The Playlist: Composer, Conductor, and Violinist Todd Reynolds
Armed with a 17th-century violin and 21st-century Macbook Pro, Todd Reynolds creates mind-blowing acoustic-electronica as only a true hybrid musician can (making him perfect Playlister to feature right around Earth Day). Take a listen at his thoughtful song list, then check out his new double CD set, Outerborough.
What do you listen to while you work? Well, I tend to be listening to my own music while I work, mainly because most of my work is composing and producing and recording. However, when I’m doing paperwork, answering email, doing research, I’ll often have some ambient electronica going on in the background, or some very contemporary “classical’”music (though I really don’t know what that means anymore).
How do you listen? Mostly I’m in front of my studio monitors, which sound killer; but whenever I’m away from them, you’ll find me with some nice Grado headphones attached to my iPhone, or some high-quality in-ear monitors (Etymotic being my favorites).
Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I really love Pandora, and a little while ago Tubeify came to be. Imagine if Last.fm and YouTube were to have a baby—it’s a really useful interface. For buying music, I’m an iTunes guy, but occasionally will buy directly off the Warp website, or wherever I find myself (Bandcamp, etc.).
Does music influence your work? Absolutely. I’m a real fan of The Books, for example, and though I don’t make music in the same way, their use of organic, found material inspires me to use as much organic sound from my own fiddle as possible. They make percussion sounds from bouncing balls, for instance, and though I haven’t brought that particular rigor to my own work yet, it inspires me to go deeper.
Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? I find recommendations from my colleagues, mostly, who range from performers and composers to music supervisors and venue curators. I also keep my eyes on certain record labels and websites like Pitchfork as well, but I find my brightest “finds” to be connected to one personal relationship or another.