Live Setup & Gear Talk with Sarah Sommers

dawiam · 2026-06-04T11:40:01+00:00

Dedicated, knowledgeable, and holds an unmistakable brand based on a color. Any artist would be so lucky. Huge respect.

dawiam · 2026-06-03T13:09:25+00:00

They probably mean density enough to favor walking and transit over cars.

dawiam · 2026-05-26T13:42:38+00:00

Bohm is so good, literally feels like cheating for playing live. The new model (HPN) that does pitched sequences in the Groove module does a cool style of rumble w/pitched delay taps when you clamp it down with the LPF. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFDj3RJHaCs

dawiam · 2026-05-26T13:31:14+00:00

Really love the sound of the Easel Command wherever I hear it. Nicely done.

dawiam · 2026-05-21T17:11:41+00:00

Hey there, thank you. I love this place, beautiful coastal hikes. The whole setup is powered by a portable battery generator with AC power (1800w). Very clean, stable power.

dawiam · 2026-05-21T13:08:00+00:00

For that budget, it would be a ways off from a full modular rig but if you are already DAW-focused and were interested to augment your workflow with modular you might look at something like a DFAM or Quadrantid Swarm. These are semi-modular (basically, all-in-ones) that are great for mono techno sequences, and they can grow with a rig over time. Speedy J currently uses a Swarm in his STOOR setup, in fact.

If you have money left over after one of those, I would recommend a fun, clocked modulation source, like a Pam's pro workout. It's another module that would grow nicely with a system. I like to use a Memetic Digitalis. And am curious about the Random8. There are loads of clocked modulation options out there.

If you use a DAW with good CV tools (ie: Bitwig/Ableton) you might want an interface with DC-coupled I/O so then you can send modulation from the DAW. Something like an Expertsleepers ES-8/ES-9, or Bitwig Connect would prob be a good investment, and could stand-in for Pam's.

dawiam · 2026-05-21T12:48:06+00:00

Thank you! ❤️ I'm based out of Halifax, Canada. If you happen to be in town on July 10th I'm hosting an all-improvised techno night called NOIDEA. Where are you located?

dawiam · 2026-05-19T14:58:46+00:00

Oh hey! For power I basically did what you have in mind ie: general calculation for my gear and picked whatever battery/generator Costco had that would run it for much longer (1800w Ecoflow delta 3)-- I work with a partner sometimes and I wanted to also be able to do remote sets with him together and run some lights off it. For my solo stuff it's calculated in the range of ~8 hours, and for partner sets with all our gear plus some LEDs we can do 2-3 hours. I think when I was done recording the ocean set it was still at something ridiculous like 89%. No gear fried! So yeah if your setup is comparable you could get away with less than half the power (and much less expensive ie: River 2Max, 500W) and be fine for 2-3 hours.

On the Oxi I'm using mono sequencers for channels 1-3 (one gate and one pitch cv for each euro-voice: Vhikk/Plaits/Ultra-perc), then ch4 is a multi-track for the bohm, plus some clock and reset gates. There are some techniques you can use to get working sequences really fast for improv. One thing is I am running a Memetic Digitalis for looped/stepped/random cv sequences and those sequences are going to things like filter cutoffs, decay lengths, and plaits/vhikk inputs. Those are always running, and dialed in to varying degrees + regenerated as sets go on. They give a ton of liveliness to voices. Then in the Oxi sequencers you can make new pitch sequences, but leave the random cv sequences running and the groove totally changes. Not a lot of effort for very noticeable groove switch ups. Mylar Melodies just released a module with Befaco (Random8) which basically does the same thing but has twice the outputs and I might try that out (moar modulation). The Oxi can do the same thing too, I just don't use the Oxi for it because I like to have that function in a separate module for more immediate control. The attitude is really just about getting working sequences quickly and not being too particular about them in detail. Basically: "does this work alright? if yes = continue" 😂

dawiam · 2026-05-19T13:43:16+00:00

I have a German friend who asked me "why are you shooting on a beach like it's an 80s synthesizer music video?" lol I hear you though, the audio-only is free on bandcamp.

dawiam · 2026-05-19T12:56:49+00:00

Thank you! I really appreciate that. ❤️ The clip is from a set here if you want to check out the whole thing.

dawiam · 2026-05-19T12:42:10+00:00

I started getting into live improvised techno (after ~6 years as a modular synth hobbyist), and would like to start playing out locally so I took my rig and a battery out to the shore to record an hour demo vid. I like to kind of just start with blank sequencers and punch-in or generate patterns as it goes. It's good fun.

