Kawatin (Hirotaka Kawano) is a Japanese producer that has been making music since 2006. He is known for his complex-sounding techno productions and use of customizable software tools like TouchOSC.
Intrigued by his approach to music-making, we reached out to him for an interview about his setup and creative process. In this interview, Kawatin talks about his musical background, his current favorite artists, his studio setup, using TouchOSC, developing his own sequencer, and more.
How did you get into making music? Were you always drawn to electronic music, or did that develop over time?
When I was young, I just wanted to make music, any kind of music, really. The turning point for me came when an older guy I looked up to, who had just returned from studying abroad, introduced me to artists like Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and Underworld. I remember being completely blown away by them. Growing up in a rural town where time sometimes felt like it had stood still, their sounds really hit me like nothing else. That was the beginning of my journey into electronic music.
The first piece of gear I ever got my hands on was the YAMAHA QY70. I was a huge Bruce Lee fan at the time, so my very first project was remixing the theme from Enter the Dragon into a drum and bass track. The result was pretty rough, but I was totally obsessed. Looking back at it now, the QY70 was basically my first DAWless experience, haha. It ran on batteries, so I'd be out there composing in parks, at school, in the library, and so on … that was seriously cool!
I discovered your music via your Instagram. How do you view Instagram as an artist, e.g. is it mainly a platform for sharing musical ideas, or do you think it can also create real connections between people?
Whenever I do something musical, I make it a point to also post it. It's just a small ritual, a little promise I make to myself. Sometimes, I also post things that I'm not fully satisfied with, but that's a part of the process for me. In any creative practice, these small, consistent steps almost always lead to unexpected discoveries. And when you're busy, these small things are still doable, right? And if those posts or ideas then happen to inspire someone else, that makes me feel very honored.
In the daily process of trial and error that comes with making music, projects can also often get overly complicated or lose their direction. In those moments, looking back through my old Instagram posts allows me to "roll back" to a point where the ideas perhaps felt a bit more pure and alive. Just recently, I looked at a post from three months ago, and then made the deliberate decision to revert the project file all the way back to that point.
Hearing back from well-known artists is also always an honor, but what really excites me the most is connecting with “fellow travelers", the people that are just quietly exploring a sound in some corner of the world.
That said, I think it’s important to remember that the goal is to create music, not content for Instagram. Getting plays and likes can be a nice bonus, but I'm always trying to be mindful not to be too driven by social media numbers, because then you can start to lose sight of the artistry of it all.
Who are your favorite producers right now?
I was really captivated by the album Sun//Rain by Clariloops. The Quiet Below, which came out earlier this year, is also stunning. The sound of the clarinet paints so many beautiful landscapes in my head, I truly feel like those tones reach something deep inside me.
I had the chance to experience Ignez DJing live in Tokyo last year. It was thrilling and razor-sharp, just absolutely incredible. I find his tracks mysterious and beautiful, with grooves that are impossibly cool. And the sound design is outstanding, too.
Stimming is also an all-time favorite producer of mine. His sound design is something I am constantly referencing. “22 Degree Halo” for example is one of my go-to reference tracks for mixdowns, I love the kick in that track. It hits with a real presence on the attack, then quietly disappears into the low end, holding together the whole track from below; the way that the kick and bass coexist is just masterful. The classical-influenced atmospheres that Stimming creates are truly one of a kind, I think.
Your production setup may look somewhat unusual to some: two iPads, lots of MIDI controllers, and not that many synths. How did you arrive at this setup?
Ableton Live has always been the core of my setup. Over the years, I've also collected many MIDI controllers that would let me more intuitively control various devices and plugins. Composing with a mouse has never really worked for me.
But then, after a while, I think I began to really hit the limits of off-the-shelf controllers. There was just always something I didn’t like. e.g. not enough faders, not the right knob layouts, or a too big enclosure. And those frustrations just kept piling up, which then naturally led me to TouchOSC, which was a genuine revolution for me. It lets me design my ideal controller from scratch, run it on an iPad or iPhone, and build basically any interface I can imagine. Having that kind of freedom is really incredible to me.
In my current primary setup, I have the exact same TouchOSC file loaded on two iPads. This file functions as a massive control surface and is capable of handling well over 100 parameters simultaneously. It takes up very little space physically, but functionally, it is quite enormous, and that contradiction ("huge, but compact") is really at the heart of my current workflow.
When it comes to hardware synths, I use the Korg Minilogue and the Roland SH-01A. I've had both of them for years, and honestly, I still feel like I haven't fully unlocked everything that they're capable of. There's an endless depth to these two instruments, so for now, I don't feel the need to add more synths to my collection.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out with TouchOSC – you sometimes even use it just with your phone, right?
TouchOSC might seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually quite simple. I’d recommend starting with just a single fader and then mapping it to a track volume or a filter in Ableton. Starting from that one control, you can then add more things and you’ll naturally begin to develop your own unique workflow.
