erickonasis
Resident Oldhead
didn't know this dropped
about to download this
edit: it's not out yet
SS: What beat-making equipment do you use?
Apollo Brown: My equipment is very minimal. I use an old computer that I had in college. It’s an old Hewlett Packard from 2000. I always use Windows XP. My speakers are blown. I’ve had them for 12 years or so – they’re also from college. I can’t even turn the volume up that much. I use Cool Edit 2000 which is a program that came out in 1997. I’ve been using it since I got it. I have a Roland XP50 keyboard that only 16 keys work on it. It was in an apartment flood type of thing. I don’t even use it anymore because I always filter my bass lines. I don’t play bass lines anymore. I like filtering them because it sounds more natural that way. I’m using the bass line that’s already in the original sample. Literally if you were to sum up my equipment in a dollar amount it would be no more than $100. I can go get new speakers and a new computer but I don’t want to. I’ve come to know the sound of my equipment and I know how to manipulate things on my own stuff. I’ll be crying if something breaks ‘cause I’ll have to go and get that exact same thing again even though they haven’t made it in 20 years. I don’t like new equipment. I don’t like new things. I find change kind of hard. Native Instruments presented me with a Maschine down in Atlanta. I played it with it about a week or so and then I sold it. I’m not about change. I have a way of doing things and it works well for me. Even though my equipment sucks, it works for me. I wouldn’t pass my equipment on to anyone else ‘cause it would be horrible, but it works well for me. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
SS: Do you filter your bass lines in Cool Edit?
Apollo Brown: I do everything in Cool Edit. I know Cool Edit like the back of my hand and I’m still learning every day. I know how to do things with the program that would make you say, “Wow, how’d he do that?
SS: When you dig for records are there certain types of records you dig for? Also, do you sample from mp3s?
Apollo Brown: I do a little bit of everything but I do digging mostly. I would consider myself a digger. I’m not a collector though. I take a lot of records back and get credits in stores. I have a credit account where I can go in, grab more records, and they’ll take it off my credit. I like to throw the records on the turntable and record everything in. I like the sound and the quality. You can have two of the same records but they sound totally different. One record will have more static, or seasoning as I like to call it. If I can’t find a certain record I’ll hit it up on mp3 – no doubt. I’ll go digital crate digging on certain blogs especially if I’m sampling psychedelic records. Psychedelic records are so expensive. I’m not going to spend $100 on a record just to get one sample. I’m a dollar bin type of dude. If I’m not going to buy it I’ll find it on the internet. I have no shame in my game at all. I don’t care about how it gets done; it’s all about the outcome.