Not too long ago, All Day I Dream newcomer Pippi Ciez released his Riziki EP, a slow-burning, African-rhythm-inspired record with a great vocal performance from Idd Aziz. We loved the record and asked Pippi if he'd be willing to give us a peek into his studio and the tools he uses most, for another installment of our My Toolbox series.
Words by Pippi Ciez
Pippi Ciez studio cc Gene Kavanagh
Roland System 8
The system 8 is certainly the centerpiece of the studio and my go-to synth in most cases. I find myself writing chord progressions, melodic sequences, and baselines on here quite effortlessly. It has a layering option that enables 8 oscillators and 2 running sequences at your fingertips. Most importantly I think it sounds amazing!! Riziki, Wewe, Saam, David August Patria Remix, and a majority of the upcoming album all use the system 8’s textures to a great extent.
Roland System 8 cc Gene Kavanagh
Pippi and the System 8 cc Gene Kavanagh
Roland Handsonic HPD20
My favourite drum machine ever. For studio recording, live jamming, live performance the Handsonic sounds so organic and cuts through the mix with ease. You will find this on every track I have released for the past 4 years and many more to come I would think. There’s something about playing with your hands that gives you more feeling than programming. The Handsonic can also be triggered by my TR8S externally which makes life easier in live performance.
Roland Handsonic HPD20 cc Gene Kavanagh
Moog Sub Phatty
My Moog is the first synthesizer I ever bought. Obsessed with the sound design I spent countless hours crafting custom presets that I use consistently in production. Being monophonic it’s mostly used for bass and leads but sounds like no other synth on the planet, honestly, the low end is frightening!! You can hear the Sub Phatty on tracks like Tangerine, Kouloury Remix, Shiva (Sunrise Mix), and even as far back as Hand of Buddha. A real gem for any studio.
Moog Sub Phatty cc Gene Kavanagh
APC20
People may laugh when I still turn up to the club (or live stream 😆) with my old beaten APC but I have to be honest I’m yet to find a midi controller for live performance that gives me everything I need in one place fits in my luggage and built like a tank for touring. I only use this for live performance it controls track triggering, volume, Eq, filtering, Reverb & Delay all while allowing me to trigger, overdub, record, and loop my external instruments.
Akai APC20 cc Gene Kavanagh
Roland TR8S
Huge fan of the previous Tr8, I was delighted to add the TR8S to my studio space and live show only a few months ago. Having a huge library of sounds, and an added beat pad that’s velocity-sensitive and allows 8 bar loops it’s quite rapidly becoming the most important piece in my arsenal. I recently road-tested it in my All Day I Dream live stream for the first time live and it just really controlled the set quite amazingly. I can also insert my own samples and use them in ways I couldn’t envision before which is leading me down some interesting roads for my future releases. It’s a 10 from me!
Roland TR-8S cc Gene Kavanagh
Grab your copy of the EP here.
