Novation Masterclass came on the back of the success of Swee Lee Academy’s electronic music education initiative. The second in the series, this time held at LivingwithArt Singapore against a backdrop of a vintage art exhibition, saw electronic music maestros Josh Bess and Zie take the stage.
Josh Bess, an Ableton Certified Trainer and a Novation product specialist, and Singapore’s own, Zie of Disco Hue, a DJ/Songwriter/Producer, demonstrated Novation’s stylish new instalments to an eager crowd of over 70 aspiring musicians.
The Novation Peak
The Peak is an is an eight-voice hybrid polysynth developed in part by Chris Huggett, the man responsible for classics like the OSCar and SuperNova. It also came tagged with “Analogue where it matters—digital where it counts” in an aim to shoot for a hybrid solution that provided the best of both worlds.
On the digital side, there are three full-range oscillators per voice, each capable of generating standard, numerically controlled waveforms, or 17 wavetables containing five waveforms each. These digital oscillators will never go out of tune, unlike analogue synths that will falter with age. Novation has introduced a couple of algorithms that add “Drift” and “Divergence” to the oscillators, reproducing the slight imperfections found in analogue voices. These are set at zero by default but can be dialled in to taste through the menu – giving you plenty of options and variations to suit your creations.
Josh Bess guided the audience through each of the Peak’s spectacular new features.
The Novation Circuit Mono Station
Loaded with 32 multifunction, velocity-sensitive pads, the Circuit Mono Station outshines the functionality of many other pad controllers. The flexibility of these controls extends perfectly into any DAW control, but that’s nothing compared to what they do for the Circuit Mono Station’s onboard functions. There are 16 scale types which let you explore melodic structures and progression you might not otherwise come up with. Three sequencers further expand your sound-shaping possibilities, and with changeable sync rates, you can get a lot more out of every step.
It was Zie of Disco Hue who demonstrated the powers of the Circuit Mono Station with a blistering demo set.
With the new Novation products, came new and seamless updates that continue to make the production of electronic music all the more fun and intuitive. The drinks, finger food, and smiles all round at LivingwithArt were all healthy bonuses.
Order your units here, and stay tuned for details to Swee Lee Academy’s next Masterclass event. See all of you there!
