One topic that always arouses much controversy. The vinyl is all one story, the beginning of the legacy of electronic music,later appears the digital format which destroys the entire industry that vinyl built in decades. The music industry suffers a change of 180 degrees. It is necessary to adapt and the main question is What to do? In this interview Vladislav Delay tell us what decided after his experience.
SD Love,
___________________________________
Veteran experimental producer Vladislav Delay is taking the digital plunge. The vinyl stan has announced that he’s remastered the records on his Ripatti label in preparation for its digital release, which made us wonder why he held out so long and what convinced him to change his mind. It turns out that Delay, who has contributed to some of our favorite labels (Chain Reaction, Mille Plateaux, Raster-Noton, Semantica), has struggled with the challenges that have transformed the music industry since the advent of digital media, and he’s had to compromise certain aspects of his artistic vision in order to remain solvent. We reached out to get his thoughts on the strengths and pitfalls of both mediums and what it takes to make money in the contemporary music industry.
The first and most obvious question is, what made you change your mind?
Seeing the sales reports, basically. I ran out of money to release more vinyl without selling them [digitally].
Why and when did you decide to release your records digitally?
I kept looking at the situation by each release, then hired a press agency to make people aware of the releases and try to sell some copies. When that didn’t change anything, and I reached catalog number 07 and made deep losses, I just had to accept the situation. I kept at it as long as I could, thinking it will pick up eventually, but it didn’t. I can’t keep paying a lot of money to release the music. Zero return would be okay, but not losing more money than I have.
Why were you originally opposed to the idea of releasing digital records?
I really don’t like the digital format. I guess I’m just a simple person and I trust and feel things more when I can see and hold them. The file compression [algorithms used by] major digital [retailers] makes everything sound pretty bad. It’s just too simplistic. And the way it enforces the fast-commodity kind of music consumption, I can’t say I’m a big fan of that.
There are some positive sides to releasing digitally. There’s no endless hassle with pressing vinyls and waiting for delays in production line, so I can release music quite effortlessly. Also, making vinyl sound good is such a big effort, and even then the end results with each listening situation differs quite a bit, so each listener has a different-sounding version, in a way. Digital, at least when listened at high-res formats, allows people to hear the same as I do if their monitoring system is correct, and I like that a lot.
One of the things that was important for me when I started the label was that I could offer something that has value and lasts longer than your hard drive. I never was into vinyl so strongly. I chose the format because I had no other options. I never said vinyl sounds great. It can sound great if you’re very wealthy, but that’s not my average listener, I guess. No fancy high-end turntable set-ups. So, because I’m not attached to vinyl that much, it’s not in principle a big deal to let that go. But practically, that there’s nothing physical anymore is a huge loss.
Whenever the topic of “going digital” comes up, I’m reminded of this Twitter conversation between Aurora Halal, Shawn O’Sullivan, and a few other producers/writers/industry types. I think O’Sullivan’s comments are really interesting, that refusing to release digitally is a way of opposing dominant means of distribution. Was there ever a political element like that to your decision to release only on vinyl?
No, I never had political ideas about the vinyl or release medium. To be honest, life is too short for me to get into these theories and politics. I’d really rather focus on making the music. I’m not the one trying to change the game or oppose this or that, I’m trying to find a way to do my own thing out there and today’s world apparently asks you to be rather flexible. It makes it hard to create longevity and a body of work though. But yeah, the focus is content now, not the packaging.
Phillip Sollmann’s career is a lesson in contrasts. Though his first morsels came out as Dial was just getting established, Sollmann, better known as Efdemin, came to prominence just as the minimal boom of the mid 2000′s was waning, with perhaps his best known tracks (“Acid Bells,” “Lohn und Brot”) eschewing the bland pastiche that minimal was becoming in favor of reduced, hypnotic house music. His ability to construct deeply engaging, resonant long-players (2007′s Efdemin, 2010′s Chicago, and the recently released Decay) has kept him and his characteristic sound firmly in the spotlight — a sound that tempers the roughness and directness of Detroit house and techno with a distinctly German minimalism without compromising its dance floor propulsion. His work in computer music and drone under his birth name has long been distinct from his career as a DJ, but with Decay the two worlds are becoming ever closer. We talked to Sollmann recently about the merging of these two worlds, the Internet, and the history of electronic music.
Last year you gave a lecture called “100 Years of Techno.” What was that all about?
Phillip Sollmann: That was a really funny experience. It was at Robert Johnson in Frankfurt. They have had this series going on for two years, I think, where they invite people from different areas or domains of electronic dance music to talk about whatever they want to. They asked me what I want to do, and I said I could imagine talking about the origins or the predecessors of what we have today as techno. It was a pretty freestyle thing; I wouldn’t call it a lecture. I was talking about music that was loop oriented as well as early electronic pioneers. I gave some examples in films and audio, and I brought a large collection of records and played music from Iceland to the Sahara and back. It was a really a lot of fun.
I always thought that if I know about something, then everybody knows about it, but the guy who invited me told me to talk about everything because most of the audience was quite young, and they would love to hear about that. It was a very nice two or three hours — I don’t remember; I could have done maybe five. I brought so many records and pictures and stories, and then I played a long DJ set: about seven hours, which was awesome because everyone who came for the lecture stayed in the club and we had this very close experience. I had the feeling I could go much further in my set musically than I could normally because people had heard me talking for a long time, and they could ask things and we had this intimate situation, which was a really great experience. I mean, I love that club anyways, and playing there is among the best experiences you can have, but that was a very special night. So we are now talking about a second edition because there was so much left to talk about.
What were some of the key records that you brought for that first edition, and what were some that you want to touch on going forward?
Like I said, I think things that I know or love are too obvious to talk about. I played Silver Apples to the young people, and most didn’t know about them, and they were blown away by this music, with sinewave oscillators and drums, but all live and so loopy and awesome. And then I played music from This Heat — “24 Track Loop.”