I also use TouchOSC on my phone all the time. For me, inspiration doesn’t always strike when I’m in the studio, it may also come when I’m just sitting on the couch relaxing. Being able to create music at a full “studio level” with just a phone and a laptop feels very liberating to me, and that’s really what I’m aiming for with my setup, portability without compromises.
How do you usually map your MIDI controllers – do you have fixed mappings already loaded up in a template or project?
I save every essential element for composing into a single master template. In that file, MIDI and OSC are pre-mapped to various devices, which allows me to jump straight into the creative flow the second I open it.
If I had to describe my master template … to me, it really feels like building my own personal music machine. I've never actually used one, but I think it’s a bit like building my own customized Octatrack with Ableton Live and TouchOSC (I hope the Elektron fans won't be too upset with me, haha!). And this master template file is something I basically update every day, so it is constantly evolving.
What was the inspiration for developing your own sequencer?
I found most existing sequencers either too lacking in accidental and experimental capabilities, or they went too far in the opposite direction, e.g. were too chaotic or abstract. There are some great sequencers in Max4Live, but operating them with a mouse was always a constant source of frustration for me. So in the end, the sequencer I was looking for simply didn't exist, and I had no choice but to go and build it myself, haha!
What makes it different from other sequencers out there?
The foundation of the sequencer I'm currently developing goes back to a homemade sequencer I built seven years ago, but without Max4Live. I'm now rebuilding it in Max4Live to make it more versatile and expandable.
The key features are the ability to freely change the maximum number of steps, being able to shift steps forward and backward, and being able to freely reposition the sequencer's starting point. This opens up a huge range of rhythmic patterns and polyrhythms and allows for all kinds of unexpected combinations. I'm also currently working on adding the ability to perform the sequencer in real time with 16 step faders … and since it's all controllable via TouchOSC in my setup, you could say that I’m trying to build a sequencer that you can actually play like an instrument!
What benefits do you see in producing with software compared to hardware?
It doesn't take up any space, and everything can be managed inside a single computer. But let's be honest, it also does nothing to calm that urge to go out and buy more physical gear!
How do you stay creative and find sounds amid all the options that software offers?
I think that no matter what environment you're working in, the options are going to be overwhelming. So I'd say you’re also facing the same problem with hardware. Perhaps the key is to not think in terms of what you need, but what you can do without. In the past, I used to buy a lot of plugins; but without really understanding them on a deeper level, they just ended up as “cosmic debris” floating around somewhere on my hard drive.
However, these days, I'm definitely the type to really go deep into one particular piece of software. There's nothing quite like that moment when you discover something new or have a sudden flash of inspiration from a tool you've been using for years. That's where the real thrill is, I think. I do have a lot of admiration for DAWless setups, but my current setup – e.g. just a phone with TouchOSC and a laptop – is also pretty close to a DAWless setup in spirit, I think.
Are there any “hidden gem" plugins that you use a lot and would like to spread the word about?
For me, it's SLOW by the genius that is Tim Exile. It's “just” a delay/reverb device, but it creates very special and incredibly strange, seemingly endless, reverb sounds. And when you then control it in real time, it really opens up a whole world of expressive performance possibilities. I've been using SLOW for about ten years now, and I am still not tired of it.
I saw you're a big fan of Fors.fm too – we interviewed them a while ago. Amazing stuff. Do you have a favorite device from them?
Fors.fm has been a real revolution for me. I'm so drawn to their work that at this point, I honestly feel like I don't need any other synths. Pivot especially is an absolute favorite of mine. FM synthesis can often seem intimidating, but Pivot is incredibly intuitive and simple to use. I think it would be a great learning tool for beginners, too. There's a free version called Pivot Lite, so definitely give that a try! Chiral is also just incredible, I'm currently right in the middle of diving deep into it. And since Fors.fm devices are built in M4L, I've also been having fun reverse engineering them. Their design is just beautiful, it's like an art in itself.
You recently posted a reel about the 303. Are these kinds of classic sounds still relevant to your music? I've spotted a 101, too …
Absolutely, they do still have a huge influence on me. I just love the sound of the 303 and 101, there's something about that hypnotic sound I can't resist. I only have emulated versions of these devices (the Audiorealism ABL3 plugin and the Roland SH-01A), but they're absolutely essential to my music.
Do you have any last words or things you would like to say?
Reflecting on this interview, I’m reminded once again that I think what matters most is really that process of going deep, the exploration itself. We’re now living in an era where you can use AI, enter a prompt, and a polished track appears instantly. There is a certain kind of magic to that, obviously, but to me, the real thrill and value lie in the journey rather than the finish line. To me, the real joy of creation resides in that process of trial and error and the failures, breakthroughs and stories that unfold along the way.
You can find out more about Kawatin's music here.