Q: Where did the idea for this instrument come from?
A: Pad sounds have always intrigued me and been something I’ve reached for when writing or producing music. That’s why I figured it would be an interesting and challenging task to make my very own library from scratch using some of my favorite instruments and synths. Combining the unpredictable and limitless modular world with classic analogue synths is what got me started, and from there I just let my heart and ears guide me.

Q: How come you landed specifically on a piano, a bowed guitar and the synths you picked? Was there a selective process with lots of trial and error?
A: I was looking for a group of instruments that all had strong personalities but, most importantly, contrasted one another. I wanted the analogue and the digital world to clash and form some some of alternative universe where it was impossible to discern where a sound really originated from. Yes, there was some trial and error, but surprisingly little of it. The vision I had going in is very much intact in the final product.

Q: On a technical note, how exactly does this instrument “work” in EZkeys?
A: Under the hood, Cinematic Pads EKX has 17 different sampled instruments or original sources of sound. All of these I then combined in different ways. For example, I could have a traditional synth on the first channel, a sampled string instrument on the second one and then maybe fatten up the overall tone with the same string sound one octave lower and add in a second synth an octave up. This, in combination with my ability to add in white and pink noise as well as dive into an almost inexhaustible pool of effects, made it possible for me to create literally anything imaginable. As a user of the final product, you will be able to control the filters, ambiences and other parameters specific to each preset.

Q: Both personally and professionally, your projects often have somewhat of an experimental touch to them. Is that an important creative catalyst for you – to do something that hasn’t been done before?

A: I love to experiment. To me it’s just my natural state of being creative and really has nothing to do with trying to be innovative. I think that if you try to do something that hasn’t been done before as opposed to trying to do something that you truly love based on what you feel in your heart and hear with your ears, you’re doomed to fail.

Q: What do you hope users take away from using these sounds?
A: I hope they will get loads of inspiration. I feel that with these sounds, just using minuscule musical ideas, simple chord sequences or melodies you can create huge soundscapes and open doors to your creative self you didn’t know existed.