The sp404…where do I begin with this beautiful machine, I first encountered this machine as a betaking,sampling obsessed young teen after watching artists like Madlib & Flying Lotus reap absolute havoc on this machine on youtube videos. It wasn’t until I saw it live in action when some of my older peers in the London beatmaking scene use it in live sets & the studio. Today, it is a centrepiece of my creative process, I use it to sample audio from all kinds of sources be it, vinyl, my phone, directly onto the SD card, TV shows, whatever…you name it, I’ve probably flipped it. In my studio I also use it as an always-on efx processor which I run sounds and instruments through, in live settings I use it to trigger samples on the fly and manipulate audio coming in through a mixer. In my second creative project the SP will be the centrepiece, triggering samples live on the fly and manipulating sound live through it’s Mfx. I love this machine as it’s tactile no-screen interface makes it incredibly easy to use but due to its proficiency and complexity it allows you to make it yours and find the workflow that works best for you.
