Alec Empire

Atari Teenage Riot's 1995 album was produced by Alec Empire and lists the following instruments in the liner notes: "This album was recorded with an ATARI 1040, a CASIO FZ-1 sampler and a TR-909 drummachine... Sorry but we had to use the AKAI S-1000 sometimes for timestretching"

Alec Empire can be seen playing a Casio FZ-1 in the music video for "Speed" from the same album. He also tweeted in 2014: "that is such an old track hehe done on a Casio FZ1 sampler ;)"

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

Alec is holding a (heavily customized) 909 in this image.

Alec Empire's Generation Star Wars album from 1994 is produced by himself and contains the following instrument list in both the album notes and the Bandcamp page: "Instruments used on this album: TR-808, Akai S-1100, SH-101, Boss Pitch Delay."

Alec Empire, known for his work with Atari Teenage Riot, mentioned on Twitter that the Atari 1040 ST is still used daily in the studio, praising its stability and impact on music production. The computer is also credited in the liner notes of their 1995 album as a key instrument alongside a CASIO FZ-1 sampler and a TR-909 drum machine.

Atari Teenage Riot “Live At Brixton Academy 1999” credits: Drum Machine [TR-909], Sampler [Akai S-1100], Synthesizer [MC 202, Poly Moog], Effects [Roland Space Echo] – Alec Empire

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

Alec Empire's Generation Star Wars album from 1994 is produced by himself and contains the following instrument list in both the album notes and the Bandcamp page: "Instruments used on this album: TR-808, Akai S-1100, SH-101, Boss Pitch Delay."

Alec Empire's Generation Star Wars album from 1994 is produced by himself and contains the following instrument list in both the album notes and the Bandcamp page: "Instruments used on this album: TR-808, Akai S-1100, SH-101, Boss Pitch Delay."

Atari Teenage Riot's 1995 album was produced by Alec Empire and lists the following instruments in the liner notes: "This album was recorded with an ATARI 1040, a CASIO FZ-1 sampler and a TR-909 drummachine… Sorry but we had to use the AKAI S-1000 sometimes for timestretching"

Atari Teenage Riot “Live At Brixton Academy 1999” credits: Drum Machine [TR-909], Sampler [Akai S-1100], Synthesizer [MC 202, Poly Moog], Effects [Roland Space Echo] – Alec Empire

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

"We use an API 1608 desk, various compressors like the Universal Audio 1176s and the blue DBX 160 series. I still prefer my old Lexicon 480L to the digital plug-ins. The latest version of Pro Tools is great to have, because it is very easy to combine all the old gear with that. In ATR, we use the Roland TR-909 as the main drum machine; it’s part of the band’s sound, really. Then we still use the old Akais for ATR, like the S1100 or the S6000 or the MPC 2000XL. They are also part of the band’s identity in a way. Especially when you apply distortion. We also have a lot of modular synths, from the Metasonix Wretchmachine, the ARP 2600, Analogue Solutions Vostok, the Sherman Quad Filterbank and the Moog Voyager with all the external CV gate stuff. We find the Voyager better suited for ATR. My Minimoog just sounds too retro. I love the machine, as so many others (my Korg Trident, Roland Jupiter 8 etc...) but ATR has a certain sound that we stick to. I use all that other stuff more for the Alec Empire solo works. The Atari 1040ST is still the main sequencer for everything. Pro Tools is slaved to that."

Used on his 2002 Album "Les Etoiles Des Filles Mortes" only with Atari Falcon and a Soundlab DSM 25 Mixer.

DD: Which ATR production techniques have changed since the nineties?

Alec Empire: In the nineties samplers played a major role. Now, software like Ableton, Melodyne, Waves adds to that. The goal is to make music more exciting, more alive, more physical. Create new worlds, instead of just creating the old world faster and easier.