Julian started playing at the age of 13 in a local church and discovered how music leads people. From there he listened and analysed music and the playing of Yes' Rick Wakeman; Deep Purple's John Lord; Traffic's Steve Winwood; The Doors Ray Mazorek and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. This was the sound he loved, so got into understanding the modes and blues that made this style work. This then got him into the sound of soul and car chasing music of Lalo Schiffrin, Qunicy Jones, Herbie Hancock and James Brown of the 60s and 70s.
From the love of these musicians, Julian owns a 1975 Fender Rhodes mk1, Wurlitzer 200a, Jen SX1000 (1978), Nord Electro 4 and Prophet 6. When gigging, he often carries the Rhodes about, though in smaller venues uses the Nord Electro alongside a synth or 2. Here are some descriptions of them:
The beloved 1975 Fender Rhodes mk1, is a classic, and heard on greats albums: Stevie Wonder, Jamiroquai, Radiohead, Beck, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Stealey Dan, Bob James, Deodato, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, and Norah Jones, to name a few. This is a world-class, classic sound and extremely rare! There are digital copies, though the real thing is simply slick to play/soundwise, and inspiring. Everything seems to sound great on a Fender Rhodes Piano. I have recently made a sample album for Sample Magic called “Disco and Funk Keys“, released date:
Here is my newest instrument, the Moog Sub 37. This s the 1st actual Moog in 30 years which is 100% analogue and midi assignable throughout. It is a mono synth however with 2x assignable sounds at a time if needed. This brings a great number of possibilities to live sound-design. It has an audio input which means that anything can be tweaked, which is incredible.
This one is a true revelotionary in sound sculpture. I purchased this last year and it serves well in designing sounds for layers. It is very versatile and a joy to play with its true analogue flavour.
This Wurlitzer 200a rocks Julian’s world. It is heard regularly on tracks by: Ray Charles, Supertramp, Beatles, Small Faces, The Faces, Rod Stewart, Doobie Brothers, Led Zeppellin, Queen, Marvyn Gaye, Van Halen, Black Crowes, and Lenny Kravitz. Whilst researching all of these albums, this incredible keyboard player instrument simply is not used as much as it use to. I say we need this more often as it is so rock n roll!!
The Yamaha CP5 is fantastic. It has 7 octaves, wooden keys that feel authentic which is inspiring and rare for a digital piano. The sounds are the best piano’s in the market. This also includes Fender Rhodes, wurlitzer 200a and various synths sounds from the Fantom X series.
Here is the Nord Electro 2 that everyone sees on stage these days. It sounds great and is light, which means it is easy to take to shows. Julian keeps hearing these on recent albums as they also sound authentic as the samples of the original instruments are good. The Hammond Organ and Vox actually rock, whilst Julian’s chosen piano sounds like an upright. It is tuned imperfectly which is the real deal. The Clavinet, strings and synths are also fun to play, sounding great. It is the ideal light-weight keyboard for when space is required, on or off stage.
… there are more to mention and will update in detail at some point. Must mention the Roland SH101, JEN SX1000, Ensoniq SQ80, Roland Juno 106, and the Pianet P.
Head to the London recording studio website for more information.