Ask The Producer: KiNK (Electronic Beats TV)

We continue Telekom Electronic Beats TV’s Ask The Producer Series with a new episode featuring KiNK. Strahil Velchev has become one of Europe’s best known house and techno artists over the past decade, and is particularly recognised for his unique live shows. Hailing from Sofia, Bulgaria, his releases on Ovum and Running Back, alongside those on his own Sofia Records label, brought him to the world’s attention, and made him one of the most popular producers and live performers. So, as a known gear head, who better to ask about all things tech?
#KiNK #electronicbeats #asktheproducer #techtalk
Note: This video was filmed by KiNK alone in his studio with two Mobile Phones, so please excuse the picture quality.
0:00 Intro
0:27 Do you try to get your tracks as close to completion on the day you make them or do you hop back and forth between projects?
1:56 How do you make your shakers so goddamn sexy?
3:21 How do you make sure that your live set sounds good in a club?
5:02 How do you protect yourself from hearing loss when producing and playing?
6:24 How to turn a good loop into a good track?
7:32 Do you apply effects directly on each channel of your track or via the send return bus?
9:14 What are you three favourite effects plug-ins?
11:18 Which is your go to bass synth / VST to use in tracks?
12:13 At what point do start writing your bass-lines in your tracks?
12:40 How much do you think social media is the key to being successful in the music industry?
14:07 How much of your set is improvised and how much of it is pre-recorded material / planned changes and track changes etc.?
17:04 Which artist(s) influenced you in the past and who influences you today?
18:01 Is studying synth patches / sound design important to you?
19:25 If you had to choose only one synth, which one would it be?
20:21 What do you find most important when it comes to learning a new synth?
20:50 What advice would you give to young aspiring artists during this pretty difficult time?
22:13 What is your favourite drum machine?
24:02 What are your go to VST / Hardware for stabs, chords and pads?
25:39 How do you manage your hardware?
28:09 Please name your top five tracks of electronic music for babies / kids.
30:15 Do you make atonal songs or do you pick a scale?
32:18 What is your best advice for making electronic dance music to someone without any music training?
33:05 How do you set up live for zero latency?
34:14 How do you connect your gear with Ableton?
35:27 What is your most used mixing plug-in / trick?
36:12 What is your favourite piece of modular gear?
37:05 What is the one piece of vintage gear you wish you could own?
38:02 What are your favourite effect processors?
39:39 Which bit of audio technology do you feel will be the next leap forward for improvisational artists like yourself?
40:17 Do you use a tape recorder?
41:57 Do you mix and master on your own?
43:00 Which piece of gear do you recommend to start switching from DAW to DAWless production?
43:50 Do you use any hardware samplers?
46:00 Do you recommend expanding the TR-8 with the 7X7 drum pack?
46:26 Do you always use USB multitrack with the TR-808 into Ableton and then stereo out to pioneer mixer?
47:25 How do you approach work-life balance?
48:08 Do you use special preamps for recording synths?
48:22 Which was the first synth you bought?
49:23 How do you record external gear with MIDI coming from Ableton without latency?
50:18 While playing live, how do you EQ your tracks ?
50:42 What happened to your own self made tool?
50:54 How do you approach a new instrument?
51:28 What is the most important thing in a KiNK type of song?
52:06 How did you get started with music as a career?
52:50 What amount of groove / shuffle do you recommend to add to the drum machine?
53:22 How do you create your magic with any drum machine?
54:00 Questions provided by....
54:15 End
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[@alvarc3675]

100% genuine bloke. No show off, no brag. A true artist in a superficial fake scene

[@AlexanderCook87]

I don't know if producing music is a fake scene. Most people seem like complete nerds.

[@maquettemusic1623]

In what way is it a superficial fake scene in Europe? The people who would follow KiNK, the people he would tour with etc I would say aren't in a "superficial fake scene". Anyone who watches Telekom Beats I would suggest is here for the music and passion.

