Musician and YouTuber Hainbach on ‘Breath of the Wild’ and Swiss Army Knives
Musician and YouTuber Hainbach on ‘Breath of the Wild’ and Swiss Army Knives
音乐人兼 YouTuber Hainbach 谈《旷野之息》与瑞士军刀
Stefan Paul Goetsch, better known as Hainbach, is a German experimental composer, artist, and YouTuber who is perhaps most famous for making music with laboratory equipment and scientific instruments. He describes it as being like the “Dark Souls of synthesis.” Despite using “hard mode” production techniques that often rely on telephone line testing equipment and gear salvaged from nuclear testing facilities, Hainbach is also incredibly prolific, releasing six albums in 2025 alone, along with a handful of singles and EPs. His latest, Gentle Hum, is a collaboration with Ah! Kosmos (Turkish composer, Başak Günak). The album is a melancholic collection of unconventional percussion, droning analog synths, processed vocals, and, of course, burbling test equipment.
Stefan Paul Goetsch（更为人熟知的名字是 Hainbach）是一位德国实验作曲家、艺术家和 YouTuber，他最出名的地方在于利用实验室设备和科学仪器创作音乐。他将这种创作方式形容为“合成器界的《黑暗之魂》”。尽管他使用的“困难模式”制作技术往往依赖于电话线路测试设备和从核试验设施中回收的器材，但 Hainbach 的创作力极其旺盛，仅 2025 年就发行了六张专辑，以及多首单曲和 EP。他的最新作品《Gentle Hum》是与 Ah! Kosmos（土耳其作曲家 Başak Günak）的合作专辑。这张专辑是一部忧郁的合集，融合了非传统的打击乐、持续轰鸣的模拟合成器、经过处理的人声，当然，还有那些发出咕噜声的测试设备。
His award-winning composing career and frequent musical collaborations would be enough to keep most people busy 24/7, but Hainbach is also a successful YouTuber. His channel explores experimental music techniques, obscure vintage gear, and even modern oddities like the Bastl Kalimba. As if that wasn’t enough, he also frequently collaborates with companies like AudioThing to bring the essence of his arcane music-making setup to modern DAWs. (I personally own several of them, including the amazing Wires plugin.)
他屡获殊荣的作曲生涯和频繁的音乐合作足以让大多数人 24/7 忙得不可开交，但 Hainbach 同时也是一位成功的 YouTuber。他的频道探索实验音乐技术、冷门的复古器材，甚至像 Bastl Kalimba 这样的现代奇物。不仅如此，他还经常与 AudioThing 等公司合作，将他那套神秘音乐制作设备的精髓带入现代数字音频工作站（DAW）。（我个人就拥有其中好几款插件，包括那款令人惊叹的 Wires 插件。）
With so many projects going on all the time, we wanted to know what Hainbach was most proud of and what the glue is that’s holding his intimidating studio together.
由于他手头总是有这么多项目，我们想了解 Hainbach 最引以为傲的是什么，以及是什么纽带支撑着他那令人望而生畏的工作室。
What is your most indispensable tool? 你最不可或缺的工具是什么？
A Nagra reel-to-reel tape recorder. I use these for my live shows, in the studio, for music and sound design. A wonder of technology, the absolute high-end of its time, and still sounding fantastic many decades later.
一台 Nagra 开盘式磁带录音机。我会在现场演出、录音室、音乐创作和声音设计中使用它。它是科技的奇迹，是那个时代绝对的高端产品，几十年后的今天听起来依然美妙绝伦。
What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer? 你在新手机或电脑上安装的第一个应用程序是什么？
Gauss Field Recorder. It’s an app I made with Bram Bos to solve a problem I always had: I made a lot of field recordings with the phone, thinking I would use them at some point. I never did, and ended up with a huge library of unsorted and unnamed voice memos. With Gauss, I can immediately turn any recording into music and save and share the session.
Gauss Field Recorder。这是我和 Bram Bos 一起开发的一款应用，旨在解决我一直以来的困扰：我曾用手机录制了大量的现场录音，总想着以后会用到，但从未真正使用过，结果积攒了一个庞大且杂乱无章、未命名的语音备忘录库。有了 Gauss，我可以立即将任何录音转化为音乐，并保存和分享整个会话。
How many tabs do you have open right now? 你现在打开了多少个标签页？
Since it’s morning, only my two Gmail accounts and this questionnaire. Later in the day, that might turn into 20-plus, especially if I do research.
因为现在是早上，只有我的两个 Gmail 账户和这份问卷。到了当天晚些时候，可能会增加到 20 多个，尤其是在我做研究的时候。
Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)? 你使用最多的社交媒体平台是什么（如果有的话）？
It is pretty evenly split, as I post to all. But mostly it’s work, I am not there for recreation.