I talked a bit about Hermann von Helmholz, who did all the basic physiological writings about acoustics in Berlin in 1850, around that time. I talked a lot about Raymond Scott’s early music, and early ideas of sequencing, like the Rhythmicon from 1931 which was built by Léon Theremin, and all of the Moog stuff, the Buchla, and how those led to Roland and Yamaha. And of course a little bit of Stockhausen, the musique concrète guys, some Xenakis, Laurie Spiegel, and Morton Subotnick. I didn’t play any Pyrolator, which I love so much, and there is so much that I didn’t show. It was good fun, but it was not, like, a big thesis or anything. The title, “100 Years of Techno” was only to show that this idea of repetitive music is old. I also played some stuff from Ethiopia, some pattern-based ritual music, and it’s so much like Detroit techno, somehow. So it was just the idea of broadening the view.
How do you apply your love for these earlier forms of techno into what you produce now?
Well, I don’t know. All the music that I listen to and everything I read and watch and see becomes part of my system, and it’s quite uncontrolled, the subconscious part of what you’re doing. It forms and filters what I do and what I don’t do, or what I don’t like and what I love. The perfect moment for making music is that you prepare a lot and you set up a system or a setting where you can let yourself go and just react to what is happening. Right now I’m playing a lot with a modular synth, and I am just starting to work with that again after two years of not doing it. It totally controls me by its boundaries and possibilities, and everyday it’s completely different. I don’t have a goal that I want to reach or, like, a record I want to release. It’s just playing at the moment because I have some time to explore. Of course I record here and there and I use some of it, but this is the best state, when you can just let yourself go. And sometimes out of nothing something happens — I wouldn’t say I make it, it’s more like it’s happening.
You went to the Institute of Computer Music in Vienna. What was your focus there, and what did you do there that you still use today?
I think the most important thing about that time is that when I decided to go there after I got accepted, from that moment on, my whole life was focused on music completely. Before that I was always working in different fields, like as a journalist, or working in bars, and doing different things while trying to make music without connecting it to making money. In Vienna I was living on nothing for a few years, and I had a very simple life. I was studying a lot of music. I had very nice teachers and had some help in Max/MSP programming and stuff like that, but I had a lot of time on my own. I was making music that never made it into a release, but it feels like I was preparing something that I could use later.
I didn’t buy any techno records for three years. Not at all. I had no money, and I wasn’t really interested in that for a while and was really absorbed by this whole improv and neue musik, musique concrète stuff. I was exploring all that and trying to find what I wanted to do and always ended up with drone. And then when I came to Berlin, I met some old friends and I went out and I saw Berghain and saw all this crazy after-hours stuff, and it was very interesting. I started making a lot of music again, and it all came together. And now I am here, you know? [laughs] It kind of took over, and now I’m trying to go back to the Viennese time a bit more, now that I’m getting older and can’t work late too often anymore.
Your drone or installation music is under your real name, while everything else is under a pseudonym. Why?
Yeah, it’s quite strange, but it’s more serious stuff, and at that time I wanted to divide it into parts. But with the new record [Decay], I think it was the first time that it came together, these two different people. That will be the goal for the next years: to make music that contains both worlds and is still interesting. That would be my vision of future techno. I’m never really satisfied with what I’m doing; even if I put out something, it’s only just what I’m doing at the moment, and I try to realize much better music in the end, hopefully.
With Decay you seem to be a little more focused on techno.
I think techno was always part of my musical world. If you listen to the first album, you have that side there as well. I just posted this set from seven years ago in Jerusalem, which I just listened to for the first time after seven years. It’s exactly the same music that I’m playing at the moment. I’ve always been interested in both worlds. I love house music and I even love people singing or whatever, but I also like very dark and strong techno. But this is a problem for the outside world, that they are not supposed to be presented as one — you know, in one person or one show or whatever. I always try to bring in as much as possible. For some people, that maybe know me as the guy that did “Just A Track” or “Bergwein” or something, and they may be a bit surprised.
Going back to Underground Resistance, in the early days you would have extremely harsh techno music, and then you would have vocal house with saxophones and whatever. It was the same label and the same guys, and that was just one idea. I like these extremes.
Over the last two or three years, I’ve just played more and more what I want to play. Sometimes I was maybe playing more for the audience, or thinking that it would fit better if I would play more like this or that instead of just playing what I was feeling. That is completely over, and I’m just playing what I want to play now.
[Ostgut] has helped me a lot, of course, with filtering some stuff out that I don’t want to play, but I think I’m just trusting myself more and also realizing that there’s people coming to hear what I’m playing. Sometimes I felt like I have to entertain someone, but that’s so boring — if you try to play to meet people’s expectations, everybody’s bored. You have to present something that you want to do, and then most of the time it’s surprising, and then it can get really good. Sometimes really bad. [laughs] But that’s part of the game.
How did your recent stint in Japan affect your work on Decay?
It didn’t affect this record because it was all recorded in Berlin before I left for Japan. I only organized and made final decisions in mixing there, but the music itself was 90% recorded in Berlin. But I was impressed by the culture and behavior of the people. I’d been there many times, but this time we stayed there for three months and we met lots of people. We also traveled a lot through the country and we went to a temple for two weeks, nearly every day attending a ceremony. That had a very strong impact on us, and in this state of mind I finalized the album. But there’s no Japanese music or instruments on in. I’m trying to work with someone who plays a very old Japanese instrument. I can’t say if it’s happening, but I would love to do that. There are some very interesting tunings and some very different performing rituals. I would love to go back there for a year, if I could. It was really a very intense experience.
So you would say it was more that the environment of Kyoto affected the album?
Exactly. Yeah. It’s very funny. Most of the journalists are focusing on this and saying it’s a Japanese album or something. [And I’m like], “Aw, dude, come on. I told you. There’s nothing Japanese in it.” You can mention it, but you don’t have to completely focus on that. But of course everyone does. Of course you need something special or new because otherwise it’s just another techno record — I understand. [laughs]
You tend to use a lot of samples in your music from old TV shows and movies, and instead of burying them in the mix they sit very prominently on top. What can you tell me about that?
I just have to do it. When a track is about to be finished, then maybe I can work in some strange person talking about something that you might not understand. I have a large collection of these recordings. Whenever I see a movie which I like or where I think someone’s voice is interesting, I try to record it. There is no big concept behind it, I just like it. I think it’s a nice contrast to the electronic music that you have. There is this person talking and this recording always has so much information of the space it was recorded in, the time, the technique, the hiss… or maybe it’s from a vinyl record or it’s from an old VHS or something. And that’s what I totally love, to bring all this information in. I’m trying not to filter it out or to clean it or put it into reverb on it or something, because that would hide most of the information, and I like this contrast between electronic music and the human, very bodily experience of someone talking. The first track, “Some Kind of Up or Down Yes,” is my favorite track.
