Folamour on Roland Alpha Juno 2: “For £200, it’s the best gear you can have”
In a chat at Glastonbury, he also gives his top production advice and tells us about his favourite producer right now
Image: TOMVDE
Folamour has praised the Roland Alpha Juno 2, citing it as a valuable all-rounder essential asset in his setup.
It was revealed as Folamour sat down with MusicTech at Glastonbury festival on Saturday to talk about his favourite gear, offer production advice and disclose his favourite producer.
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“My favourite studio gear would be my [Roland Alpha] Juno 2,” he says, “…old school, kind of cheap synth but I can do anything with it from bass to synth to leads. I think for, like, £200 or something, it’s the best gear you can have.”
It’s not the first time the house and disco producer has told us about his love for the synth. In March, he told us about how the limited vintage instrument adds to his “old-school sound”.
“Most of the time, my old-school sound comes from the limitation of my gear. I’m using a Roland Juno 2 – it’s a really old synth that sounds really 80s – and I have a Rhodes. And I think overall, not being hi-fi in my way of recording music; not using modern skills to make everything sound so bright and perfect. In my editing, I really like imperfections; I really like leaving a lot and not equalising too many harsh frequencies.”
While gear limitations can be useful, he says, the French producer advises budding producers and musicians to not limit their expectations of themselves.
“The best piece of advice would be to be free of any expectations when I’m doing something,” Folamour says, “and to not try to limit myself in what I’m doing depending on what could be expected from me. [To] just feel free when I’m producing music. I think it’s great advice.”
Finally, when quizzed on his favourite producer, he’s quick to shout out fellow deep house affiliate Laurence Guy, who was featured on the My Forever Studio podcast in April. He pours out his love for the producer’s sound, stating that he’s “on top of what house music is today”.
Folamour was featured on the MusicTech cover in March for an interview that covered his new album, Manifesto, regrets behind his famous Boiler Room moment and why he escapes to nature to fuel creativity.
Read the full interview via musictech.com.