[@Phillinger]

@@maquettemusic1623 but its easier to hate something! I dont get it either, maybe alvar just had a bad day :^)

[@tresporros]

ditto!, his live acts are amazing, he's got real talent in creating melodies

[@alvarc3675]

@@Phillinger this is a guy who knows his shit. Hes been working on electronic music since the 90s, stacking synth from the time they were cheap garbage. By fake scene i mean 90% of djs/producers around. This youtube channel is a haven. Whoever is curating it, chapeau!

[@wayfinder1882]

other producers: "one of the most important things you can do is give your studio a sound treatment with soft, angled surfaces to break up and reduce reflections!" KiNK: "yeah i use a perfectly cubic, tiled kitchen" 😂

[@badb.2826]

If you know your room and speakers you dont need that

[@micindir4213]

It's the same reason most musicians would rather buy better saxophone or cymbal than actually upgrade their thrashy boombox / llwend bluetooth speaker. They simply invest into instrument and their skill, but not studio. From experience, distortion is what cuts through even the shittiest rooms. You're forced to saturate your tracks to even hear what you are playing.

[@k303909]

​@@badb.2826 I agree with you - you can build trust and live happily. But also if your room is a bit more honest to your music - then this can be a simpler love story.

[@thepsychonaut421]

depends on what you lookin' for actually when you listen to, but more when you are recording. There you cannot record in such a room which has a big echo, but I can relate your point hahah

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

i cant stand the Acoustic treatment Nazi's

[@klanggenerator2918]

Definately one of the most entertaining and charismatic electronic music producers around at present...

[@AnalogKitchen]

Strahil is without any doubt one of the nicest most sincere guys out there! Love from Rotterdam brother!!

[@progressivey]

One thing we Bulgarians gotta be proud of when it comes to purest electronic music. KiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinK. No dang doubt.

[@i2pjd6hRw5P]

This man's a genius, saw him play in Milwaukee last year and it was a truly special show, had such a great time and the vibe in the room was indescribable

[@girlslikemachinestechnotra8869]

Thank you very much @Telekom Electronic Beats for this series. Always appreciated ;)

[@alexrobertson232]

Wow that was soo good. What a great guy ! Thanks Strahil & everyone for the great questions. Awesome video Telekom ! Cheers.

[@JakeLDS]

One of my heros. No BS, just a real guy making great sounds.

[@Raumstoff]

was so long looking forward for this day! awesome thanks and was fun seeing you live in Zürich

[@TJE303]

nice greetz from a formerly acid-house net user. i remember the time when you have posted your tracks years ago 👍 all the best, todd

[@petersmith5851]

Wohooo! Thanks for answering my question!

[@KOLTERCOLOGNE]

Kink is the best

[@filterdrive]

