Ela Minus Interviews Danz CM

My friend Ela Minus convinced me you would be interested in this, so here we go!

Note from Ela Minus:

I would be so bold as to say: you have never read anything like this in Synth History. I’ve been a fan of Synth History for years, and I have a single note as feedback: we as readers, know so little about the founder of this great project: Danz CM and we should! So I took it upon myself to correct this.

I asked Danz what she usually asks us, the other musicians, we talked about her music, what it means to make music for her, how she likes to work, and of course her favorite studio and live gear, among other things.

10/23 Ela Minus + Danz CM | Brooklyn | Tickets

10/24 Ela Minus + Danz CM | Chicago | Tickets

10/28 Ela Minus + Danz CM | San Fran | Tickets

10/29 Ela Minus + Danz CM | Los Angeles | Tickets

Without further ado...

Musician, producer and founder of Synth History, Danz CM.

Ela Minus: So, what got you into synthesizers?

Danz CM (Synth History): I got into them completely by accident! My parents weren’t very musical growing up. They didn’t have any records or instruments. I didn’t even know what a synthesizer really was until I started to make music of my own in my early 20s. I mean, I had seen them, but I didn’t know what they did. I had downloaded a program called Ableton and just started dabbling around with it. I grew up obsessed with music my whole life, and I guess from listening to enough of it, I was able to make music by ear. I knew there needed to be a beat, a bass, a chorus, verses, a bridge, an intro, an outro, etc. I heard melodies in my head and would find the notes on my laptop, using the keyboard as a MIDI controller. I’d hear harmonies in my head and could tell when a note was off. A lot of the early sounds I was using were really cheesy built-in guitar sounds and acoustic drum kits, because I wanted it to sound like a band.

Eventually I got my first ever hardware synth, which was a Korg microKORG that I found off Craiglist. Not for any reason in particular other than that it was cheap, and because it’s easier to play a keyboard by ear than find the notes on a guitar. It had a broken key, so I got it for a deal. At first, I didn’t even know how to get the sound ‘into’ my computer to record. I just played the synth with my headphones plugged into it. And then I read that in order to record the synth you have to get an interface. Pretty funny to not know anything at all. I loved all the knobs and being able to manipulate sound with your hands.

Then a decade went by, and I got more into hardware synths. During the pandemic, I wasn’t touring or releasing music and synths became like a special interest. I started looking up their history, vintage synth ads, old interviews from Keyboard Magazine, vintage videos with synths. Like becoming a musician, I never intentionally set out to create Synth History, but as I dove deeper into synths myself, I’d share what I learned and others seemed to be interested, too.

So that’s how I got into synths. Had I bought an Epiphone Les Paul before a microKORG, maybe I’d have started Guitar History and be a folk musician. Just kidding! Or am I?

Ela Minus: Is there a specific synth that was the gateway into this world?

Danz CM: Well, the microKORG was technically the start of it all, but the gateway into more intricate analog synths was probably the Moog Voyager. Using an analog synth was like an ‘aha’ moment for me. The Voyager sounded so much more fat with so much more depth than what I was used to. You can put EQs and compressors on something to make it sound thicker, but the sound coming from an analog Moog sounds great without any doctoring most of the time. Analog synths  also seem to be alive because of the imperfections. From there I kind of fell down the rabbit hole.

Ela Minus: Any current go-tos? And past go-tos?

Danz CM: My first go-to is definitely the Minimoog. Moog flew me out to Asheville to build one a couple years ago for an online feature and I got to semi-build one. I never thought I’d have one until I wrote “a hit”, so that was a dream come true. I had to sell the Voyager years ago to make rent, so I was happy to have a synth like that again. I use it on absolutely everything these days– leads, bass, layering notes to make chords. I wish I could tour with it, but it’s heavy and I also don’t want it to get beat up on the road, so it usually stays in the studio unless I play somewhere local or can rent one for shows. 

