Currently residing in Berlin, Canadian born DJ/Producer Patrick DSP has been involved in some sort of musical production setting since the early 90’s.

From mastering tracks for some of Berlin’s most established Techno labels, to writing scores for film, Patrick has been a very busy individual.  Even with his hectic schedule, we found some time to sit down with him to speak about his journey into music production, and how he got to where he is today.  Keep reading for the full scoop.

Who are you and where are you from? Labels & Affiliations?

Patrick DSP – Unknown Forces, Kne’Deep Records, DJAX UP Beats, Planet Rhythm …

Do you remember your first introduction to music software?

It was a music tracking program called Fast Tracker 2.

Often times users of music production software migrate through a few different programs until they settle down with one or more that speak to their personal needs and workflows. Could you describe your journey through the DAW world?

That’s true. My introduction to music software with fast tracker gave me a quick appreciation of MIDI and hexadecimal numbering.  I soon moved on to hardware workstations (Yamaha su700 & EX5-s) with cubase becoming my sequencer of choice for it’s midi and later audio and VST implementation. I even creating mixer maps for all my synths and handed over the ones I made for the first generation of electribes back to Korg back in the day. I moved over to ableton live with version 5 when they added midi support. I was excited for how they approached audio manipulation and how elastic it was. I miss the midi control of cubase but it’s slowly improving in live.

Please describe your workflow with regards to your creative process.

Bass. The kind of music I like to write has butt shaking bass. So I start off with creating a good and complimentary kick/bass combination. Once that’s going, I like to fill in the rest of my percussive sounds. Trying my best to stick to the KISS Method (Keep It Simple Stupid). I’ll try to work out a main theme or at least something interesting for the song. If it sounds like everything else why make it? It’s got to tell a story and be an expression in some form or another. It’s an organic process. It really depends on my mood. And if my mood changes I’ll shelve it and start something else. Some tracks I don’t finish instead i’ll use them spare parts for other tracks or remixes I’m working in. There’s a method to my madness but it’s my madness and it works for me.

How do you use Liquid Rhythm in the studio or on stage? Both?

So far I’ve only used it in the studio. It’s been great to jump start the writing process. Where I said earlier, I like for my music to have a theme or reason to existing. Something different. Liquid Rhythm is a great tool to fast track that process and get my head working into a train of thought I wouldn’t get to right out if the gate.

What hardware controllers do you use with Liquid Rhythm?

I’m a big fan of Push right now. And I’m very happy with all the Max for Live apps I’ve made to help turn push into a central command station for my whole studio. I can put all my synths and other gear into a corner now. I do it all with push and max for live.

Mac or PC?

Both. Mostly Mac these days. But for mastering it’s PC and for some more unconventional applications too. The really crazy stuff is usually on PC first.

Creatively speaking, what kind of advice would you give to someone who is just starting out and looking to get into making electronic music?

Turn everything off. Turn off the Internet. Facebook. Twitter. Don’t read forums or sound cloud comments. Ignore what everyone else is doing and what they’re pushing or where they’re playing. They’re not you. Do your own thing. Make your own sound independent of everyone else. It’s easy to be a one hit wonder, it’s another thing to be unique and have your own sound. Ignoring the hype takes you from being a follower and onto a leader. Even if it’s a very small group of people that’s into your sound, they’ll be there for you forever because you create the sound that’s unique for them too. And that’s a great joy in any art.

What do you want to see from music production software in the future?

Mind readers. But more realistically I want more standardization so no matter what sound module or computer I use, it can use the same instrument to control it all. Imagine the mastery if some controller had the longevity as a guitar has or a piano. Everything could be an instrument with the right controller then and if everyone agreed on the same levels of control. A bit esoteric I know. But that’s me.

What projects are you currently involved with?

I’m really excited with this new Unknown Forces’ Process series we’re about to introduce. We’ve gotten in touch with a number of older techno producers and every month or so one if us will make an exclusive sample pack for the rest of us to make an original track with. So expect to have that old proper techno rough around the edges sound with a modern twist 8 times over each month. It’ll be nice to hear these originators revive this sound again. And of course original tracks and remixes too.

What are some pain points in your production workflow you’d love to see improved?

Saving settings and future compatibility. There are lots of projects i have that I have trouble reopening now because they’re a little older and the plugin I used has been upgraded to a newer version or a synth I used is no longer around so I can’t easily substitute it. So when I finish a project I try to make sure everything and every scenario is covered to keep it future proof. This really helps when I later try to reopen older tracks to then recondition them to fit live pas

Who do you think we should interview next?

Richard Divine. I know he really enjoyed liquid rhythm when it came out and I like artists that think outside the box. So I’d be interested in hearing his thoughts about it more in depth.

Make sure to check out Patrick DSP by visiting his website at: http://www.patrickdsp.com/