Twelve years on from 100% Galcher, the mixtape that quietly inspired a generation of underground house artists, Galcher Lustwerk isn’t interested in nostalgia. “I’m concentrating on the next release,” says the Cleveland-born producer and vocalist.  “Not trying to chase any trends, anybody or group of people, and keep my head down.” That focus is palpable in his work, with a distinct sonic identity built around considered instrumentation and production.

Vestibule, his first EP in two years, comprises three dance cuts that place you in a hazy, dimly-lit basement club. Galcher moves between woozy introspection and autobiographical rap, recording sounds from a collection of retro ROMplers in a small New York home studio that he describes as feeling like the Mother computer from Alien.

In this Studio Files, Galcher walks us through the techniques that helped him craft the sound of Vestibule, tells us why he doesn’t rely on one piece of gear for the “Lustwerk sound”, and how a Pro Tools mentor taught him the art of reduction.

Vestibule EP by Galcher Lustwerk
Hey Galcher. Loving the sounds and refined minimalism of Vestibule. What’s your approach to selecting instruments and sounds, and being intentional about each one?

The sounds on Vestibule were tracked from ROMplers I’ve gained slowly over the course of a few years — specifically, a Yamaha Motif ES Rack, E-Mu Ultra Proteus, and two Roland JV-1010s. All my favourite presets on everything are loaded up and linked to a power supply. I can simply turn everything on and start writing. I like to start with the Yamaha or the E-Mu, then multi-track the rest in.

This is your first release in a couple of years. It’s a fast-moving scene; has anything changed for you in that time?

I’m still making music and DJing. Not trying to chase any trends, anybody or group of people, and keep my head down.

How do you think about the balance of bars and house beats when you’re writing? Is it a conscious decision, or does it just flow out?

I like starting with no words. The instrumental can establish itself. I also like to repeat one verse over and over again. A Lustwerk track to me falls into the house tradition, not the hip-hop tradition, so repetition is fair game. Each beat tells its own story in due time; lyrics find their way in, or they don’t.

Tell us a bit about your studio.

My studio is in a small room in New York City. It reminds me of the Mother computer from Alien. There’s a single 12U rack, with a Novation MIDI keyboard and a Streamdeck. The Stream Deck is hot-keyed up with my favourite plugins, so I can look at the screen less. Keyboard and mouse swivel with the office chair. And as many bass traps as I possibly can, because the low end in this room is a mess, even with these little speakers (IK Multimedia MTM). My Yamaha WX5, which I use with the PLG150-VL on the Motif, sits in the corner. I’ve got a Subpac on the chair, which I mean to use, but keep tripping the cable and breaking adapters.

What’s your latest gear purchase?

RME Babyface Pro for live sets. I needed better gain performance + the ability to EQ/ring out the mic before it hits Ableton. Since I like to keep the mic gain high, I deal with a lot of feedback issues in clubs. The Zoom interface I had before wasn’t cutting it. It’s difficult to replicate a spoken word voice in a 100db environment.

How do you see your sound and studio evolving in the next two years?

I’ll have sold everything and got a whole other workflow! The GAS is never-ending. Next stop is an iZ RADAR. You can’t pinpoint the Lustwerk sound on any specific gear; I vary the sound by constantly switching my gear and plugins up.

Were there any instruments or gear that were crucial to Vestibule?

The Yamaha Motif ES and its two PLG 150 expansion cards, AN (virtual analogue modelling) and VL (wind controller compatible sounds) were crucial, especially on the sax solos for Wet Bulb and Vestibule’s tenor sax solos. For Shorty Out, I used an AN sawtooth as a base layer, and combined it with three other pad presets and effects on the Motif. Once tracked i,n I used VSTs sparingly, with Fab Filter Pro Q4 for EQ, and Eventide H3000 or Acustica Firethepan to get extra space where needed.

The piano on Wet Bulb is a nice contrast to the gritty synth bass. A lot of your other releases also have tension between the instrumentation and notes. Is this always intentional?

i just start with a nice sound and go from there. Any contrast is serendipitous. I’ll gravitate towards playing certain keys, of course, which evoke a dramatic mood. The piano and orchestra sounds on Wet Bulb are from the Motif, and the synth bass is from a Waldorf Blofeld, which I’ve since sold.

100% Galcher has been called an “all-timer” by fans online. How do you view that record now, and does the legacy weigh on you when you start a new project?

It can feel like fighting against nostalgia. I’m concentrating on the next release while people are hung up because of personal preferences and what-not. I get it. I can only hope they feel something special and current with my new music.

Do you have a dream piece of gear?

Some exorbitantly expensive AD/DA converter like a JCF Latte, just for the hell of it. Dr. Dre’s known to use a Lavry converter for clipping but I don’t really clip stuff.

What’s a music production myth you think needs debunking?

Oversampling. They just want you to buy more RAM and upgrade your computer for no reason. If you can hear the difference between 2x and 8x oversampling, I feel bad for you.

Who gave you the biggest lesson in your career? Can you tell us about how it impacted you?

I attribute Morgan Louis to taking my production to another level. He was already Pro Tools certified when I met him. When we would work on music together, I would add something, and he’d delete half of it. I add more, and he’d delete even more. He had a reductive way of working, and I learned to listen closer and find the foundation of the groove before filling things in.

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