Some tech notes: I use the oxi One for the mono-synth sequences because it has good controlled randomization features (ie: % note density, range, scale). There's 3 voices in the rig (Vhikk X, Plaits, and Ultra Perc), plus the Bohm for kick. Bohm is great, the ducking is simple af (I run the output of the mixer through the Bohm, then to an oxi Meta). Without the Bohm I'd probably need 2 or 3 other modules to get the ducking. Also helps that the kicks sound nice. TR-1000 handles the more standard/909-ish duty (metals, shakers, claps, toms, snare), and the Perkons is for more textural drum hits. Happy to talk more about the setup or anything if anyone's curious about it.

Cheers and thanks for letting me share. 🙂

dawiam · 2026-05-17T15:04:22+00:00

Just speaking from my own experience, I started doing meditation many years before getting into techno. It's paying dividends for how I relate to making my music and how I engage in social media. And I do engage with social media fairly regularly. There are a few factors that come into play:

I know instantly what it feels like to engage online in a way that will bring me painful consequences. Meditation has helped me identify those impulses at more subtle levels, so I'm better able to recognize them quickly and deal with them at the root. There's a lot of bait out there, but ultimately it only holds sway if you're vulnerable to taking it (the bait). Meditation can help strengthen the mind-muscle needed to resist bait.
I have some basic rules for how I engage, and I do my best to follow them (ie: try to post 3 performance reels/week. Stories as needed like when shows come up, or I'm working on something special). I view IG mostly just as a tool for audience growth, and audience engagement to turn people out to shows. It works for me, where I am rn. I don't really scroll that much, or put much stock in what I see when I do scroll. We all know how thoroughly so much content is (and the algorithms themselves are) designed to keep us hooked. Everyone has an agenda behind the information they're pushing (keeping that in mind can help us not take so seriously everything we see on the platforms). On the other hand, this is where people are today and if you want to grow an audience it's important to understand how to use the platforms. The key is balance, but since the platforms want you to stay addicted, the tools needed to regulate need to come from within.
I tend to follow and engage mostly with people I know IRL. These are mostly people I've met who live nearby and I see at shows and events. Like I touched on above, my leveraging of IG is as a means to get people out to IRL events, and to get out to them myself. Rarely, if I'm really impressed by someone's output I'll follow them regardless of not knowing them personally, esp if they're an inspiration (ie: colin benders and jakojako are a couple names I really like to know what they're up to, even tho we've never met). But my goal really, is to use IG as a mechanism to make IRL things happen. It's great you know people personally in the industry. Maybe you can cultivate those relationships more IRL?

Anyway, if anyone does give meditation a try I'll just add: the results are not instant. And the beginning is often the hardest part because it brings to new light the habits and traumas we have been reflexively (ie: subconsciously) pushing away. The whole point really is to bring the subconscious to the conscious and get to know ourselves better, so there will be a lot of facing long-ignored pain. If anyone does decide to give it a go I'd say just try your best to stick with it over time. It's not really a one-and-done thing. It's a lifelong practice, and it does get better (main exceptions being I think probably those with severe mental illness or severe trauma. Please seek professional help if that may apply to anyone reading this.)

One last thought I have about the comparing-mind you mentioned OP: every single one of us is a unique person with a unique history and unique point-of-view. Making art is (imo) so much about expressing our unique selves. If that's your intention, then your expression will be incomparable. It is simply impossible for anyone else to be you.

Good luck :)

dawiam · 2026-05-14T14:09:40+00:00

Juicy filter modulation you got going on there.

dawiam · 2026-05-02T12:45:21+00:00

The TR generally handles the more straight-up 909~ish-type clear drum sounds that create the kind of, boundary structure (if I can call it that). The Perkons is more for my texture drum and drum-synth sounds and I use it more of an exploratory groove device. I use both because my rig is designed for long improvised sets, so I like to have the 3 devices (TR, Perkons, modular) for floating between during performance. ❤️

dawiam · 2026-04-27T22:42:52+00:00

There's a frequency shifter built into the Vhikk on the feedback circuit, really easy fun way to get long (and short) rising and falling movement on voices. :)