It sounds like it’s from one of those old quiz shows.
Yeah, it is. It’s Salvador Dalí on “What’s My Line?”.
There’s always been a strong visual element to what you do, between the design of the record sleeves, as well as your involvement with the art world in Berlin. And nowadays it’s really common for basically every song to be on YouTube with some sort of video behind it. Does this sort of thing bother you?
Yeah, a little bit. I’ve tried to control it as much as I can. I mean, I appreciate that people like the music that much and that they want to put their own visuals under it, but I would like to control it. So I am working with some [visual] artists for this project, and we’re about finish some videos. Maybe it can reach other people as well if you have the visual, and it reflects the musical ideas a little bit.
The whole Internet thing kind of freaks me out. All this information and all this hype and these blogs and whatever… I can’t really decide anymore what is important or what I should look at. It takes so much time, and I still — honestly, I’m a person who really loves to have a paper in his hand and read, or a magazine or a book. I’m really too old for this blog world. I’m always happy when someone tells me, “This is a really good one.”
It was just this week that De:Bug is going out of print — I guess that’s just a sign of the times.
Yeah, it’s sad. De:Bug helped us so much. They were big, big, big supporters of Dial from the beginning. It’s really sad. I know many people that work there or used to work there, and I know that all of them put all their effort in and never really earned a lot of money or anything. It was just because they liked doing it. How did you find out about this?
I saw it on Facebook.
What do you think about Facebook?
In what way?
I mean it’s there now. We have to deal with it. These days you end up more and more with — there’s a link somewhere and you click on it, and then you end up on a Facebook page, which contains no information and has always the same grid and this cage-like design. It all looks the same, and so much is lost on the way. I don’t want to sound negative, or like a cultural pessimist or something, but I’m really not the biggest fan.
The Internet changed the way people listen to music quite drastically. I think it’s very rare that people listen to a whole album these days. So the experience that I have in my car still, which has a CD player, is a very rare one. Like, when I get a CD I put it in and I listen to the whole CD. Sometimes I drive an extra mile to finish that song or that CD, you know? It’s not good for the environment, I’m sorry, but it’s a very nice way of listening to music.
Well you have a Soundcloud, but it’s all mixes. Would you ever put your own music up there?
They keep telling me that I should upload my album there and make people listen to it a week before it comes out, but that seems so silly to me. Because then why do we have a release date? But they tell me, “Yeah, but this is how people do it these days.” And I’m just like, “Hm, OK.” I’m not sure how to deal with all this.
Is Pigon still mostly Max/MSP-based?
No, but we haven’t done anything in two years, sadly. Because Oliver [Kargl] is the father of two kids now, and he’s taking care of them most of the time. He can totally live without making music for a while. But I have the feeling that he’s coming back soon, and we can start making new stuff again. But no, Pigon was never limited to Max/MSP. It started with that, but then we used whatever. I think when he comes to my new studio, which is finished now and very nice and working and everything is connected… you can just come in and switch it on and it starts. What’s more important than the tools that you use is what you want to do and what inspiration you have. And that was always good, making music together. I hope he’s ready soon.
You were using this Max patch that you called Rocker. Do you still use it? Has it evolved over the years?
No, I have it on the computer that’s in the basement, and I want to now bring it up and see if it’s still running. I hope it is — it had a very nice sound. I loved it. I want to hook it up and sync it to my whole environment now. I stopped using Max for a while because I’m not a super-clever programmer and it took so long for me to make things. And then I decided to make music instead of making patches. But I miss some things about it. I really appreciated the idea of Max For Live, and I used Live at the time when it came out, but now I work in an analog environment and use the computer as a tape machine.
Were you using Max mostly to create things that you needed but that didn’t exist? Or did you enjoy making patches in Max?
I think it was an interesting process because I learned about sound synthesis while patching in ways I would not with, like, Cubase, or something that someone else programmed. I looked at patches other people made, and then totally changed everything in there. I always loved physical modeling, and Max has some really amazing abstractions for that. I’m not the math guy, I’m not a programming freak, so it took a long time to make something useful. But I like the sound a lot; I think it’s much better than anything else from a computer. But then you have friends that say, “Yeah, but if you used SuperCollider then you would have real sound.” It’s like, “Okay, forget it.” [laughs]
You also run a couple of small labels: Lirum Larum and Naïf. What’s your approach to these labels?
Naïf is a platform for friends, and a bit more tool-y music — club music. Cheap production, no cover. It’s the opposite of Dial, let’s say. And it’s totally free because the guy that runs Diamonds and Pearls distribution is such a nice guy. It is such a luxurious possibility that he’s like, “Whenever you want to do a record, you can do a record.” Normally people would get on your nerves and say, “Yeah, you need a business plan, at least four records a year,” something like that. Hopefully there will be more records coming in the next year. It’s called Naïf; it’s simple music you can play in a club. It’s just a vinyl record. That’s it. And I love the a cappellas — I love vocals, as you know. So that is the only rule that I have: that you have to deliver the extra vocal skit. I play a lot of these little snippets in my sets. I always loved records where you have something to play on top of the music, just for a second.
Liram Larum is with Oliver, and when he became a father we kind of slowed down a little bit. But we also will continue with that one day, but it’s also the same distribution, same situation. Totally fine, no hassle with that.
So what else is upcoming for you?
I’m traveling a lot this year, playing a lot with the album coming. And I have all these videos to be released soon, and I will make some more experimental, droney stuff, hopefully, this year. And two remixes… the last ones ever, because I really don’t like remixes.
Why’s that?
I don’t know. It takes so long. I don’t really understand the idea of remixes. It takes so long for me to make music, and if I make a remix, I spend so much time making other music. I’m not the best remixer. There are people who can easily do it in five hours, and I’m not them. I try to be as relaxed as I can and take care of myself. Sometimes this traveling is a bit too much, but I’m trying to find strategies to deal with it better. But it’s really good.
