Justin Lassen has spent the last nine years working as a composer/producer in the music, film, and gaming industry. His brand of dark classical electronic creations are best represented in his critically acclaimed 2003 release 'And Now We See But Through A Glass Darkly' which was released on his Nihil Records label. Beside his original works Justin has produced remixes for acts including Madonna, Garbage, Blue Man Group, Robert Miles, and Nine Inch Nails to name a few.

Most recently Justin was commissioned by Cakewalk to produce the flagship demo for the much anticipated Project5 V2.5 softsynth workstation. In addition, he will be featured on the Project5 website upon the release of the update later this month.

Here is the first part of our interview with Justin Lassen.

Dan Agosto: How would you classify your work? Who/What are your main influences?

Justin Lassen: It’s hip hop, only not hip, and it can’t hop because it got carried away one day with a hacksaw. I honestly don’t know. One minute I’m working on a classical opus with opera singers, choirs and ensembles, the next minute, I’m knee deep in hardcore electronic editing and mixing. It really depends on the project. As for editing influences, my disease is that I always want to out-aphex the next out-aphexer. Aphex Twin, Robert Miles and Philip Glass are some of my main musical influences. Robert Miles actually gave me my first big break. As for inspiration, it’s usually gorgeous paintings and CG artwork from sites like 3D Creative, CGSociety or DeviantArt.

The roles of composer and producer were traditionally very separate. Now composers play both roles to a certain extent due to the fact that finished products often come straight off their hard drive. Do you keep these roles separate or do you always have both hats on?

I often wear both hats, but the guy cutting me the check can call himself Producer or Emperor of the Known Universe, and I’ll merrily vouch for it. A producer in the traditional sense is really a collaborator, and I love collaborating. I learned from the Dust Brothers that there is no right or wrong way to ‘produce’, ‘record’ or ‘compose’ something, and that even for veteran producers and composers, a lot of the time, it’s just experimentation. You don’t get instant hits. You build them up little at a time and iterate. Good producing is just the ability to sort the good from the bad and having the technical ability to steer that ship, and it can come from you or from others.

You produce music both commercially (videogames, remixes, etc) as well as for your personal projects. Do you have a different approach or set of tools that you use to accomplish these different tasks, or is it pretty much the same in both cases?

It is pretty much the same in both cases. The tools I use work in all scenarios. For orchestral projects I tend to stick with Sonar 6.2 for its notation. For remixes I might use FL Studio 7, Live, Acid Pro, Project5 or a mix of all of those. The creative process might be a bit different for each, but the tools and recording process are all about the same.

Do you work in a home space, commercial space, multiple spaces?

All of the above. I have a pretty sweet home setup thanks to my sponsors. I work in other studios when collaborating or needing something my home studio can’t do. I like to work on my laptop while visiting distant friends, too, because even though all your gear isn’t there, you’re in a different environment where different ideas can come to you, and you’re hanging with friends you haven’t seen in a while, so it’s both comforting and new.

What kind of setup do you have in your main space and what is your go to software/hardware?

I have a custom-built tower PC, large dual flat screens (mix window, track window), a delicious sounding Behringer 6.1 Surround system, routed through my Presonus FIREPOD, and my goto-software and the centerpiece software is Sonar 6.2 Producer Edition.

I’ve got all the gorgeous track lighting, pro sound proofing, candles, the workstation desk with all the trimmings… a huge rack with tons of synthesizers, compressors, effects units, patch bays, guitar and bass units, and all that nerdy stuff. A Korg Triton, Roland XP30, Yamaha MOTIF8 /expanded, Korg N5, several Behringer mixers, a plethora of stomp boxes, guitars, basses, amps, effects units, etc.

When I’m sketching ideas, I use my Roland XP30 religiously. It’s an older synth, but still has soooooo much potential. If they made a soft-synth version of the XP30 sound-set, I think I’d be in heaven. More then that though, I still haven’t found a keyboard today (not even the new Roland keyboards) that has the same smooth feel as the heavenly and worshipable XP30 keys.

If I’m remixing or working on my electronic work or need a quick sketch pad for beats or bass lines, I love working on the Triton or the MOTIF. I’m also a huge fan of EDIROL soft-synths, and Cakewalk soft-synth instruments. My absolute go-to soft-synth is Dimension Pro and Rapture. I’m also really enjoying FL Studio 7 XXL, which is packed with so much goodness, it should be illegal. For getting just about any idea down really quickly (otherwise they are lost and forgotten), I use Project5, which is a Synth Host Workstation. It has saved me more times then I can count. As for mixing, splicing and editing, I think ACID Pro 6.0 is the world’s best looping software. As for samplers and other effects, Native Instruments and Ableton are the kings of the sampler universe.

I have a ton of plugins and effects as well, though my go-to effects are definitely the Sonitus Suite that comes with Sonar 6.2 Producer Edition. Love them to death. I also have 2 other laptops with software, for when I’m living a more mobile production lifestyle. I’ve been able to do a lot of stuff on laptops that I never thought possible. I do miss my home studio when I’m on the road though. My laptops are decked out Hypersonic and Toshiba.

Part 2