Trust your ear: Studio tips from downtempo veteran Eric Hilton

With the upcoming release of his multilingual album ‘Midnight Ragas’ on June 20 via Montserrat House Music, Eric Hilton continues to shape his distinct sound through deep downtempo grooves and curated vocal collaborations.

Photo credit: Puma Ptah

Known for his work with Thievery Corporation and his solo projects, Hilton’s music blends global rhythms with pristine production values, and his latest LP is no exception. Featuring vocalists Puma Ptah, Natalia Clavier, and Kristina Westernik-Dandridge, the 12-track journey moves seamlessly through languages, moods, and tempos.

Hilton’s approach in the studio has always favored intuition over gear obsession, focusing on sonic character and personal taste rather than technical specs. His perspective offers valuable lessons for producers and musicians looking to cultivate their own sound. Below, the artist shares five key studio insights.

1. Ear > Gear

While Thievery Corporation and my own solo records are considered to have a high-quality sound, I’ve never been obsessed with gear. The majority of Thievery Corporation records were mixed down on the cheapest Tannoy PBM 6.5 II monitors. Those speakers are notoriously unforgiving monitors and that’s why we always trusted them. In 2021, I started using Focal Trio11 Be monitors, which mostly rely on these days. I find that Focal’s are the best combination of true reference and the feel of a big sound system.

For software, I’ve made records in Logic and Cakewalk Sonar — and of course straight to DAT from the Akai MPC 3000 and the Ensoniq ASR-10, through a Mackie mixer. Frankly, there is little difference in the final sound — it’s just a matter of listening and adjusting. It just boils down to familiarity and personal preference.

What I do rely on are high-quality vintage synths like the Korg Polysix, an ARP Solina, and a Roland JP 8000. For keys, nothing beats a vintage Wurly and Rhodes, but my cheat code these days is the Yamaha Reface CP, which is quite a compact convenience for the price; it sounds better than all software keys in my opinion.

The bottom line is, it’s the ear, not the gear. So, trust yourself above all other factors and remember machines never make the music, you do.

2. That Thievery Bass

For the classic bass sound that I prefer, my go-to pre-amp is the Avalon U5 direct, which I use with my Danelectro Longhorn short-scale bass. I can’t imagine that I’ll ever change this combo.

3. Combine your sketches

Many of us electronic musicians make a lot of musical sketches that live on our hard drives for years. In 2005, we discovered the sketch mash-up, and it opened my eyes to a different possibility. The Thievery Corporation song ‘Warning Shots’ was the result of fusing two musical sketches.

As producers and electronic musicians, we often make similar musical sketches in the same key. The possibility of combining these good ideas to create one great piece of music is always in the back of mind.

4. My Casio Weighs a Ton

I don’t know when, where, or why, but a few years back I became obsessed with Casios. My favorite is the MT-68, but there are many other interesting models. I find them to be very pure little tone generators that produce a sound that is both cool and campy at the same time. It’s all about where and how much you use them, but man, do I use them.

5. You and The Infinite

What is your unique identity in music? How do you hear things differently, and what can you contribute? In the end, we’re all just having a conversation through this mystical world of vibrations and harmonics that we call music. How will you jump in and bring something to that conversation?.

Your experiences and perspectives are uniquely yours, so please don’t hesitate to share them through your music. Make the music for yourself, but always remain a humble student. We are all fortunate to explore this wondrous sonic universe. Remaining grateful for the chance to participate will see you through the ups and downs. And a continual sense of wonder will always show up in the music.

Eric Hilton’s ‘Midnight Ragas’ is out June 20 on Montserrat House Music. Pre-order here.

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