Ohms is the genre-bending solo project of Melbourne-based composer, sound engineer, and performer Lachlan P. Rother.
The current guitarist of post-punk outfit GLASNOST and drummer of High Control Group, Ohms newest release is the single 'No Chance'. Recorded, engineered, and mixed by Lachlan along with Andrew Robinson and Timothy Dunn, the track was mastered by Mikey Young of Total Control and Eddy Current Suppression Ring.
It draws influence from the fear and uncertainty felt from wealth disparity and financial instability, a notion that lingers in the collective zeitgeist.
A dark, paranoid pastiche of gothic, angular post-punk influences, echoing artists like XTC, John Maus, Devo, The Stranglers and The Associates, icy synthesizers accompany melodic guitar passages, which serve to punctuate the track's baroque-esque atmosphere.
A hands-on artist who likes to maintain control over most of the creative aspects of music making, here Ohms shares the music gear he can't live without. "For as long as I can remember, I have possessed a relentless fascination with the mechanics and technology which enable us to capture ideas, images, and sounds.
"Knobs, wires, levers, and buttons illicit a child-like sense of awe, offering a much needed tactility that is all too lost in the age of digital interfaces.
"Musical equipment is a great obsession of mine – tactile, analogue works of craftsmanship which open up a vast world of sonic possibilities. These five pieces of music history are just some of the beauties I can't live without."
Klemt Echolette NG51 Tape Echo
Affectionately known as the 'golden box', this 60-plus-year-old relic continues to deliver gold. These units were built with the meticulous precision and sturdiness of a German tank, and deliver surprisingly diverse variety of echo rhythms, considering how primitive the technology is by today's standards.I love to just use the preamp sometimes, cranking up the Eingang Lautstärke (input volume) in order to make the tubes distort – delivering an unmistakably rich set of harmonics. Truly a gear nut's wet dream.
Moog Grandmother Semi-Modular Synthesizer
Often considered a modern classic, I honestly think this 2018 mono-synth can rival (but of course, never defeat) the legendary Mini-Moog Model D. With their signature latter filter and ability to overdrive the oscillator inputs, you'll be able to capture the unmistakable sound of a Moog synthesizer for a fraction of the cost of their classics.With the ability to patch various modules in all different directions, the Grandmother can produce some really far out sounds that border on FM synthesis. Oh, and it has a built-in spring reverb tank – very neat.
Luthier made Alnus Precision Bass
During the COVID lockdowns I was sitting on a decent amount of money in savings. So, naturally I did what everyone else did when they had transcended the concept of boredom – I made an exorbitant online purchase. I needed a bass guitar at the time, and pined for a Fender P-Bass, but I wasn't MADE of money, so I came across a luthier based in Rome named Luca.A few months later, I had in my hands the most beautiful bass a man could dream of. With a body built from an old Chianti barrel, it delivered everything a Fender could, and more. Warm, smooth, versatile, and easy to play, it's been in every recording of mine since.
Yamaha YC-25D Combo Organ
Although admittedly, I'm quite shite at playing any form of keys, let alone an organ, I honestly could not live without this masterful centrepiece of mid-century Japanese engineering. Sitting somewhere between a Farfisa and Vox organ of the same period, the YC-25D has made it onto numerous recordings of mine – including my latest single.I adore the level of experimentation engineers of this period embraced through their designs, employing proto-polyphonic synthesizer presets into their products which (poorly) mimic real instrumentation. With a colour palette this vast, and a design that looks futuristic almost six decades on, Yamaha's YC range has a very special place in my heart.
Höfner Colorama ii Guitar
A recent acquisition, I bought this on a whim last year as it was incredibly cheap for a vintage Höfner. I later realised how much of an esoteric gem these things are. Admittedly, I know very little about guitar technology (I couldn't tell you what the tonal difference between single coil/double coil pickups entails), but I know a good guitar when I hear one.This thing is insanely crisp, warm, and harmonically dense, and just sounds alive when played. Plus, it gets the wildest, yet most musical feedback when you crank up an amp's input gain. Surely had the capacity to make mothers back in 1962 West Germany clutch their pearls.
