Novation makes James Rutledge's eyes light up
10-03-2011
In February 2011, James Rutledge won the UK Music Producers Guild (MPG) Award for Best Remixer, sponsored by Novation. We caught up with him to find out what it is that puts him top of his game.
"I use an iMac running Pro Tools 8 at the moment. Soon to be 9. When I was very poor I used to do everything in the computer and I still maintain that you can do anything with a computer and a sequencer; your imagination is the limit, not budget. The best thing you can get after that is a good sound source, like a synth to play with and distract yourself from doing any work! I once read an interview with Tim Gane from Stereolab saying that every time he got paid for something he'd buy a bit of equipment. That's what I try and do. But I try and keep a revolving door on equipment so I'm not reaching for the same thing every time. But a few things remain constant. I really like effects boxes and pedals and a few hardware synths. As for comps, EQ etc. I really carefully researched these and it's possible to get really amazing equipment for not much if you don't follow the gear acquisition syndrome (G.A.S) crowd! Knowing some real life engineers, I realised that they can do amazing things with virtually nothing or good value stuff and that's what I have in that department. I only really started getting more hardware for working with bands because unfortunately it's tricky to integrate your home software with whichever studio you are using that week."
James approaches the mix from a mainly emotional point of view — distinctly different from the approach of many top remixers: "Sometimes I love the band and the track. Sometimes I'm undecided, but there's always something in it that I want to explore or have an emotional reaction to. That may sound like claptrap but it's true. I really think of them in quite an abstracted way. So then I try and act on an initial instinct — if tiny things in the stems remind me of listening to my favourite album as a child on Christmas Eve then I act on that, or talking until 5am, or something else entirely — something peculiar and specific. Sometimes it's just fun to play around with music. I've never done a single remix that feels like a chore. What's really important to me is that I don't think 'oh, it would be good for me career-wise to do this' or 'this is cool, this isn't' or 'how much is the fee?' Again, that may sound like a lie, but it is true. I follow a gut instinct.
"Mostly I'm shifting things around in Pro Tools until the penny drops or running things through effects and generating loads of sounds and ideas, then I edit those down. I mostly try and blurt it back out as a fully structured song. Often a reproduction of the original track. I really try and make it my own then I don't have to think too much about pleasing anyone. It is easy to get bogged down in other people's expectations. But in the back of my mind I'm aware of what the band that I'm remixing is into and hope that my personal taste can connect with that. It's a bit like reaching out a hand or bridging a gap. Accidents are a real key: plugging everything in wrong; changing the tempo, playing blind over a stark vocal. I'm in awe of people who do them in a day. I'm not in awe of a lot of remixes that are cash in the bank bang on a beat and a limiter."
In terms of Novation gear, James has been a fan for some time, "I have two bits of older Novation gear: a Bass Station and a Drum Station. I just think they sound amazing and were so reasonably priced. The Bass Station is essentially an analogue monosynth that can also convert midi to CV. You could make a whole record with this combo. The Drum Station is a really editable 808/ 909 type thing. I'm working with someone at the moment - his eyes light up every time we put a snare on the Drum Station and he can bend the pitch as it goes into Pro Tools. It's really great to have bits of equipment that inspire you to make music - I know of a lot of high profile musicians who use a combo of these two units."
