What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?
We’ve been hooked on the Juno-106 synthesiser for the last few years.
How did you come across this particular item?
My producer Max Radford bought one a couple of years ago and it’s featured in every song of mine since.
What is it that you like about it so much?
The tones that come out of it are so warm and have been the prominent feature on some of the newest songs. For ‘Call it Love’ we chucked it through an old tape delay machine and a TC Electronic reverb pedal, which gave it a beautiful swirling, atmospheric pad that you can hear in the choruses. I love the ‘80s sounds it produces and it’s always my go-to for writing and layering up new songs.
How do you use it and how has it shaped the way you write music?
I used to write all my songs on guitars, but the Juno-106 has really opened up the writing and immediately captures the mood of the songs I want to make. Most of my writing now comes from a synth pad on the Juno and it has some really nice sub bass sounds that complement the pads really nicely. It’s become the most important piece of equipment in our writing now, but we’re actually too scared to take it on the road as we don’t want it to get damaged. Instead both Max and I preload some synth pads onto our BOSS loop pedals and trigger off the synth pads through those. One day I think we’ll muster up the courage to get it out on the road, but I think we’ll put it in bubble wrap on the front two seats of the van and put the boys in the back with the rest of the equipment!
Tell us a little about what you have coming up.
I’ve just released my latest single ‘Call It Love’. It was written after we’d been on the road through the summer playing festivals. We were inspired by the energy of it all and got back to London and wanted to get back to writing. Our producer Max had moved his bed into his garage and we turned his room into a studio. It was a great space and worked out pretty well until winter arrived and it got too cold in the garage so we changed it all back around, but we got this song out of it. I’m also currently on Ziggy Alberts’ 24-date sold out tour across Australia. The shows have been amazing so far and can’t wait to meet more amazing Australians!
‘Call It Love’ is out now. Keep up with Nathan Ball over on his Facebook page.
