What do Andrew Weatherall, Simon Baker and The Beastie Boys all have in common aside from their inscrutable taste in music? They all have some serious time for the sensational sound crafter, Debukas.
Signed to trend defining imprint 2020 records, Debukas is the solo project of one highly accomplished and commercially uninterested electronic artist. Known for his sharp, melodious and instinctive beat tapestries, the man behind the mixing decks chooses to not be associated with his work, preferring for the product to speak solidly enough for itself. Strongly influenced by Chicago and Detroit house flavours, classic electronic artists Yello, Gino Soccio and Klein & MBO have also helped sculpt the string synth constellations Debukas forms. Hypnotic and easy, his techniques and analogue skills are as intriguing as his signature and obtuse noises. i-D online dug through Debukas’s equipment to find out how he creates his tracks, the illusive producer introduces his one man band:
1: Jupiter 6
Bit of a beast. Great for warm pads, silky high end stuff and thick bass.
2: Moog Prodigy
Basically a budget Moog when it came out. So good for lead synth lines, and Stevie Wonder style basslines.
3: API outboard
I have an API lunchbox with a few preamps, compressors and EQs, as well as the 2500 stereo compressor. Pretty much everything goes through them.
4: Roland drum machines
Fairly standard – TR-909 and TR-707, but endless use out of these.
5: Roland SH-101
Again, low end stuff in the great world of synths but I never fail to get things I like out of this one.
6: Virus B
An amazing multi-timbral synth that tries to be analog but doesn’t really need to. Great pads’n'bass. Great everything else. Many knobs.
7: Electroharmonix 2880
A four track looper with individual faders. This gets used live for vocal looping, and in the studio for any amount of loopy nonsense.
8: WEM Copycat
My seasick tape echo machine. I use this as a thickener for synths, as well as more obvious ‘dub’ effects. The tape loop has a nice kink in it that gives a nice warble.
9: Djembe
A friend gave me two Djembe drums for nothing a few years ago. They get hit from all angles and appear on most of my tunes.
10: Cutlery
I make percussion out of cutlery on a regular basis. Nothing better than the sound of two knives rubbing together.
Text: Milly McMahon