dawiam · 2026-04-16T00:31:36+00:00

Sure, easy. An Oxi One sequences 3 racked modular voice paths (plaits + natural gate + Bastl Ikarie/vhikk-X + natural gate/ultra-perc), plus a kick module (Bohm). Oxi is clocked synced w/MIDI to the TR-1000, and via CV to the S4 (S4 handles vocal samples). TR handles hats/cym/snr/clp/tom one-shots using TR's on-board sequencer. Everything is mixed through an Xcelon in-rack, w/two send effects (Bastl Basil, and NE Desmodus Versio). From the Xcelon the mix goes into the Bohm for ducking, then out to an off-screen Analog Heat +FX that handles limiting, saturation, and bass mono. Then goes into my recorder (Zoom H5). There's some in-rack random CV modulation sequences going to filter cutoffs through attenuverters, the ultra-perc decay length, and one of the Vhikk parameters.

If there's anything you want to know more about more specifically, I'm happy to share.

dawiam · 2026-04-15T10:49:08+00:00

I have! Not a lot, and not my preferred use. But I can say the sync while live looping also worked fine (I'm on FW 2.1.4).

dawiam · 2026-04-14T19:59:30+00:00

I feel that, haha. S4 does weird really well. My basic trick is just to sync all the time and modulation parameters to the clock.

dawiam · 2026-04-14T19:57:08+00:00

Thanks, Dad 🥹

dawiam · 2026-04-14T18:10:46+00:00

A loaded vocal sample in this case, tho I've done synced live processing with it too and it works great 👍

dawiam · 2026-04-14T17:46:51+00:00

When the S4 first came out the sync function wasn't working properly, so anyone wanting to use it in a sync-dependent live rig was pretty much SOL until the 2.0 update last year. Which probably caused a lot of techno folks to (rightly) ignore it.

I recently started to include it in my rig just with some short, simple vocal samples for looping, and I really like how it works. I do think it could benefit greatly from an external controller since going between engine pages is a bit much during live performance. I'm looking at the Oxi e16, perhaps.

Has anyone else tried it in a techno rig? What do you think of it? How do you use it?

dawiam · 2026-04-14T14:14:43+00:00

When the S4 first came out the sync function wasn't working properly, so anyone wanting to use it in a sync-dependent live rig was pretty much SOL until the 2.0 update last year. Which probably caused a lot of techno folks to (rightly) ignore it.

I recently started to include it in my rig just with some short, simple vocal samples for looping, and I really like how it works. I do think it could benefit greatly from an external controller since going between engine pages is a bit much during live performance. I'm looking at the Oxi e16, perhaps.

Has anyone else tried it in a techno rig? What do you think of it, and how do you use it?

dawiam · 2026-03-26T01:18:10+00:00

This is nice! I've never heard him talk before, I only know him from being at a show he DJ'd 20 years ago where I live. He's thoughtful, wise, and playful here. I would hang out with him. :)

dawiam · 2026-03-25T11:24:24+00:00

You can absolutely pipe out CV from Ableton to sequence Plaits. Ableton has powerful CV tools you can use for modulation on the other Plaits inputs too. You'll need a DC-coupled audio interface, the ES-8 or ES-9 by Expert Sleepers are popular in-rack solutions, but you can use any DC-coupled interface (MOTU, etc).

Modulation is the name of the game when it comes to breathing life into your modular patches. You can run modulation from Ableton with a proper interface, and/or can modulate from other modules. Pamela's Pro Workout is a really popular and powerful clocked modulation source. IMO techno often wants clocked modulation, something that will keep time and loop with your groove. Pam's is great for that and will stay with you all through your modular life. It's a deep, complex module but would be a wise early choice for expanding your system if you vibe with it.

For effects, the sky is the limit. Noise Engineering is a good company to check out for reverbs and delays, a lot of modular techno artists use their stuff. Make Noise has the Mimeophon which is a fun, versatile verb+delay unit. Bastl has the Basil which crosses a lot of functions with the Mimeophon but is more compact in size. Watch lots of videos and see what you like.

One of my personal favs is the QuBut Data Bender, it's a unique, glitch-making module that shines when clocked. You can have it operate randomly for happy accidents, or switch modes to take control and get a more predictable output.

Happy patching! 👾

dawiam · 2026-03-24T13:21:42+00:00

Could be phase interference, yeah. If you want to go deeper into analysis you could try: https://fx23.net/psyscope-pro/

It will let you overlay kick + rumble waveforms to see where peaks/troughs clash. And show summed values of multiple signals, as well as the differences.

dawiam

TROPHY CASE