At Home (& Studio) With… Richard Devine

Art & Culture

There are those who claim to "know" hardware, modular systems and electronics… Then there are those who really "know" hardware, modular systems and electronics. Richard Devine is a musician, producer and audio expert based in Atlanta who has released music on the likes of Schematic, Warp Records and Detroit Underground. He has also worked in a professional capacity in sound design for the likes of Google and Nike. This year marks the release of his first new music in six years which will be released on Venetian Snares‘ Timesig imprint. Richard describes the LP as follows…

“I’ve been using modular synthesizers since I was 17, but have never written complete tracks using these newer systems. This was my first experiment to see if it would be possible and I probably spent about 5 years building up the systems that I used on this album. I wanted the record to sound very different to my previous works which had been more cold, digital, clinical even, and had all been made using computers. The aim here was the complete opposite, to create something that felt very organic, detailed, spacious, big and warm and just as importantly, a record that you could put on and play all the way through that flowed in a seamless way.”

We invited Richard to give us a whirlwind tour of where he calls home…

Share with us your favourite recipe. What is the go to meal/ or perfect romantic fine-dining experience for yourselves? How did this recipe come about and any tips for our readers?

I am honestly not much of a cook at my house. My wife is the expert in this area. She makes pretty much anything, and everything.

What’s your favourite room in your home and why?

I would say it’s our music room. We have two sets of turntables and our entire music library in this room. We have a large PA system and the Sonos speaker system throughout our house so we can play vinyl records wirelessly over our Wi-Fi network.

What’s in your fridge right now? How often do you clean it?

Right now, we have a container tom ka kai soup, a wide assortment of organic strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. There is also a bottle of organic Silk almond milk creamer. Fun snacks for the kids, our fridge is usually pretty clean most of the time. Unless my 16-month son get’s in there and pulls everything out on to the floor.

How would you describe the decor in your home?

Its pretty plain, a few pieces of art on the wall, mostly vinyl records and CD’s we have framed around the house. We have two book cases filled with exotic instruments, books and oddity knick-knacks about.

Are you handy at DIY or do you get someone in?

I am mostly a DIY kind of guy. I like to fix things here if I have the time as I get a kick out taking things apart and seeing how they work etc.

What do you eat for breakfast?

I always have one organic banana and organic oatmeal. My favorite morning beverage is a hot organic blend Coffee or tea.

Do you have a nutri-bullet? Have you ever used it? If so, any health boosting juices you would recommend?

No I wish I had a Nutri-Bullet. I would go for a bananas strawberry Kiwi blend if I did.

Who is your neighbour? What do they do?

If you’ve not talked to them… maybe now would be a good opportunity to.

Our neighbor is name Ginger she works in real estate properties and she has a pet Parrot, which will talk and sing songs to you.

Have you ever locked yourself out? What did you do?

I have done this a few times, usually I will have either my wife or my mother in law come rescue me with spare keys, hehe.

Bath or shower?

Showers always, never have time for baths anymore.

Has your neighbor ever seen you naked, accidentally or on purpose?

No, but they have caught me recording all sorts of strange things in my yard. One time I remember terrifying my neighbor as I was recording these “Bullroarer’s” I bought in Australia at 3:00AM, she came out saying my god what is going on over there. Haha.

It’s a lazy evening, no time for cooking. What’s your takeaway option? Who do you use? Do they know you and expect the usual order from you?

We always order Thai or Indian, sometimes pizza if we are extra lazy. Our usual orders are yellow or Massaman Curry dishes.

Do you eat your dinner at the table or on your lap?

We always eat dinner at our kitchen table, if the weather is really nice we will eat outside on our back porch.

Do you have a local shop or are you a supermarket whore like the rest of us?

We get a lot of our vegetables from a friend of ours who has a farm close by. We also get our eggs and honey from them. The rest we buy at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or Trader Joe’s.

Is there a piece of art or ornament that holds particularly fond memories for you, from childhood or travels perhaps?

I have this bull made of black and white beads I got as a gift from my friend Warren when I visited South Africa. It’s good luck to have one in your house. Which brings, good health, and prosperity.

Animals. We love cats here at R$N, but just love people with pets. Is there a special furry/ feathered/ scaly creature in your life, tell us a little about them?

We had a cat named Chloe who lived to 17 years of age. She was a orange and white spotted Maine Coon. Unfortunately she passed away before our first child was born. We will probably get another pet as the kids get older.

Are you a messy person? What’s the worst state your home has been left in after a party?

I would gather to say it was probably after my 30th birthday party. Our house was a complete mess. Looked like something from the movie trains spotting, hehe. Now days our house stays pretty neat. Now that we have two kids, the house has transformed into a playground so there aren’t many crazy parties here anymore.

What’s your most annoying habit as a room mate if indeed you do have a room mate?

Never had a roommate, just my wife, but I would probably be the one with the most annoying habits. Mainly playing music too loud. I remember testing out this giant twin 18-inch Genelec subwoofer in my old studio on the third floor of my house. The subwoofer was flexing the windows, and actually vibrated off the stucco off the side of my house. My wife comes home to see that a corner of our house was gone and the stucco had fallen and shattered into small pieces into her garden. I remember her wanting to kill me that day, haha, I guess I learned to respect the sub or it will literary tear your house down.

Is there a view from your window, balcony, front door, terrace? Can you share that with us? Who do you look for coming along the street?

Our house is tucked back far away into the woods so we mostly just see a small stream and many tall trees that surround our property. We are lucky in that our property backs up to a flood plain so there isn’t any houses near us. We pretty much live in the woods.

Pick 6 dinner party guests from history, real or fictional to invite to your home?

My dream dinner party would include John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhasuen, Iannis Xenakis, Bernard Parmegiani, Pierre Schaeffer, and Tod Dockstader.

Do you know the name of your postman?

I think her name is Alison very nice, lady.

Where do you listen to music in the home and what’s the set up?

We listen to music in living/dinning room area that has been converted into a music listening room. We have two sets of turntables, and about four thousand records. There are several keyboards, including a Rhodes 88 keyboard from 1972, and some moog analogue synths. We have a large PA rig in the corner with two subs surround by a wide assortment of strange ethnic instruments I have collected from around the world.