Because of the economics of being a musician, it’s not uncommon for bands to have several members, who have side projects. Adding to a lengthy list, Trans Am’s drummer, Sebastian Thomson has a solo side project, Publicist, in which Thomson focuses on synth and drum based house music/electronic dance music. 

And like countless other synth-based acts, Thomson was down in Asheville, NC for this year’s Moogfest, the then annual celebration of all things electronic and Bob Moog, the inventor of the now ubiquitous Moog synthesizer.  

Thomson, like a handful of other selected acts was invited to record material at Moog Sound Labs, which as you can see is comprised of a room of synths, sequencers,  samplers and other electronic ephemera. In this particular video, Thomson reworks one of his singles “Slave.” First, Thomson programmed his own analog drums on 6 Minimoog Voyagers, which were then trigged by MIDI drum pads and anchored by an accompanying track. He also used a vocal processor to deepen his voice and a Minifogger Delay to create a slap back effect. If there’s one thing that should be obvious it’s this – the track manages to evoke the sound and feel of late 80s and early 90s house music, thanks to propulsive synths and drums.