When my synthesizer recordings started becoming good enough to share without apologising for their amateurishness - a result of my increasing competence & confidence - I decided that rather than continue to release them under my own name I could create a 'band' to do so. One of the attractions was in breaking the direct link between myself and the resulting works, I have a fair idea of what I like but who knows what this new entity would pursue & produce? It's a common failing (or fear) of mine to be too close to my creations to objectively assess them so crediting them to a third party, even a fairly abstract one, will (hopefully) give me a bit more critical distance.

Renmei is a transliteration of the Japanese word 連盟 which translates as Federation, alliance or union. I first came across it in the anime Haibane Renmei ('Confederation of the charcoal feathers') where it refers to a strict, formalised & paternalistic organisation who turn out to be highly caring & supportive towards their charges and dedicated to seeing them fulfil their potential. As my own creative process often feels like a turbulent interaction between different aspects of my personality this felt like a nice simile - multiple 'players' with the invocation of a higher (but not controlling) overview. And it's a great sounding word.

At some point I'd like to use a more literal interpretation and collaborate with other musicians - I've always enjoyed providing accompaniment or backing - but that remains a future plan for now.

The Renmei project is an article I wrote in 2023 looking back at the process & results of this project.

Recordings

Over the long term I've produced a fairly regular stream of albums although these have tended to come in clumps with (sometimes long) fallow periods separating them. Early on I somehow decided that 30 minutes was an album's worth of material and I've stuck to this measure fairly consistently since then.

2017-2018: The Blofeld years

In 2017 I bought a Waldorf Blofeld synthesizer which kicked off the Renmei project. Stavro was produced with it as the sole instrument while the following albums also incorporated my Korg Volca synths, although these were used less & less over time.

2019-2020: Trying new things

After one more album with the Blofeld I bought a Modal Argon 8, to see where a new machine might lead me and to further develop my sound design skills. Later I acquired an Arturia Microfreak for similar reasons. From Witness onwards every album was created with just one synthesizer, with a very few exceptions.

2022-2023: Rise of the machines

More new instruments followed, a Waldorf Iridium for Play, an ASM Hydrasynth for Eden, and an Ayodo Anyma Phi for Corpus. Each of these pushed me in new, interesting directions but only the first remained in my setup for more than one album. In 2023 I returned to the Argon 8.

2024: Returning to the Iridium

I'd barely scratched the surface of the Iridium's capabilities before I'd gone on my buying spree of new machines. In 2024 I gave it the time it deserved with a trio of albums.

2025: Enter the Opsix

2025 brought another new synthesizer, a Korg Opsix. This very different machine opened up new possibilities for me while showing that my personal style could transcend the tools I used.

2026: The current year

Curly Flat Studios, April 2026

Equipment

My current setup consists of:

Waldorf Iridium synthesizer
Korg Opsix synthesizer
Modal Argon 8 synthesizer
Roland TR-6S drum machine
Arturia KeyStep Pro sequencer

In the past I've also used:
Aodyo Anyma Phi synthesizer
ASM Hydrasynth synthesizer
Arturia Microfreak synthesizer
Waldorf Blofeld synthesizer
Korg Volca synthesizers (Keys, Bass, Sample, & FM)
Arturia BeatStep Pro sequencer

I use a Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 to provide an audio interface into a MacBook Pro, where I use GarageBand for recording & mixing.