Name: Kobe Dupree
Nationality: American
Occupation: Producer, DJ
Current release: Kobe Dupree's new album Voice From The Inside is out via 4TRK.
Recommendations for Chicago, USA: The Garfield Park Conservatory is incredible, it's nice to be around all those plants and ferns are some of my favorite plants. I also recommend Chinatown, Pilsen and Little Village.
Things I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: I am really into the Dune series. Many of the titles from Voice From The Inside are inspired by Dune, including the name of the record. I also love reading books, studying sound (wave field synthesis, speaker designs, and other audio nerd stuff) and have been fascinated with building speakers for the past couple years.
I’m very inspired by the sound done by the Intellephunk Sound Team at The Great Beyond and the Interdimensional Transmissions Sound Team at Return To The Source. Hearing what they can do has inspired me to build a system and learn more about sound system design and routing.

If you enjoyed this Kobe Dupree interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Soundcloud, and bandcamp.



Are there examples of minimalism in music – and outside of music - that impressed you early on?

We lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for four years when I was 1-5 years old and due to my fathers profession as a music teacher he was very interested in live performance.

The minimalism of Gamelan and other styles of music we got to experience throughout those years left a lasting impact on me.

Were you ever interested in minimalism as a style – from the Philip-Glass-variety to solo instrumental work to minimal techno? If so, tell you me a bit about your interest in this.

I was heavily influenced by minimalism as a style. Moving around a lot as a kid made me less attached to having things and if I wanted something I needed to work for it.

After graduating and going to university, I learned about La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Steve Reich, and I tried to read all of their material and apply their concepts to life.

For my final paper in university, I tied together the works of the minimalist composers with the minimal techno of Basic Channel, Robert Hood and Jeff Mills, and that is honestly what brought me to Chicago in 2015.

[Read our Jeff Mills interview]

Do you tend to find that, as many claim, “less is more?” Are the notes you don't play really as important as the ones you do play?

I stand by the statement that less is more, due to many reasons.

But for musical reasons it is important to build upon ideas in your own natural way and when you are focusing on less you can achieve more.



Do you feel that making music is a process of adding elements until it is done – or one where you chisel away pieces from something that is already there?

It is a bit of both. Making music calms my restless mind so it is nice to sit and create.

I like to create something from nothing so I often explore ideas and then use ableton to capture samples to be arranged later.

Many artists are becoming more minimalist in their music as the years go on, focusing on the “essence.” How is that for yourself and how would you describe your development in this regard?

I am always developing, growing and learning new ways to approach production. The essence is in the process and it's helpful to learn from a process in order to create something that continues to inspire the cycle of growth.

I have a tendency to overwhelm myself with projects so I have to focus on the essence of what I am doing which helps me realign.

What were some of the starting points for your most recent release?

For this release there were a variety of starting points. Some of these tracks were made starting with a drum machine low end rhythm and then building a synth line on top of that, …



… or using atmosphere and then building pieces together from there.



Others were made using segments from old ideas to create something entirely different.



How did a minimalist mindset possibly inform the creative process?

The minimalist mindset is a very nice place to be, it took me many years to understand this. Letting go of attachment and embracing how the sounds can change when you focus on one thing at a time is a helpful practice.

Attempting to play Chopin's work also taught me the value in tuning everything and making sure things work harmonically or doing the opposite, intentionally creating a little discomfort before adding harmony.



Do you like to set yourself limitations? If so, which were some of those limitations for the new pieces?

Limitations are very helpful for me. Time based limitations are something I practice. If I have open ended deadlines, I will never complete things, they will always be changing.

This album changed a lot of times and I made so many tracks throughout this process that didn’t make it on the final cut. I honestly would have kept cutting tracks had it not been for DJ Hyperactive.

I have a tendency to cut a lot of my work when it's complete and pivot ideas.

Thanks to sampling and digital synthesis, there are endless possibilities for sculpting the sounds and overall sound design of a piece or album. What are your considerations in this regard?

My process has changed over the years but I like to resample my own work and then collage new ideas with my recordings.

Sound design is what I spend most of my time doing, so it's nice to record a lot of explorations and then go back and take an idea to make a track or piece things together to create a track.

I used to record things in one live take (as on "Syk") but I have made some changes to my workflow while working on this album.

Would you say that you approach your creative tools with a minimalist mindset? Or do you need a wide choice of instruments and tools to make music?

I have learned to try and approach every project through a minimalist mindset.

I am learning from the masters that everything you have is right in front of you. While I don’t need a wide choice of instruments, I have a lot of ideas I like exploring using hardware and I enjoy playing live so have been getting back into that.

What were some of the most important pieces of gear or instruments for this release?

The most essential pieces of gear for this release were the Elektron Machinedrum, Ableton, Omnisphere and my Eurorack case + OTO BIM.

[Read our feature on the Elektron Machinedrum]

Reducing one's options and techniques often implies a different way of working with the materials. Tell me about yours, please.

I am in the studio every day so I am surrounded by my team of machines.

A good practice I have is recording different sessions using only one or two pieces of gear and then later, when I want to make a track, I have something to work from. Limiting myself to only using those pieces means I can get some awesome sounds I would otherwise be glossing over if my whole team of machines were involved.

When you have less to choose from you are able to make quicker educated decisions which can lead to deeper explorations.

French producer Guillaume Duchastel told me: “Minimalism is about more than owning fewer things. It’s about focusing on what truly matters.“ What are some of your strategies for separating what matters from that which doesn't?

It is helpful to focus on intention. What am I doing today? What am I using today and how will I be using it? How much time do I have today?

It seems like nothing matters in today's climate, however, it is important to let go of that mindset and focus on what you can do with the time you have and the tools available at that time.  

With so much incredible music instantly available, are you finding that you want to take it all in – or that you need to be more selective? How do you pick the music you really want to invest in?

I have to be very selective on what music to dive into.

I like labels for that reason and exploring different peoples work on bandcamp, youtube or discogs is a great way to find new music.

Would you say that minimalism extends into other parts of your life as well?

I have focused on curating my life to be around music. I only work jobs related to music/sound and prioritize my time in the studio.

I have intentionally built a minimalist life these last couple years that allows me to spend as much time making music as I can.