Tactile analogue retrowave
Who He?
There’s no stopping Parisian composer Michel Dupay. ‘V’, his fifth release maintaining the Roman numeral naming convention, continues his streak of gorgeously atmospheric analogue synth goodness. This time round with the help of French vocalist Megané Hinault.
Why Maine?
Dupay is an analogue synthesiser purist, using only the most tangible of instruments in his music. Complementing his strict analogue criteria, ‘V’ will only be released on cassette and vinyl initially. “This is because things have to connect to create a sound or vibration,” he says. “That’s as important to me as having to touch each instrument to play it.” He likes the idea of people exploring music through these more traditional, physical means and isn’t keen on modern day digitisation of music. “I don’t really connect with iTunes, Spotify and the like.”
Tell Us More…
As with all his records, ‘V’ makes use of Maine’s extensive gear, coaxing out the smoothest retrowave vibes. All of his synthesisers are pre-1982 and, looking at the recording credits for ‘V’, the gear he uses is a synth head’s dream. EDP Wasp? EMS Synthi A? What about a Roland Juno-6, RS-09 and a SH-2000? Not only that, Maine also gets to record all his music through a recording console that once belonged to one Mr Gary Numan. He restored the console and built it into his studio, which currently resides in an old sail loft in Tiger Bay in Cardiff.
‘V’ is out on Burning Witches/Spun Out Of Control
