Straddling the worlds of indie and electronica, André Allen Anjos - AKA RAC - has proven himself to be the kind of the collaboration.
Previous albums Strangers and EGO featured collaborations with the likes of Tegan and Sara and Rivers Cuomo, and on BOY, his latest long-player, he’s roped in Jamie Lidell, St. Lucia and many more.
BOY is billed as Anjos’ most personal, melody-driven album to date, and a meditation on his complex childhood. Born in Portugal, he’s now a resident of Portland, USA, having been raised by missionary parents.
Befitting its hybrid sound, BOY was created using an impressive collection of synths and guitars, so we asked André to show it to us...
1. Korg MS-10
“Not to be mistaken for its older brother, the MS-20. I love the simplicity of one oscillator and how unique the filter is. It's the perfect monosynth for leads, in my opinion. It's quite prominent in most of my music.”
2. Teenage Engineering OP-1
“It's so compact and powerful and truly an amazing modern sampler, synth and MIDI controller. It's all over this album.”
3. Wurlitzer 200e
“Often compared to the Rhodes, but I prefer its brighter sound and built-in tremolo. It sounds like butter. Also pictured, my cat, Juno.”
4. Roland Juno-60
“Speaking of Juno, the Juno-60, my all-time favourite synth, and also the first one I purchased. It's present in nearly every single track I make. I know it so well and I refuse to use presets; I always start from scratch.”
5. Modular synth
“Ah, the modular synth. I've been trying to collect a large number of oscillators and every flavour of filter I can get. My prized possession is a custom CS-80 filter since I can't afford the real deal.”
6. My guitar amp setup
“I have a switcher that allows me to jump around in between different amp heads and have everything plugged into a single isocab for clean, but real amp sound. A lot of stuff on this album was recorded through the cheapest amp, the Vox AC4.”
7. Gibson SG
“Speaking of guitars, here's my childhood Gibson SG. This is the main guitar I use for everything. I just know it so well.”
8. Yamaha CP-70 and Moog Minimoog Voyager XL
“It's impossible to tune, but the CP-70 just has such a unique piano sound that I love. It's all over this album.”
"I'm like, I'm freaked out right now. I'm scared. I feel like I'm drowning on stage and I feel like I'm failing”: SZA on that misfiring Glastonbury headline set
“It sounded so amazing that people said to me, ‘I can hear the bass’, which usually they don’t say to me very often”: U2 bassist Adam Clayton contrasts the live audio mix in the Las Vegas Sphere to “these sports buildings that sound terrible”
"I'm like, I'm freaked out right now. I'm scared. I feel like I'm drowning on stage and I feel like I'm failing”: SZA on that misfiring Glastonbury headline set
“It sounded so amazing that people said to me, ‘I can hear the bass’, which usually they don’t say to me very often”: U2 bassist Adam Clayton contrasts the live audio mix in the Las Vegas Sphere to “these sports buildings that sound terrible”