使用频率相当平均，因为我会在所有平台上发布内容。但主要是为了工作，我不会在那里进行娱乐活动。
What is your happy place online? 你在网络上的“快乐老家”是哪里？
My Patreon. I love the community and the security it brought me. I could not have embarked on my oddball musical journey without it.
我的 Patreon。我热爱那个社区，以及它带给我的安全感。如果没有它，我不可能开启我那古怪的音乐之旅。
What is your favorite gadget you’ve ever owned? 你拥有过的最喜欢的电子产品（或小工具）是什么？
Definitely the Swiss Army Knife. Both as a kid and as a dad now, it has come in so useful. Even on stage, I use it to fix my Swiss Nagras, as they work perfectly together. I have forgotten that I had them on me on flights, though, so I had to mail them to me from airports across the world. That is why I sadly don’t carry them on me anymore, for fear of losing them.
绝对是瑞士军刀。无论是在童年还是现在作为父亲，它都非常实用。甚至在舞台上，我也会用它来修理我的瑞士 Nagra 录音机，它们配合得天衣无缝。不过，我曾多次在乘机时忘记身上带着它，不得不从世界各地的机场把它寄回给自己。这就是为什么我很遗憾现在不再随身携带它，因为怕弄丢。
Which was the most disappointing? 最让你失望的是什么？
Anything that tried to replace the Swiss Army Knife. Like those stupid credit card-sized tools.
任何试图取代瑞士军刀的东西。比如那些愚蠢的信用卡大小的工具。
What game do you have the fondest memories of? 你记忆中最美好的游戏是什么？
Playing Breath of the Wild for my kids during the pandemic. They were riveted, and we suffered and felt joy throughout the game. When it was finished, they burst into tears, and I had to promise that we would replay it. Which we did, this time getting the full ending. After that, my oldest played it, and she did 100 percent shrine completion on master mode. In the end, she was doing stuff like changing weapons in between strikes to damage max, which was wild to me.
疫情期间为我的孩子们玩《旷野之息》。他们被深深吸引，我们在整个游戏过程中共同经历了痛苦与快乐。游戏结束时，他们泪流满面，我不得不承诺我们会重玩一遍。我们确实做到了，这次还打出了完整结局。之后，我的大女儿亲自上手，她在“大师模式”下完成了 100% 的神庙收集。最后，她甚至能做到在攻击间隙切换武器以实现伤害最大化，这对我来说简直太疯狂了。
Which tech trend do you wish would go away? 你希望哪种科技趋势消失？
AI music and sound generators. Slop machines for technocrats that never felt the joy of getting good at something.
AI 音乐和声音生成器。那是为那些从未感受过“通过努力变得精通”之乐趣的技术官僚准备的垃圾机器。
What creation are you most proud of? 你最引以为傲的作品是什么？
My series of Destruction Loops. An installation music piece that destroys itself over time, which I used to exorcise online hate comments, regrets of viewers and listeners, and far-right speech.
我的《Destruction Loops》（毁灭循环）系列。这是一部会随着时间推移自我毁灭的装置音乐作品，我用它来“驱散”网络上的仇恨言论、观众和听众的遗憾，以及极右翼言论。
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? 你收到过最好的建议是什么？
Stand still. My wife was watching one of my early live shows as Hainbach, and I still had all the movements in me that I learned from playing years upon years in rock and electronic bands. Those movements did not correlate with my music at all, it was just a habit. Now I curate every movement, there is not one unconscious thing I do on stage.
保持静止。我妻子曾观看我早期以 Hainbach 名义进行的现场演出，当时我身上还带着多年在摇滚和电子乐队演出时养成的各种动作习惯。这些动作与我的音乐完全不符，纯粹只是习惯。现在，我会精心设计每一个动作，我在舞台上做的每一件事都不会是无意识的。
What is your current obsession? 你目前沉迷于什么？
Passive Bandpass Filters. I am just about to drive to East Germany to get a set that used to belong to Deutsche Reichsbahn, the GDR train service. These filters often sound wonderful, and I have quite the collection now. I just turned one of them into a plug-in with Irish company AudioThing.
无源带通滤波器。我正准备开车去东德，去取一套曾经属于东德铁路（Deutsche Reichsbahn）的设备。这些滤波器听起来往往非常美妙，我现在已经收藏了不少。我刚刚还与爱尔兰公司 AudioThing 合作，将其中一个滤波器做成了插件。
What do you do when you need to focus? 当你需要专注时会做什么？
Not much, just a bit of time. I can zone in fast, something I taught myself during the little time I had when I was doing my mandatory government service, and still felt the absolute need to create music in the short breaks.
不需要做什么，只需要一点时间。我能很快进入状态，这是我在服兵役期间学会的技能——当时我时间很少，却依然感到在短暂的休息时间里创作音乐是绝对必要的。