Second,I was really into Genesis,because just loved the darknessofit, and the way they I experimented with drum machines,but also with live drums, and how they crossedbetween the two. Somesongsstart out really dark, like "Mamai' but then the choruseswould just open up.I really wanted to understand what that was about. Third, I listenedto a lot of FleetwoodMac' That was becauseone of my closestfriends invited me to see them for her birthday' At first, I was like, "Surel' lRolls her eyes'l Everybody was singing along to every word, and I was the onlY one who didn't know the words. I felt a little embarrassed.But it was c o ol, becauseit o pe ne d me uP t o a whole other sound, and drum style,and group' Of courseI knew their big songs-everybody does' But to go deeper in, like the Tusk album ' ' ' that was the one that I really went back and zoned on. So,those were the kinds of things I was listening to, and I did start concentratinga lot on the songwriting style,and that influenced the chords I would use, and the way I wanted the chorusesto be.It wasaboutjust openinguP the flow. I knew I wanted to experiment, and plus, I was in my studio collecting fons of keyboards' My engineer,Ann Mincieli, is a collectionaddict' So,shed be like, "I saw this new. . . I' A little eBaY action? Yes!She gets on eBay and says,"Oh, I saw this Roland Jupiter-8youd think is craz7.You should checkit outl' That was really fly, becauseI knew I was searchingfor a new sound.So I was ableto experimenta lot with Moogs,and different oscillator-basedkeyboards,and in terms ofthe creative flow, it was just/rin. And then there's a kind of Roland TR-808 drum vibe as well. It seems like there was an amazing willingness to say, "Hey, let's see what t rr:ssounds like!" Oh my gosh-it's so much fun. I think I was just ableto bring what we startedwith [2007 album] As I Am to the next level. On As I Ara, I d saywe definitely did more with elecfrlc pianos-a lot of Wurly and Rhodes'We evendid harpsichordsand things like that' but wed put crazy effects on them' just to take it to a new place. Now, I kind of pushed that to the next place, going into more of the vintage keYboard, drum machine stYle. You seem prettY fearless when it comes to different keYs.You're in Dl on one song' then F on the next, then G. Are You deliberatelYstarting songs in certain keys? That's cool. Thank you. I'm not so deliberatewith that-I think I kind of find my way into the keY more. Like with "That's How Strong My Love Is," that started in a different key. And then as I'm singing it, and I'm flowing with it, I go, "Hmm, hmml' lSingsand raisesher Pitch.] So I took it uP a half-step,and I'm Iike'What does Ianother] half-steP feel like?' And then I'm like, "Hmm." So At AcousticImage,we manageto appeal to bothsidesofthe brain. our uniqueProducts Right,because better- designed,made areanalyticalty testedto exceedthe andexhaustively cations. highestspecifi ATICI^{S KEYS everYAI amPandcombo Left, because and transparency offersunsurpassed 5o nothinggetsin the way musicatity. of what you'resayingcreatively... or howyou wantto sayit. Formoreinformationon a trutY wayto amplifyyoursound, ambidextrous pleasevisit www.acousticimg.com' Seeour websitefor the ostoundingnew Ten2Combo and TenZEX. Im0geprcductsore bockedby the industty'sbestwarrcnty' Acoustic a lot of times,the playing is about how it feels when I'm singing. So it may not end up where it started' Usuallyitworitend up whereit started.Then,by the time I'm on the road, and I'm doing 30something songsa night-then I'm like, " l{h7 @ @ PRESEIITS: KEYB(IARD 0FTHE'80s BEST THE TreAnnsn,lnstnuutHts, OFANTRA ANDTECHI'IIOUES editedby ErnieRidelut, StephenFortner, andMichaelGallant BOOKS BACKBEAT as a the keyboard revitalized N0 sinoledecade Now,theediiocalo6intasmuchasthe1980s' thateras haveculled magazine lorsof Kevboard themwith andcombined articles mostsionificant book thislandmark to create of insight a wealth players andprowithnoted 20interviews Features DuDuran likeJimmyJam& TerryLewis, ducers Vince Clarke, Mode's Depeche ran'sNickRhodes, League' aswellas andTheHuman Gabriel, Peter Chick Hancock, pioneers asHerbie suchvisionary ZaPPa. andFrank Corea, ... $19.95 00331932......... ffi .g 4Bs*b*' H"illl;:;^"". 