jevinalmazan asked: What sounds do you make from scratch? Do you have any preferences in software for creating sounds?

I make as many instruments and sounds from scratch as possible. In fact, I’m answering you on a break from making a set of virtual instruments from recordings I made of Shara Worden. Check the screenshot.

It takes a million years to do, but essentially I record lots of things and chop them up meticulously into individual samples. I map, program, and massage them into a playable instrument (using Kontakt), and then experiment with various stages of abstraction to achieve the sound I’m looking for. I love sounds whose origins are acoustic but whose qualities are clearly augmented. Extended technique for the 21st century.

Recently I made a set of instruments with Nathan Johnson. He’s using them to compose the score for Looper. One of my tasks was to take recordings he made of various sounds (some from the film set itself), and transform them into playable instruments that demonstrate qualities of orchestral instruments. Super brainy but not really.