The amazing Sharon Van Etten and keyboardist Teeny Lieberson of Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory answer 3Qs. Their self-titled debut album was recorded at Eurythmics’ former studio, The Church, and is out now via Jagjaguwar.
Studio photos provided by Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory.
Without further ado…
Synth History: Do you prefer performing live or recording in the studio?
Sharon: They are two very different experiences. I love the studio because you have more time to have conversations, try things, trial and error, experiment with sounds, combinations.
Live is hit or miss for me. When you connect as a band and with the audience, there’s no better feeling. When you don’t, it takes a lot to get through a show and feels like an uphill battle.
Teeny: I think both have their benefits—a sort of macro vs. micro. With performance, you have to be present and in the moment because it’ll never happen again. Lately, I’ve been playing live with a Moog Matriarch, and since it has no presets, it means those patches will never sound the same way twice. I love leaving things to chance and the feeling that everything could fall off of a cliff.Â
In the studio, however, I turn on my micro brain, and I can dial in sounds to a tee - and really think about design, space and sonics and all their minutiae. It feels like two different ways to express emotion. Measured and crafted vs. spontaneous and free.Â
Synth History: What is one piece of advice you have when approaching a new instrument?
Sharon: Take time to explore the instrument on your own terms. Don’t be intimidated by something you don’t know. Â
Teeny: Experiment without judgement!
Synth History: Top five pieces of gear of all time?
Sharon:
Korg Delta
Korg Lambda
Sequential Circuits Drumtraks
MinimoogÂ
Jupiter 4
Bock Microphone
Teeny:
Korg MS20Â
Moog MatriarchÂ
SOMA Laboratory Lyra - 8 FX Delay + DistortionÂ
Aberrant DSP SketchCassetteÂ
Jomox Alpha Base
Synth History Exclusive.
Photos provided by Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory.
Conducted by Danz.