Peter Buffett

Inside Looking out Peter Buffett

This album represents a truly revolutionary step for me. But at the same time, goes back to the roots of my musical beginnings. For decades I had embraced the recording studio as my instrument. Throughout the 80s and 90s developments in analogue and digital technology transformed the way one could manipulate sound and compose music. Slowly, computers were making transformative advancements in the studio. Then about five years ago, I heard about a software program called Reason. It looked like a true replica of all the equipment I had been using in the studio-but it was all on my computer screen. No wires, no patch cables, no remembering delicate settings by writing them in a notepad. Instead, an elegantly simple way to have all the equipment I needed at my fingertips-with the added benefit of being able to experiment wildly because the 'undo' command was always available. I was skeptical that the program would sound as good as all that heavy and expensive equipment. Not unlike digital cameras being the underdog to film, I thought it would be impossible for the completely digital studio to measure up. But once I plugged my Mac into my Euphonix console, I decided to sell nearly every piece of hardware I owned. The music coming out of the laptop sounded fantastic-coupled with the creative possibilities, there was no comparison. Inside Looking Out is the first album I made entirely in the computer. In fact, much of it was made on my laptop while sitting in a setting other than a traditional studio. For those of you that only know of my work on such projects as Spirit, you may find this music a real departure. Those that are familiar with my earlier work on Narada will find music in a similar vein. For me, these new programs have realized a dream I've had since the late 70s-the ability to fine tune my ideas to a degree that was never possible with hardware-and without all the frustration of buzzing wires and missing notepads!