Name: Itai Isenberg aka ITAI
Nationality: Israeli
Occupation: Producer, saxophonist, DJ
Current release: ITAI's Unfinished 02: The Real Matador is out via The Teddy Bear Lounge.
Gear Recommendations: Well, my favorite piece of equipment for both my live set and studio productions is the Nord Stage 3. I would say most of the Unfinished Project was produced on the Nord
The other is the Boss RC505mk2 it’s a greater and very intuitive looper but if you want it linked with Ableton you’ll need and external midi clock. The ERM seems to be really doing the job well so far.
If this ITAI interview piqued your interest, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.
The views of society towards technology are subject to constant change. How would you describe yours?
For me music is about story telling, and experience curating. To that end we have been using technology for as long as we have been human. When it comes to music too, picking up a stick and banging it on something is technology.
So for me it boils down to the question of who’s the story teller and is technology helping us tell the story or is it taking over, and telling its own story? But now that obviously brings up the AI question right? So far, I haven’t heard anything from AI that I wanted to listen or dance to, but I’m sure at some point soon I will. I think if it has a good story to tell I’d be happy to listen …
What are currently your creative goals and how are technologies helping you reach them?
That’s a really interesting question … my main goal is to be more creative in the moment, meaning during my live set. I come from the world of jazz and as a saxophone player I like to improvise and go with the feelings and energies that present themselves in the moment. I’m trying to do the same with my live set now, and without technology I would need a whole band in order to do that.
With Ableton as the main DAW, I can break my tracks up into scenes and loops, which make it much more of a playful thing. I can take a beat from one track, and drop vocals from another.
Also, I play a few live instruments during the act, and the looper helps me create live loops in the moment and then the computer with Ableton helps me blend it all together. It also makes sure the sound is aligned and all falls under one mix and master.
How and for what reasons has your music set-up evolved over the years and what are currently some of the most important pieces of gear and software for you?
So as I mentioned before, I started my career as a saxophone player. Then, I started playing saxophone along DJs, a few very talented DJs like Goldcap, Kora, or Be-Svenden had me play live with them.
That started opening up doors to also do my own set.
At the beginning I was doing a hybrid DJ & sax solo set, it was getting really good feedback and I got to tour the world doing that. But then two things started happening
1. I started getting a bit bored … I didn’t feel it was my zone of creativity and
2. I felt more and more it was hard for me to play over someone else’s finished track. It became very rare for that to actually sound good to my ears.
So, early 2022 I stopped all my touring for three months and moved it all into a live set up. I tried a bunch of different drum machines, keyboards etc. and eventually I landed on a setup that worked for me which included: Ableton & computer as the main interface. APC 40 as the controller for Ableton. Babyface pro as the sound card. Nord stage 3 as a keyboard, arpeggiator, the TR8s as a drum machine. I’ve also used the push 2 as a looper controller with a cool hack I found, and finally the saxophone as my main live instrument.
After about 6 months of playing that live set I felt I didn’t have enough material so I got into the studio again to produce the Unfinished Series and also updated the live set to now include the RC505mkii and the ERM clock to control it instead of the push 2. I’ve also turned the TR8s into a controller to control my drum loops and other fx instead of it acting as a drum machine (not recommended, I just had it available), and finally added the EWI (Electrical Wind Instrument).
Now with all of that new material and set up I feel I’ll be good for a while, and the live set can go up to 3h if the vibe is right …
Have there been technologies which have profoundly influenced, changed or questioned the way you make music?
I feel that’s a HUGE question because any piece of technology I picked up has influenced me deeply. I mean, again, if you go back to the definition of technology you could say the piano or the saxophone are part of it as well.
The way I produce music is through my ears, meaning I try to hear the things I want to play or compose rather than think about it, I try to follow that intuitive rout as long as I can and obviously the head comes in at some point. That makes it so that each instrument I pick up (and I see it all as instruments) whether it’s the computer of a software or the Nord, adds new sounds to the “bank of sounds” in my head.
A good example is the arpeggiator: I wasn’t really using it at all on my first album A trip to Idyllwild. Then, once I added the Nord to my live set, I started adding the arpeggiator live in my sets. And when I sat down to produce the Unfinished Series I’d say it’s part of almost every track, because now I can hear it and where it fits in.
From my point of view, the three key factors which have driven music technology over the past decades are mobility, affordability, and (easy) usability. How important are these for your own work – and did I miss any?
You are probably spot on but I think about it differently: I think about it in terms of size reduction of what is needed to have a party or a concert.
200 years ago you still needed a whole symphony to make a loud and dramatic impact on the crowd. 100 years ago it was a big band. 50 years ago 4 people could rock a stadium. Today one is enough (and maybe soon we don’t even need one). Personally I don’t know if I would work well in a band, even a small crew had so much more work cut out for them than just one person. It’s also really hard when you want to tell a story to make everyone aligned with telling the same story.