The great thing about playing and being a DJ is I can go to Japan this year, or I can go to the States and to South America again, and I really appreciate that, after all these years. Sometimes you end up in this kind of ghetto where you meet the same people you could meet in Berlin, or you see the same shops or the same clubs that have the Funktion-One sound system now and, you know, blah, blah, blah. But from time to time you run into something completely mindblowingly different, and so local, and so full of love, and so disconnected. When that happens, it’s so great. And that happens — especially in Japan, still. You end up in a club in southwest Japan, and it’s so mindblowing because it’s awesome people and amazing sound, with, like, hand-made sound systems and no lights and people just dance. It’s great, you know? And that’s why I still love doing this so much. Of course, I also like playing in Fabric, it’s also great. London is a very different vibe than Berlin or New York. But it’s very rare that you end up with something that you don’t expect at all and it’s a completely local style.
Do you have any other examples?
Last year I had one of these experiences when I went to Istanbul. I expected to play at a club inside, and then it was outside, on the beach… Suma Beach — I didn’t expect that. It was such a beautiful vibe, and they had this hippie feeling going at the beach. It was very soon after the riots: at Taksim they had these riots, and the military was suppressing it. Then you had all these people there, and it felt so free and kind of like a parallel world to the Turkish reality at that time. It was really, really great. I didn’t want to go home. Sometimes when you don’t expect anything it’s the best.
SoundDesigners find this interesting talk and mix with Mikkel Metal. One great reference for US so…we drop it here just for YOU. ENJOY!
Waiting for the little green download-slices to fill up Google Chrome’s trivial pursuit-piece can be hard sometimes. Especially when you’re waiting for an entirely unheard mix from one of your highly revered artists. When you’re waiting for a Mikkel Metal mix, you really do not want Chrome to be so slow at answering those sports questions… The green questions have just always been the hardest. Dammit.
Now, for another hard question: How to describe the sounds of Mikkel Metal to the unacquainted (especially without ending up on that one blog)?
Listening to the older, Scandinavian-click-dub-tech will give you one impression. His Kompakt-stuff with the Swayzakian snares, shuffled beats- and vocals-to-go-with-the-label will give you another. If you put his newest releases under the needle, you will find yourself floating to Chicago, but on a very Metal’esque melody. – And no matter which track you dig out – you know it’s Mikkel Metal.
Always drenched in atmosphere, we hoped we would get a similarly moody journey through the mix at the BULK offices. We were not disappointed.
First of all, thank you very much for doing a mix – it’s not something you do that often. Why is that?
Well I guess it’s a time issue. I’m not good at just plugging in and recording a quick and dirty mix. That’s the good part about dj’ing in a club. You can prepare a bit, but when you are there you just have to do it. Also, since I have a fulltime job, two kids etc, I really got to prioritize with my time. That being said, I enjoy the process of putting together a musical journey and having, in principle, all the music in the world as your building blocks.
You’ve been releasing on Echocord for a long time, how did that start out? Do I still remember?
It’s been so many years now. Well, I guess the story is that I was hanging out at the now defunct record shop “Science Fiction” here in Copenhagen, where Kenneth Christiansen was working. He had had the idea of starting a label for a long time, and somehow we got to talk, and he heard some demos from me. Then the label was started with two of my releases – since then Echocord has sort of been my main base.
While many artists doing mostly live PA’s tend to repeat themselves somewhat, you seem capable of pulling of wildly different – but still Mikkel Metal – live sets off everywhere, from Berghain to Musikdagen. How?
Well, one thing is the fact that my music goes from slow and ambient compositions to pretty up-tempo stuff. It’s true that I sometimes play in very “concert-like” settings and sometime in a “pure club context”. It’s a challenge – but somehow it comes naturally to me to adopt to the context while still being true to myself and the Mikkel Metal sound.
In this interview you say that you try not to be intellectual when making music, that it’s more about intuition – does that carry over to the track (non-)names you pick?
Absolutely.
So track names such as “Dorant”, where do they come from?
“Dorant” was actually something I came up with myself, just as with “Kaluga”. Afterwards though, I found out that there’s a town in Russia called “Kaluga”.
Do you think your previously discussed intuition told you do produce more chicago/detroit-inspired, housier stuff as the latest echocord, or did it just happen?
No – I think that was a more conscious decision about wanting to try out something new. I’ve been doing dub techno for so many years and sometimes you need to try to experiment with new influences. Have you ever done- or thought about doing collaborations? Yes. I have thought about it, and also tried it. But it turned out to be harder than I expected, at least in the studio setting. The best collaborations I’ve had were in live settings, like the ambient improvisational “night church” concerts I’ve done with bass player Per Vibskov. That worked pretty good. I also did a improvised concert with a jazz trio and a vocalist last autumn. That was a super cool and very different experience. We did a recording of it, and hope to release it later this year.
You have had the dubious honour of adhering to the BULK naming scheme, and choosing a woman’s name starting with Q… Why did you choose Quilla?
Quilla. Process:. Google + ‘names with q for girls’ + a quick decision. I like it. No further rationale is needed..
What’s 2013 gonna be like for Mikkel Metal?
There’s gonna come some experimental/slow/melodic music out of my little studio. I’ve already produced a release for SonouS, the new label run by Dj Finn of Tomland. I also have ideas for a few more in the same vein. With these tracks I’m working more with analogue synths than on my earlier releases, and I really enjoy the tactile ‘turning knobs’ way of working.
How and where was the mix recorded?
At home with two decks through a lousy Stanton SMX (the EQ is more a volume function than an EQ) that’s again plugged into my Mackie, that also have CDJ connected. A pretty confusing setup actually.
What did you do an hour before the mix?
I tried, with more or less success, to get my daughter to sleep. Then I drank my coffee and ate some almonds.
Mikkel’s preparation routine certainly did the trick – because this mix is nuts!
(sorry)
Mike Huckaby isn’t just one of Detroit’s most beloved producers and DJs, he’s one of its most dedicated teachers and irrepressible enthusiasts.