Q&A timestamps: 0:00 Intro. 0:27 Do you try to get your tracks close to completion on the day you make them or do you hop back and forth between projects? 1:56 How you you make your shakers so goddamn sexy? 3:21 How do you make sure that your live set sounds good in a club? 5:02 How do you protect yourself from hearing loss when producing and playing? 6:24 How to turn a good loop into a good track? 7:32 do you apply effects directly on each channel of your track or via the send return bus? 9:14 What are your three favorite effects plugins? 11:19 Which is your go to bass synth / VST to use in tracks? 12:13 At what point do you start writing your bass-lines in your tracks? 12:41 How much do you think social media is the key to being successful in the music industry? 14:07 How much of your set is improvised and how much of it is pre-recorded material / planned changes and track changes etc.? 17:05 Which artist(s) influenced you in the past and who influences you today? 18:01 Is studying synth patches / sound design important to you? 19:27 If you had to choose only one synth, which would it be? 20:23 What do you find most important when it comes to learning a new synth? 20:52 What advice would you give to young aspiring artists during this pretty difficult time? 22:13 What is your favorite drum machine? 24:03 What are your go to VST / Hardware for stabs , chords and pads? 25:40 How do you manage your hardware? 28:09 Please name your top five tracks of electronic music for babies / kids. 30:15 Do you make atonal songs or do you pick a scale? 32:18 What is your best advice for making electronic dance music to someone without any music training? 33:05 How do you set up live for zero-latency? 34:14 How do you connect your gear with Ableton? 35:27 What is your most used mixing / plug-in trick? 36:12 What is your favorite piece of modular gear? 37:06 What is the one piece of vintage gear you wish you could own? 38:02 What are your favorite effects processors? 39:40 Which bit of audio technology do you feel will be the next leap forward for improvisational artists like yourself? 40:17 Do you use a tape recorder? 41:58 Do you mix and master on your own? 43:00 Which piece of gear do you recommend to start switching from DAW to DAWless production? 43:51 Do you use any hardware samplers? 46:01 Do you recommend expanding the TR-8 with the 7x7 drum pack? 46:24 Do you always use the USB multitrack with the TR-8 into Ableton and then stereo out to pioneer mixer? 46:26 How do you approach work-life balance? 48:08 Do you use special preamps for recording synths? 48:22 What was the first synth you bought? 49:25 How do you record external gear with MIDI coming from Ableton without latency? 50:19 While playing live, how do you EQ your tracks? 50:42 What happened to your own self made tool? 50:55 How do you approach a new instrument? 51:29 What is the most important thing in a KiNK type of song? 52:07 How did you get started with music as a career? 52:50 What amount of groove / shuffle do you recommend to add to the drum machine? 53:23 How do you create your magic with any drum machine? 54:00 Questions provided by...

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

54:00 Questions provided by....

[@cjbxz]

There ya go. Thank you EBTV & Chris

[@matiasss550]

what does it mean a sexy shaker? In what sense sex is related with a hihat or a shaker ? or it is just stupid to say an unrelated word such as sexy shaker......?

[@799riccardo]

Bravo Kink you are our Hero!

[@ivanmikic7547]

So many good advices, thx KINK !

[@marquezvanroeschen5340]

thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@cstarcrusher]

such a great resource. love KiNK, all your ask the producer features are amazing. im in the hip hop / sampling world and still learn so much from every artist regardless of genre. thank you for all the work, TEB!

[@AsyncLive]

watch Kink's - Boiler room Moscow, this was absolute marvel!

[@progressivey]

Always is.

[@moaby1969]

Master class, got the point, less conventions and courage for a tiled Studio wall - thatˋs it. 👍

[@thaiboxing1658]

Der Mann ist ein Live Performer...sehe ich am verstaubten PC Monitor 😂. Aber wieder eine tolle Folge mit einem Riesen Künstler 👌. Danke dafür.

[@RoseRinged]

Thanks for this Kink and Telekom. Great questions and insights!

[@ahzootube]

6:40 A very wise reply about turning loops into tracks. Appreciated :)

[@theromanceofwax]

top bloke, seen him in bulgaria at a snow festival and his set was simply magical.

[@alekzzisrec]

Luv & Rezzpekt from Poland !!

[@chiefthomson]

You cannot not like this guy ;) he's truly been amazing in what he does ever since he made a name for himself. His sound has character and can be recognised right away. Many cool ideas he mentioned, really cool video.

[@LNR157]

kink is the man with the fastest touch changing on gear ive ever seen in my life its ridiculous

[@ooolrait]

easy to wish all the success to a man this nice and humble

[@nickskywalker2568]

Thank you so much!

[@HenriDeCarvalho]

This série of "Ask The Producer" is besides being always interesting quite entertaining. Great episode ! and actually pretty decent video and sound quality from just a phone. Thanks Strahil

[@HerrmannHinz]

yeah. ++ for the bukem progression sessions. im playing those also still. just yesterday nite during a bike ride under the moonlight.

[@NOGASAYAN]

Really good questions and we'll answered. Learned alot. Thanks kink & eb.tv 👌😊

[@ac12484]

Great interview, thanks so much!