The Prophet-6 is another go-to. I have the desktop module specifically. I probably would have opted for the new Prophet-5 if it was on the market back when I got the Prophet-6, but alas. There are a lot of synths I wish were my go-tos: like the Juno-60, Yamaha CS-80, Elka Synthex, but I can’t afford them yet. I do love the Vintage Synth Museum which is right down the road from me in LA, and the Synth Sanctuary in New York if you want to record vintage synths without renting a full-on music studio. 

This is a real oddball but I’ve been using it a lot lately, the Casiotone 403. I mic up the built-in speakers and put some delay and reverb on it and it surprisingly sounds really good, if you turn it down in the mix. It has presets called “Funny”, “Funny Fuzz” and “Frog”, so I think that’s part of the reason why I like it. I have a real soft spot for vintage analog synths that are also affordable. Affordable old analog synths oftentimes give users very little ability to modulate or customize any of the sounds, but in a way it’s nice to have that limitation.

Ela Minus: As a producer, what do you use for drums? Drum machines? Or samples? Or anything else? Could you share your fav machines and process for drums? 

Danz CM: I definitely use a mix of a lot of different things for percussion. For my first studio album [Davos], I was very inspired by Gary Numan’s early records where he blends acoustic drums with synthesizers [Pleasure Principle, Replicas]. So I went into a studio and had a session drummer play on a lot of the songs. I used to tour with a drummer actually, and a guitarist, and a keyboardist–but it’s a lot easier to tour on your own when it comes to soundchecks, logistics, hotel rooms, travel costs, etc. As you probably know! Maybe someday I’ll tour with a band again, because I do miss the wild card aspect. A lot of my set is orchestrated through sequences and MIDI, and I think it’s cool to contrast that with the ‘humanness’ of acoustic drums, I also like interacting with friends on stage, it makes me feel less alone even though there’s an audience there.

I think drum machines automatically give the song a certain vibe because they’re often associated with specific genres. To me it’s cool to subvert that. An 808 kick immediately makes you think of hip hop, so it’s fun to use it for something else. A few years ago I borrowed my friend’s 808. For a week I laid down as many different beats as I possibly could, and it’s all over these synth pop songs on The Absurdity of Human Existence. If not hardware drum machines, I have this crazy big drum sample library of every drum machine imaginable I found online over a decade ago: LinnDrum, 707, 808, 909, DMX, everything! I drag and drop those files into Impulse in Ableton, send the audio out and back in through my hardware chain. I’ll use acoustic drum loops, too. I used to use them as placeholders for re-recording live drums in a studio later, but lately I like the idea of a repeating drum loop. So it all just depends but I use everything.

Ela Minus: Do you have a preference between analog and digital/software synths? 

Danz CM: I’m one of those people who prefer analog. My favorite time period for electronic music, or music in general really, is the mid-1970s to early 1980s, right before digital. But with that said, I do think there’s a place for digital and software synths. Software synths are what enabled me to start making music in the first place, and digital synths like the Yamaha DX7 or LinnDrum have timeless sounds. But if I had to pick one or the other, I would always pick analog. 

Even outside of synths, I prefer vinyls to MP3s, film to digital cameras, zines to websites. Digital is sample-based, represented by 1s and 0s. Analog is ‘organic’. I know analog is converted to digital eventually if you’re working with a computer, but an analog synth is one less digital element, and one more imperfection to introduce. That’s why it was important for me to shoot parts of the Synth History doc on film, and why a lot of the photos in this zine are on film. Film has natural irregularities, just like an analog synth, and it’s physically impossible to duplicate what you create using analog means… unless you’re using a digital tool, of course!

Ela Minus: What is your approach to making music? Do you have a method, an intention, a goal, all of the above? 

