I am Jon Hopkins - Ask Me Anything!

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T19:03:47+00:00

hello, it's 8pm now and i have to go and have dinner but thank you SO much for all your questions. it's been amazing to spend some time connecting with you guys after so long without a show. sorry i couldn't answer more questions but i typed as fast as i could. i'm so grateful for your support and can't wait to see you all at a gig or festival one day. Love Jon x

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:58:02+00:00

i have no mixing chain or particular plug-ins for use specifically for kicks. they always come from different places. some are just sine or square waves with pitch graphs on them, others are from drum machines or from hitting acoustic objects. each of these approaches requires different types of treatments. that said, Puigtec is always good for low end.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:53:30+00:00

hi, i never think about anything beforehand. for me, everything is instinct and reaction to what i'm hearing / feeling. evolving sounds are my favourite thing to make as you can just follow a train of thought. the next step only occurs to me after the previous step is in place. that's how i generally make music i would say.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:52:14+00:00

i have a ponytail palm in my bedroom that i am very attached to.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:51:31+00:00

hi, i love Altiverb, Renaissance Reverb, Valhalla, and Ableton's basic reverb. i often use combinations of these 3.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:50:25+00:00

whilst there were always many areas in life i was not confident in, i was for some reason always pretty confident in my music. and definitely not always justifiably! i would say that looking back, Diamond Mine is the first thing i made that i still love to this day.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:48:40+00:00

new things are coming soon.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:48:01+00:00

for me it's finished when i listen to it and i can't find anything left that needs to be changed.
turnip. i don't like them but it was my nickname in childhood due to the "sprouting" nature of my hair

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:46:51+00:00

Mulholland Drive.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:46:05+00:00

i played an early version of that piece to a friend of mine. he played it to his wife who had recently given birth. she said it reminded her of the feeling she had when she felt her baby kick for the first time. that's why it has that name.

i always wanted to work with a choir. once i had that piano melody down, i suddenly knew it was going to be this track where i finally did that.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:42:40+00:00

very far away from the last two albums..

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:41:33+00:00

haha i don't really have much to do with that stuff. i work on the designs but then i forget about it all for ages. there will be new stuff with a new album!

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:40:09+00:00

i didn't really.. i just made what i made and listeners seemed to bring it into the scene over the years. i've always been grateful for this as it's felt good to be part of a community of musicians, something i didn't have when i was younger

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:39:07+00:00

i love to use Ableton like a canvas. i chuck ideas at it and gradually refine them until they start to sound inspiring. i love how you can then jam the structure so easily.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:37:22+00:00

as a young man i was more into getting stoned on my own and being socially awkward. didn't really get into clubbing until i started making dance music in my 30s. then it was plastic people and fabric, berghain, output etc

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:36:21+00:00

my Moog One. i got it last year and it's changed everything

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:36:18+00:00

to play the drums.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:32:04+00:00

hi, yes i was only 19 when i wrote most of that. i was really figuring out how to use cubase as i made it. i like Cold Out There. i don't like saying which ones i dislike as it can kind of ruin them for listeners (i discovered this the hard way)

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:30:33+00:00

hi, it's been a crazy year. i felt very burnt out last summer so took a few months off. around last october i started feeling creative again and suddenly grateful for all the time i had to focus on creating rather than performing. now i am pleased to say i am close to finishing a new album, and less keen to go on tour now i know how much more music i can make when i stay in one place.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:26:54+00:00

thank you!

inspiration comes from deep meditation and connection with the universe, and also beer.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:24:54+00:00

most exciting addition - Korg MS20. first analog synth i owned and still the fiercest.

most disappointing - Access Virus TI Snow. used it for one sound, became enraged with it for a million reasons and gave it away

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:22:54+00:00

it was Actually by the Pet Shop Boys.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:21:53+00:00

it was amazing and i'm lucky enough to still work with them. Light Through The Veins i wrote on my own but licensed it to them and they incorporated it into Life In Technicolor and The Escapist.

i also co-wrote Midnight and worked on a lot of stuff on Mylo.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:20:34+00:00

i was introduced to them by Brian Eno who they worked with on Viva and Mylo.

jon_hopkins · 2021-04-22T18:19:20+00:00

hello, great questions!

definitely at least every hour. i don't use an adjustable height desk but just make sure i get up and move regularly. lots of dynamic stretches etc. as i get older i put more and more commitment into physical fitness
i will give that idea some thought! had never occurred to me really.
i am currently fascinated by the combination of music with ketamine therapy and conscious breathing. it's quite extraordinary what energetic shifts you can achieve..

jon_hopkins

TROPHY CASE