Palavas are a mysterious electronic duo from the south of France. Breaking out on the scene in 2019 they’ve become one of the hottest indie dance duos out there, today they’ve come to share some of their sound crafting wisdom by telling us about the synths and setup they’ve used to create those polished clean sounds and textures.
“We don’t use so much hardware synths anymore. It’s so easy to work on the computer now”
-
ARTURIA PROPHET 5
At the top of their list was the highly rated Prophet 5 from Arturia.
“This synth is a true essential for us. You can do anything. It’s versatile and the sound is perfect”
This synth a digital version of 2 past classic synths combined – The Prophet 5 and Prophet VS. The Prophet 5 was a hardware synth with 2 oscillators known for its analogue warmth and the Prophet VS used 4 digital wave table oscillators giving a crystal clear sound. The blend of the two combines to create prophet like sounds never before possible with previous software emulations or even the original vintage machines, and perfect for those summery classic house synths that Palavas are known for.
2. QCON PRO FROM ICON
Next on their list was the DAW surface controller ‘Qcon pro from Icon’.
“This is a great midi controller that help us to deal with automations and mixing”
The Qcon pro works as a control surface designed to bring hand on analogue like control to the digital recording world. It features 9 touch sensitive faders, 8 encoder knobs, 18 assignable buttons, pedal inputs and more, giving you complete tactile control over your DAW. A very valuable tool for polishing off a mix and giving it a professional touch.
3. EXS24
Last but not least on their list is the Logic Pro sampler EXS24.
“All the sampling on the track has been done with the EXS24. It’s always very fun and easy to work on this sampler”
EXS24 offers almost all the features of a hardware sampler. It provides an intelligent user interface without the hassle of coaxing your computer to communicate with external hardware. EXS24 is smoothly integrated within LogicAudio, and it can harness Logic’s solid waveform editor and native plug-in processors.
The front end of EXS has a sophisticated synth engine including Logic’s classic filter, well known for its warmth and resonance. It also has a powerful Modulation Matrix that offers interesting synthesis options allowing you to reinforce a beat with pulsating, tempo-locked LFO and rich EXS24 textures. Palavas’ unique and rich use of this sampling really sets them out from the crowd. You can hear this especially in their latest release ‘Lionel Leetchi’ (out now on Future Disco) with idyllic vocal sampling that cements in a feeling of summer euphoria, making you feel like your about to witness a tropical sundown at the beach.
You can hear how these tools are put into proper use by the pro’s by following the link below and taking a listen to Palavas’ latest EP ‘Lionel Leetchi’. Summer anthems that will leave you craving a cocktail by the french Mediterranean.
Click Here to listen to their latest release ‘Lionel Leetchi’
© 2020 FUTURE DISCO