Danz CM: As far as my method or approach for recording goes, I record everything in my home studio, which has gotten progressively more hi-fi over the years: from a bedroom to an actual room. I have a Lunchbox with a small stereo chain of two Neve 1073LB mic pres, two TG Opto compressors, and two API 550a EQs. I have a patchbay that all my gear and effects are hooked up to. I send whatever I’m recording through that chain then to my audio interface which is an Apollo Twin. For vocals I record with a simple Shure SM7. I borrowed a fancy U87 once, but I think the Shure sounds better. I found an old oscilloscope off eBay that sits on top so I can see waveforms. No technical reason, it just looks cool. That is how I record everything, unless I need to record something outside of the studio like live drums or a synth I don’t have.

In terms of a goal or intention, that’s hard to say. I do know that if I don’t feel inspired nothing good will come out. This happens after periods when I’ve made a lot of music, like an empty glass of water. And then there’s the opposite of that, when I feel so inspired that I need to get to my computer straight away. Sometimes, I have a melody in my head already. Sometimes, it starts out with the intention of using a specific instrument, i.e. “I really want to make something with this drum machine or this synth I’m excited about”. Sometimes, it comes from a random place like my dog or a movie. Sometimes, I don’t even know where it comes from, like something buried deep inside.

I recently took a long drive to Bolinas, which is where I interviewed Suzanne Ciani for this issue. On the way there and back, I listened to a two-part series of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast, titled Twilight of the Æesir, which was about the Viking Age. I found it interesting, and also sad, how the old Norse religion dissolved over time as other religions took over. I’m not a religious person, or spiritual even, but it made me think about how someday everything we know will all turn to dust. Empires rise and fall. Religions turn into myths. Everything fades eventually. We are all just a blip in the history of human existence, or existence in general, like that one Carl Sagan Cosmos episode where he’s standing on the last day of the ‘Cosmic Calendar’. I was in the process of writing a Krautrock-inspired album called LÄRM! and I couldn’t stop thinking about the Viking Age, so I wrote the lyrics about it.

It’s different for commercial work, I don’t need to feel too inspired to write music for a commercial. I can force myself to find an angle that’s exciting enough to get me going, because I need to pay my rent. But for my own music, feeling the drive to create is very important to me, because it means something inside is ready to come out. 

Ela Minus: Continuing on the above, do you have a schedule or routine you follow when making music? 

Danz CM: I don’t have any set schedule for making music, but I do have a routine. These days with Synth History and Channel 9, I have to “just do it” when I feel the urge to create music, otherwise it just won’t happen because I’ll get sidetracked.

I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid, but the more I read about how that kind of brain works, the more I think I have AuDHD. I have this very intense ability to focus on projects and certain subjects. I learn everything there is to know about them and put my all into whatever it is I’m working on, which has probably led me to where I am today; but at the same time I also have a lot of trouble steering that focus, which is probably why I’m not as successful as I’d like to be. It’s like a double-edged sword: it’s a great ability to have, but more projects means less overall bandwidth. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to start ‘Pinball History‘ or ‘Lighthouse History’ or ‘Roller Coaster History’ or another music project with another alias. My YouTube watch history is filled with mini documentaries on roller coaster manufacturers like Intamin and pinball manufacturers like Williams. Because it’s nearly impossible for me to start projects half-heartedly, I put a lot of effort into reeling myself in. Without being able to help it, I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work and know how much time could potentially be consumed by starting something new–this zine is a perfect example. It was never meant to take up so much time, but that’s just what happened. So I guess my basic routine is: make music literally whenever the urge comes if I have the chance!

Ela Minus: I know you sing on some of your music, but you also make a lot of instrumental music, how do you approach adding -or not- vocals?