[@1800KLIENFELD]

The master.

[@Dominickleiner]

lovely Q&A thanks for the inspiration and insights!

[@drthorpe8602]

thanks electronicbeats this is great!! timestamps are wonderful too

[@braincoral9866]

i mix very quietly. it's good. you can easily hear stuff poking out of the mix. and your ears will thank you!

[@HowardPettit]

Progression sessions 🔥🔥🔥

[@pintfetzer3461]

Airwindows is yet for windows, Mac and Linux. Thank you Kink, very inspiring ❤️

[@AlexFainDj]

Thanks for responding to my questions! 🙏🏻

[@joitdust4053]

this guy is great!

[@zpurpz]

Great answers and was also happy to see you mentioned AirWindows !

[@josebonetto]

Was waiting for something like this with Kink since long time ! (L) this guy gives me peace.

[@Radical-Fantasy]

thank you .great info

[@EugeneKarnak]

very nice! thank you!

[@4gottenmusic]

Pure Love

[@midierror]

Fantastic video - the advice at 35:27 is a highlight, but honestly, the whole thing was really informative and well explained.

[@OlivierSarfati]

KTJ Bukem MC Conrad "Progression Sessions"...What a blast from the past man.

[@proxymerchant]

Proxy Merchants will use this wisdom on future releases thank you!

[@pmsorhaindo]

Instant like!

[@cremefresh1]

such a boss!!

[@musicenjoyer]

awesome producer

[@Datacustic]

sidechain return bus is nice!

[@gad_blood]

Long live nerds!

[@heartblit]

AI always back to Your cleaver dialog Love loopy clip Need to understand more and more Addiction law💫🖤

[@distantcomets]

I admit it, I Stan for KiNK. Great Q&A! Is there a better experimental/improvisational house and techno producer/DJ? His experimental videos with Roland's Aira line, the first twenty minutes of Boiler Room Moscow (it's all awesome, but that opening kills me everytime...)

[@Zimmermusic]

really cool format

[@holografik3327]

Dominator is Nice for hoover sounds !

[@petar_xyz]

Great Q&A, bro!

[@timnordberg7204]

Airwindows is definitely available for PC. Wasn't always the case, but it is now.

[@hang-sangitch]

This was really good

[@user-or3ce4gt2r]

Genius

[@cenzos]

very good

[@NewLoops]

These interviews are very interesting

[@micindir4213]

ArcDev Et 100 is my favorite delay plugin of alltime. I cannot believe how good it actually sounds. x86, win only, what a shame...

[@somethingtothinkabout6556]

Yes!

[@baczorek]

I like Kink 👍

[@u9s0e9r]

AirWindows plugins also work on windows, just saying

[@PoulLarsenmusic]

When I saw the tiles on the wall my mind broke in half - Acoustic treatment

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

he proves that it doesnt matter for what hes doing. Its not like hes mixing albums all day.

[@ravetilldawn]

A total bad ass and a true gentlemen.

[@StevenRossAuthor]

Thanks for the information I am only using fl studio, drum pad, and M-audio oxygen 25 midi player to create the sounds I want ..

[@256k_]

my hero

[@nadiaali7432]

Wow, that was so great and insightful. What are these Bluetooth connectors he was talking about to connect hardware to Ableton?

[@burnssuck]

Ze Plane, boss, Ze plane!

[@freddieglitch]

@3:03 Decimort by D16

[@hadjhifi8910]

what is the 2nd tape echo machine he mentions? The one sitting on top of the RE-201?

[@Moskalus]

Yes

[@lisatheheistful3561]

Based Interview

[@mrmove718]

Kink is the shit!!

[@RTCLR123]

If you need bass VST, check old Project X1(old green looking one) and for tape saturation SN03-G tape recorder. Cheers, i really learned a lot.

