"Poppy is quality and reliability." Interview with the Lampas group about creativity, technique and crowdfunding

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

I have known the Lampasa group from their very first album for over ten years. And of course I attended concerts more than once. Like many fans of the band's creativity, I was waiting for the release of the second part of their latest album and by chance, after the release, I saw a photo with the group's logo and a MacBook standing next to it. Naturally, I immediately wanted to find out from the musicians how Apple technology helps them in their work, as well as other equally interesting things like wearable electronics, smart gadgets and crowdfunding. Read about all this and more below.

All photos: © "Lamps". Official group

Hey! First, please introduce yourself to our readers. If you wish, you can tell a little about yourself and the group as a whole

We are the Most Positive Ensemble in the Galaxy - "LAMPS" from Nizhny Novgorod, represented by Gosha Tarasov, Vladimir Toropygin and Alexey Goryunov.

Our collective was founded in 2002 and performs music in the style of BOM BOM UGAR! More details can be found in.

In one of the recent photos in your group on VK, I saw a MacBook against the background of a mug with the group's logo. Why exactly he, and not any other model or brand?

In a nutshell, for us Mac is quality and reliability, which is why we use it.

How long have you been familiar with Apple technology?

Our first real experience of working with Apple happened not so long ago - in 2013, while working at the P-TONE RECORDS studio. We were pleasantly surprised by the speed, simplicity and wide possibilities of this technique. After that, it was decided to buy their own Mac.

In one of your interviews (like it was on Radio “Radio”) you said that after the next problems with the drummer you decided to abandon the “live” instrument in favor of an electronic one. As far as I understand, it is on the Mac that you record drums?

Yes, that's right, up to this point we had been playing with a drummer for 10 years, so the decision was not easy. We had very little experience with electronic sound, but the decision was final, and we went headlong into studying music editors. Now we have completely abandoned the recording of live drums and are doing everything with plugins. In today's reality, it is very difficult to achieve high-quality recording and mixing of live drums (and not cheap, which is important).

And besides them, do you add any effects to the music? What programs do you use in your art?

Of course, the possibilities of electronic music are almost endless, if before a good synthesizer or electric organ was worth its weight in gold, now all these sounds are almost free and always at hand. Plus, there are ample opportunities for mixing and mastering actually at home. Our main music program now is Logic Pro X, a very user-friendly editor with many useful features.

Tell us in more detail how the process of recording / mixing tracks using a MacBook is going on

First, we look at the blanks of songs at the rehearsal point using live drums, record a draft and transfer our parts to the MacBook, choosing from the sample libraries the sounds and rhythmic patterns most suitable for a given track. This all happens at home, which is very convenient. And then in the studio we record live instruments - guitar, button accordion, wind instruments and, of course, voices. In certain cases, almost the entire song (except for the voice) can be recorded at home, which is again very, very convenient. And one more convenience is that we and our sound engineer in the studio have the same music program, and we can exchange projects directly via the Internet that open in one click.

Usually before a concert, musicians need some time to tune the instruments to achieve their unique sound. Has the preparation time decreased or, on the contrary, increased?

There are some nuances when working with a MacBook in live performances. We perform in a composition of three people, with Mac there is a lining (drums, bass, synths, percussion), live - guitar, button accordion and three vocals. It turns out a kind of symbiosis of live and electronic sound. In our case, since we do not use live drums, the sound set-up time was reduced by at least two times, as well as the technical requirements for the concert stage.

When a live person sits at the drum set, any mistake made during the performance of the song can be smoothed out. Electronic drums will continue to play without regard to the band members, according to the given parameters. Was it difficult to adapt to the "machine" and how often do such situations arise?

There is a double-edged sword. Of course, when there is an opportunity to adjust, it is very good. But playing with a rhythmic lining disciplines, because the lining cannot miss, so you have to match! At first it was unusual, but now we already consider our Mac a member of the team:)

Before each new song do you have to run to your laptop to turn on the next track, or is this process somehow automated?

There is a combined option: something is turned on manually, something is automatic. You don't have to run far, Mac is always at hand on the counter.

How long did it take to get used to working in an operating system different from the massively widespread Windows?

It's like learning a foreign language - at first nothing is clear, but once you master the basic rules - and then everything is elementary. The same with Mac - at first some basic functions, such as installing programs or working with the trackpad, were not very clear, but they were mastered quite quickly, and now there are no difficulties. Quite the opposite!:)

Do you use any other devices from Apple (iPhone, iPad, iPod) or do you prefer smartphones and tablets from other manufacturers? And why?

