Artist Profile: Desmond Williams

SONAR user Desmond Williams has tantalized both club-goers and record buyers with his highly intricate style. He has received critical acclaim for his work on Thievery Corporation's The Mirror Conspiracy and his own Delights of the Garden. Inspired by the lush landscapes of Akira Kurosawa films, the rhythmic poetry of Langston Hughes, and The Clash's forays into reggae, Williams seamlessly flows through the lands of dub, bossa, afro-beat, and trip-hop.

Cakewalk: Desmond, can you tell us a little about your background?

Desmond Williams: Sure. I started engineering in the mid-eighties when I had a band and no one else wanted to set up the PA for practice. After a while I was setting up the system for our shows and then I got a 4-track. My first professional experience was at Ready or Not Studios in Harlem, NY around 1988. The owner of the studio was way ahead of his time as the whole studio was controlled from a PC – all MIDI of course. I got a huge head start on computer sequencing and digital audio there. A few years later I moved to DC where I met the legendary dub engineer Scientist. We started working together and he taught me some seriously arcane stuff about engineering. At this point I had been using Cakewalk for a few years, but Cakewalk Pro Audio was not happening yet.

CW: I hear a lot of Bossa Nova & Latin influences in your music, was this music you were exposed to at an early age, or did that come later?

DW: I think that I heard just about every kind of music growing up. My house was full of Reggae, Jazz, Latin, African, Indian, 70’s Funk, etc. I got more exposure to latin music when I lived in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in Harlem, and then even more when I lived for 2 years in St. Croix, Virgin Islands which is about 50 miles from Puerto Rico.

CW: How did you come to work with Thievery Corp. & 18th Street Music?

DW: Towards the end of my days with Scientist, I met Eric and Rob from Thievery. They asked me to come check them out sometime, but that was at a point where I took a long hiatus. Our paths crossed again three years later and here I am. Cakewalk actually played a big part in our getting together. I was originally supposed to be teaching those guys how to use it, but they decided to just bring me on as the studio engineer instead.

CW: There's really a great vibe to Delights of the Garden, would you mind telling us a little bit about what went into making this record?

DW: Thank you. These are the types of tracks that I’ve always made in my spare time. I didn’t even really know about this whole “Electro-Lounge” genre until I started working with Thievery. It was great to know that there was actually a market for this stuff. When I started working for the label it was understood that I would be an artist as well, so I just started making tracks. After a few 12 inches I started to consider what kind of flow I wanted the album to have. I ended up taking half of the album from previously released tracks and then writing another 7 tracks to level out the vibe. Making the final cut was a bit like Sophie’s Choice since I had to cut it down from about 25 to 14 tracks, but I am really happy with the selection.

CW: How does Cakewalk software factor into your workflow and in particular how did it help you with Delights?

DW: Cakewalk has been my main tool in the studio for about the past 6 years. I’ve never been a Mac guy since I need my computer for more than just music or graphics. At this point it’s become a sort of extension of my hands, especially with the advent of SONAR. It’s just so intuitive and everything that you need is right at your fingertips. I love the new Track view. I hardly ever even use the Console view anymore. Everything is right there at your fingertips. I also love the envelopes for the aux sends and particularly the panning envelopes for the auxes. The beatmapping for loops is not bad either. The soft synths are great. I can honestly say that everything that I ever want to do from an engineering standpoint is doable.

CW: What made you decide to start using SONAR?

DW: I’ve been a Cakewalk man for years so I’ve always kept up on the new versions. It was a little daunting at first because it was so different than the previous versions, but I now love it. I can hardly use Cakewalk 9 anymore. It seems really archaic now.

CW: I see from in your bio that your music is "Inspired by the lush landscapes of Akira Kurosawa films," would you mind elaborating on that?

DW: Kurosawa is just about my favorite director but I am largely influenced by film in general. The thing about Kurosawa is his genius for composition. His use of negative space reminds me of something that I once heard some musician say “It’s not what you play as much as what you don’t play.” I think that was attributed to Miles Davis. You have to leave room in a work of art for the person’s mind to contribute something to the work. That’s also why I love old time radio – theater of the mind. In those days you were given a story and characters, but your mind had to fill in so much about the scenery and how the characters looked. I try to do that with my music – to leave some room for the listener’s imagination. Another thing that I love about Kurosawa is the originality of his stories and his approach to telling them. In 7 Samurai it’s about 30 to 45 minutes before what I consider to be the main character is even seen. Very inspiring.

CW: Which projects that you've worked on would you say you are most proud of?

DW: That would be Delights of the Garden, Mirror Conspiracy, and the new Thievery album The Richest Man in Babylon. However, I think that the best thing that I’ve done is an unreleased Terence Trent D’Arby remix that I did when I first wanted to test Cakewalk’s audio capabilities a few years ago.

CW: Do you have any tips, techniques or advice you would like to share with musicians who want to make music on the PC?

DW: Get yourself a decent soundcard – believe it or not, even my Soundblaster works pretty well for me – and of course SONAR from Cakewalk. Just start working. Mess around with the menus, use your right mouse to see what options you have on a given screen and let your imagination run free.

CW: And how about advice on getting and doing remix and engineering work?

DW: I don’t know if I really have any advice. I’ve just always done what I love and I been lucky enough to have some pretty cool people notice it. I’ve never really sought out the situations that I end up in. I’ve just kept myself busy and that has put me in the right place at the right time. Just keep working as much as you can. A painter paints, a writer writes, a composer composes.

CW: What are some of your creative influences and what are you listening to for music lately?

DW: My main influences these days come from books and movies. I don’t really listen to much music these days. I hear so much throughout the day that I really relish the silence when I get home. I did just get a CD player in my car for the first time. So I’ve really been heavy into A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Black Sheep. It's a great hip hop album that was released a number of years ago. You might remember “You can get with this…” The production is really excellent and the beats are fantastic. I love Dres’ flow. If you take away the hip hop vocals you have a pretty great downtempo album on your hands.

CW: Do you have a personal philosophy about music?

DW: Yes. People should only be allowed to listen to 4 hours of recorded music per week. I think that music is so precious and special that it should not be used as wallpaper for your daily life. Think back to the days before recorded music when the only time that you could hear music was when you were right in front of the musicians. Imagine what an experience it was to hear a full orchestra in a theater when that was the only time that you heard orchestral music. Wow. I think that Musicians especially should try to keep their ears fresh for creating music.

CW: What are you working on now or next?

DW: I’ve been so busy finishing Thievery’s album, Farid’s 12 inch, touring on my own and with Thievery that I’ve barely been making music for the past few months. But I’ve recently got back on track and I should have another 12 inch out in a couple of months. I’m also doing some long range planning for the next album. I think that I also have some remixes coming up.

Buy Desmond Williams' Delights of the Garden or Thievery Corporation's The Mirror Conspiracy.

Visit Eighteenth Street Lounge Music for more information on Desmond, Thievery Corp. and other Electro Lounge artists.

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