by , 10:00 AM EST, November 9th, 2004
Pros with Macs is a weekly segment featuring professionals for whom Apple technology is a prominent part of their lives. This week we talk to Warren Fischer of the electroclash band Fischerspooner about the Mac, the iTunes Music Store, Logic, and the Age of Digital Art.
If you dig electroclash, you know Fischerspooner. Their music is aggressively electronic; their videos are a sensory assault; their concerts will make use of any or all of the following: Victorian dresses, glitter cannons, oversized wigs, epilepsy-inducing lighting, and fake rain.
They're also Mac devotees.
So when we decided to learn more about the dawning Age of Digital Art, we tracked down and interviewed Warren Fischer (who, along with Casey Spooner, is responsible for the band's name).
Mr. Fischer is a poster child for all things digital. Back in 1982 he was trying to program video games on an Apple II. He has a professional background in digital film editing on Avid. His band has exclusive content on the iTunes Music Store. In fact, Mr. Fischer has never even recorded or edited the band's music in the old analog style. (They did once do a session at Sunset Downs, a legendary all-analog studio in California, which claims to have tracked material for small-time artists like Van Halen, Led Zepellin, and The Doors. But Mr. Fischer brought along his Logic-equipped G4.)
Mr. Fischer is also a quintessential Mac nut, and praises Apple's attention to design. It's not all about functionality, he argues. "It's like clothes keep you warm, but you still want to buy a jacket that makes you look good." Mr. Fischer has been a Mac user for more than 20 years, and when discussing the Mac he takes that "it's-good-to-be-back-on-top" attitude of so many long-time Mac users. "We remember the early 90s," he says, and "We're glad that their products are beautiful again."
So as a music professional, Mac user, and general guru of things digital, Mr. Fischer was the natural choice to offer some perspective of the evolution of art, digital technology, and the Mac.
The Birth of Legal Downloads
Mr. Fischer loves the iTunes Music Store. "I'm a user of the Music Store, probably multiple times a day." He describes the service as a research tool, which he uses to quickly and legally grab a track that a friend or colleague recommends. In the iTMS he finds a "practical, elegant" balance between the convenience of illegal downloads and the fairness of purchasing albums.
The service's value also extends to more than just customers: "Illegal downloads were once a benefit for us," Mr. Fischer explains. Fischerspooner's reputation and fan base spread because of Naptser and Gnutella song-stealing. The iTMS, he suggests, can offer similar value to artists.
Of course, not all artists are as excited as Mr. Fischer about digital distribution. Some artists have resisted selling on services like the iTMS because Apple and other vendors require that the artist sell tracks individually, but Mr. Fischer and his band are embracing the change. "The era of 44 minute albums is over," he declares. "We're returning to a singles market in the music industry."
He considers this movement particularly appropriate for the pop genre, which he calls "disposable."
"The album format was an arbitrary length, [and] it's kind of preposterous for an artist to say you have to buy these 11 songs to get the one you want." No other industry, he claims, would survive with that model.
Fischerspooner hopes to add more exclusive content to the iTMS when it becomes available. "We want to support the platform," Mr. Fischer says.
Digital Music Maestro
Fischerspooner records on a Mac using eMagic's Logic and Propellerhead's Reason (Apple acquired eMagic in July of 2002). With this software (and occasional bounces to competing programs like Digidesign's ProTools), they create all of their music digitally. Indeed, the band's recording process is a case study in how a digital session can differ dramatically from the origins of recorded music.
Fischerspooner does not play their music; they layer it. "I build tracks on the computer electronically," Mr. Fischer explains. "It's more of a sculpting process."
He usually begins by creating what those old-timer jazz and rock nerds called a rhythm section. "It varies, but generally I start with a bass drum group. You need something that will keep you motivated."
Of course, if you listen to their music, it may be difficult to discern the sounds of an actual drum kit. That's because they don't use one. "I'm pretty lame about it," Mr. Fischer admits before explaining that most of his beats use the stock drum samples from Reason. He finds he only needs to take those samples and tweak them, perhaps changing the equalization, reverb, or other effects.
The rest of the song comes from actual recordings of instruments, or from midi-synthesized instruments. The strangest instrument Mr. Fischer has ever recorded? Probably the "vibraslap," a unique percussive instrument made famous by Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower." But most of his instruments are midi-generated from guitar or synthesizer performances.
Imagine that in the old days, a band had to learn to play a song before they recorded it.
Apple, Industry, and Digital Art
Mr. Fischer, as an Apple watcher, is well aware that the company is making large investments in digital music. This investment now extends to iPod, iTunes, the iTMS, GarageBand, AirTunes, and Emagic's product line, which includes Logic and Reason. But because most digital music technology has primarily been developed by third parties for multiple platforms, he says, "I don't think Apple has had a profound effect ye, [but] the iTMS potentially could change the music industry."
Are there any downsides to the digital music revolution? Mr. Fischer answers with the words of an audiophile: "It's bad people are getting used to MP3 compression for sound quality. I wish you could opt for full res[olution] on iTunes."
Here, Mr. Fischer notes a larger point: He believes that no ground-breaking changes in digital music are imminent, because most of the revolution has already happened. "We have another 10-20 years of fine tuning [ahead]," he predicts. "Higher res, better interface, higher bandwidth infrastructure." Once the infrastructure is in place, Mr. Fischer imagines some new forms might emerge, such as digitally created and distributed art of long-form music and video. After all, absent the time constraints of a CD, artists can make their work as long or as short as they wish.
And here again Mr. Fischer sees a broader picture. In the world of art schools, an artist is a person with a "pad of paper and a piece of charcoal." But now, "The computer is the new charcoal." Every type of art is becoming digitized, and Mr. Fischer sees the transition as a natural result of "a new culture of artists thinking technologically. It's just about people embracing the medium and feeling comfortable with it."
So will further merging of art and technology impact Fischerspooner's work? "I hope so," Mr. Fischer says. But "my honest opinion is that things will just be perfected at this point."
Five for the fans:
1. What computers do you own and what kind of computer speakers do you use?
Genelec speakers on two Power Macs: a G4 and a G5. Also, a 12.1 PowerBook
2. Name some of your favorite bands.
Early '70s David Bowie, Black Flag, Wire, My Bloody Valentine
3. Name some of your favorite albums.
Hunky Dory (David Bowie), Eye Against Eye (Bad Brains), Munich Machine (DJ Hell)
4. Of the songs on #1, which is your favorite?
It changes, but I have a soft spot for L.A. Song
5. When does your next album come out?
Recording will finish this year; the album should arrive spring, 2005.