rare and historic synthesizers. Aucoin was there to take part in the centre’s Artist In Residence program and recorded 51 synthesizers to begin the project, which was subsequently paused at the start of the pandemic. ‘Synthetic’ was released October 19th via We Are Busy Bodies label.
‘Synthetic’ is your most complex release so far; being a four part album. What’s the story behind it?
Rich Aucoin: I’ve always made a list of rules for each album to help both narrow down ideas for a cohesive record as well be a guide to not repeat my previous work. Most records have been like 10 rules with examples like tempos being 140 and above for ‘Ephemeral’ (making it a 29min album) or playing all the instruments for ‘Personal Publication’ (my first EP which is an alt soundtrack to Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas). For this one, the rule was just to have only synths and as many as possible. Like my second EP which ballooned into my first LP, it quickly became apparent that this was going to be a double then triple then quadruple album to fit everything I wanted to do with it.
You must spend a lot of time creating this incredible album using various rare and historic synthesizers, tell us about them. What all can we hear on the album and what in particular do you like in a certain synthesizer?
Yeah, there have been 3 studio recordings so far for the quadruple album and a lot of time back at the home studio working with that material. Tracks like ‘Tonto,’ which was made on the historic instrument, were made by spending hours experimenting and jamming with it and then forming the track in the editing and mixing process back at home with the several hours of possible options obtained on the day at the studio with the instrument.
“I recorded everything DIY for the most part”
It must have been very difficult to hand-pick synthesizers from the museum’s archive since there was probably such a vast collection? How did you decide what to include and why that in particular?
Oh my request was to use every synth we could, so the museum was really great at getting them ready so we could quickly move from instrument to instrument. I recorded everything DIY for the most part with my Apollo Twin and laptop so it was easy to move my setup around to each synth.
Did this collaboration help you to discover new aspects of sound?
Of course. I think that’s one of the biggest benefits to synthesizers over traditional writing instruments like piano/guitars, tones really are inspiring to take you places you haven’t been and sometimes you just heard a synth setup that changes everything of what you were already thinking about doing with the song and you start something new from scratch with it.
Four seasonal LPs are being staggered in six-month intervals over the next 2 years, how did you get ideas to make this happen?
This was mostly a logistical thing, since the medium of the album is in the decline (much to the sadness of artists like me who love the medium), it didn’t really make sense to release a full quadruple album in the year 2022 at once to streaming. I think many of the tracks would have gotten lost and forgotten. We’ve been releasing each track every 3 weeks to help give each track a chance to fly on its own. I can see from the analytics that my album only tracks suffered from not getting this kind of propping. If I had a bigger following, I might have tried to release it all at once but I think there’s just so much to listen to right now that I’m not sure anyone has time for a full quadruple album of 3+ hours of music!
Would you like to share some further words about the recording and producing process of ‘Synthetic’?
Yeah. I recorded everything both at these museums as well as using VSTs which made this album possible. I think the entry point to making synth music was always very challenging cause of how expensive and rare the instruments are, with this record, I used the studios as minimally as I could and workshopped a bunch of stuff with synth emulators, particularly the ones by Arturia, to help get to hear what options were possible before the studio meter was running.
Do you find yourself to be a perfectionist, in control, or do your ideas lead you, taking on a life of their own?
Oh I think you’re always just looking for happy accidents. I’m not in control really, I’m just seeing where each piece of music takes me; like a labyrinth, the goal of the artist is to leave enough bread crumbs to help others follow you into the maze.
Are you involved in any other projects or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?
Nothing at the moment, just always taking remixing jobs or film scoring. I did most recently a remix for Planet Booty’s Sexual Saviour which I was really happy with and scored an excellent doc called No Ordinary Man. So if you’re reading this, hit me up for remixes and film scores!
Would you also like to talk about 2011’s ‘We’re All Dying to Live,’ a 22-track orchestro-rock magnum opus that, once you factor in the numerous choirs on hand, featured over 500 collaborators? That was another massive project for you…
Yeah that record was a fun moment in time where I got to record with as many peers as possible and have the fun of making a big thing together. It was recorded mostly on the road with an Mbox and Rode mic. It definitely was always making out my Pro Tools. This new record will have a few hundred contributors by the end so it’s fun to try and tackle that logistical hurdle again.
Please take a moment to talk about ‘Ephemeral’, ‘Release’, and ‘United States’.
‘Ephemeral’ was my attempt to capture the energy of the live show. It’s a fast record and has a lot of hi-fi lo-fi. It can be played as an alt soundtrack to The Little Prince like Pink Floyd and The Wizard of Oz. ‘Release’ is my meditation on death, it syncs to Alice in Wonderland and was my Evil Dead 2 style remaking of the WADTL vibe of my first album, having 70 other musicians on it with me. ‘United States’ is my Robert Frank observational album which I wrote on my bicycle with voice memos from LA to NYC in the summer of 2018.
What are some future plans for you now?
To complete the rest of this quadruple album. Send me a message if you’d like to be on it!
Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
Some fav records:
1. ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ by Pink Floyd
2. ‘Pet Sounds’ by the Beach Boys
3. ‘Moon Safari’ by Air
4. ‘Currents’ by Tame Impala
5. ‘OK Computer’ by Radiohead
Some new favs:
1. ‘Faster Than I Can Take’ – Jane Inc
2. ‘Tonto’ – Robin Hatch
3. ‘Maloo’ – Maylee Todd
4. T’ough Baby’ – Crack Cloud
5. ‘Cheat The Pattern’ – Washing Machine
6. Leaving Laurel
Thank you. Last word is yours.
Thanks kindly.
Klemen Breznikar
Headline photo: Riley Smith
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