Arturia: Tell us first a bit about yourself.
Luis Murillo: “I’m a musician and producer who has devoted half my life to exploring, reinterpreting, and deconstructing different musical genres using the latest technology. This has allowed me to experience a wide range of creative possibilities in artistic and cultural sectors such as dance, literature, theater, cinema, music, entertainment, and so on. I have performed in many and varied spaces across Mexico, as well as several countries where my work has been nominated and awarded: festivals like The Smoked Mirror 2003 (India), Qwartz Electronic Music Award 2004 (France), Meeting Latin American and Industrial Electronic Sounds 2005 and Bogotrax 2009 (Colombia). I have also developed various social & cultural projects to benefit the Mexican electronic music scene, I also participated actively in other sound projects and multidisciplinary research. I am also a Trainer and Coordinator of Electronic Music at the SAE Institute in Mexico, where I have developed techniques and methods to teach the application of technology in music creation and audio development.”
Arturia: Tell us about the courses that you offer in music and music technology
Luis Murillo: “Electronic Music Production (EMP) at the SAE Institute is a certificate divided into three stages. The first one is about general issues related to the history of electronic music, music theory, sound & synthesis, digital audio & sampling, focusing on how to use hardware in electronic music. The second is all about the use of different types of software for recording, editing, production, arrangement, and mixing and mastering. The third and final stage consists in working with a final student project.”
Arturia: How has the surge of modern music technology affected the way that the courses are planned and presented over the past few years?
Luis Murillo: “It depends on technology trends and products for music creation. The basis of the curriculum is preserved, but it’s updated to fit the market’s demand. There are issues that are essential, but at the same time there are other styles and genres that appear and are culturally added to the existing ones.”
Arturia: When choosing the music equipment for the studios, what do you look for?
Luis Murillo: “Mainly they have to be educational and easy to use, not just in music application but also in the accessibility of equipment and its operation system. After that, they need to be simple to understand for those who are approaching electronic music machines for the first time, and they also have an attractive sound that captivates the listener.”
Arturia: You’ve chosen Arturia products in your recent facility upgrade, which equipment have you chosen and how do you and your students work with it?
Luis Murillo: “Arturia retains much of the traditional applications of electronic music with contemporary updates that allow me to introduce different topics to students in class. Arturia products help me cover synthesis, the use of arpeggios, MIDI / CV connections, and hybrid synthesizers, letting students link to the world of hardware / software.
We’re currently working with MiniBrute, MicroBrute , Spark LE ,V Collection. We are also looking forward to working with the DrumBrute and MatrixBrute.”
Arturia: Once graduated, in which areas are your music students moving on to for work and starting their careers?
Luis Murillo: “There is a wide range of opportunities starting from producing their own music, playing live, working as studio assistants, arrangers, and producers. They can also have a career in the business of electronic music, because students understand the needs of electronic musicians and can support them in their career. There are others that have made use of their sound knowledge in the film industry.”
Arturia: Lastly, any further comments on Arturia and how it works for you in education?
Luis Murillo: “Arturia is a very important tool for me because it is very graphic in its design. This helps me effectively illustrate the theoretical part to students. They also have a very good sound that is helpful for them to begin to compare sound quality of different instruments. Arturia’s virtual synthesizers are also excellent for classes because they are very attractive to students and great to learn about synthesis.”