Interview With Brian Clevinger, Creator of Absynth

Super stoked about this! Absynth 6 is out now and I got to chat with its creator, Brian Clevinger. The landmark software synthesizer developed by Native Instruments helped redefine what digital synthesis could be in the early 2000s, becoming a go-to instrument for electronic musicians, film composers, experimental electronic artists, and sound designers looking to push beyond traditional keyboard-centric synthesis.

Below, Brian talks about his process, what Absynth 6 brings to the table, and more.

Photos of vintage GUIs provided by NI.

Synth History: Can you tell me what led you to designing/creating instruments?

Brian Clevinger: I've always been fascinated with sound, even when I was a kid there were sounds that did something for me on a deep level. I studied composition and electronic music at the University of Kansas. This was just before MIDI arrived. I loved the analog instruments I was playing, mainly Arp 2500 and 2600, but after hearing some experimental computer music I really felt digital was the future. I spent a lot of time creating sounds with the Yamaha FM synths when they came out, that was a formative experience. I've still got a soft spot for the TX81Z and the SY-77.

I fantasized for a long time about making synths, but my background was purely musical. I got quite into Max programming using Miller Puckette's original IRCAM version which was MIDI only. I made a lot of crazy Max patches on my Mac Plus. And later I spent so many hours waiting for SoundHack to compute a long convolution... In the mid-90's I encountered SuperCollider, being able to do real time synthesis on my own computer was revolutionary. It felt like a major moment in the history of electronic music, and I wanted to be a part of it. So I taught myself programming and after a couple of years the original version of Absynth began to take shape.

Synth History: What do you think are the most important aspects to keep in mind when designing an instrument?

Brian Clevinger: There's an initial idea of course, and that should be something good. It could be to focus on a particular type of sound which is the case of Plasmonic, or try to do something very broad like Absynth. I thought of the whole field of possible sounds as a map, and if you're at a particular point on the map and you want to go somewhere else, how do you get there? Like if you want to change a patch in some way, move it in a particular direction, how do you do that? Do you need to unplug a dozen patch cords, and then figure out why it's not going where you want? Or is there a more direct and intuitive way to navigate the landscape of possible sounds?

That's a very abstract idea, but it was something that guided me from the early days. An idea like that can take you somewhere in a general way, but then there are a million design decisions that really make it work. And at that point I do rely on intuition a lot, just make sure everything feels right.

And of course, hopefully by the end the instrument can make the kinds of sounds you were dreaming of in the beginning.

Synth History: Since the 80s and 90s with the introduction of digital, MIDI, and DAWs, music technology seems to be advancing at a rapid pace. In today’s world, how do you balance meeting musicians' fundamental needs versus implementing new ideas?

Brian Clevinger: I've never made assumptions about what musicians want. There are so many ways to make music, so many directions and approaches. I wouldn't want anybody to assume I'm following a particular workflow when I'm creating, it's such a personal thing. Ideally any instrument I make should sound like the musician using it, not me or anyone else.

Synth History: Can you tell me what features you’re most excited about for the sixth edition / what features you’re most proud of?

Brian Clevinger: Well really the whole UI is wonderful, the designers did such a fantastic job and we worked together very closely on that. The UI was always Absynth's weak point. Working with it now is so much more fluid and features that were kind of hidden are more accessible now. The Preset Explorer is so cool, that is Ninon Devis' baby and I'm so happy we put it in Absynth. It's AI done right, using it to perform difficult analysis problems. And it's moved sound navigation away from a text-based browser, it feels much more musical.

Sound-wise, all the granular modules now sound like I always wanted them to from the beginning—Granular Engine, Cloud Filter, and Aetherizer effect—and there's a new notch filter which reminds me a little of my younger self playing the Arp 2500... it's not an emulation of the 1047 multi-mode filter, just a bit inspired by it.

Synth History: Can you tell me what the process is like designing an instrument?

Brian Clevinger: Synestia and Plasmonic both took me two years working on my own. Absynth 6 happened a bit faster working with the NI team. Absynth was a very different project since there was so much legacy code to integrate without breaking it! And it was so inspiring working with a very focused and dedicated team.

Normally I do everything in c++ code, including graphics. Fortunately compilers are quite fast today so it can be a pretty intuitive process. I can make changes in the dsp code and hear the results in seconds usually. The designers work with graphic tools of course, so integrating their designs into code is always an interesting challenge.

Learn more about the new Absynth 6 here.

Synth History exclusive.

Photos provided by NI.

Interview by Danz.