Since he first made his name in 1995, the house music stalwart has released classic records on labels such as Third Ear, Rick Wade’s Harmonie Park and most recently Tresor, as well as on his own Deep Transportation and S Y N T H imprints. He worked for years behind the counter at the legendary Record Time store. He has remixed the likes of Model 500, Pole, DeepChord, Vladislav Delay and Terrence Dixon, and released two volumes of reel-to-reel edits of Sun Ra (“Jazz is the umbrella under which deep house music resides,” he once told FACT). Meanwhile his ever-evolving understanding and appreciation of synthesis and studio processes, and his voracious appetite for new technology, has earned him a reputation as something of a producer’s producer.
To his infinite credit, Huckaby is also someone who takes pleasure in sharing what he’s learned, and encouraging others to bring their own ideas to fruition. He can be founding regularly coaching students at Detroit’s Youthville Centre in Ableton Live, Reaktor and other music production technologies, and he has led many workshops worldwide. Just today it was announced that he has compiled a free sample pack for Groove, featuring sounds culled from such disparate sources as the Alesis Andromeda synthesizer and his brother playing live percussion in a noisy café in Toledo, Ohio.
He apprised FACT of his five key tips for producers looking to establish themselves and their sound. “Weak producers die,” he concedes. “Strong ones continue on…”
MIKE HUCKABY’S FIVE ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR A GOOD PRODUCER
ALWAYS DO WHAT YOUR PEERS CANNOT DO, OR WILL NOT DO.
Mike Huckaby: “This has been my motto, or work ethic, for more than 15 years now. If you adhere to or adopt this work ethic, it will lead to many
promising things, and positions that you could never have dreamed of. The two things that come immediately to my mind that all producers will not do, or cannot do, is study music theory, and learn Reaktor.
“These are definitely two things that most producers will not, or cannot, commit themselves to. Learning music theory is crucial to developing the proper orientation in relation to the creative process. It is the fundamental component in terms of creating new ideas, harmony, melody, and rhythm. It helps you to identify which key you are in, and helps you to create compatible melodies.
“Have you ever wondered why you are stuck, or cannot finish a project, or a particular track? The lack of understanding of music theory is the key.”
It is the fundamental science that manages or governs all of your ideas. In my opinion, Reaktor is equally as important in this regard: Reaktor can teach you or show you reciprocal relationships between hardware and software. Reaktor can show you how to master hardware, and vice versa. Reaktor is everything that concerns synthesis, midi, effects, and developing new hybrid methods of sound creation. I’d be dead without music theory, and learning Reaktor. This was evident to me in the early ’90s when the whole sampling arena change. I had to change and grow in order to create more music. I was faced with that, and these two elements have facilitated me with an endless amount of creativity to continue on in the far future.”
STUDY MUSIC THEORY.
MH: “I repeat: study music theory. You will open many doors within your mind that will remain closed without learning it. Sampling is an art indeed, and you can’t deny that. But the art of sampling is defined by the fact that someone’s else’s career has to take place before yours can. Nothing has to be terribly wrong with that, but if you solely stick to sampling, this will always be the case. Sometimes you may want to break free from this fixed domain, in which you say you derive all of your ideas from. Learning music theory will definitely give you more options.”
LEARN DIFFICULT OR CHALLENGING THINGS.
MH: “Music is forever changing, and requires anyone who creates it to grow musically as well. This cannot be done by using simplistic tools that are not challenging you. In the short term, yes, this is possible. Every time you create a track, you are learning something different. But commit to a long term method of learning. This can be done simultaneously, or subconsciously too. You don’t want to be in the same position musically that you are in 10 years later. In order to avoid that, you must challenge yourself by learning production methods and applications that require time. I cant say enough that Reaktor has has paved the way for me in this regard. Learn the science of synthesis.”
DEFINE YOUR SOUND.
MH: “What is your sound? Define the elements or attributes of the music that you are trying to create. What is your musical intent? Go even as far as to describing the type of person that you are trying to communicate your musical ideas to. Envision the environment as well. This does not need to remain fixed. This can continuously change. If you can partially define your sound, you will have greater chances of achieving it. But once you define your sound, that’s when the real work comes it to play.
“If you find that creating the type of music you want requires you to use certain types of equipment, or certain pieces of gear, don’t try to bypass this, or cheat it! You will never achieve creating the sound you are looking for by doing this. Right now I’m experimenting with an SP-12 drum machine by E-Mu. There are certain things I want to include or hear within my sound, and I am told that this particular drum machine will contribute to that sound. So this is the road I must choose if this is the case.”
LEARN THE RULES OF SURVIVAL, THEN DOMINATE.
MH: “If you align yourself with the right components I have listed within these five tips, you will become successful with your music at some point in time. It is inevitable. So have faith that your day will come. But when that day comes you will probably need to say no to more things that you will need to say yes to.
“When your music becomes popular, many people will have their own vision of what your music means to them. You will be asked to do remixes, EPs, podcasts, interviews, and to play in many clubs. Pick the best. Align yourself with the original concept of your music. Do not compromise your sound for money or popularity. Many people will want to associate themselves with you solely on the basis of your popularity. As I said, you will find yourself in a position of having to say ‘no’ to more things than you say ‘yes’ to. And when you do that, people will try to make things hard for you. You must overcome these hurdles by the strength of your music, and by how well you have equipped yourself as a producer. Weak producers die, strong ones continue on. That’s just the nature of this business.
Weak producers die, strong ones continue on. That’s just the nature of this business.
“I’ll never forget what Todd Terry said in an interview I once read about him. He said that, “It’s all about me against any other motherfucker in any of these five different boroughs trying to do what I am doing with a drum machine and creating music.” At first I thought, wow, what an asshole this guy is. Now I see what he means. Learn the rules of survival, then dominate.”
That’s Roman Flügel! Whatpeopleplay Mix Podcast #38
(playlist in the end of the post)
OCTOBER 26, 2011
Writers have a notoriously hard time describing Roman Flügel’s style. Incredibly multi-faceted, a non-conformist and one of the stalwarts on the German electronic scene, Flügel recently released his very first album under his own name. Fatty Folders has drawn rave reviews for its diverse content (who could expect anything different, considering Flügel’s body of work?) and we were privileged to catch up with the artist to discuss Germany’s importance on the electronic music scene, producing solo albums and eighties acid house.
You became interested in electronic music after you listened to your brother’s Chicago house music. Which particular artists inspired you back then?
