Elektron Digitakt II as Creative Nerve Center: Jeremiah Chiu’s Human-Machine Dialogue

A core tenet of Chiu’s process is the separation of creation and critique. He stresses the importance of allowing ideas to flow freely before engaging the analytical mind. For Chiu, making and judging simultaneously can stifle exploration, leading to missed opportunities and a focus on minutiae rather than potential.

He advocates for an initial phase of unfiltered experimentation, where possibilities are explored without the constraints of self-editing. Only after this generative stage does he shift into a more evaluative mode, shaping and refining the material. This philosophy underpins both his teaching and his personal practice, encouraging a workflow that prioritizes discovery over perfectionism.

Chiu positions the Digitakt II as the central hub in his setup, acting as the master clock and control surface for all connected devices. Through the Tubatec TRS MIDI Bridge, he’s able to send program changes and switch entire patterns across his rig with a single gesture. This level of integration means that modular synths, full-size keyboards, and other gear all follow the Digitakt II’s lead.

The result is a performance environment where sequences and patterns can be manipulated on the fly, making the Digitakt II not just a drum machine or sampler, but a true conductor for the ensemble. Chiu highlights the fun and immediacy of this approach, noting how it enables spontaneous shifts and dynamic control during live sets.

Improvisation sits at the heart of Chiu’s creative approach. He describes a process where live performances are recorded extensively, providing raw material for later collage, composition, and editing. This method allows him to capture moments of genuine expression that might otherwise be lost in more rigid production workflows.

By prioritizing live takes and spontaneous interaction with his instruments, Chiu seeks to preserve a sense of liveness and humanity in his electronic music. He acknowledges the tendency of electronic setups to become overly rigid or quantized, and deliberately pushes against this by embracing the unpredictability and nuance of real-time performance.

Chiu reflects on the broader question of what listeners value in music, suggesting that technical proficiency often takes a back seat to emotional resonance and storytelling. He points to the enduring appeal of archival recordings and demos, where imperfections and human touches become a source of connection.

For Chiu, the challenge and fascination of electronic music lie in making human music with electricity. He contrasts the reproducibility of computer-based workflows with the subtle variability of modular and analog gear, where each performance is slightly different. Ultimately, his goal is to use these tools to express individuality and emotion, ensuring that the story and the human element remain at the forefront of his work.