With the Custom Keys Challenge submissions now closed, Rhodes invited all ten finalists to share how the Rhodes sound has impacted their musical background, their approach to composition, and what winning the contest would mean to them.
As the competition enters its final stages, it’s important to recognise the astonishing quality of all entries. It was evident how much care, time and attention went into each soundtrack, and for that, our heartfelt thanks go out to the talented Rhodes community for making the Custom Keys Challenge such a great success.
Meet Rhodes Custom Keys Challenge Finalist, Owen Moriarty.
Owen Moriarty is a composer, producer and keyboardist based in Leeds, UK, working across pop, jazz and neo-classical genres. Owen aims to bridge the gap between artists’ ideas and tangible projects through active listening, research, creative planning and organisation.
Watch Owen’s Custom Keys finalist track:
What does the Rhodes sound mean to you?
Owen: The Rhodes sound is instant warmth to me – chords are cups of hot chocolate and melodies are like marshmallows in a mix. It has always been a perfect base for my ambient music due to its depth and rich harmonics, but it also perfectly glues my collaborators together when we perform as a band. I find myself constantly drawn back to it’s endlessly calming tone.
How did you approach your composition for the Custom Keys Challenge?
Owen: I watched the video a few times to understand how the energy of the visuals changed and could be reflected in the music. Once I had this established, I began improvising with an unaffected Rhodes sound, developing an intro and two main sections while maintaining the essential Rhodes sound as the central focus of the piece. This approach of play, search and refinement is one I use in most of my work. It informed my use of drums to punctuate the pulse of the piece, using the Rhodes as a bass, running the keyboard through the Hologram Electronics Microcosm pedal for texture, and using a delay with staccato chords to highlight harmonic changes. Locking into certain quick visual cuts was helpful as their syncopation made the piece more interesting, but the instrument offers so much room to work within so it didn’t take long to finish the whole thing.
What Rhodes sounds did you use in your composition, and how did you find this process?
Owen: I used a standard Rhodes MK8 sound for chords and melody in one performance which I only EQ-ed and compressed a tad. I also used a much lower bass part to provide some more movement. Playing the keyboard with high velocity allowed for a harsher, more biting quality that I used in the 2nd section with a slight delay to punctuate chord changes. Limiting myself to using only the Rhodes sound until the entire structure was established was extremely fulfilling and allowed me to be more creative than when I have lots of options.
What would winning mean to you and your musical journey?
Owen: Winning this competition would mean the world to me as a keyboardist and producer – I have been writing, recording and performing for others for a few years and would love the opportunity to have more professional physical tools at my disposal to improve the quality of my work. I also believe it would show future collaborators my commitment to my career and role as a creative.
If you were to win a Rhodes MK8, how would you use it?
Owen: I am currently recording for myself and other collaborators, so I would use it almost immediately for sessions where the Rhodes sound is needed. I believe the Rhodes MK8 could become the foundation for my own studio space.
How would you design your own MK8? Would you go for a Custom Shop model? If so, which?
Owen: I have already played around with the different designs on the Rhodes website, so I know exactly what I would want out of it! A transparent hood to see the inner workings of the instrument, a walnut bottom shell for the natural look, a white front with black pre-amp and FX panels, plus MIDI capability so it can sit comfortably in my space and I can use my current keyboard as a “gig-only” option.
Find out more about Owen and his music: @ohwenm on Instagram & TikTok.
If you would like to vote for Owen’s soundtrack, follow the link below, and ‘like’ his video: https://youtu.be/KG99BFDd0Qg?si=re79YHQJAegPNgKl
