Name: Viels
Nationality: Italian
Occupation: Producer, DJ
Current release: Viels has released a few new EPs in 2022: Gone Supremacies is via Analog Section, Intus Vacuum via Attic, and Contra Fidem via Edit Select.
Gear recommendations: I would recommend Absynth 5 and Serum as plug ins. A modular system or Roland Sh-01a as hardware which is very cheap actually.

If you enjoyed this interview with Viels and would like to know more about his work, visit him on Facebook, and Soundcloud.



What was your first studio like?

My first ever studio set was basically composed of a drum machine, a synth and a bassline. Jomox Xbase09, Nord Rack 2x and Cyclone TT303 plus a Blues Driver for some distortions. I chose the Jomox Xbase 09 for the drums after watching some cool videos on Youtube and thought that its rough sound was a perfect way to start a track.

But to be honest I realized that the workflow wasn’t what I was searching for. That’s why I decided to record most of its drums and sell it after just a year.

How and for what reasons has your set-up evolved over the years and what are currently some of the most important pieces of gear for you?

My studio set up started to evolve when I started to study the synthesis method on the Nord Rack 2x.

That was an important part of the beginning of my producer career and I also released my first ever Dynamic Reflection track called “Sinesthesya” which was entirely produced with the Nord Rack 2x expect for some hi hats.



After some time I decided to sell it to start a modular system, which turned into a big part of my current sound.

A studio can be as minimal as a laptop with headphones and as expansive as a multi-room recording facility. Which studio situation do you personally prefer
– and why?

To me buying a new instrument is a big source of inspiration. But I’m also up for using a digital DAW a  lot (especially Ableton) or some plug ins. To have instruments doesn’t mean you are better at producing music. That’s why I don’t care if a made a digital, analog or hybrid track. I just do whatever I feel.

I love to combine digital to analog. Last year I bought a Silver Machine R-Enigiser (an high fidelity reproduction of the iconic Orgon System Enigiser) and I have lately made a lot of tracks with it (especially my latest Attic Music release) founding a lot of inspiration for new music and creativity.



When I’m low on ideas I always try to buy a new piece of hardware or software to study them and find ome new inspiration.

From traditional keyboards to microtonal ones, from re-configured instruments (like drums or guitars) to customised devices, what are your preferred controllers and interfaces? What role does the tactile element play in your production process?

I’m a very meticulous person in all areas of my life. But sometimes it doesn’t help. Focusing a lot on a single sound could be very stressful and a sequencer can seriously save your life ahah. I started to work a lot on different kind of sequencers. That’s why they've become a big part of my workflow.

I own an Arturia Beatstep Pro but most of the time I try to create different textures using different sequencers for the same sound. The result can be very unexpected.

The power of a sequencer is that you can use it basically to control everything: a filter, the velocity and LFO for example. This way, a simple sound can basically grow in everything you want.

In the light of picking your tools, how would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I’m always in search of new sounds but I’m also very attached to traditional roots of electronic music. I bet every producer that they still use the 909 and 808 classic drums to make their tracks. It’s a traditional sound - but it never gets old.

Personally I love to start a track from a 909 or 808 kick drum and then evolve them to create something new: a bassline, a synth, a texture, whatever I can.

Most would regard recording tools like microphones and mixing desks as different in kind from instruments like keyboards, guitars, drums and samplers. Where do you stand on this?

Honestly I’ve never tried to make some field recordings for my music. But it’s something I will do for sure in the future.

Instead of that, sometimes I download some noises, speeches or metallic sounds from the web and work on that. The sound of rain falling could easily turn into a Hi Hat if you want.

How would you describe the relationship between technology and creativity for your work? Using a recent piece as an example, how do you work with your production tools to achieve specific artistic results?

I don’t usually record and archive sounds or recording but when I’m stuck on a track or low with ideas I just turn on an instrument - most of the time my modular synths – and start to record. Because I can create something different with them every time.

As I said I don’t have such a big archive but just some sketches of modular sessions or different kind of kick drums I created with sine waves or FM synthesis.

How do you retain an element of surprise for your own work – are there technologies which are particularly useful in this regard?

I feel so good when I can create the perfect mix between kicks and basslines. It makes me so hyped.

Sometimes I use three or four different basslines to create the perfect combination of just one. The technic and the study behind an EQ help a lot in this way, and it’s so important to spend most of your time on it.

A frequency can extremely change the interpolation between your sounds and could also change a lot your ears feeling of the track. And so yes, EQs are an important part for your track!!

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?

Most of the time my inspiration comes from other music. I listen to a lot of new and old stuff in my car and most of the time the best ideas come to me while I’m driving.

Once I’m back at home I turn on my modular system or just try a new plug in, start to play with them with extreme simplicity, just to try to create something I like in that moment or something I felt while I was driving.

Then everything comes by itself ... maybe (ahah)

Have there been technologies which have profoundly changed or even questioned the way you make music?

A technology which has profoundly changed the way I make music? Hell yeah!! The simple technique of the sidechain. Once I discovered that for the first time I was like: wow that’s how many producer make that kind of stuff.

The compressor sidechain is a must-technique on a track. I' not talking about the simple kick / bassline side chain - sometimes you can even create infinite textures with a sidechain.

Sometimes I just put a sequencer on a kick drum, mute the channel and use that as a sidechain channel for an another sound. It’s amazing because you can’t expect what comes out.