Last week, Adelaide-based four-piece Only Objects shared their new single The Ones Who Really Matter… and we were immediately hooked on their infectious and quirky sounds.
So we caught up with the band for a run-down on the gear that helped shape their incredibly unique sound (including their state-of-the-art drum machine).
Patrick – Novation Peak
I’ve gotten the Peak to make some weird noises. Thus far, it’s taken every single one in its stride. At the heart of it are three digital oscillators (which can be set to drift and diverge for added weirdness) and a really nasty, squelchy analogue filter (aka the giant control knob in the middle – as it should be) that hits mild to wild on a pretty regular occurrence.
I drive the whole thing using a Launchpad Pro – 90% for the pretty lights – and run the output through a Korg Kaoss Pad so I can further mangle the sound with granular oddities and weirdo reverbs.
The whole thing is attached to a giant plank (actually a kitchen shelf, but never mind) which is covered in glitter spray paint and comes with attached, sound-responsive LED strip lighting. You’re welcome.
Cam – Roland AX-Synth
Herbie Hancock has always been a huge inspiration to me, so when the opportunity came to add an extra synth to my setup, this seemed like a fairly logical outcome.
The question was asked, “if rock bands can rock out, why can’t we.” From smooth pads, melodic leads and howling guitars, the keytar takes the lead every time she sings. Her name is Kiara.
Jazzcat – Bass Pedal Board
Bass pedals are loads of fun! I mix floor shaking subharmonics with growling fuzz, squelching filters, and a touch of the 80s reverb and chorus. All of this combines to create some huge synth sounding basslines while still maintaining the visceral connection I have to my bass’ strings.
Everything starts with my hands. How I sound a string goes on to shape how different effects will add their colour. I base a lot of my sound on recreating the signal chain of synthesizers, from Moog, to Serum; it’s all manipulating waveforms.
As a bass player I love exploring how I can apply these ideas to my sound. I see my pedalboard as my weird take on a modular synth-style setup.
Patrick – TC Helicon VoiceLive 3
Some days, you need to sound like T-Pain. Or a choir of slightly out of tune aliens. Or like you’re singing in a hockey arena. This thing does all of those things, though I tend to use it for some of its more subtle effects as a general rule.
Using this is about making sure you’ve got the vocal tone you know that you want, regardless of where you’re playing. I also like to use the snappy AutoTune as a stylistic decision for some tracks.
Additionally, you can process external audio with it, so it’s usually connected to my M-Audio Venom synth, applying additional effects to it as well as grabbing chord data to generate sympathetic vocal harmonies in real time. It also does robot voices for our dubstep breakdowns.
Gerard – Gerard
A good drum machine is the heart of any good electro band. Do you go with the old school Linn LM-1? The beating digital pulse of the Oberheim DMX? The genre-defining Roland TR-808?
Well, considering our complex requirements, we took a slightly unusual step in finding a human-based drum machine to complete our lineup. Three years on, we’re still looking for the location of his step sequencer, but overall we couldn’t be happier.
After all, it’s pretty hard to find an electronic drum machine that can also sing falsetto harmonies and play tournament level Rocket League.
That said, recently we put Gerard through a scanning process and sent his blueprints off to Behringer, so I can safely say that we can expect them to be releasing a clone at NAMM 2019.
The Ones Who Really Matter is available now.
