Leonard de Leonard on Studio Process and Bitwig Connect
The veteran producer and technician shows us how Bitwig Connect 4/12 fits into his versatile workflow
If every studio tells a story, then Leonard de Leonard’s is a thousand-page epic. This trove of gear, patched together with over two kilometers of cables, reflects a 30-year musical journey that spans genres and thrives on collaborations. It’s also a technician’s workbench: alongside his productions, the French artist and DJ offers mixing, mastering, and sample packs via his Sound Provider project.
A recent addition to this impressive collection is our very own Bitwig Connect, which Leonard uses as a kind of Swiss Army knife for various parts of his music-making workflow. It relays CV between Bitwig Studio and his Eurorack wall, provides extra ins and outs for quick jams, gives him tactile control over his project files, and allows him to create on the road or on the couch.
Leonard let us into his HQ to demonstrate some of these uses of Bitwig Connect and Bitwig Studio in a series of videos. He also answered questions about his musical journey – and offered tips on keeping focussed when you have a mountain of gear.
Leonard de Leonard uses Bitwig Connect as a DAW controller
You arrived in Berlin from Paris in the mid 2000s. What was it like?
It was more diverse when I arrived in Berlin. There was a lot of minimal everywhere, but also electro, punk rock, all this glitchy stuff, noisecore. Now it's more and more techno. Not only, but more than before.
There’s a picture of you playing alongside DJ Funk back in the day. You also played a Tigerbeat6 party with Kid606 in 2009. What was the direction of your music at the time?
[The DJ Funk show] was in Berlin, at Maria am Ostbahnhof. Like I say, more diversity! Sometimes it's hard to define [my music]. It’s one of my problems: I love hard techno, I love techno, but I also love tech house, disco and stuff like that. I also like these noise and glitchy scenes.
Do you think that musical variety has shaped your career?
Sometimes it's easier to have only one style. Then people know what they will [get]. I can’t do that, unfortunately! More than only artistic stuff: I also do sound design, mixing and mastering. I do music for theater, I play in a band with Wilson Gonzalez [A Black Rainbow]. I like the diversity.
How is your studio set up right now?
I have two parts. [On one side] is the part with synths and drum machines. On the other side is modular. I like to start with a basic rhythm, with the computer most of the time, and after that I try to find good stuff using the sequencer in the modular – it's a good way to have something with good texture. After that I say, “Okay, what do I need now?” Drums, whatever.
And after that, on the floor, I have a lot of [rack] effects. I use this in two different minds, let's say. I can use it like an artist: “Let's record this through this pitch shifter.” And in the mixing part where I’ll fine tune with compressors and stuff.
Leonard de Leonard uses Bitwig Connect for extra inputs and quick jams
Where does Bitwig Studio come into it?
I started to use Bitwig a few years ago. My main sequencer was Cubase, and I’m still using it. But now I always start tracks with Bitwig. I love the way you can bend the notes, all the modulation you can use – LFO, wavetable LFO, envelopes everywhere. But the main stuff I love with Bitwig is that it's really natural to create, for me. It’s very easy, playing with loops and with arrangement at the same time. I do music 10 times faster than before. [Bitwig] can be super deep, but the main stuff is it’s easy and natural for me. It fits with my brain.
You use Bitwig Connect in a few different ways. How does it fit into your process?
What I like with Connect is that I can use it at home, and if I go to France I can take it with me. Last time I was traveling I took a small Moog synth, the Werkstatt, and [Bitwig Connect]. I could modulate it with Bitwig Connect during travel. I love it. In the studio, I keep my big soundcard. When I want to [patch] something [without changing] my crazy patch – okay, just plug this [into Bitwig Connect].
So you also work in other places: you don’t feel chained to the studio?
Sure, that's what I love with Bitwig. I like the flow where I'm not stuck in the studio. Just yesterday I was on the sofa playing with a loop, and then I came back [to the studio]. “Now I need some synths, let’s record some.” Then last night I was editing the stuff. So I like the way you don’t have to be in the studio to work.
“I like the flow where I'm not stuck in the studio. Just yesterday I was on the sofa playing with a loop.”
You do mixing, mastering, and sample packs through your Sound Provider project. Do you learn something from that work that comes back into your music?
I’ve been doing music for 30 years, and you have to evolve. What we did 30 years ago, 10 years ago, It's totally not the same. That’s also why I love to go to clubs, because you feel what is fresh and new now, and you're not like, “Oh, it was better back in the day.” Some stuff was better, but some stuff just evolved.
During mixing or mastering, you work with clients. You have some vision from the client. It's always interesting to listen to [a different] point of view. I [get that feeling] like when I get back from a club. “Oh yes, that’s nice – I want to do this now!”
I also love to do sound packs. Sometimes when you work on a track, you just record one kick or use one sample pack – you just do what you always do. [To make a kick sound pack,] you record kick drums from tens of drum machines, patches from the modular, patches on synths. And also the processing, I spend hours just to find the best compressor. And that's interesting. Also it’s a way to optimize the studio. Like, “Are you using everything?” I can say yes!
Using Bitwig Connect to send CV signals between a modular system and Bitwig Studio
You’ve been making music for three decades. How has your setup changed as technology has evolved?
When I started doing music, there was no audio on the computer, just MIDI. I started with an Akai [sampler], drum machine, synth. You recorded with ADAT. After that we started to have audio on VSTi. At one moment everybody was selling their gear, like, “We don't need hardware anymore.” After a while everybody was buying the gear again…
But you didn’t get rid of yours?
I'm lucky to have a lot of gear, because I’ve collected [for so] many years. For me, my setup is complete now. The last update of the studio was the patch I did. It took two kilometers of cable just to plug in everything. But it really changed my life. Before, when I wanted to record, okay, this Eventide with this compressor – I have to go [round] the back. So it takes time or you don’t do it. But now I can say, “Let's do a compressor, pitch shifter, another compressor, EQ, whatever.” I can just test it. It's not funky to have a new patch, but it really improves your workflow.
What's exciting you right now musically?
I have three or four EPs ready for the next year, and also some tracks on compilations. It's always the same: when you start to have some [attention], everybody asks you, “Can you do a mix for me, or mastering?” So you don't have time to do your own stuff. Now, thanks to Bitwig maybe, I finished a lot of tracks, so I'm happy to have some stuff coming soon.
Leonard de Leonard’s First on the Dance Floor EP is out now on Leonizer Records.
Films by Frank Zerban.
