Talking Gear and More with Robert Rich

Four years ago, I interviewed one of my longtime favorite musicians, Bay Area synthesist Robert Rich.

He played for two nights in Asheville at a friend’s house concert. After he had set up his gear and finished sound check, we talked for almost half an hour about his synthesizers and other instruments, about touring, and about electronic music composition and performance:

In April 2015, while preparing for a house concert in Asheville, Robert gave me a detailed look at his touring rig. Along the way, he demonstrated his 4-voice Eurorack modular synth, which was mostly Synthesis Technology and Intellijel modules. He spelled out the advantages of programming original sounds, talked about his role in creating wavetables for the Prophet 12, and explained how he takes advantage of the Korg M3’s features. He also gave a lesson in bowing the lap steel guitar and showed off some of his custom flutes made of PVC pipe. He wrapped up the conversation with some insight on electronic music composition and modular synthesis. (You’ll want to watch the whole thing, because it just keeps getting better.)

Visit online at robertrich.com