Actually, it was because my brother handed me a compilation of House Trax from the DM Street Sounds series as a Christmas present back in `87. It’s still the most influential compilation of my life because it introduced me to acid house and early techno containing tracks like Phuture’s ‘Phuture Jacks’, ‘The Dance’ by Rhythm is Rhythm or ‘Like This’ by Two Of A Kind. My brother didn’t know anything about house music, he only knew that I was into electronic dance music already.
Good choice, anyway. As a child you played the piano and the drums – what aspects of electronic music did you find particularly attractive over any other type of music?
I guess it’s the combination of simple rhythms and unusual sounds. I started to like dance grooves when I first listened to Lipps Inc. Funky Town in my parent’s car on the radio. That must have been around 1980. They were complaining about the ‘primitive’ structures in the music but I totally enjoyed it!
How do you find the house scene these days? Are there any upcoming artists you’re excited about?
I still find it very vital and inspiring! Take an artist like the 23 year old Ben Thomas as an example. His output as BNJMN is just great.
You’ve worked extensively with Jörn Elling Wuttke as Alter Ego, do you have any forthcoming collaboration plans with other artists?
Not at the moment. For the first time in years I’m a bit more focused on my own stuff and it feels good.
Fatty Folders is the first album released under your own name – is it a more personal album than others?
Not more personal than my other two solo albums as Eight Miles High and Soylent Green. It’s just that I’ve used my given name for the first time on an album format.
Why has it taken so long to release an album under your own name?
I don’t know really. It just felt like it was about time not to hide behind aliases anymore.
What’s the thinking behind the name Fatty Folders?
I always find it a bit difficult to find the right name for an album. Fatty Folders sounded good and I had a picture of ‘fatty folders’ on the desktop of my computer in my mind that had to be cleaned out. Don’t know if that help.
It contains a diverse selection of sounds – which is fitting, considering your varied career. Was this diversity something conscious?
It seems that this phenomenon is a part of my musical output and it does not happen on purpose. I wish to do at least one album that is totally self-contained in the future.
You are renowned for this diversity and have stated that it stems from curiosity – do you simply experiment with a sound, or a sampler? Or how does it work?
I start to play around with different ideas in the studio and record them in Logic. Later I decide what to keep and what to throw away and the actual track starts to shape up. It could be a rhythm, a sample, melody or sound. Decisions depend on so many occasions and subconscious incidents that I can’t really explain.
What are you currently excited about?
At the moment I’m still excited about promoting my new album and the fact that after spending more than 15 years with Playhouse and Klang, the label Dial seems the right platform to work with. It’s always important to have good people around you.
Do you think your German origins have played an important role in your career in electronic music?
Through the years I’ve learned much more about about the history of German popular music –‘Krautrock’ for instance and I can feel a certain Germanic originality behind bands like Neu!, Cluster or Can. But to be honest when I first listened to electronic music – besides Kraftwerk – it was more music from England or America that interested me. Like Grand Master Flash’s Scorpio, for example. Later, when techno and house music started to become established I was happy that Germany was building such a strong independent scene that helped me to build a reputation.
Roman Flügel – The Improviser
Roman Flügel – Deo
That’s Roman Flügel! Whatpeopleplay Mix Podcast #38
Playlist:
1. Roman IV – Lucy (Running Back)
2. Patrick Chardronet – Rhythm & Soul (Jackmate Remix) (Two Birds)
3. Red Rack´Em – How I program (Bergerac)
4. Busen feat. Paelo – Stream of Love (Wania)
5. Jichael Mackson – Space (Ilian Tape)
6. Tyree – ? (WPH green)
7. Dj Sprinkles – Hobo Train (Skylax) –
8. A Guy Called Gerald – Nuovo Alfa (Laboratory Instinct)
9. Raza – ? (Millions of Moo)
10. Idjut Boys – Implant (Droid)
11. Roland Sebastian Faber – Löffelkinder (Laube)
12. Innergaze – Illusions (Touch your life)
13. Blacholimoney – Santo Gold (unknown re-work)
14. Rootz 5 (unknown)
15. Roman IV – Bonus Beats (Running Back)
Shows:
26.10.2011 / DE / Berlin / Stattbad Wedding / Boiler Room
28.10.2011 / DE / Cologne / Studio 672
29.10.2011 / FI / Helsinki / Basement@YK
30.10.2011 / DE / Leipzig / Conne Island / Nachtdigital loves DIAL
04.11.2011 / DE / München / Harry Klein
05.11.2011 / DE / Rostock / Zwischenbau / Interclub
18.11.2011 / IT / Milan / Privat
19.11.2011 / NL / Amsterdam / Trouw / Nachtdigital loves DIAL
26.11.2011 / DE / Mannheim / Zimmer / Feel!
10.12.2011 / DK / Copenhagen / Dunkel
25.12.2011 / DE / Darmstadt / 603qm
29.12.2011 / DE / Jena / Kassablanca
(Info/interview by Electronic Beats, Rachel Preece>>>>Music podcast by What People Play)
Jenifa Mayanja originally born in Uganda and now more recently an official US citizen releases her 2nd album which captures emotive, subtle, narratives encased in deep House referencing various musical styles and influences on her Bumako Recordings record label. This very thoughtful and sensitive music producer has been a very prominent figure especially on the New York scene by paying her dues working at the record store Dance Tracks increasing depth and strength in musical inspirations. Cultivating the knowledge and passion and also increasing awareness with more opportunities to DJ at various parties including the legendary Body & Soul sessions headed up by Francois K, Joe Claussell, and Danny Krivit and also has represented at club Shelter Timmy Regisfords party. Hotly tipped radio show appearances also came including WBAI FM and WNYU FM and also various publication coverage from Village Voice, Time Out NYC, Straight No Chaser and Jockey Slut back in the day have all garnished praise, and props to an unique female artist in this heavily over subscribed male dominated scene.
Stream of Consciousness reaffirmed the first chapter of documentation in album form of Jenifa’s work which was very much well received amongst the deep House community and further a field. Next up we have Woman Walking In the Shadows, which we see as a revelation of another chapter in the life of Jenifa’s work as a lady, mother, wife, artist, producer and everything else in between. This body of work really works the subtleties, mood changes, warmth, intrinsic, timbre, distinctive, inquisitive and a whole heap of other details that will make this a true slow burn affair. Not on first glance revealing all but allowing for open interpretation and dialogue. We will not scrutinize the detail to much, as Jenifa has kindly provided an special album mix and also provided the skinny on the proud achievement of album 2 including discussing Sade, gender inequality, and of course the kids.
