The Supreme Beings of Leisure are an electronic/trip-hop band based out of LA, California. According to their entry on Wikipedia “The release of the first Supreme Beings of Leisure album sold over 250,000 units with very little promotional touring. Instead, SBL opted to use the internet to market and promote the album, being the first band to ever do a “Virtual Internet Tour”, and among the very first to use Flash animation for their videos. The “Supreme Beings of Leisure” peaked at 47 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart according to allmusic.com, and is in the top 100 of the Trip-Hop Dance & DJ music category according to Amazon.com sales ranking.”
The band is currently a DUO made up of original members Geri Soriano-Lightwood (Singer/Songwriter), Ramin Sakurai (Multi-Instrumentalist, Programmer). In addition to working with SBL, Ramin produces, remixes, and composes music for artists, television and movies. After a 5 year extended break SBL released its third major studio album, 11i, on February 12, 2008 with Rykodisc Records.
I recently had an opportunity to ask Ramin a series of questions about the making of 11i, and on the affect of technology on his process for making music.
Enjoy the interview and visit www.myspace.com/supremebeingsofleisure for more info on the band.
Mark Mosher
www.modulatethis.com
www.markmoshermusic.com
Mark Mosher: What was the primary music production software you used in the creation of 11i?
Ramin Sakurai: That would’ve been Protools versions 6-7. Some of the songs started off in other programs like Live or Reason but they always ends up in Protools.
Mark Mosher: Can you give us brief overview of your studio rig?
Ramin Sakurai: The main studio rig consists of a Protools HD3 with two 192 i/o’s and a G5 dual 2.5ghz. I run a 3.1ghz PC for GIgastudio. I use quite a bit of outboard gear as well. I believe a record can be recorded and mixed entirely in the box but you need a little help with some analog gear. I use Avalon, multiple API, NEVE-type preamps along with various compressors.
Mark Mosher: How has the advancement of music production software and ability to produce from a laptop changed your workflow for this album?
