Brothers Sebastian and Daniel Selke and Kyoto‑born Midori Hirano are Berlin‑based producers and artists who have come together to produce a collaborative album called Split Scale. The concept behind the record is simple — each piece follows the Western scale of A to G from beginning to end — but the results are deep and varied.
At the moment I can’t stop listening to
Midori Hirano: If I had to pick one, Lucrecia Dalt’s soundtrack album The Baby would probably be my choice. I love the weirdness of her sound, which still manages to sound pop. Even though it was made as a soundtrack for the TV series, it is full of her signature sounds — her weird vocals, warm merengue‑like rhythmic grooves.
Sebastian Selke: Twin Color, a solo project from Mexican producer Murcof. I’ve been following Murcof’s modular‑experimental soundscapes for many years now. On his first EP as Twin Color he built this futuristic‑nostalgic ambience around the voice of his young daughter Alina, and that really impressed me. My daughter Alma is currently trying her hand too, mostly at the cello. The EP was very inspiring for both of us.
Daniel Selke: The Guatemalan artist Mabe Fratti’s Será Que Ahora Podremos Entendernos is, like all of her previous albums, a revelation for us. I think she succeeds at the almost unique balancing act of giving accessible song structures a sufficiently exciting experimental aesthetic. On top of this is her rudimental cello playing which follows an ideal all its own. Just recently, Sebastian, his five‑year‑old daughter Alma and I were lucky enough to attend a concert by Mabe in Berlin. All three of us were blown away.
The artist I’d most like to collaborate with
MH: After making this collaborative album Split Scale with the wonderful Brueder Selke, I’d like to keep myself open to more unknown possibilities rather than hinting at my musical expectations by mentioning any artist’s name!
S: We’ve been admiring Laura Cannell for a long time. We love music that is able to transport the audience to another time while remaining absolutely contemporary. Just her changing repertoire of instruments — and her voice — move us every time.
D: We’re also big fans of the Lippok brothers. They founded the band and platform Ornament & Verbrechen in East Berlin in 1983. With their groundbreaking art and electronic music, they influenced not just the underground music scene but the entire art scene of the late GDR years, as well as contemporary movements in Europe after 1990.
The first thing I look for in a studio
MH: It really depends on what I want to do that day. It can be modular synths, which I’ve been into for a couple of years, if I want to try something new. Or it could be a piano, if I just want to practise or if I have some specific ideas about what I want to record with it. It could also be a keyboard synthesizer like the Casiotone 701 for some warm analogue organ‑like sounds, or the Microkorg XL for a sharper digital bass sound.
S: We pursue everywhere and always a free creative spirit. Sometimes a special cable is all it takes to bring inspiration. Or custom‑made pots on an analogue console. Or an engraving on an instrument!
D: Yes, we are particularly interested in instruments. We also love studio technology, but ultimately it’s the instruments that ‘do the talking’. Just recently we acquired a beautiful old harmonica which now adorns our new studio table.
The person I would consider my mentor
MH: I would say my friend Frank Bretschneider, who I’ve known for over 15 years and have admired his music for even longer. I first got to hear his music in the early 2000s through his releases on Raster‑Noton, and I found his 2007 album Rhythm fantastic. Quite minimalistic and sharpened sound, but still humorous. I got to know him shortly after I moved to Berlin in late 2008 and we have been going to the same concerts a lot since then. He always has an opinion about what he hears or sees, and I never get bored listening to him. He often gives me his thoughts when I send him my new music; he can be very critical sometimes, but that way I know that the praise he gives me is not fake!
S: My daughter Alma is now five years young. When the three of us went to the aforementioned Mabe Fratti concert, Alma just started dancing quite naturally to the beat of the quite experimental songs. And she expected me to join in, which of course I did. As a classically trained musician, these moments give me new energy.
D: Our dear parents aren’t themselves musicians but they introduced us to music early. We remain grateful to them to this day that we could immerse ourselves in this universe.
My go‑to reference track or album
MH: Lucrecia Dalt’s The Baby, which I already mentioned! I’ll say that’s also my go‑to reference. I think it’s well mixed, especially how she places each percussion and instrumental sound. Alternatively, utp_ by Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto with Ensemble Modern. I often find it difficult to do the mixing for music that is quite minimalistic but consists of real instruments and digital sounds. I think utp_ is one album that successfully manages to sound wonderfully atmospheric, while also having enough of that crispness.
S: For me, Severant by Kuedo is a brilliant album. The combination of atmospheric retro‑futuristic synth pads and complex rhythmic figures — I’ve listened to that over and over and I still listen to it. It’s great for waking up in the morning, for motivation at lunchtime and for driving home after work in the evening when the stars light up the night sky!
