It began with a particularly boring summer’s night. Budding singer-songwriter Megan Kent was sitting in her house awaiting the arrival of her friend, who just so happened to have a very special gift under her arm when she arrived at the door.
The gift was a Casio keyboard, in fact as Kent, who now operates under the moniker Stax Osset, tells us, a Casiotone CT-360, and it set the young musician on a path towards the world of electronic music production.
Kent was soon garnering accolades from the blogosphere and even collaborating with acclaimed Aussie rapper Allday on his debut full-length effort. To better understand what makes this young production talent tick, we had a look at the gear that Stax Osset couldn’t live without.
Simple, But Effective
“My current live set up is pretty simple. I run Ableton directly from my MacBook Pro for some backing tracks. Then I have a Roland SP404SX to trigger vocal samples off which is where a lot of the extra melodies come from when I’m playing live.
“Then I have a Boss HC-2 hand clapper pedal which I have a heap of reverb and delay on and I use that for certain parts of songs when I want to emphasise the percussion a bit more. I have the SP404SX and the MacBook Pro running directly into a Yamaha Audiogram 6 interface and then the hand clapper and my vocal go straight into the DI.
“So it’s pretty straightforward, but it makes performing fun and it gets the sound across so it’s cool. I could probably take my full set-up with me on a bike and it would be okay, but I like that.”
Smashing It Out
“The only thing I use heaps in my at-home studio that’s not in my live set-up is a Korg Microkey MIDI keyboard that I use for programming synths and jamming out ideas. I also have access to a few synths that I use for some inspiration sometimes, but when it comes to most of the production, I’m fairly happy just smashing it out on the MIDI keyboard straight into the laptop.
“I use Ableton to produce in because I really like the way everything is laid out, it’s pretty clean and easy to work with. I have a few go-to VSTs for effects but most of the original sounds are generated from Ableton samples and then manipulated into something new using effects and resampling.”
Evolution
“My rig has definitely been through a few changes since [my friend brought over that Casio keyboard]. Step one was to buy a decent laptop and Ableton so I could record properly. And the same friend happened to also bring around an interface so I could record into that, which was great of them.
“Another friend gave me a condenser mic for recording vocals and then I did some research and eventually got the other bits and pieces. So basically I’m lucky enough to have a bunch of friends who are into sound and are also super generous. Thanks to those guys!
“I definitely still have [the Casio] although it doesn’t get much use these days. It’s a Casiotone CT-360 and it’s not going to change the world but it’s got a certain charm, so I like it.”
Lyrics vs. Sounds
“To be honest, not all that much. I think it definitely helps that I had experience in songwriting before starting this project but it’s kind of a completely different ballgame. Writing songs on an acoustic guitar, all you can really focus on is either being a mindblowing guitarist or writing really great lyrics, so I used to place a heap of focus on lyrics. With electronic music, you can place the focus more on the sounds and use the vocals in a different way, which I like.”
Songcraft
“Songwriting for me usually starts with an idea. I’ll kind of think out where my headspace is and what I want to write about. Then I’ll usually put a super simple beat together and then write some chords over that. That’s generally the start, then after I’ve laid something simple down I will just edit and re-edit it for ages until it feels right.”
“There is definitely a certain aesthetic or feeling I go for when writing certain songs. I think when writing music it’s important to think about how the listener is going to experience the music – where, when, alone, in a group etc. And it’s important to think about how the listener will be feeling at the time, for me anyway. So I try to take that into consideration when creating a song.”
Under Construction
“I did look around at what some other people were doing. Live studio performances on YouTube are pretty great for working that stuff out. Plus I found talking to people and seeing how they did things really helped. I’m not really into collecting gear just for fun so I’ve been pretty careful with the things I’ve bought and I did a lot of thinking beforehand but I feel like it paid off.”
The Allday Experience
“It’s funny because the equipment was definitely better than what I’m using, but essentially it all does the same stuff. It was a super laid-back setup in an old shop in Footscray, so it was cool. The only thing I was really jealous of was their vocal mic.
“They were using a really expensive drum mic for the vocals (can’t remember the brand and model, although I definitely wrote it down at the time). It was kind of against the rules, but it really worked, such a good tone. I want that mic.”
