Thomas Blondet releases SONAR-produced
Echo Chamber EP

Thomas Blondet, aka DJ Tom B. of Washington DC’s Rhythm and Culture Recordings, produces music that straddles the line between classic house vibes and chill-out lounge sophistication. His forthcoming Echo Chamber EP showcases his impeccable ear, wide range of stylistic influences and always present dance floor sensibility. Tom B. relies on SONAR 5 for sequencing, arranging and recording.

Cakewalk: Thanks for sitting down with us to talk about the Echo Chamber EP. Could you tell us a little bit about your background and your label, Rhythm and Culture?

Thomas Blondet: Thanks for having me. My interest in music has been there all my life. I first started DJing at the age of 14 playing everything from house, freestyle, Miami bass, and hip hop. As my ears matured I got heavily into house, downtempo and the more eclectic sounds coming out of Europe.

From there I took the next natural step and got into production. Rhythm and Culture was started by Farid Ali from Eighteenth Street Lounge. He liked my sound, production style, and the overall feel of the music. He took me on board. The label has releases from Kid Gusto, Farid, Browntempo, Desmond Williams and myself. Echo Chamber is the next release, followed by Farid's Freedom EP which will also include a Thievery Corporation remix.

Cakewalk: The Echo Chamber EP sounds awesome. The first thing that struck us about it is that the production is extremely clean and tight but it never sounds too “digital” or sterile. Can you give other producers any tips for how to get that kind of organic feel in electronic music?

TB: Well if you’re into that particular feel, you will definitely want look for various sound banks and synths that fit your needs. Live instruments are always a good way to bring in organic elements. By mixing organic and electronic elements together in an efficient way, the result can sound like a full band.

Cakewalk: The songs on Echo Chamber feature some great live percussion, keys, bass and other live instruments. How do you develop your tracks and realize them with other musicians? Does it start with a beat, a sample or with the musicians themselves, or does it vary depending on the song?

TB: Every song starts in a different way. There is no right or wrong way. But a majority of the time for me, I will start off with a groove and then stretch it out into song form by adding effects and what not. Then if I feel funny about any of the elements in the track I will bring in a musician who can add a human element to it.

Cakewalk: “Echo Chamber” is obviously one of the stand out tracks on the EP, and features spot-on vocals by Zeebo. When you approach a track that you know is going to have vocals, how do you approach it differently from an instrumental track like “Walney Road?” For example, do you EQ or mix things differently, make the arrangement more sparse, etc?

TB: Well with “Echo Chamber” I didn’t know it was going to have vocals on it. I played it for Zeebo and he really liked the track and wanted to come up with some lyrics for it. Then we went into the studio and had him freestyle. I took what I wanted from the recording then effected and arranged it. Once this was done, I EQ’d everything accordingly to make sure no frequencies were clashing or washing out each other.

Cakewalk: What kind of production setup do you use and how does SONAR fit into your daily workflow?

TB: Right now I am using an Intel Pentium 4 3.20 GHz CPU with 2 GB of RAM, two hard drives with 120 GB, two 19 inch flat screen monitors, an M-Audio Delta 44 audio interface, Mackie 1402 Mixer, Yamaha Motif Rack ES, Roland Juno 106, Korg MS 2000, and Alesis M1 active studio monitors.

SONAR 5 is my main sequencer and it is the main hub in my daily workflow. I can control everything within SONAR and never have to touch any of my outboard equipment. I record everything directly into SONAR, add effects, do arrangement and anything you can possibly think of.

Cakewalk: Are there any things about SONAR that you find particularly important to your way of working?

TB: One of the things I find most important in SONAR is how easy it makes it for me to make music. The Loop Explorer is a great way to get loops and different sound banks into projects very quickly. The effects that come with SONAR, like the Sonitus:fx suite which has so many pro effects, are frequently used in all my productions. The easy access to soft synths in the Synth Rack, and the drag and drop capability for MIDI and wav files are great attributes. Whereas in some other programs you would have to import and do other tasks which just take up time in the studio.

Cakewalk: You guys have some of the best looking record sleeves I’ve ever seen! As a DJ and producer, how do you feel about the vinyl versus CD versus MP3 debate? How do you work now and how do you see yourself working five years from now?

TB: Thanks, glad you like our sleeves. Paul Miller is the graphic designer who comes up with the artwork for Rhythm and Culture.

As a DJ and producer, the debate will never end on vinyl, CD, or mp3 depending on what your individual preference is. You want to play vinyl but with some labels today it’s just not cost effective or profitable to press vinyl. This has caused some labels to go completely digital. In order to keep up with new releases, DJs have no choice but to go digital. But the debate on vinyl, CD, and MP3 could go on for along time. As a DJ I am half vinyl and half digital. Production-wise I work in a 75% digital and 25% hardware environment. Come five years from now I would like to replace all my hardware digitally.

To hear more visit Thomas at www.rhythmandculture.com or www.myspace.com/djtomb.

The Echo Chamber EP is available now at the following locations digitally:

iTunes Music Store
www.traxsource.com
www.dancetracks.com
www.clickgroove.com

On vinyl, it will soon be available at:
www.turntablelab.com
www.groovedis.com