[@fullfunk]

subboombass also work for bass, i usually just load massive or serum theres alot of bass presets there i can use for house

[@Kablehead]

Unfortunately you can't expand the TR-8 with the 7X7 anymore. You can only buy a used one that has the upgrade already on there.

[@aidanparker3712]

Yeah this annoyed me since I'd had my tr8 while you could still get it but now I've missed out

[@tomtomcoleman10]

anyone know that snippet of song at 1:58? lovely stuff

[@professorbacteriano]

What was again his recommendation for string vat?

[@tresporros]

sp1200 rocks!

[@cedric2280]

love you :) great artist for joke ask your wife to put some decoration inside your studio and make a little more acoustic lol

[@isaac.anthony]

everybody has that roland RE201, so good, so expensive...

[@phytogenesis]

Check ik multimedia space delay

[@funtspb9039]

Промоция!!!

[@curtis_chip]

ich frage mich die ganze zeit ob das an der wand wirklich fliesen sind !? im studio ? btw: es hört sich auch so an.

[@analog_]

No idea how he can work in that room as its so reflective and live sounding with shiny tiles on the walls!

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

Inportant is what comes out and his results sounds really great.

[@analog_]

@@ElectronicBeatsTV thats not what i was saying.. of course his results sounds great but those tiles will be ringing in his already damaged ears. Trust me im in the same tinnitus nightmare for 20+ years.

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

That's another (sad) story.

[@Max-yu7qi]

been looking for that Dominator VST he mentions, no luck :( if anyone can find it i'd appreciate the help

[@Max-yu7qi]

@sulbutraax I think you're referring to d16 Decimort? i meant the one he says is good for "in your face stabs" hard to find he says

[@tubsent]

I found it. If you go on the vstplanet dot com site it is at the bottom of the 13th page in the category "VST instruments". But I guess because that would be too easy, the zip you get from the site is corrupted (at least for me), only 1kb instead of 1mb. So I went to the internet archive / wayback machine site to find an old snapshot of the vstplanet site before the file got corrupted. The snapshot from 27th of april 2016 has a working zip available for download. I told you how to get there instead of posting a direct link because youtube can be weird with links. I think the instructions are clear and simple enough to get the file without problems now.

[@tubsent]

@@pintfetzer3461 That's not the right one. Aame name but a totally different plugin than the one Kink's using. This is a direct link to the right one: web.archive.org/web/20160416140248/www.vstplanet.com/VST_instruments/Synthesizers/Dominator.zip

[@topofthemornintoya]

Wizard

[@ZElTGElST]

What´s the name of the tape delay free plugin that he recommends?

[@trashbag8443]

Dubb Box by arcDev Noise Industries: vst4free.com/plugin/569/

[@ooolrait]

@@trashbag8443 awesome plugin!

[@cedric2280]

consider to buy a multiclock kink it will solve your midi lantency for your recording it's like magic

[@bader3879]

What are the names he mentioned other than jeff mills and Aphex twin?

[@petar_xyz]

Joey Beltram, DJ Sneak, Autechre, Levon Vincent

[@gnarlykoala]

Roy Batty

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

@Roy Batty you here, what a pleasure! Big Fan

[@gnarlykoala]

@@ElectronicBeatsTV I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

We hear you!

[@freekgroot3222]

Here's that mix on Tresor he talks about. Scion 2002. Enjoy. www.mixcloud.com/Fonkyshitproductions/dj-mix-scion-arrange-and-process-basic-channel-tracks-tresor-200/

[@solobbx4943]

Страхил, рассматриваешь ли ты второго человека, как инструмент ?

[@HatredPrime]

Hi this is Kink and this is my toilet studio.

[@dannaumz3485]

Informative interview. Quick feedback: Try using pauses when speaking instead of ‘ahh’ for more effective communication.

[@RayaneKara]

stfu

[@rustikinc63]

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh......uuuuhhhhhh...uuuuuummmmmmm..........

[@memory_moog]

у него в столовке что ль студия?