My Gear: Lotus Moonchild

If you’ve been out and about to one of Melbourne’s many bars and clubs lately, then there’s a very good chance you’ve heard Lotus Moonchild spinning tunes somewhere. Lotus is a talented DJ with a focus on UK Bass, House and Disco — Lotus has all the fire to light up any dancefloor. She’s also an accomplished producer and part of Melbourne’s legendary Operatives crew, with a string of releases and new work in the pipeline. DJ by night, producer by day, and all-round legend the rest of the time, Noisegate caught up with her in between gigs to give us an insight into her music production.  

What’s your one treasured piece of gear and why do you reckon it’s awesome?

I have a very treasured 2006 Roland SH-201 Synthesizer. It’s an underrated powerhouse. It’s intuitive and perfect for a first synth. It has a huge range of sounds and is super fun to play on. It also has a phono input which is super handy as a DJ. 

Has it influenced your production process?

100%. It’s given me an entry level insight into the power or synthesizers and the endless capacity to make unique sounds which has inspired me to be a lot more creative in what i’m doing, not just when using this piece of gear but in other areas of my production too. 

Did you use it on your latest track ‘Who’s in My Dreams”?

Sure did, the entire backbone for the track comes from the Roland, as does one of the other layers. 

Are you a gear hoarder or do you tend to gravitate towards single bits of gear for long periods of time?

I definitely gravitate towards single bits. I’ve been using this synth along with Ableton Live and a Kaoss Pad solely for the last year. I enjoy simplicity and accessibility. 

Got any tips or tricks you use in the studio your willing to share?

I’m really into using unintelligible vocals. A quick method I use a lot is to get a sample and reverse it, chop and space the chops randomly then layer heavy reverb (Little Plate is my current favourite) and Ableton delays. It gives it a nice ethereal feel and takes literally 5 minutes. It’s simple but effective. 

What’s in the foreseeable future for you?

I’m releasing a club track via Revolver for The Late Show: 20 Years compilation soon (editors note: ‘The Late Show’ is a club night at Melbourne’s Revolver). I’ve been DJing at Revolver for the last 3 years and it very quickly grabbed a big place in my heart. I‘m really excited for this release and honored to be included alongside a huge host of Melbourne talent.
I also have an EP due for release later this year that’s more emotion heavy, downtempo and ethereal (and it features my treasured 201 quite prominently). 

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