The more you talk to producer and sound designer Sasha Lewis, the more you learn. Atop his role as one half of the wildly off‑kilter Unicorn Ship Explosion along with jazz drummer Rob Pemberton, Lewis has honed his craft working with the likes of Four Tet and Jon Hopkins, and has provided sound design for numerous film companies. And did I mention he’s the founder of one Black Cloud Tea company? “The joy of music is a gut feeling that is beyond your control,” he’s been quoted saying, “and for me, tea is similar.”
On his entry into modular
Like many people who are into modular, I’d imagine, I’m quite obsessive. And at some point in my sound career and synth obsession I discovered Doepfer. This was back in the early 2000s when the synth market was very different to what it is now, with much less choice and fewer abstract options. Doepfer felt like a raw, exciting and adventurous sonic sandpit. The early Doepfer website added to the vibe that you were buying into a strange and niche weirdo club. In those days modular seemed an affordable way to explore wild sounds compared to buying ready made synths. I remember thinking the combination of a Doepfer BBD delay paired with a Bit Crusher was the most fun you could have in a recording studio.
On his go‑to modules
I’m not sure if I have a ‘go‑to’ module. My interest is always changing with my weak and short attention span. My longest owned module is the Doepfer A‑119 [External Input/Envelope Follower], so maybe that’s my most used and needed one. I enjoy interfacing the modular with the real world. Sending electronic sounds through the atmosphere makes the world a better place. It’s such a simple module but I couldn’t not have it, I use it all the time. I also really love my Rossum Assimil8or. The pitch‑shifting on it is pure juicy futuristic quality. But I don’t feel wedded to it like I do with the Doepfer.
On Unicorn Ship Explosion
Unicorn Ship Explosion might be about entertaining yourself and not knowing what happens next. Risking failure in front of an audience. It’s fun — for us! Every gig we try and work out our relationship to our instruments... at least one of us is a competent musician, Rob Pemberton. I use an ever‑changing modular rig, which keeps it interesting for me. I enjoy making it a puzzle that I need to figure out in the moment. I have tried to use a regular synth for a gig, but I always get bored with the outcome, and I end up returning to the modular. Having said all that, we still haven’t figured out what we’re doing and why we do it, we just have to do it.
On what’s next
More music, more sounds. I flit between film sound, advertising jobs and music projects. Music for music’s sake is my preferred focus. I’m always working with different people as I love the unknown of a collaborative venture. Mixing your ideas with someone else’s is a wild journey, getting to watch your co‑dependent mutation of an idea evolve. Every year I think: ‘This is the year I make something on my own,’ but I predictably prioritise collaborations over indulging in myself. Safety in numbers and all that...
On the culture of modular
Modular culture is odd; there’s nothing cool about it despite it occasionally trying to be. I think at the core of the culture are obsessives who are just trying to discover new sonic options in search of untapped potentials. It swings from being ‘a massive waste of time’ to being ‘the forefront of new sonic experiences’. A bipolar instrument that can ruin your life. It’s one quarter train hobbyist culture, one eighth never‑ending consumerism, one fifth brainy electronic geek society, one seventh Panini‑sticker‑collect‑them‑all co‑operative and one third renegade sonic adventurers. It’s equally embarrassing and exciting at any given moment. As an instrument it makes the most sense in a Japanese Noise gig, whereas as a studio tool it has become the most expensive rabbit hole in the room. I once received the comment: it seems it’s all about having the right length of cables. How embarrassing.