The Story of the 11:11 Collaboration Effect

Description

Welcome to Dr. No’s Analog Imaginarium.

 

The story of the 11:11 collaboration with Alain Johannes 2014/2016

The 11:11 project with Alain Johannes dates back to 2014.
Dr. No tried to encapsulate all the symbolism and connections of these symbols in this project both cosmetically and sonically.
Dr. No capturing musical DNA from the collaborator Alain Johannes, and pouring it into what ultimately became charged with enormous magic the 11:11 Collaboration effect with Alain Johannes.
The 11:11 represents the personally meaningful symbolism of Alain Johannes, which became the guideline for further development where the life story was symbolically honored and used as an inspiration to create the 11:11 effect.
Only 121 11:11 creations were handmade by Dr. No, where at the time 11 were made per lunar cycle over a period of 11 months.
These reached 110 people. Yes….110…..because 11 were kept behind by Dr. No in his archive, 1 of every 11 lunar cycles.

 

Dr. No Effects launches his new “Welcome to Dr. No’s Analog Imaginarium”in 2024, 22 years after he established Dr. No Effects. He includes these 11 11:11 creations from his archive as to be the second opener of this new project. These now collector’s items from the archive of Dr. No that have inestimable value to many are made available in Dr. No’s latest creation “Dr. No’s Analog Imaginarium”.

In the process towards this, Dr. No delves deeper into why and how he makes his imagination and fantasies reality for the first time by sharing more background and trivia about his Imaginarium.

To tell the whole story, I’ll go back in time a bit.
On October 11, 1996, as a 19 year old, I went to my first major arena concert by my then great music heroes Soundgarden in Ahoy Rotterdam (Netherlands). The supporting acts where two bands, Moby and a band called Eleven. Moby did a punk rock set that was chaotic and annoying. Then the band Eleven, at that time unknown to me, took the stage. On the spot this changed everything in my music spectrum. Eleven’s guitarist in particular had such an eccentric playing style that really appealed and fascinated me. Soundgarden played as the main act, which is what I actually came for. To this day, this was the worst Soundgarden performance I have seen. Out of tune guitars, chaos on stage and a bassist Ben Shepherd who smashed everything to pieces and tried to sabotage the show like a monster marching from left to right like a German soldier. Actually it was pretty cool and all Rock & Roll. For the first time I had also gotten really drunk, and therefore missed the last bus and train to return home.

Years passed and, due to complete silence, the music media about Eleven, I lost sight of this band, but was not erased from my memory. Until years later, when the internet and Facebook became a thing, I found a fragment that reminded me of seeing Eleven and linked to it the name Alain Johannes. And again a big door opened where I could become acquainted with the enormous virtuosity of Alain Johannes, by which I was enormously inspired as a musician…and his style, but certainly not his unearthly skills, secretly infiltrated my playing style.

 

At that time I had already started creating my first collection which consisted of the More Gary, Drive-0-Matic, Madfly, Octofuzz, Kafuzz and Black Magic. I decided to reach out through a friend who gave me Alain’s phone number to ask if he was interested in trying my work.. I sent him a box of my brews to his then still running legendary home studio 11AD in West Hollywood Los Angeles. After a while I received an enthusiastic response and assessment of my work and that he used it in his studio.

In the meantime I had become more familiar with his unique story and inspiration crept where it normally couldn’t go. A whole vision and imagination arose about how I could create an effect in my head where I could translate and implement both his life story and his playing style in a guitar effect specially designed for him.

In 2013 I first pitched Alain the idea to create a Dr. No effect with him. In 2014, Alain would do a small tour in France where he would play his project with the French Hifiklub called “Plans make Gods Laugh, A Drift About Alain Johannes”.

By now I had already completed the technical model and the concept of the 11:11 and bird skull knobs. The three planned shows in the south of France were the perfect opportunity to present the prototype and get to know Alain personally. With the invitation to come to the south of France, I left for the south in my old Chevrolet van. Along the way there turned out to be a big leak in the gas tank, so I had to refuel at every next gas station, and thus missed the first show. I was able to attend the second show and hand Alain the prototype and end the day with a marvelous French dinner.

The show, but also the premiering film, filled me with so much inspiration that when I returned home, I had the entire concept ready and I could get started right away. All the pieces magically fell together and the 11:11 effect was born.

Below I will go a little further into the meaning and connection of each element, which makes it a coherent whole. To date, this is my most profound collaboration where magic and inspiration were the tools. Here I also discovered that I wanted to go in a different direction with Dr. No Effects, where I wanted to put the artistic aspect first, tell stories with my work and collaborate with people who inspire me to translate their musical identity into what I do, making guitar effects with a story and identity.

The Triple Goddess Moon symbol

In addition to embodying the Goddess’ life cycle, the pentagram within the symbol also holds spiritual significance. With each point representing the five elements – air, fire, water, earth, and spirit – the pentagram is a symbol of balance and unity. By incorporating the Triple Moon Goddess symbol and the pentagram, this emblem serves as a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of femininity, nature, and spiritual insight.

In some occult traditions, the pentagram is seen as a symbol of balance, harmony, and protection. When the pentagram has just one point facing up, it’s typically associated with positive energy and spirituality, but when it has two points facing up, it has been connected to darker

The four coin knobs

Natasha Shneider was born on 22 May 1956 in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR two 1 Kopeck coins from Russia from year 1956 form one 11, the Other two coins represent Alain Johannes born May 2nd in Santiago Chile these are two Centesimo coins from his birth year 1962 forming 11:11 together. The original coins used to create the knobs for the 11 times 11 Collaboration where extremely hard to find especially four individual ones with the exact birth years.

The Chicken and magpie knobs.

If you are familiar with the story how Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider found each other, you probably know that before they literally stood on each other’s doorstep after Alain dreamed about meeting her one day. Both Alain and Natasha originated from other countries than the US where they brought together by magic, but both arrived at the same day when they first entered the US when they where younger. The Chicken skull represents Alain and the Magpie represents Natasha. The combination of settings of the Magpie and Chicken knobs can create a perfect cohesion or a  weird and contradictory tones like in a relationship.

 

The Goddess spirituality and the Taurus signs.

The benefits of Goddess spirituality are many. First and foremost, it reconnects us with the natural world and the cycles of life.

When we embrace the goddess within us, we tap into a source of intuition, creativity, and compassion. We also become more in tune with the natural rhythms of life, which can help us live more harmoniously both with ourselves and with the world around us.

Goddess Spirituality is a source of strength in difficult times.

When life throws challenges our way – whether they be personal struggles or global crises – connecting with the divine feminine provides support and guidance that can help see us through safely and gracefully.

The Taurus horoscope symbol.

They generate satisfaction and respect in people around them because they are pleasant, loving, and honest. Taurus natives have a strong desire for social and corporate stability. They have a strong desire for extravagance, contentment, and great things, which can lead to intense neediness.

Please note, only ten available from archive stock, made in 2016.

The “Alain Johannes” “11:11” Pedal became a true piece of art with a lot of symbolic features and custom made parts that made it very special and personal. The effect(s) are a filter (A set wahwah) and a low gain Fuzz, a two in one effect to get that inspirational signature Alain Johannes sound. All fully designed and developed in collaboration with Alain. Handsigned and numbered.