3a K E Y B OA R DMA G.COM The Element of Freedom features Kevs'personalacousticgrand,the YamahaC3 Neo-but in samPled form for her new signaturevirtual piano plug-in,Alicia'sKeys' "All the acousticpianosoundson the album are from Alicia's KeYsi'she saYs. "The sound is just incrediblel' FeaturingnearlY3,000 samPlesin 12 velocitylayers,Alicia's Keys captures the sinewYPiano sound that helped rocket KeYs to worldwide acclaim.See our full review on page 60. o 6 .2 0 1 0 did I write that song so high?" Because like' flaughs], I beat myself up all the time, up way "What were you thinking? All the there? Come downt'" fue theresome piano playersthatwere instru' mentalto you when you were learningto play and coming uP with Yourown concePt? Well, Nina Simone has always been a huge influenceon me, becauseI think she'sprobably one of the baddest piano playersthat ever existed,period.Period,end ofstory! Shecould play probably every dude under the table, in a heartbeat.And I think she'sjust special'She has this mixture about her, betweenstudying classical,andjazz,and alsothe intensitythat shehasabouther-her life, and the very intense erashelivedin, wh ich makesher writingstyle very deep.So I love her a lot. I listen to Herbie Hancock. He'sincredible, and a very specialguy too. He'sbeenin the businessfor so long, and he just lovesit' He lovesit purely, and its such a beautiful thing to seesomeone love it like that. He was also generousenough to play my plug-in and test it out. He had some piano playing,too. BecauseI thinkthat hejust has something in him aswell, and I love the way his melodies and piano playing were so beautiful. great comments,and he loved it, too! Growing up, I reallyadmired Brian Mcl(night's cold, rude, killer! Donny Hathaway.Like, major, zone,stone' Of course, there's Stevie Wonder, because we carit evenleavehim out. It doesnt evenmake sense-the chordshe plays!NobodTplayschords like he plays them, so you probably might as well iust not trv! B Alida l(eys' enginser Ann Minciell srlth (l6ft to right) Oberheim OB.8 synth atop YamahaCPi70 electric grand piano, rare Hofner bass, and Fender Rhodes Piano Bass atop the rare ARP Elec{ric piano. Her left hand rests on a Gibson EH-150,one of the firct guitar amps ever made. THE ELEMENT OF GEAR Ann Mineieli on recordingAlicia Keysnnew album The concept of every Alicia Keys album is to marry new sounds with old ones. Alicia always wants to be retro-futuristic-she has an amazingcollection of gear and lets me scour the earth looking for new toys. BetweenAs I Am andThe Element of Freedom,we designedher signatureAlici a\ Keyspiano plug-in. [Seepage 60for our full review' -Ed.l We also built an incredible arsenalof drum samples.I hired drummers, bought and rented drum kits, and spent days sampling and mapping in NI Battery.I also roamed the world trading producers'sounds. Almost every drum sample onThe Element of Freedom came from libraries we built and collected.Alicia has bought some very exotic drum kits throughout the years;this time' we bought a 1970Ludwig red sparkle drum kit, a 1960Rogersexotic kick drum' four toms, (including a 16" x 16" floor tom with beater), and 6" x 8" bongos. We also purchased nine rare drum machines, which we sampled via Pro Tools and 2" tape. These included a Linn LM-l (serial #25, made by Roger Linn himself), Roland TR-808, TR-909' CR78, and CR-8000,a LinnDrum 2, and an Oberheim DMX. You hear 40 KE Y B OA RD MA G,C OM o 6 .2 0 1 0 a lot of these on the album, which includes programmed drums over live ones. Alicia is an incredible producer who can Program drums better than anyonet 'The Element of Freedom has a lot of synths: Prophets, Moogs' Roland |unos, the Yamaha CP70 electric grand, and many others. We also used a lot of vintage guitars and amps-everything from Carol Kaye'sVersatone bass amp, to one of the first 1950sHofner violin basses.Alicia owns two from '56 and'57*Paul McCartney doesnt even have those! Alicia owns her own facility, Oven Studios, and it's like a candy store of gear! I have about 80 of the most vintage guitar pedals, 40 of the rarest guitars, and a huge collection of guitar amps. We use the amps and pedals on everything from guitar to keyboards to vocals. Im alreadypreparingfor Alicia's next album' I found an old Rheem keyboard from 1967that hasa double-octavebass.I'm also making new drum samples,and reworking her whole virtual synth rig. For the next album, Im going to take all of the gear we used on this one and hide it awayto push her to try new things!