Drum & Lace, aka Sofia Hultquist, is an Italian composer focusing on fashion and film. Her composition work ranges from writing music for video look-books and creating soundscapes for fashion presentations, to composing scores for feature-length films. She most recently co-scored the fashion documentary, “The First Monday in May,” (directed by Andrew Rossi) which opened the Tribeca Film Festival 2016 in NYC. She’s currently based in Los Angeles, where she shares a home studio with her husband Ian (also a composer) and her two dogs, Fiamma and Lupo.
We chatted with Sofia about how she’s using the Tempest.
Sofia, what made you choose the Tempest?
“I had been looking to get a drum machine for some time, but hadn’t quite come across one that stood out to me. I had also seen the Tempest used live by a handful of artists I really respect (FKA Twigs being the main culprit). It wasn’t until I got to actually play around with one at the DSI offices late last spring that I realized how much more than just a drum machine the Tempest is, and totally fell for it. Also, I’ve been a fan of Dave Smith’s synths for a long time, so that definitely influenced my decision to get a Tempest.”
How are you using it?
“I try to use it on more or less anything I do, whether it’s fashion films, or feature movies, or my own music. When I’m writing music for myself, I really like starting with a strong drum foundation, and the Tempest has definitely helped with that, especially with its great playability. I’ve also used it for a few sound design projects and it’s been really fun to be able to use its entire sonic arsenal for that!“
What’s one of your favorite things about it?
“It might sound silly, but just the way it’s physically made lends itself so nicely to being played. I love how easy it is to really dig in and be able to edit each sound and load new ones so quickly. It’s also great to be able to create my own palettes, and the Roll and Reverse buttons definitely get used a lot.”
What does it give you that other instruments might not?
“It just gives me so much depth to work with. I’ve had it for a handful of months and I still feel like I’ve got so many sounds to explore, which is a great thing to feel. Also, the fact that it doubles as such a great-sounding analog synth is amazing.”
Any interesting Tempest tricks or techniques you’d like to share?
“A great tip that I found a few months back is when I’m using claps. For example, I delay the envelope so that there is a somewhat natural “humanizing” effect to it. It’s great because it also helps make transient sounds like this sit better in my mixes.“
Check out Sofia’s website here.
Drum & Lace on Spotify
Drum & Lace on SoundCloud
More of Sofia’s Music:
Ethetics fashion film series highlighting Ethical Fashion
The First Monday in May soundtrack
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