Musician and YouTuber Hainbach on ‘Breath of the Wild’ and Swiss Army Knives

Stefan Paul Goetsch, amended known arsenic Hainbach, is simply a German experimental composer, artist, and YouTuber who is possibly astir celebrated for making euphony pinch laboratory instrumentality and technological instruments. He describes it arsenic being for illustration the “Dark Souls of synthesis.” Despite utilizing “hard mode” accumulation techniques that often trust connected telephone statement testing instrumentality and cogwheel salvaged from atomic testing facilities, Hainbach is besides incredibly prolific, releasing six albums successful 2025 alone, on pinch a fistful of singles and EPs. His latest, Gentle Hum, is simply a collaboration pinch Ah! Kosmos (Turkish composer, Başak Günak). The medium is simply a melancholic postulation of unconventional percussion, droning analog synths, processed vocals, and, of course, burbling trial equipment.

His award-winning composing profession and predominant philharmonic collaborations would beryllium capable to support astir group engaged 24/7, but Hainbach is besides a successful YouTuber. His channel explores experimental euphony techniques, obscure vintage gear, and moreover modern oddities for illustration the Bastl Kalimba. As if that wasn’t enough, he besides often collaborates pinch companies for illustration AudioThing to bring the principle of his arcane music-making setup to modern DAWs. (I personally ain respective of them, including the astonishing Wires plugin.)

With truthful galore projects going connected each the time, we wanted to cognize what Hainbach was astir proud of and what the glue is that’s holding his intimidating workplace together.

What is your astir indispensable tool?

A Nagra reel-to-reel portion recorder. I usage these for my unrecorded shows, successful the studio, for euphony and sound design. A wonderment of technology, the absolute high-end of its time, and still sounding awesome galore decades later.

What is the first app you instal connected a caller telephone aliases computer?

Gauss Field Recorder. It’s an app I made pinch Bram Bos to lick a problem I ever had: I made a batch of section recordings pinch the phone, reasoning I would usage them astatine immoderate point. I ne'er did, and ended up pinch a immense room of unsorted and unnamed sound memos. With Gauss, I tin instantly move immoderate signaling into euphony and prevention and stock the session.

How galore tabs do you person unfastened correct now?

Since it’s morning, only my 2 Gmail accounts and this questionnaire. Later successful the day, that mightiness move into 20-plus, particularly if I do research.

Which societal media level do you usage the astir (if any)?

It is beautiful evenly split, arsenic I station to all. But mostly it’s work, I americium not location for recreation.

What is your happy spot online?

My Patreon. I emotion the organization and the information it brought me. I could not person embarked connected my oddball philharmonic travel without it.

What is your favourite gadget you’ve ever owned?

Definitely the Swiss Army Knife. Both arsenic a kid and arsenic a dada now, it has travel successful truthful useful. Even connected stage, I usage it to hole my Swiss Nagras, arsenic they activity perfectly together. I person forgotten that I had them connected maine connected flights, though, truthful I had to message them to maine from airports crossed the world. That is why I sadly don’t transportation them connected maine anymore, for fearfulness of losing them.

Which was the astir disappointing?

Anything that tried to switch the Swiss Army Knife. Like those stupid in installments card-sized tools.

What crippled do you person the fondest memories of?

Playing Breath of the Wild for my kids during the pandemic. They were riveted, and we suffered and felt joyousness passim the game. When it was finished, they burst into tears, and I had to committedness that we would replay it. Which we did, this clip getting the afloat ending. After that, my oldest played it, and she did 100 percent shrine completion connected maestro mode. In the end, she was doing worldly for illustration changing weapons successful betwixt strikes to harm max, which was chaotic to me.

Which tech inclination do you wish would spell away?

AI euphony and sound generators. Slop machines for technocrats that ne'er felt the joyousness of getting bully astatine something.

What creation are you astir proud of?

My bid of Destruction Loops. An installation euphony portion that destroys itself complete time, which I utilized to exorcise online hate comments, regrets of viewers and listeners, and far-right speech.

What’s the champion portion of proposal you’ve ever received?

Stand still. My woman was watching 1 of my early unrecorded shows arsenic Hainbach, and I still had each the movements successful maine that I learned from playing years upon years successful stone and physics bands. Those movements did not correlate pinch my euphony astatine all, it was conscionable a habit. Now I curate each movement, location is not 1 unconscious point I do connected stage.

What is your existent obsession?

Passive Bandpass Filters. I americium conscionable astir to thrust to East Germany to get a group that utilized to beryllium to Deutsche Reichsbahn, the GDR train service. These filters often sound wonderful, and I person rather the postulation now. I conscionable turned 1 of them into a plug-in pinch Irish institution AudioThing.

What do you do erstwhile you request to focus?

Not much, conscionable a spot of time. I tin area successful fast, thing I taught myself during the small clip I had erstwhile I was doing my mandatory authorities service, and still felt the absolute request to create euphony successful the short breaks I got.

What do you do erstwhile you’re emotion stuck?

I spell for a locomotion to reset. Back successful the studio, I situation my assumptions connected what it is I americium moving on. Oftentimes, the culprit is the portion that I build a way around, nurturing it by giving it each these supporting structures. But past everything is playing together, and it’s conscionable not happening, not evoking a feeling, world, aliases story. Maybe that portion has served its usefulness, and it tin discontinue to the background, aliases conscionable disappear. It was possibly conscionable the muse, not the point itself.

If sidesplitting darlings was a crime, I would service aggregate life sentences.

When was the past clip you went location without your phone?

The spa area successful a edifice successful Karlsbad complete the Easter Holiday.

What’s the past portion of beingness media you bought?

Daniela Mars Heartweaving connected vinyl connected Bandcamp, from the creator herself. Astonishingly minimal and beautiful music.

What do you deliberation is worthy splurging on?

A decent bed, pinch a bully mattress and pillow. Important for semipermanent health, particularly arsenic a touring musician.

What would the tagline for your biopic be?

In Germany, we for illustration to adhd wholly over-the-top taglines to the title, moreover to American movies. Top Gun - Sie Fürchten Weder Tod Noch Teufel (“They Fear Neither Death nor the Devil”). So maybe: Hainbach - Cold War Confidential. I usage Soviet service ligament recorders and American atomic and subject investigation instrumentality to make music, truthful location is immoderate truth to that astatine least.

What’s the past GIF aliases meme you used?

I don’t deliberation I ever utilized a meme, though I person seen memes of myself. And now it’s 8 tabs by the way, and you should wholly bargain my caller medium pinch Ah! Kosmos that is playing successful 1 of them.