Now no, we do not treat the Mac as an expensive toy, but as a reliable means of production, so we use phones from other manufacturers - they perform their functions properly. There are plans to buy another MacBook and acquire stationary Apple computers for all members of the team.

In addition to applications for creating / processing music, what other programs do you have installed on your laptop / smartphone / tablet that you often use in your daily life?

In addition to music, we are constantly faced with video and photo processing, since clips, video messages, photos and concert posters are an integral part of the band's image. Favorite programs - Sony Vegas, Photoshop, Illustrator. On smartphones - Instagram, Facebook Messenger (through which we, in fact, give this interview:))

Presumably in March this year, a new device will appear in the Apple product line - the Apple Watch. Have you heard of these? And what is your general attitude to the new “trend” - wearable electronics like various fitness bracelets, “smart” coffee makers, washing machines, dishwashers, etc.?

Of course, you have heard, but the attitude is still like a funny toy. Now almost all the necessary functions are in smartphones. On the other hand, smartphones used to seem like a purely entertainment thing, but now they manage to shoot clips on them. So time will tell.

In addition to various wearable gadgets, projects of “smart home” and “Internet of things” are now rapidly developing, where door locks themselves open doors in front of the owner, light bulbs turn on when the alarm rings, and refrigerators report spoiled products. How interesting do you find this close interaction between man and technology? Would you like a similar system in your home?

Certain such things are of course very useful and make life a lot easier, leaving more time for creativity. I would definitely like to try it. Technology is penetrating more and more into human life, the main thing is that it does not end with the appearance of the SKYNET network, as in Terminator (just kidding:)). Many scientists predict the imminent onset of a technical singularity - technological progress will become so rapid and complex that it will be beyond comprehension. But so far the progress is clear and brings tangible benefits, so we need to use its fruits:)

Some time ago you went to a crowdfunding project to raise funds to record an album. It's no secret that Planet is a kind of analogue of the foreign Kickstarter. Was it difficult to raise the required amount and do you think there is a future for such projects, when people interested in the idea help in the implementation of the set goals?

In the mid-2000s, there was a sharp decline in sales of physical media of music (discs) due to the spread of the Internet. Therefore, sound labels stopped giving musicians money to record and release new albums, because it became unprofitable. The musicians had to rely only on themselves, someone even stopped their musical activities. But with the advent of crowdfunding, artists have a chance to carry out their projects with the help of fans who are ready to give a certain amount of money for this. On the website planeta.ru we have successfully completed two projects that allowed us to record a double album and shoot a video. We closed the first project in two months, having collected 109,000 rubles - it turned out to be a pleasant surprise for us! We are very grateful to everyone who helped make this happen, to all our shareholders and the planeta.ru team, with whom it is a pleasure to do business. Crowdfunding is not begging at all, people get various bonuses for their money - subscriptions to concerts, personal video messages, songs for loved ones, excursions - they are in the black anyway! The future of crowdfunding is definitely a vivid example - the fantastic comedy "Iron Sky" about Nazis from the Moon, a film with large-scale special effects and famous actors, filmed by a group of enthusiasts with funds raised by fans.

As a continuation of the topic of high technologies. The notorious Gorillaz group performed at concerts for a long time, broadcasting their cartoon counterparts on the screen. Not so long ago, there were concerts of Michael Jackson and Tupac, where the performers were replaced by holograms. In Russia, however, they slowly began to organize live online broadcasts from concerts. What do you think about this? Does it make sense in such events, because in the case of watching a concert via the Internet, the user does not buy a ticket?

The visuals at concerts are as important as the music. We use animated video sequences for live performances, which are broadcast on the big screen. That is, the characters in the video are also participants in our show. But a vocalist, a showman on stage cannot be replaced with a hologram, people come to a concert for living emotions, to exchange energy with an artist, and these are not just words. Whether it is possible to get the same sensations from a hologram or broadcast via Skype - I'm not sure.

Great, thanks for the answers! Can you wish something to our readers?

Listen to good music and use good technique! With you there were LAMPS, BOMB for everyone!

As a gift to all admirers of the collective's creativity (perhaps there are even more of them now:)), the group offers to participate in a simple competition, the prize of which will be a ticket to the next concert in Moscow -. The rules are extremely simple and consist of only three points:

1. Answer the question: "How many tracks will be included in the group's double album?"

2. Post a link to this interview on any of the social networks.

3. Leave a comment below with a link to your entry and an answer to the question.

A week later, among those who gave the correct answer, we will randomly choose a winner, who will receive a lucky ticket to the concert. Good luck!