Atari Teenage Riot is the progenitors of digital hardcore, which explains why the band’s label is, Digital Hardcore. If you haven’t heard the band, think of the angst of punk and a fired up anti-fascist message. The band uses some vintage (also known as old) gear. But they are not luddites. They will use the old or new, whatever works. Alec Empire chatted about one of the newer pieces of gear the band use, the Metasonix Wretch Machine.

If you look for information on the Wretch Machine you will see a lot of reviews, a lot of chatter about how the tube synthesizer is supposed to sound “bad.” Empire is having none of that.

“That is total bullshit and a rumor that is spread by amateurs who understand nothing about this synth. The truth is that this synth is more about taking steps back because its starting point is this pretty vicious and brutal sound. It has an amazing sound because of the tube technology used,” he says. “That makes a lot of sense when you have a lot of sound going on. The Wretch Machine always stands out in the mix. We have a track on the album called Codebreaker. All noise is basically done with this synth. It’s that old question;: Do you want a husky or a poodle as a pet? Well, I would always go for the husky.”

A tube synth is, apparently, an oft-argued about beast. Some like the tubes. Some do not. Empire is in the former camp.

“Oh this is quite complex and people keep arguing about the pros and cons when it comes to tube technology. I would sum it up like this: Tubes make the sound come alive. A Neuman U47 tube microphone makes you think the singer is standing in your room when you listen to the record. Amazing. Does all this mp3 crap technology which was invented by German programmers kill what’s most amazing about music? YES,” he says. “Why? Because when it compresses the sound, it takes out those frequencies that matter, that make you REALLY feel the music. Is that why people go more to shows and don’t ‚buy’ music? Yes. To me tubes stand for being anti mass culture. I see mass culture as something boring, something that leads to conformity, something that kills true creativity sooner or later. The ironic thing is that mp3s help killing that market. So I am all cool with it.”

But tell us what you really think!

For people making electronic music, and presumably sold on tube gear, what recommends the Wretch Machine?

“It really depends on what kind of music you want to make. The Wretch Machine was almost built for Atari Teenage Riot, it is that perfect. It’s not something for musicians starting out maybe,” says Empire. “You need to know about synths. It’s like playing chess. You have to make the machines work for you, too many electronic musicians work for the machines...and that’s bad.”

The Wretch Machine may be a synth for the more adventurous musician. But it also can be used by anyone who is interested in exploring sound.

“ Yes, anyone can use it of course. It is great for people who like to explore sound. You might find yourself playing with it for hours, because you get from one sound to the next. It’s half modular, so it is way more varied than people think, but you have to spend time working with it, so you know your way around,” he says. “But isn’t that the case with every instrument? I always loved the journey, that process of discovering new sounds. If you need a synth to play cover versions in some bar, this is NOT the right instrument for you.”

The Wretch Machine has some downsides but they are not insurmountable.

“I find that the tuning is hard to control, so often I put an autotune after it. Which is this little inside joke we have in the studio...we have this thing but never really use it. Can’t tell you enough how much I hate autotune. If the music industry really wanted to get out of the crisis, they’d spend the money they spend on lawyers suing kids in their bedrooms on erasing autotune from this planet,” he says. “But the tuning issue is also its strength. We live in an age where we should disconnect ourselves from the tuning grid that has mostly come from old western European music from centuries ago. On other continents musicians have used more than 12 tones per scale. Let’s free ourselves from that mind grid once and for all. We can still appreciate Beethoven and Wagner later.”

And while there is some obvious maintenance done on the synth it doesn’t need babied any more than any other, similar, instrument.

“You will need to replace the tubes at some point. But that’s the same scenario with a guitar amp. The sound makes up for that. Any analogue synth needs to be maintained at the end of the day.” says Empire.

If you pull the trigger and buy one of these do not get frustrated if it doesn’t click right away.

“The Wretch Machine is a beast...So keep going back to it, it will pay off. If you want to make music which is intense and takes the listener far away and deep into it, that’s the machine to do it with,” says Empire. “You might want to ask yourself if you are ready to go to these places before you send others out there. This machine rewires your brain.”