So the album when did you first start to get an idea for an album?
I have wanted to do a second album ever since I finished the first one “Stream of consciousness” which was my first release but so much personal and professional stuff has transpired since that release that at times I thought I would never find the time. Ironically when I started out making music, my aim as an artist was to model my career as one of those people like Sade that has an iconic album release every five to seven years and then just disappears to their lives, but the universe has it own plans for me which through the course of my life I have come to respect and comply with whether I like it or not.
From the first album ‘Stream of Consciousness’ my personal favorites are “living for this moment’ with its jazzy, fancy footwork timbre drums, and percussion and also ‘I should’ which I can imagine having a vocal softly laced over the top from inspired ladies including Ursula Rucker, Alama Horton, India or maybe even Sade making me slightly breathless of thought. Do you in some ways like the idea of ‘nor fame nor obscurity’, producing bodies of work and then leaving quietly by the stage door?
Yeah this notion of just being an artist creating bodies of work and leaving quietly by the stage door is my soul as a human being. Unfortunately the reality of the business dictates that except for the few chosen ones, the rest have to get on top of the mountaintop and scream loud as we can so we get heard over the masses of other equally talented artists. I have accepted this for quite some time but I will never be fully comfortable with it as its not my natural state but I am a practical dreamer.
I find it quite special that you are very much a women, producer and dj. Day to day the ups and downs how is it really for you, gloves off all honestly speaking managing everything?
Oh man this could take a book and maybe when I am old and gray I will write one. I will start from a fundamental place that I think is universal; in life women in most professions while they may be respected by their peers, get different treatment in terms of salary, resources, attitudes, standards of physical appearances and the list goes on. So I am not shocked in any way about how my productions are received in this industry. I think because I am not pigeonholing myself musically or coming off as a sexy vixen or hard ass chick, the media especially has no clue what to make of me other than I am
Jus-Ed’s wife, a fact of life which I am happy with but does not define me musically at all.
But to get to the nuts and bolts of this thing of being a label owner, artist, producer and dj, it is not for the fainthearted! Its rough…i am a mom first and that is a job that runs practically 24 hours a day even while you sleep. As I was trying to write this my 2 yr old jumped out of bed 4 times and I am disciplining her while attempting to get my thoughts focused again, that is just an example of the challenges of what I do on a daily basis and family has to come first.
I work on music when the kids are asleep for maybe 2hours a day if I am lucky and then I have to get some sleep because every weekday I have to get up early so my son gets to school. Most producers can lock themselves away for days and just work on beats I don’t have that luxury. I am tired every single day and my husband asks me how I do it all the time. I also have high standards so it makes it difficult to get a song or track done in a matter of hours/days like some producers claim or to cultivate new artists for my label because I want the same taste level that I have represented on my label not just hot tracks of the moment. I hope this year to make time to cultivate more artists and producers for bu-mako especially other women in the business.
That was quite a profound and insightful scene painted, so tell me what have been real heartfelt inspirations and challenges for you creating this album looking back to its inception and to now its nearing completion?
The challenges I face creating any new music these days is time or lack of it, there are so many dope projects that I could collaborate on with other like minded individuals and I just don’t have the time to get it all done. The album is a reflection of the many phases I have been through mentally and emotionally on a daily basis. I try not to write from my life anymore because anyways there is not much going on there lol, so my joy in creating new musical works is escapism and sort of imaginary story lines about all sorts of situations…i am proud of myself for pushing myself through everything to get it done and really delighted to present it to the world.
Your label Bumako…with its rich, spiritual and personal foundation can you describe how it has grown?
Bu-Mako originally was a party that I started with my good friend Mookie to showcase just incredibly dope music that was not necessarily what was happening in the clubs but needed to be heard and played out. It was a labour of love and we set a high standard for what the party should be like from the lighting, atmosphere, scents, sounds, the staff, the mix of people…so when I ceased doing the parties after I had my first child I wanted to expand that same vision to something else, hence the Bumako recording label. I really wanted at first to just put out thematic albums from myself just exploring not necessarily a particular genre but just moods, and thought patterns which is why my first album was called “stream of consciousness” because I just stepped into so many genres of music to create that..I have focused a little more on the sound of bumako and grown as a producer so now I am ready to start bringing other talent on board. The most beautiful growth for the label has been that after 4 years of releases that the fans of the music really get it! That this is an organic movement that doesn’t need hype just a platform to be heard and experienced. More people are hearing Bumako music for the first time and spreading the word so its been very gratifying to keep this label going. I don’t need fame for the label though a few dollars would help lol… I just want people to hear the music because I make it for them.
I guess a lot of things are already written and your our paths chosen for us only to walk, have you chosen an album name for the project?
The name of the album is “Woman walking in the shadows” which this is probably one song that I wrote specifically for all women of all walks of life myself included professionally I have felt in the last year as if I was walking in the shadows, always someone standing right in my light. This song is about feeling strong, empowered and understood, all women have had at one point to walk in the shadow of somebody, their mates, fathers, mothers, children, colleagues..the list goes on but its not the end of the world, we solider on doing the work that makes the world go around.
David Alvarado is one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated dance music figures. David broke onto the scene as a producer in 1993 with “Las Americas” on John Acquaviva’s Definitive Recordings. He went on to found Bomb Records, which would feature then up and coming artists Kenneth Grahm, Eddie Amador, and Derrick Carter. In the years since David’s been an in-demand DJ and producer, releasing music on such labels as Ovum, Ultra, Strictly Rhythm, Yoshi Toshi, Plastic City, Peace Frog, and most recently Historia y Violencia to name just a fraction. David continues to push and develop his sound for anew generation of electronic music fans.
Droid Behavhior invited fellow LA dance music figure Xavier Jimenez to interview David Alvarado for this d-node installment.
