As the temperature starts to pick-up as we near summer, we’re all on the look-out for new carefree grooves to accompany our outdoor leisure time. And, in Pachyman’s delicious new record, Another Place, we’ve found a perfect taste of the months ahead.
Born in Puerto Rico and now based in Los Angeles, Pachyman - aka Pachy Garcia - has been shaping his unique blend of dub reggae for the last few years. He's also maintained a keen awareness of the scene’s purist gatekeepers…
But, on his new record, Another Place (his fifth for ATO Records), Garcia has decided to venture out of the genre confines, gatekeepers be damned.
“I needed to break out of this formalist dub reggae purist mindset to find a more personal sound, create my own niche,” Garcia says.
While still rooted in dub, the new album incorporates flavours from a slew of other genres, from post punk to chillwave to jazz, all carefully constructed in his analogue gear-filled 333 House.
We caught up with Pachy to learn more about the making of this record, his unique assortment of gear, and how he broke free of the perceptions of others…
MusicRadar: Hi Pachy. Firstly, let’s talk about Another Place, your fifth album for ATO records. What was the starting point for this record and what were you hoping to achieve?
Pachy Garcia: I kind of started where I left off with my previous record, Switched On. But I went further into, like, a different zone.
On some of the songs, I wanted to showcase a little bit more of my influences, and evolve the project.
I kind of wanted to continue being more myself. At the start of the project, it was very rooted in, like, the old school dub reggae, early Jamaican stuff. But, I feel like I’ve paid my dues in that world. I wanted to just kind of continue evolving as my own artist.
I wanted to see, what I could bring to the conversation with the context of this music from the experience that I've gathered in being in different bands. Being a Puerto Rican in the diaspora, and just kind of seeing where this could take me. It segued into a couple of different zones.
On [Another Place] there’s some post-punk, there’s some like jazz fusion interludes and then there’s some reggae-type stuff, but also Latin influences. I wanted to explore those scenarios. Then I ended up getting somewhere pretty different to what I’d done before. I’m pretty proud of it.
There’s that pressure, which is really dumb to think about, when you think ‘how are people going to perceive this?’ - I always catch myself doing that.
You have to be true to yourself and go with your gut feeling your gut feeling. Some people are purists, but then you’re going to grab some new ears, too.
MR: How do tracks typically begin for you?
PG: [They used] to start with just drums and bass - I would record keyboards and guitar on-top of that.
After making my last album I started writing on keyboards more often. Sitting down on the keys to start and figuring out the bass towards the end. It kind of varies, though.
The track on the album, Berlin, started on drums, but I went totally left-field on the harmonic part, it was similar with the track False Moves, which started on drums and bass, but I wanted to shape it into a kind of post-punk thing.
MR: Can you talk us through the gear in 333 House? We hear you've got quite the penchant for vintage stuff?
PG: It’s a pretty minimal studio to be honest, but it does have things that I really enjoy [using]. A friend of mine sold me some 1950’s and 60’s ribbon microphones. One of them is a British Reslo ribbon microphone from the 1950s, and the other is from Russia. Those sound really great - they capture the room really well. They have a good texture.
I’ve also got a Hammond M3 organ that I acquired from a thrift store. That’s been on all my records since I got signed. That’s a particular item that I love, it’s a pretty big piece which, if I ever move, I’ll have to work out how to get it out!
I’ve been using the same bass on all my recordings, too. It’s an old short-scale 1970s’ Fender Musicmaster.
I kind of love how it doesn’t really sound good - but for some reason it sounds good on the stuff that I do. Those instruments are always present, they’re the imperatives.
A friend of mine also builds consoles, and he recently refurbished an old Soundcraft Series 1 Mk1 console - the same one that Lee Scratch Perry had in his Black Ark studio.
That’s the main sauce! That’s the brain of the whole production thing, really. I love it. I’ve used it [quite a bit] and now kind of my console. It’s going to forever be on my records because I love how it sounds.
MR: When recording, do you work mainly in analogue/tape sources or do you use a DAW?
PG: I used to do a lot of tape recordings, but I've always worked in Ableton Live.
I used to record in Ableton first, then I would dump that on tape and then replay back the tape through the mixer, and then just go back into Ableton and [build out] the stereo tracks.
But [recently] I've been strictly keeping digital because I figured out a way to use digital that sounds the way that I like it but still has that whole tape texture. The console helps a lot.
Tape was slowing down my process. Having to rewind, for example. And, sometimes the tape machine didn’t work. I miss working With tape though and I want to get back to it eventually.
MR: Are you more drawn to hardware or software, generally? And do you think which route you choose to go down impacts on how you make music?
PG: A lot of people just kind of, like, gravitate towards the thing that helps them work faster, and not have to think about it too much. It’s a very personal thing. In my case it worked really well when I was using tape because it added an extra layer of grit - it kind of put a filter on the songs.
It made me a little more confident listening to them like that - hearing them completely different to how they sounded in the studio. It made it fun for me.
But yeah, I figured out an approach in the digital realm where [songs] still sound kind of different towards the end.
MR: There’s some quirky lead and synth sounds on the record, like on the track Strikes Back. what lay behind the creation of those?
PG: That’s a Roland SH-01A - a recreation of the original Roland SH-101. It was used by artists like Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin and loads of other people and I’ve always wanted one.
When [Roland] made this I snapped it up. I took my time to learn it and have had it for a good four years now. I feel like it’s become quite an important [instrument]. It’s been on all my records and I still find new ways to use it.”
Synths are kind of like a maze you know? It can take forever to really understand them - I still don't understand synths. I still don't understand the one that I've had for 4 years. I just gravitate towards presets. But each time I learn something new about it.
MR: What gear couldn’t you live without?
PG: “Oh, man, that's a really hard question. I mean without Ableton [Live] none of this would have happened.
But really, I’ve got to say my hi-hats. I’ve had those hi-hats for like, 13 years now. They’re on every record and in every band I've been in. They’re on tour right now with me.
They're like all 1973 Zildjian New Beats. It’s not a ‘tech’ thing per-say, but it’s a big part of the aesthetic of the band.
Then of course there’s the Roland Space Echo. I’ve got the Boss version of it. That’s been with me since I started.
MR: What are the biggest challenges of being a professional music artist in 2025?
PG: Man, touring and making a living, that's like, the biggest thing. Making records today is easier. Everyone's got technology, or everyone's got a friend that has some sort of bedroom studio that you can create incredible records out of.
You don't have to be going to multi-million dollar studios anymore. The hard part is going on tour and playing shows and making it work.
Inflation is up everywhere. Ticket prices are the same, people don't really buy tickets that much anymore, because there's, like, so many things happening. So, it’s hard to make a living on the road.
Another one is making a show sound good.
MR: Ultimately, where do you prefer to be, on stage or in-studio?
PG: I think I'm a more studio man, it's an art - working on new tunes and forwarding your practice and trying to create your next body of work. It's something that I love.
I love being on stage as well. But sometimes it [can be] nerve wracking. It can be demoralizing, you can get thrown on stages where people, like, really don't care. You feel like a clown sometimes. But it's worth it when there's one person that gets inspired by what you do,
In the studio, you're like in your own safe space, creating your own art for yourself or for others. You can really get creative in there. It’s [different to being on the road]. You can be well rested, and take care of by yourself, you know, and you have your loved ones close.
For more info on Pachyman's tour and live dates, and to listen to Another Place, head over to his official website
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