I think the last element and maybe one of the most important ones is cost. I mean why wants to pay 4 people, 4 plain tickets 4 hotel rooms etc’ etc’ - a one man show makes life much easier.
But just to be fair and honest I do miss the jam, question and response and playing around with other musicians sometimes.
Technology is usually associated with innovation and progress. Are these also important considerations for your music? What is the relation between innovative tools and "innovative music"?
I gotta say you are asking good questions that force me to take a pause and think (:
Like I said before, when I create I try to create from my ear and heart rather than my head, maybe that makes my music less innovative by default? I don't know, could be. I do try to be surprising and twist the boundaries and limits, but it’s not a leading consideration for me and my process. I just want to make music that makes you feel something, what that is, is out of my control or reach.
I do think that many innovative musicians will look for innovative tools, because you are trying to break out of your comfort zone and find new sounds. I think a great example is Jacob Collier and his harmonizer.
Jacob created his own device to really express himself the way he wanted, and so technology and innovation kind of pushed each other in this case.
Late producer SOPHIE said: “You have the possibility with electronic music to generate any texture, and any sound. So why would any musician want to limit themselves?” What's your take on that and the relevance of limitations in your set-up and process?
Overall I agree with that sentiment, as long as it is done with good taste and good balance. Each new instrument takes time to learn and master. So if you keep just chasing the next new thing you’ll end up just chasing and not actually making music.
I’ve seen so many studios with 20 keyboards where the owner only uses like 2 or 3 of them. So yeah, all in good taste.
The choice in creative tools can be overwhelming. Are there ways to deal with- and embrace this wealth and channel it to support your creative goals?
Also a great question, my approach has always been to only look for a new instrument if something is missing.
So far I feel like that way of thinking didn’t get me to hoard to much useless gear. Pretty happy with that approach.
The sound sculpting capacities of current music technology are remarkable. So is the abundance of high-quality and ready-to-use samples. Which of these do you prefer and what does your process of working with them look like?
Overall I try to come from a pretty analog world. Most of my creative process is done on the Nord Stage 3 and my other live instruments. Then maybe for some percussive elements, I'll use samples.
But yeah I start from the basic things like harmony, melody, beat that I try to play using my hands, and then add on to it. So it’s kind of non of the above really.
Within a digital working environment, it is possible to compile huge archives of ideas for later use. Tell me a bit about your strategies of building such an archive and how you put these ideas and sketches to use.
You know I think I’m a bit of an exception in that realm. When I was at Goldcap’s studio he pulled out like 100 tracks and said, let’s find something and record on top of it … I don’t think I have over 10 unfinished tracks/ideas maybe 20 at most.
I really feel that if an idea came out of me there’s a reason for it and a place for it in the world. So maybe I’m a bit stubborn, but I really try to finish as many tracks as I start.
In many of our 15 Questions interviews, artists have emphasized the happy accidents as a result of human imperfections and unreliable machines. What's your view on this and how does an element of surprise enter your productions?
I’ve definitely had happy accidents and I think as long as you're always listening you can kind of cap on it.
Personally I probably had more of happy accidents while composing on the piano or sax like playing the “wrong” note but then it sounding good so making something out of it.
Always listing always open is my approach to that.
Production tools can already suggest compositional ideas on their own. How much of your music is based on concepts and ideas you had before entering the studio, how much of it is triggered by equipment, software and apps?
I think if you read this far you’d know the answer haha. I’d say 90% of my productions are ideas that come from my ears or “land” on me. Sometime I’ll take a sample and develop it, or take a track and make an edit or a remake. But the spark, the idea, usually comes form somewhere in me.
View this post on Instagram
To some, the advent of AI and 'intelligent' composing tools offers potential for machines to contribute to the creative process. What are your hopes, fears, expectations and possible concrete plans in this regard?
On the practical side I’ve only used AI so far to split stems from done tracks so I can make easy and quick edits or just drop ideas into my live set.
But I’m keeping my eyes and ears open to see if it can support me in other ways. I hope it can support me make more incredible music and even maybe be more creative in a live setting. I’m afraid it will replace me, and I don’t have any concrete plans …
Technology has continually taken on more steps of the compositional process and "creative" tasks. From your point of view, where does "technology" end and "creativity" begin?
I don’t think it’s that black and white.
But in short creativity is the idea, and technology is the tool to bring it to life. Creativity or technology both are present the whole time and they compliment each other.
If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in tools/instruments you would like to see and hear?
This might sound controversial, but the closer the tools can come to reading my mind, the more creative I believe I can be.
If I could put on a helmet and translate my ideas directly into music, I’d love to see where that takes me …
