Geeking out with Douze & Lo Galbo about the analogue gear on their 80s-inspired soundtrack albumIt might sound challenging to compose a soundtrack for a film that doesn’t exist, but French and Dutch producers, Douze and Lo Galbo have come together to test their imaginations. With their new album, Dawn, they’ve sculpted an original motion picture soundtrack to a fictional movie set in the 1980s.
The pair have been collaborating for the best part of two decades, displaying their clear admiration for the 80s with expertly executed synth riffs and vocoder vocal lines that would give Cher a run for her money. If you’ve ever wanted to get an insight into what went through the minds of musicians and producers during the 80s, this duo just might be your looking glass.

READ MORE: “We get too lost in the gear, plugins and processes… they need to have a specific purpose”: Oliver Patrice Weder

 
Your latest project, Dawn, is out now. Where did the inspiration for an 80s-themed movie and soundtrack come from?
Lo Galbo: We were both born in the 80s and feel very nostalgic about that era. As kids, we connected with every 80s movie soundtrack that includes synthesizers. For example, the track Love On A Real Train by Tangerine Dream from the Risky Business soundtrack is a huge inspiration.
Douze: Radio, TV shows and commercials, anime… We’ve been heavily influenced by the 80s, even unconsciously. It’s written in our DNA. Most of the soundtracks back then were not only scores but also had real songs, and that’s what we tried to recreate: pop tracks mixed with contemplative background music. Listening to Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and Giorgio Moroder soundtracks really helped us find where we wanted to go.
Linndrum. Image: Press
What pieces of gear really let you tap into the 80s? Were there any that you thought were going to be magic but turned out not to be quite right?
Lo Galbo: For Dawn, we rented a fully analogue studio located in the centre of Paris. We brought in a few of our classic synthesizers and drum machines that we thought would work on the soundtrack. These included the Moog Minimoog, Roland Juno-60, Oberheim OB-Xa, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, and the Roland SH-2.
To get a gritty and lo-fi sound, some synth and drum takes were re-recorded on our Akai X7000 sampler (proudly upgraded with a Gotek floppy drive emulator!), or the Tascam Porta One 4-track for extra grit. The main drum machine on most tracks is the Linndrum. There is a Maestro Rhythm King MRK-1 on our track In the Shadows (with Yota) too.
Douze: Renting that place was a bit like a midlife crisis caprice. You could compare it with renting a Porsche for two hours and taking it out to the racetrack. We knew how to drive as we’ve used the plugin emulations, but working with the real deal brought some extra magic. Working on a pad sound from scratch on a vintage synth has so much more charm than tweaking presets with our mouse on a computer.
Douze in the studio. Image: Press
Tell us more about your studio.
Lo Galbo: Douze’s is located in Paris, whilst mine is in Amsterdam. However, for Dawn, we rented out a studio in Paris where we stayed for a month to write, record and mix the entire record. For other projects we often collaborate remotely, sending back-and-forth demos and synthesizer takes.
Douze: Our studios are a bit different, Lo Galbo loves to purchase old-school analogue and digital synths and outboard gear, while I mostly sketch in the box and replay whatever needs to be.
What’s your latest gear or plugin purchase?
Douze: I recently bought the U-he Repro 5 plugin, which is the best Prophet-5 emulation out there. It sounds wide and full and I find the filter stunning. Whenever a new emulation of the OB-Xa gets out, it’s always an instant purchase — even if the most convincing to me remains the OP-X PRO ll by SonicProjects.
Lo Galbo: A Roland D-50. The synth is currently loaded with 64 presets created by our friend Legowelt by request of Roland for the 30th anniversary of the synth. Legowelt’s presets really show what the synth is capable of: it can make some super interesting, airy, drifting, ethereal, spacey, ambient sounds. It’s perfect for 80s-inspired soundtracks.
Fun story; when I went to pick up the D-50, the seller convinced me to buy his pristine-condition Korg DW-8000 too. I’ll admit I’m easy to convince when it comes to buying synths. For the nerds: I managed to find the MEX-8000 Memory Expander to store extra patches, which also works perfectly with my Korg DW-6000, and even my Korg Poly 800 MK1 since I had that synth upgraded with the MIDI Dump Kit (MDK).
Roland D-50. Image: Press
What’s the best free plugin you own? Why?
Lo Galbo: It has to be the Tal-Chorus-LX. We both own various emulations of the Juno chorus, but the one by Tal somehow just sounds best. Lo Galbo has a Roland Juno-106 in his studio and will have his tech modify it with an external input to the chorus to compare sounds. Whatever the outcome, we will probably keep using the Tal plugin, since it’s so easy to use.
What’s been the biggest investment in your career/studio? Was it worth it? Why?
Lo Galbo: The biggest investment so far was the Oberheim OB-Xa. That thing is going for absurd prices these days. Ours wasn’t cheap, but we managed to buy one when prices were ok.
Aside from analogue gear, were there any go-to mixing and mastering techniques that gave the tracks a more 80s sound?
Lo Galbo: We mainly mixed the album in the box. To achieve that 80s sound, we used digital recreations of analogue 80s compressors and tape machines such as the Fairchild 660 clone by Slate Digital, and the Ampex ATR-102 tape machine by UAD. The Dawn soundtrack was mastered by Jonas Pinnau, aka Tonebox. He really added the final layer of 80s sound to the album.
Oberhaim OB-Xa. Image: Press
Were there any techniques you weren’t familiar with that you had to learn to allow you to create something authentic to the time?
Douze: Tape machine plugins were something we would sometimes play around with, but started to use a lot for Dawn. We toggled between the UAD Ampex ATR-102, the Waves Kramer Master Tape and the Waves J37. The Ampex can really bring some nice saturation to the mix, while the J37 glues everything together (and can smash the whole mix if you go 1db too hard).
Do you have a dream piece of gear?
Douze: Never had the chance to mess around with a Korg Trident. They are not that expensive, but I’m a bit afraid of being disappointed after fantasising about them for too long. Maybe it should remain a dream…
Lo Galbo: I’ve always dreamed of owning an Elka Synthex. I think I’ve seen every YouTube video about the synth at least five times (I highly recommend the video in which Jean-Michel Jarre presents an homage to the synth). It’s such an interesting instrument, and I believe it’s one of the best synths to get that brassy pad sound similar to some sounds Alan Braxe has on his tracks. However, Douze and I have only recently discovered that the pad sound on Alan’s track Palladium was done on a Moog Opus 3. So yeah, would love to own an Opus 3 too one day, just for that sound.
Tascam Porta One. Image: Press
What’s a music production myth you think needs debunking?
Lo Galbo: It may sound weird coming from us who brought in so much vintage gear for this record, but in general, we believe anyone can make a similar album fully in the box, or with one or two analogue synths.
Douze: The same goes for mixing: we could have had everything mixed on an SSL desk, but with the right few plugins the same sound can be easily achieved. We really believe there are only like 20 people on earth who can hear the difference between analogue and digital.
Who gave you the biggest lesson in your career? Can you tell us about how it impacted you?
Douze: All the people I have worked with have shown me tricks and shared their experiences. What I always try to keep in mind is to not overthink things. Keep it simple.
Lo Galbo: I have learned so much from my production partners Douze, E-The-Hot, and a few others. The best lesson was that there is no outlined approach to reach a certain sound. Whatever works, works.
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