ROOM8: The Seaboard GRAND goes neon noir

Ezra Reich and Nic Johns are the LA-based electronic duo ROOM8. They’re known for danceable tracks — like 'Visions of You', featuring Electric Youth — that have strong soundtrack-like moods. Ezra and Nic have brought the Seaboard GRAND Stage into their new album, and they chatted with ROLI about what it’s doing for their sound.

What are you both working on at the moment?

Ezra: We have some new songs we’re excited about. We’re mixing a few of our new upcoming EP songs with Neal Pogue who did all of the Outkast albums, Nicki Minaj and many others. There will be more male singers on this one. Also we’re planning a writing and producing trip to Stockholm for September. Release dates on our new songs are not determined yet, though.

You’ve established a recognizable 'neon noir' sound that’s contagious. It could be described as modern synthpop mixed with an icy, nostalgic aesthetic of a film soundtrack. What role has film played in your process?

Ezra: We both love films. In a way a song is like a compact, three-minute film that should create a visceral feeling. We started ROOM8 with a 14-song concept album that was meant to be a film soundtrack. Maybe one day we’ll find a film for it! We don’t ever consciously set out to make 'nostalgic' music. We love sounds from many eras of the past and present. But nostalgia is a weird thing. I think we all feel connected to the things that were going on in our childhood, because it’s a powerful part of our subconscious.

What are some of your earliest memories of creating music?

Ezra: Writing riffs and songs with my Taylor acoustic guitar back in my teen years. Using my old Tascam 4-track.

Nic: As a kid I started writing chord progressions on the piano and recording them with a two-track tape player, and then playing along on my drums in my bedroom.

How did you two link up?

Ezra: My old band got asked to play at a David Lynch benefit in 2008. I asked Nic to play it with me and we worked together in that band from that point on until we started ROOM8.

What was your first experience with synthesizers?

Ezra: I began working with a Roland Juno-60 in 2002 and it was love at first play. I was hooked ever since then.

Nic: When I was 17 I got an Arp Pro/DGX for really cheap. I started to figure out what the sounds were on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis.

ROOM8 has collaborated on some great tracks like the 'Visions of You' EP with Electric Youth, 'This Place Again' with Polina, 'Better than Music' featuring Christina and more. How does collaboration work for you two?

Ezra: It tends to take one of two paths. Either we work directly with the artist in a session and do the work together, or they cut stuff remotely and we finish over the internet. Usually we have a track that people have written, but sometimes it comes from an a capella vocal first. In the case of “Visions of You” we had the whole song and Electric Youth just sang it. With “Better than Music” that was off of an a capella.

You’ve created fantastic remixes including Kimbra’s 'Miracle' as well as Elliphant’s 'Love Me Badder'. How would you describe the art of remixing?

Ezra: It’s really just like working off an a capella for us. We only use the vocal stems and throw away any other elements from the original. Then we go about it like making a new song from what is there in the vocal.

What has the Seaboard GRAND done for your music-making process?

Ezra: It’s the perfect tool for vibrato and adding expressive details within a mix. We use it for parts that slide or need a glissando as well as to add expressive tremolo. It’s in the mix on several of the new tracks that may be on our next EP.

The Seaboard is an important hybrid of hardware and software which allows for new sounds. For us, its ability to be played like a string instrument opens up timbres. The slides and vibrato — which would not normally be found in full electronic music — are really powerful.

What sounds are you drawn to when playing the Seaboard?

Ezra: We really love the Equator sounds: Double Bass, The Tao of Harp, World Apart, Hybrid Bow and Octave Pluck. We’ve been drawn to a bunch of the Eastern-sounding presets. We have an unfinished song built around one. We’ve also used the upright bass to slide around with.

Are you controlling any other software or hardware instruments with the Seaboard?

Ezra: We started using it with Kontakt more and are digging into controlling our analog synths.

What have been your favorite live performance experiences?

Ezra: Playing after DJ Premier at Brooklyn Bowl for Neon Gold Pop Shop last summer was really super. Also School Night with ASTR was a great one.

What are your thoughts on new music technology generally, and how it’s changing your approach to making your music?

Ezra: New musical technology is really the main conduit through which anything new in music happens. The first synthesizers completely changed music and production in the 1970s and ‘80s. Software and DAWs have changed the music and sounds of the modern day. With the Seaboard we see an important hybrid of new hardware and new software that’s creating new processes for music composition.

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