Workflow: Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells on the OP-1

A few years ago, Swedish company Teenage Engineering debuted the OP-1 portable music workstation. It’s one of the most buzzed-about instruments in the marketplace today, and one of the most identifiable. About the size of an old Casio SK-1, the OP-1 is a synthesizer, drum machine, multitrack recorder, sequencer and sampler.

While nobody can deny the design or build quality, many people have balked at the price and usability; it’s not the best-sounding synth or drum machine, and the recording and sequencing features aren’t exactly robust. For many, the limitations make it just a toy. For Sleigh Bells’ Derek Miller however, those same limitations are what make it the perfect synth for writing pop songs.

What are specific strengths of the OP-1 that make it suited to songwriters?

I mainly use the drum sounds to sketch out quick beats, loop those using the loop function on a Roland Cube combo amp, and play guitar and/or synth on top. I’ll then record those fragments into my iPhone voice recorder for later reference. This is the quickest and easiest way for me to get ideas down. I actually consider this pre-production. I play back these ideas when I’m hanging out with my friend Shane Stoneback, who is also our engineer, at which point I’ll begin the process of building and arranging the instrumental using my sound library. It’s important that I restrict myself to the OP-1 sounds initially. Occasionally one of the “stock” sounds makes it on an album track, but I always augment it in some way using my own sounds.

What are some Sleigh Bells songs that began as ideas on the OP-1?

Pretty much everything for our third release!

What are limitations of the OP-1 that you’ve come to embrace?

I have yet to become frustrated with it, to be honest. It serves its purpose perfectly. I prefer early ideas to be as raw and open-ended as possible, which is why I never use my sound library until I’m ready to work on something I think will make the record. A riff or beat or idea from the OP-1 might sit around for months. But once I replace everything with new sounds I’ve either made or found, it becomes something else completely. This also keeps me focused on the most important part/ big picture: the song. If the rough sketch excites [Sleigh Bells singer] Alexis [Krauss] and me, it usually only gets better once I really go to work.

A version of this article appeared in The Daily Note, a free daily newspaper distributed in New York during the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy.