Studio Interviews: Baptiste Mokas

Baptiste Mokas has one of the most extraordinary PC-based studios we’ve seen, with a collection of monitors NASA would be proud of. But if you think that’s great, wait until you read his advice…

Interviewee Baptiste Mokas
Contact Baptiste.mokas@gmail.com | www.emergence-lfe.org

• A huge PC
• NASA scale monitors
• Power!
• Monitors and controllers

Tell us about your studio Baptiste…

I’ve been living in Lille in France for the past three years and the studio is in my apartment on the sixth floor of a block. I have some beautiful views of the city without any neighbours to worry about!

Tell us about that computer!

It’s a PC with a 64GB DDR4 Corsair Dominator 3200mhz memory kit, Nvidia GeForce 970 and Nvidia 360 graphics cards, i5 3.9GHz overclocked CPU, ASUS z170 motherboard, 2 x Samsung 256 GB SSD, watercooling Corsair CPU cooler, Fractal R5 case, Corsair 800watt modular platinum PSU [we love the PC detail – Ed].

Then I have Onkyo TX-NR5007 amp; Norstone 6mm3 speaker cable; XLR Qed cable and connector; Klipsch RF-7 MkII and Dynaudio monitors; Synology Nas 214 network box; Studiologic 76-note and Korg microKEY keyboards; AKG C414 microphone and a RME ADI-2 Pro soundcard.

Which DAW and why?

I am fan of Steinberg Cubase and Propellerhead Reason and I use ReWire to produce with the two DAWs together.

What’s your favourite piece of gear?

I am in love with the RME ADI-2 Pro, which has an extremely accurate sound for production. The Klipsch RF7 are good to produce a wide, dynamic, strong and accurate sound with all info there.

How do you use your studio?

I want to work professionally and am preparing to do just that.

Next on your gear shopping list?

Some new speakers, like the Genelec model 8331 or 8341s. I also want to buy some mastering headphones like the AKG872s.

What is your dream gear?

I thinks that it is physically impossible to have a realistic dynamic without power and big speakers. One day, I would like some Genelec 1236a speakers with the SAM [Smart Active Monitor] system

Any final studio advice?

To produce something you really like, you have to care about every little detail of every process in both your system and in your mind. I study psychology and cognitive sciences. The process of production is an interaction between the power of your gear, your knowledge of harmony and your metacognition (the way you understand your own process).

I think that psychoacoustics, neurosciences, meditation, cognitive psychology of musical activity, mathematical theory of harmony, ergonomics and programming are interesting to investigate the optimisation of your musical production. I believe a complete musical production needs a multidisciplinary and approach…