Converge: When Zero Rehearsal Becomes Pure Magic
Hey friends,
When Fabian Laute and I planned to record an ambient session together at his studio on February 12th, I had this whole idea in my head. We'd set up, run through a few ideas, find our groove, and then hit record once everything clicked. That's not what happened at all.
The Setup That Ate Our Time
The reality was that connecting two completely different hardware setups takes way longer than you think. My rig - Ableton Push 3, Moog Mother-32, Hologram Microcosm - needed to talk to Fabian's modular system, his Oxi One sequencer, and his vocal chain. By the time everything was set up, leveled, and audio and midi routed accordingly, we looked at each other and realized: there's no time left to rehearse. Not even once.
So We Just Hit Record
And honestly? I think that's what made this session what it is. We agreed on a key, turned on three cameras, and played. For 33 minutes straight. No arrangement, no signals, no idea what the other person was about to do next. Just two musicians sitting across from each other, listening and reacting in real time.
There's something that happens when you remove all safety nets. You stop thinking about what you should play and start responding to what you hear. Fabian would introduce these haunting vocal textures, and I'd find myself pulling back on the Mother-32. Then his modular would shift to arps, and suddenly I'm chasing a new direction on the Mother-32, playing very long, pad like notes to fill the space around Fabian’s arps.
Trust Over Technique
I've been making music for over 20 years now, and I keep coming back to this truth: the best moments happen when you trust the process more than your plan. That's not easy. Every part of you wants to control the outcome, especially when cameras are rolling. But "Converge" reminded me that the magic lives in the space between two people who are willing to not know what comes next.
Why This Matters
If you've ever felt stuck in your productions - looping the same 8 bars, second-guessing every sound choice - I'd encourage you to try something like this. Find someone whose setup is completely different from yours. Don't plan anything. Just agree on a key and see what happens. You might surprise yourself.
Fabian and I are already talking about doing more of these sessions, and I genuinely cannot wait. This one felt like the beginning of something.
The full session is up on YouTube, and if you want the audio version for your headphones, it's available on my Patreon.
Stay creative,
Milan (KVNDRA)
