Mexican electronic music producer and sound engineer, Pablo Piña Hernandez, known as Sainte Vie, has gained recognition for his unique melodic techno sound.
Photo credit: Sainte Vie – Official
With his roots in Mexico City, France, and New York City, Sainte Vie has captivated audiences with his live sets at festivals like Burning Man and Coachella, as well as renowned venues such as London’s Fabric, New York’s Brooklyn Mirage, and Ibiza’s Ushuaïa. He has caught the attention of labels like Kompakt, Cercle, and All Points.
Today, Sainte Vie releases his new EP titled ‘Labyrinth’ via RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Rose Avenue Records. This masterful two-track offering showcases Sainte Vie’s captivating sound design, taking listeners on an imaginative journey into a dreamworld of his creation.
To celebrate the release, Sainte Vie invites EG to his studio to share five valuable studio tips for maximizing the potential of your gear.
1. Always check your sounds on multiple speakers/headphones before finalizing
When designing, choosing, or tweaking your sounds (also when adding extra effects), I find it important to listen to the sounds in different speakers/headphones as there might be stuff in there you don’t want, and depending on your speakers set up or headphones you might not be able to spot those unwanted sonic details so I always triple check my sounds on multiple speakers/headphones before finalizing them.
2. Tuning your kick
It can be hard to find the key of your kick in order to tune it, especially when using kick samples/recordings, at least in my experience they almost never put the key in the title. I recommend transposing the kick one or two octaves up just so that the pitch of the kick is higher and for instance much easier to recognize its key. Once you have found the key, you can transpose it to your desired key and then transpose one or two octaves down back to its original range depending on how many octaves you went up.
3. Take short breaks during long studio sessions
This one helps me so much! Especially when I get stuck in the writing process after working on a track for several hours, I take a short break and let my mind process the knot. Usually, within a short amount of time, fresh ideas/solutions start popping in my head so I head back to the studio and apply them to the track. It never fails! be patient, sometimes it takes several studio sessions to finish a track and in my opinion, that’s totally fine.
4. Always make time to learn more, and read the manuals
Whether is watching a masterclass, or an interview from an artist you like, or reading about something that interests you, always make an effort to expand your knowledge. Read the manuals of your gear, most answers are in there, this will allow you to get the most out of your gear and understand exactly what you’re doing with it. I find manuals to be the best way to learn about my gear.
5. Always carry a recording device with you when you’re not in the studio (you can use your phone)
In my experience, ideas don’t always come exactly when I’m in the studio. Ideas can come literally anytime, right before going to sleep, while traveling, while taking a shower, etc… always be prepared to capture ideas when they come. Don’t say “I’ll remember it and record it later when I’m back in the studio”. You will most likely forget the idea before you’re back in the studio. I use my phone to record ideas, I sing them as accurately as possible and explain them in the phone recording so they’re easy to understand when I’m back in the studio. This is probably my favorite tip of all!
Sainte Vie’s ‘Labyrinth’ is out now via Rose Avenue Records. Stream and download here.
Follow Sainte Vie: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook
