For quite a while, I’ve been following the Cinematic Laboratory YouTube channel – a place where music, mystery, and deep technical knowledge converge. The videos feel like transmissions from another dimension: part tutorial, part performance, part secret diary.
Now, we finally step behind the curtain and into the Cinematic Laboratory to uncover the inspirations, methods, and quiet obsessions that have shaped this unique presence in our community. Please meet Robert – the person behind Cinematic Laboratory.
From Moroder and E-mu samplers, to a Motif and Maschine
“I don’t really have a formal musical background, but I’ve always felt ‘blessed’ to be born in 1963. My earliest years were filled with Elvis, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones – but music truly began to resonate with me in the 70s. I discovered Queen, Bowie, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, and Roxy Music, but my real love affair with electronic music began when I first heard Giorgio Moroder's I Feel Love by Donna Summer, on a tiny transistor radio in 1974.
“The 80s then brought electronic music into the mainstream. Music remained a hobby for me, and over the years I owned many classic Rolands, Korgs, and E-mu samplers.
“Talent? Maybe. What I definitely had was a mind like a music encyclopedia – plus a mental SD card.
“Professionally, I worked in ICT, back when a dual-floppy IBM was cutting-edge, and I still remember Windows 1.0 in black and white. In the 2000s, I specialized in digital fraud detection, starting my own company in 2010, already using AI to catch digital criminals. That work allowed me to retire early in 2020 – so when people say AI will ruin our lives, I just smile. It’s not karma, it’s bad choices. I know all about those.
“Of course, it wasn’t all a fairytale. Two divorces, two burnouts. In 2015, I returned to keyboards, buying a Yamaha Motif. I missed sampling, so I got a Native Instruments Maschine – not realizing it was a VST-powered controller. At first I wanted to sell it, but soon my hardware was gathering dust, and I began developing my own “cinematic dance music” genre…”
