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LAVACHILD is a NYC based synth pop project fronted by (very fashionable) singer songwriter/keyboardist Chantel De Lava, whose hypnotic presence charmed us at our 2015 B.E.A.F. fest. Older single “Want U To” went viral on the internet, and since then Chantel has been releasing promising new material on her Soundcloud profile, which should be soon gathered in a proper release. We asked her a few questions about her gear and the way she uses it.

Korg Volca Beats

Korg Volca Beats

What synths and drum machines did you use in ‘Kandy’ and what sequencer to program them?
I used a Korg Volca Beats a (Dave Smith Instruments) Mopho x4 and a Prophet 12. I love these DSI keyboards and also using a Korg R3, I like that is simple and works well and is light to carry around.

The vocals sound quite effected in particular in the verses, is there a touch of Vocoder in there? If not, what is it?
It’s a harmonizer!  I have a TC Helicon vocal effect – I use it mostly live but it’s great also in the studio.

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Chantel with her DSI Prophet 12 and Mopho X4 synths, and what looks like a Neumann TLM 103 microphone.

Your synth sounds are very particular, not a lot of automation or arpeggiators – how do you use use them?
Like how i used to play video games, I just press all the buttons until something happens and I win and i’m happy with the outcome. I don’t use midi so it’s mostly audio editing and imperfect/not all locked to the grid all the time, but the process is fun, although it forces me have to take my time when I record…