Danz CM: I’m a very shy person and I didn’t start off with the intention of making music with vocals. I remember I showed my mom the first music I made, and she said something like, “Why don’t you put words on this, people don’t listen to music without words”. And so I sang on my songs reluctantly thinking that’s the only way people would listen. I guess I had stuff to sing about, because I listen to my early music now and it’s bittersweet, a lot of it is about feeling stuck inside, being lonely, running away. I think it’s helpful to get those emotions out of you, especially if you’re too introverted to talk to anyone about it. Now I know people listen to instrumental music [laughs], so I don’t add vocals all the time if I don’t want to. I’m pretty sensitive to movies, books, history, human experiences. Had a weird childhood. I think I absorb things easily and it all just comes out like when you squeeze a sponge. Other times the song can speak for itself and I have nothing to say.

Ela Minus: What is your favorite thing about making music? 

Danz CM: I think the fact that it’s relaxing. I’m not thinking about anything else other than the song I’m creating. Like a vacation for my brain.

Ela Minus: What is your favorite thing about having Synth History? 

Danz CM:  My favorite part is being able to talk to people I admire, like you! I remember sitting across from Mark Mothersbaugh as he recounted a story about working with Brian Eno. While he was telling me the story, I was thinking about how it might have only been a story known to Mark himself, by Brian Eno, and the rest of the DEVO guys, and now it would be a story that exists forever for all his fans to read about. Like introducing and archiving a new piece of information related to creativity into the world. I was so excited to put the interview out. It’s cool to help facilitate stories that might inspire other people.

Ela Minus: And how does running Synth History inform your music or your process?

Danz CM: Sometimes, I view Synth History as an obstacle to making music, because of the amount of work and time it takes up, but other times I think it’s all worth it. But I don’t know,lately I feel like it’s a snowball running away from me downhill and I’m trying to keep up. It’s just a lot of work and I’m hard on myself. But it is interesting to see how other artists work and what their process is like. I’ve definitely met a lot of people and brands I might have not met otherwise through Synth History. I’ve become friends with some artists I’ve interviewed, like yourself, like Michael Stein who mixed one of my upcoming records. I got to show Suzanne Ciani my music. I gave Trent Reznor a zine and he thought it was cool. I talked to John Carpenter about Steph Curry. I asked Gary Numan about “Cars”. It’s pretty surreal to think about and it’s hard for me to comprehend. Maybe that’s why people read the zine, because I’m not working for some magazine having to promote artists I don’t want to; I’m just a fan, getting to talk to people who I like about art. I’ve learned a lot about the history and technical side of synths. Even the physics of sound, especially through doing the podcast–researching the episode on’ Oscillators’ was like taking a whole college course on physics. I think subconsciously everything I do or surround myself with informs my music and vice versa.

Ela Minus: Do you think your music has changed since you have Synth History? If so, how?

Danz CM: I don’t think so but I’m a bad judge of how my own music sounds [laughs].

Ela Minus: What is your favorite thing about synthesizers? Why synths and not… anything else?

Danz CM: My favorite thing about synthesizers is that they can sound like any other instrument and can sound completely unique at the same time. They can sound like whatever you want them to sound like! As a musician who plays by ear, synths were just the trajectory, the most accessible in the beginning. Now I incorporate guitars, acoustic drums, strings, etc, but it all started with synths.

There’s no reason Synth History is synths and nothing else, besides the name and how it began. My taste is so broad, sometimes I wish I had named it something more general so I could incorporate other instruments more. But I try to stretch it with the Recommends Series and the Favorite Records series. I find the connections and try to show just how many genres of music synths are in, because I myself am into so many different styles of music. Synths are found in almost every genre: R&B, progressive rock, ambient, new wave, punk, alternative, you name it; and by showing people that, it amplifies their importance and place in history.

I heard a synth in Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” a while ago. I never noticed it before. Even though it was very faint, it was my excuse to post about Nick Cave on Synth History’s Insta, because I like Nick Cave. I love all types of music from artists who don’t necessarily utilize synths, like Stan Getz, Victor Jara, Brenda and the Tabulations, the Sonics, Labi Siffre, Nick Drake. I could go on forever. I just try and find the relationship if there is one.

Synth History Exclusive.

Conducted by Ela Minus.

Photos by Danz + Matthew James Reilly.