DJ MANI: When I first started producing, it was ironic. It was at Gramophone Records, and Andy Moy had a friend of his that was selling an MPC2000, not even with the effects inside. So I essentially learned how to produce where me and DJ Sativa learned how to use the MPC, and like I think actually the first track we made was related to Chronic at that time, and even my first mix CD was called “Crazed on Chronic”, so I think the vocal on the first track was smoked up Chronic.

But anyway, you know, my ex-wife at that time had bought me the effect board, the internal effects board for the MPC, so essentially my first production came from that. And then I stepped it up to Cubase for the PC at the time and, you know, had a couple of sound cards, a couple of external pieces. We were also using the Korg MS2000 at that time which you know you can use as Neutron, and it was more like the experimental phase, and then there was a couple of instances -- There was the touring with [PH] Cisco where I decided to switch to the Macintosh computer. But the person that probably taught me about production was a guy named [PH] Mirad, who was from [PH] Method 1111, which was a label that him and Mario J ran together. And made the decision in 2003, and actually I know the date to the T.

It was like January 3rd 2003 that I ordered my first Macintosh computer. It arrived on February 15, 2003, and that year for Default which was on 05/03/2003 I had to do my first live show. And ironically the Advent and Steve Rachmad couldn’t be there because of visa issues, so I actually had to do my first live show then and there, and the bulk of it was done the night before with Reno Cerrone was in my house at the time, and he was giving me lessons on like master compression and making sure that the show went off without a hitch, and I do have a recording of that and that was the first ime I had ever played live.

And ironically like, you know, a lot of the buzz where a lot of the people really didn’t care that Steve Rachmad and The Advent weren’t able to come because Reno did a three-hour set that was off the hook and a lot of people liked my live PA, but it kind of put a rift between me and my mentor because, you know, it was Magni standing on my own, and in his mind he kind of wanted it to be like, “I’m the performer, he’s my agent,” whereas like the Macintosh platform empowers you so much that anyone can just take it and like I’m a testament to that because I literally have never used a Mac before and in February I got my Mac and by May it was already playing live on the metro main stage.

But from there involved like the production of all to Reaktor, even though we were using it when it was called Generator and stuff, but Reaktor was key to the studio. We were using MIDI controllers like the Oxygen 8, but the Korg MS2000 a buddy of mine had left over at the house we were still using that. And essentially like, you know, there were phases where we used Fruity Loops. There were phases that we used Acid. There were phases that we used Reason, and we’re capable at all the platforms, but for me it was the ability to design an instrument in Reaktor, output it as a VSTi and use it in Ableton Live, render the whole thing, and then like master it in Nuendo with Waves plugins is essentially the only rig that I need that’s completely digital.