Modular Moods

Jul 15, 2008 12:56 PM, By Gino Robair

ALESSANDRO CORTINI MIXES IT UP WITH NINE INCH NAILS, LADYTRON, AND MODWHEELMOOD

I didn’t really give up the guitar. It stopped inspiring me,” explains Alessandro Cortini on a warm spring day at his home in Los Angeles. “I got more into the song itself, as opposed to just the guitar.”

Born in Bologna and raised in Forli, Italy, Cortini moved to L.A. nearly a decade ago to attend the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), where he met Swedish guitarist Pelle Hillström. The two later formed the duo Modwheelmood (with Cortini on lead vocals), whose melody-laced, 3-volume EP Pearls to Pigs (Modwheelmusic, 2007–2008) has been released as downloads over the course of several months.

After graduating from GIT, Cortini’s creative focus shifted from guitar to synths, which ultimately helped him land a coveted role in Nine Inch Nails. Recently he collaborated with leader Trent Reznor on the instrumental masterpiece Ghosts I-IV (Null Corporation, 2008) and contributed to its immediate follow-up, The Slip (Null Corporation, 2008).

His ear for catchy melodies and infectious rhythms, as well as his mastery over guitar, drum machine, and synth, has brought him to the attention of other noteworthy acts. He’s contributed to Ladytron’s Velocifero (Nettwerk, 2008), Yoav’s Charmed & Strange (Verve Forecast, 2008), and the scores for the upcoming films Righteous Kill (Millennium Films, 2008) and Tropic Thunder (DreamWorks SKG, 2008).

Alessandro Cortini and the Buchla 200e, pt. 1  Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini talks to EM editor Gino Robair about using the Buchla 200e modular synthesizer on the recent release Ghosts.

Alessandro Cortini and the Buchla 200e, pt. 2   Alessandro Cortini tells how he patched and recorded the Buchla 200e modular synthesizer while on the road with Nine Inch Nails.

Alessandro Cortini and the EAR Synthesizer  Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini talks to EM editor Gino Robair about using his custom-made EAR modular analog synthesizer that features Livewire and Plan B modules.

Alessandro Cortini in his Personal Studio  Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Alessandro Cortini shows us the various synths and effects in his spartan personal studio.

Cortini’s personal studio, where he does much of his work, is no-nonsense to the point of austerity—if a piece of gear doesn’t inspire him, he doesn’t keep it. The result is an exquisite collection of vintage and modern instruments (Korg MS-20, Macbeth M3X, Analogue Systems French Connection, Jomox Sunsyn and Xbase 09) and processors (Vermona spring reverb, Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo, Line 6 DL4, ToneLux modules, various stompboxes), with two standouts: a Buchla 200e (see Fig. 1) and a custom Eurorack modular (see Fig. 2).

“I’m not an analog aficionado,” Cortini says. “There are certain things that software can do that hardware can’t, and vice versa. I think it’s limiting to commit to only one or the other.” His main sequencer is Apple Logic, with a Metric Halo 2882 and a Digidesign Mbox mini for interfaces. A Monome and a Native Instruments Kore 2 interface are also within reach. (Visit emusician.com to see video of Cortini in his studio.)

When I caught up with him in April, the humble and charming Cortini was about to begin rehearsals for the upcoming Nine Inch Nails tour. After introducing me to his big friendly dog and three cats, he showed me around the studio. “Modwheelmood is basically out of this basement—everything. The only things I outsource are some mixing, and mastering.”

Where did you track the drums for Pearls to Pigs?
With Greg Panciera at Musician’s Institute, because there was a good room there and Greg took the time to make things sound right. But everything that has to do with programming or recording I do here. Some of the tracks on Volume 2 I mixed myself, and I’d like to do more of that.

Do you cowrite with Pelle?
It depends on the song. A lot of the stuff I’ve done on my own, and Pelle comes in and, since he relates to the way that I write a lot better as a guitar player, he adds parts that are a lot more memorable than mine. Some songs we wrote together. They just came up: I had a verse and he had a chorus, or vice versa. Or we’re in the same room and come up with something that works.

In here mostly?
Yeah. He recently bought a MacBook and records stuff at home using [Apple] GarageBand, and he sends me the demos. Sometimes they spark something in me and I’ll sit down and add parts. On a couple of songs—particularly “Crumble” from Volume 2—he sent me a rough of the first verse and chorus. Then I added stuff and sent him what I did, and it went back and forth like that. But most of the time we just work here because it’s at home.

I wrote and recorded some of the Enemies and Immigrants EP [Buddyhead, 2006] on tour, and mixed it when I was home. I plan on working on some sort of music on this tour, if there is time: after the live show and during days off, I can usually concentrate on other things. So I’ve always tried to bring something with me to keep me sane. Last tour it was the Buchla.

You finally dropped the dollar on a Buchla 200e.
Oh man, I’m still dropping it [laughs]. It was kind of like buying a car. But this takes me more places than a car. It’s my favorite piece of gear. If I had to pick one, it’s the most creative. Just the way it’s laid out.

Is this a standard setup, or did you pick the modules you wanted?
This is a small configuration—just a 12 panel. I knew that I couldn’t begin with an 18-panel instrument, so I tried to get as many high-density modules as possible. The 249e [Dual Arbitrary Function Generator] was a module they weren’t making anymore, but I was able to get one. It’s two sequencers in one. I could have worked with a 250e [Arbitrary Function Generator], but I felt the more each module can do, the better. And I wanted variety, so I have one of the old 259e’s [Programmable Complex Waveform Generator] and the new 261e [Complex Waveform Generator].

I’ve had the pleasure of working with companies like Plan B and Livewire on the EAR system, which are Buchla oriented in a way. But one thing is that they’re not replicating the [Buchla] interface, for good reason. They might be able to replicate the functions: Plan B has the Heisenberg Generator, which is, in a way, like a simplified [Buchla] Source of Uncertainty. The Model 15 oscillator is half a [Buchla] 258. And they sound awesome. But it’s an ⅛-inch interface. I hate to be this new age, but it doesn’t call me the same way that the Buchla’s banana jacks call me. The fact that it’s half ⅛ inch and half banana makes you work in a certain way. The density of the modules makes you work in a certain way. And the fact that it’s designed to do quad and that voltage-controlled panning is built in—it’s so easy to achieve stuff that moves around.

It’s hard not to do it.
Yes, it’s essential.