After years of experience as classical and pop musicians, Jovin Lee and Atlas Iu, also known as BURN and telvanni26 have joined forces to create the Producer DJ duo JVSY, debuting as techno producers in 2021.
Known for their cross-genre explorations with elements from house, techno, electronica, drum and bass, nu-jazz and more- they incorporate organic instruments and found sounds into their compositions to make their signature cinematic sound.
Giving a strong nod to their background, they also put their experience and newly acquired inspirations into their roles as adept film scorers, composers and session musicians.
We chatted with Jovin and Atlas on how they use Sequential instruments in their music:
What made you choose the Prophet Rev2 and OB-6?
If there is one reason we chose to invest in the Rev2 and OB-6, it would obviously have to be the analog vintage timbre that not a lot of other modern synthesizers offer. We have been noticing Sequential synthesizers from early to modern hit records and that was one of many reasons we chose to pursue that kind of sound. We also noticed a lot of Sequential synthesizer owners have been using their units for years and years, so we weren’t worried about them breaking down in a few years. Speaking of non-musical attributes, the Rev2 and OB-6 work steadily on stage while looking damn classy in the studio… What’s not to like?!
How are you using them?
Atlas: I’ll have to begin by saying that the Rev-2 can pretty much do every “synth” sound i can come up with in my head while working on tracks. In the studio, I mainly use it for textural sounds that requires that extra color to stand out. With the 8-voice polyphony it can shoot out some damn impressive chords and stacks that enhances my tracks that much. Now that we’re on the topic, I’m really considering getting the Voice Expander Kit to make my time even easier..
Jovin: It always gives me a nice, warm feeling when I add some wide BEAUTIFUL pads on top of our tracks during live performances. One of the bread and butter ways for me to make it more interesting (and to enjoy myself more) is to spread the Width to maximum and hard panning them left/right in the mixer section. It’s also a pleasure to use the OB-6 for unison detuned leads, or some single-voiced bass for the more techno/funk side of our tracks (by tuning the unison to 1-voice).
What are your favorite things about them?
Atlas: The flexibility. Rev-2 is one of if not the most flexible synthesizer I have owned. It’s amazing in the studio, but I find myself more adventurous with it in live situations. The panel controls are easy to master, and the sequencer is easy and intuitive to use. I am comfortable with it during live performances because I feel everything is around my fingertips, or just around the corner.
Jovin: My favorite thing will have to be the iconic sound the OB-6 offers. But on the more technical side, it’s also nice to have a modulation point that allows me to rapidly modulate the state of the filter at audio rate WHILE still being able to manually turn the filter cutoff to create some crazy sounds on the fly.
What do they give you that other synths might not?
Atlas: The Rev-2 gives me a powerful, yet not brutish (in most cases) sound that cuts through a track with ease. When I’m working with it in the studio, it always amazes me how I don’t even have to turn it up THAT much to make a real audible difference in a track when compared to using a software synthesizer or some of my other hardware synthesizers. Also, this is the only synthesizer I own with an analog Curtis low-pass filters, the tone it offers just hits differently for me.
Jovin: The OB-6 itself is an unique synthesizer with it own sound. It is a modern adaptation of the Oberheim sound that many people so love. On this unit, it requires minimal effort to bring out that sound from scratch. I am using the desktop module verison of the OB-6, it gives me extra flexibility when I have to travel with it and also fits easily with limited studio space.
Any interesting tricks or techniques you would like to share?
Atlas: They’ll say I’m making a big deal out of this but turning a knob while holding the MISC button will show you the current value of the parameter on the display- might not be a life-changing thing for some, but it’s a nice quality-of-life feature that I use A LOT. Even more so when a synthesizer has digital presets. Changing presets has always been a little nerve wrecking for me during live performances. Being able to check where a parameter currently is before i make the decision to change it is absolutely essential for me now. I’m pretty sure everyone has gone through the thing where you change to a preset with a low filter cutoff value while your current cutoff knob is way up. And when you try to adjust it while it’s playing something, there’s this undesirable pop of sound where the cutoff momentarily is way higher than where you intended. Being able to check where a parameter value is before touching it allows me to make a more informed decision THUS able to express myself more freely (and accurately).
Jovin: Although the OB-6 is widely recognized as a keyboard instrument, people often miss its MIDI CC capability. With MIDI CC, you can trigger loads of automated curves, or if you want to modulate multiple parameter simultaneously, that’s possible and easy too. The real advantage here for me is that I can mess with multiple parameters with visual indication/feedback at my DAW. If you like what you made, just save those automations as a project file and recall them later to easily recreate them again.
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