D: The collaboration between Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto is also very, very inspiring for me and for us. Their debut album Vrioon was released in 2002 as part of their Virus series and it opened worlds for us.
My secret weapon in the studio is
MH: I would say the Roland RE‑301 Chorus Echo, which I took over from my good friend and great vibraphonist Masayoshi Fujita before he moved back to Japan from Berlin a couple of years ago. A beloved tape delay from the ’70s. I use it when I want a sound played on a synth or piano to sound a bit wobbly. When I have time and want to really immerse myself in sound waves, that machine gives me good inspiration.
S: The Vermona E2010 filter bank is such a special graphic equaliser. In contrast to the usual RC filters, it has LC filters. The peculiarities of its resonance behaviour produce beautiful, overtone‑rich sounds with a warm vintage character. It’s ideal for transforming cold, tinny samples into warm and powerful analogue sounds. If you want more extreme, experimental results, you can connect the two stereo channels in series with a cable; then you can work with a 24dB filter slope and with extreme settings modify the audio material in a really hardcore way that dramatically changes the character of the input signal. Clean mastering filters aside, it is an analogue equaliser with a sound that is all character!
D: We should also mention that we had to sell a lot of equipment during the pandemic! But we really never want to be without our monitoring system. Geithain RL940s are, for us, absolutely indispensable.
The studio session I wish I’d witnessed
MH: CocoRosie’s debut album La Maison De Mon Rêve is still my favourite album of theirs, and I remember listening to it over and over again after it came out in 2004. Later I stumbled across their live video on YouTube, where they were playing and singing the song ‘Madonna’ with just a guitar and a toy keyboard. It seemed they were playing in a small house, which I suppose was still possible before they became big. I really wished that I could be there. It was a very simple concert that showed the pure beauty of that song.
S: In GDR times, electronic music for us consisted mostly of Vangelis records. So many times we lay awake enfolded in his inimitable sound, dreaming that we were in his Nemo Studios. We could see it so clearly in our imagination. It awakened in us the longing to record similar music ourselves, with our own instruments, in our own studio, to produce and release music.
D: I’d also like to mention that for us, there has never been a better harmony between image and music than in Godfrey Reggio’s experimental film Koyaanisqatsi with music by Philip Glass.
S: That’s right! Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi were good successors, but Koyaanisqatsi is simply a masterpiece.
The producer I’d most like to work with
MH: I have appreciation for Jim O’Rourke’s arrangement and mixing skills. I think it would be great if I had a chance to work or even play together with him. His 2001 album Insignificance is one of my long‑time favourites and I still listen to it, over 20 years later.
S: Carsten Nicolai, whose pseudonym is Alva Noto, came from what is now Chemnitz, formerly Karl‑Marx‑Stadt. So he was also born in the former GDR and as an artist, composer and musician he has done everything!
D: Exactly. Be it film projects, album production, installations for the Guggenheim Museum, the Venice Biennale or the documenta... Carsten Nicolai looks for the energy in pared‑back representations. A minimalism that is infinitely powerful.
The studio experience that taught me the most
MH: I couldn’t tell you. The gear and instruments I have in the studio are quite minimal and I work mostly on my own. But when it comes to the process of composing and recording, I have learnt that I just need to be patient and concentrate — on what I am doing and what I am hearing.
S: Long before the Berliner Funkhaus in Nalepastrasse, which is right on the Spree [river], was flooded with concerts, we regularly visited our dad at work there. An almost family feeling, and Santa Claus even visited at Christmas. The countless studios were a whole universe, and to this day we still dream of the giant RFZ mixing consoles!
D: And the Wuhlheide and the Pionierpark was just nearby, with its recording studio workshop. A paradise for children.
Midori Hirano: Don’t be disappointed if things don’t develop as quickly as you expected! Many good things are worth taking time to develop.
The advice I’d give myself of 10 years ago
MH: I would tell myself: learn more production techniques and try to stick with each instrument that you want to master, rather than looking for a new one too quickly. And don’t be disappointed if things don’t develop as quickly as you expected! Many good things are worth taking time to develop.
S: Through Alma I’m reliving my childhood again. What a gift! I am infinitely humble and grateful. And so, among other things, I try to teach her a healthy understanding of mistakes at an early age. They’re a part of life.
D: That’s right. Alma is my niece, so I also try to help her with my experiences: to never lose focus, and at the same time to learn joy and humour! Be patient, especially when starting out in music. There is a universe hidden in every element, a treasure waiting to be found and unearthed.