A fixture of LA’s electronic music scene since 1991, Xavier has DJed at and promoted parties of all sizes, from lofts to sports arenas and everything in between with the legends of dance music. He is currently the resident and architect of LOVEFIX, an LA event promotion collective dedicated to fostering an underground community, creating space, and dance. He’s also recognized as a DJ/promoter-turned-scholar of his trade since completing his Masters degree in Chicano Studies and writing his thesis on LA’s rave scene during the 1990s from a Chicano perspective. With a passion for academia and underground nightlife he’s been invited to speak at conferences bringing forth LA’s unique underground dance culture. Soundcloud – Xavier De Enciso
Xavier: The earliest time I can recall seeing you DJ was probably in 1993 at a warehouse party in LA. That same year I got a chance to play with you at an SF party called “Sweet N Low.” This party was in a large warehouse in Berkeley, and I can still remember what a great set you played that night. I was impressed with your track selection and mixing skills. You definitely had that “underground” sound on point. The name David Alvarado is `synonymous with Los Angeles’ storied rave underground scene. What was your introduction into the scene, and how did it unfold?
David: I had been DJing for some time, since I was 16. A friend of mine who had an older brother was heavily involved in a car club that did events together with other clubs around So Cal. It was that experience that opened up the club scene and thus the underground scene in LA. There was a huge underground scene at that time, mostly Latin kids, Circus Disco on Sunday nights or Gino’s after hours (long gone legend). In the early 90s a friend of mine dragged me out to Truth, and that was my initial introduction into the underground/rave scene that the Brits were planting in LA. I went on to meet Michael Cook, Tef, Beej, and a host of others that started exposing me more to that scene. Around that time I ran into an old friend Tony Largo (aka Tony Morales) whom I had known from 10 years prior. Tony was a big fixture and influence in the “Latin underground” scene that dominated LA in the late 70s and early 80s. Tony and Marques Wyatt were in the process of starting an afterhours called Candelabra, which as I recall was at the Hong Kong Cafe in downtown LA where we ended up doing Family Groove later on. Tony and Marques offered me the opening slot, and from there things went on. It sort of reintroduced me to a whole other side of LA and vice versa..
Xavier: I was a regular at “Family Groove” afterhours at the then Shark Club in downtown LA. You were one of the resident DJs. One of the main reasons my friends and I attended every week was to see you DJ. There was something special about “Family Groove.” What was it like to be a DJ at this famous afterhours club?
David: What was great about Family Groove was the freedom. I remember that it was very unpretentious; LA is a very polarized city. The Brits had their own thing, and the Latinos had theirs. Family Groove seemed to bring them all together. We just didn’t care, and we really didn’t know any better. There was so much hate being thrown around by promoters and DJs, and being an outsider (from OC) I really couldn’t care less, I just did what I did the way I wanted to do it. I think the fact that it grew and went for so long is a testimony to the people who were involved and the people who showed up and understood how special it was.
Xavier: How long was your residency at “Family Groove,” and were there any positive consequences and/or networks you made from being the resident DJ?
David: Man… I think 4 yers? I lost track. Family Groove brought a lot of names to LA that nobody had brought before, and to this day nobody gives enough credit. The whole Sasha/Digweed phenomenon as far as LA is concerned got its proper spotlight at Family Groove. I think that Family Groove also broke down a lot of barriers as far as the “mixing” of scenes and ethnic groups; it was all just one big groove. There were a lot of people I met as a result who led to other open doors that are a big part of my success to this day. People like DJ EFX and Digit, who laid the groundwork for the whole San Francisco movement as well as giving birth to what is now Multon Street Studios, were regulars at Family Groove. They were the first ones to introduce me not only to SF but made it possible for me to jump off to Europe and do my first tour and opened the door for my Strictly Rhythm releases and tours that followed.
Xavier: Your sound at that time was distinctly “underground”…did you prefer the club atmosphere or the rave underground scene in Los Angeles?
David: I enjoyed the club. The raves always seemed to be a who’s who and nobody every really got the time needed to do their thing. The club gave me freedom to go on a journey. Especially the after hours. All bets were off then.
Xavier: There was a time in the mid 1990s where I did not see you on many flyers, was this around the time you started producing music more or where you already working on music even earlier?
David: I had been amassing gear since the early 80s. We owned a mobile system that we ended up disbanding, and my cut I invested in gear. I began toying around with synths and drum machines pretty early on, and it had seemed a natural progression for me. I had always admired and read about guys like Arthur Baker, and Chep Nunez and was always disappointed that there was no scene like that in LA. I had the opportunity to start getting serious since I had begun to make the connections with people at Strictly Rhythm, Nervous, and a few others do to my club gigs so I spent more time working on creating my own music as things in LA started to taper off for me. I never saw the sort of scene or community of producers and artists that I had been getting exposed to on my travels. My connection with Strictly opened the door to a pretty heavy touring schedule in Europe, so I started to spend more time away from LA than around it.
Xavier: Some of your earliest releases and most acclaimed at the time was your release “Las Americas” in 1993 on Definitive Records. Can you describe the feeling on what it was like for you to release music on a label run by Richie Hawtin and John Aquaviva?
David: It was an interesting story… a chance meeting. I was working at a shop in Long Beach (Record Reaction) and Moby, Hawtin, and Acquaviva were playing at a rave down the street that evening and stopped by the shop. I happened to have copies of a test pressing for a track that I had produced, my first vinyl pressing as a matter of fact, so I passed one on to each of them, said good luck, and they went on their way. A few months later I heard from Moby’s manager, and she told me he dug it, so please send more stuff in the future… Then I get a call from John Acquaviva and he tells me that he and Richie are starting up a new label and were wondering if I’d be interested in having them release my test pressing along with some new remixes, and the rest is history. I ended up going to Canada, meeting the Stickman, and hanging out with John and Richie. It was a game of 2 degrees of separation from there. On that trip I went and stayed at Richie’s and they introduced me to Mike Banks, Mike Huckabee, Claude Young, Dan Bell, and most of what would be M Nus in the future. I ended up doing a deal with John and Richie that enabled me to do my own label Bomb Records, which opened up a whole other door for me. It was through the Canadians that I was introduced to Josh Wink, King Britt, and Matt Brookman which then lead to my longstanding relationship with Ovum. It’s amazing how one small conversation turned into lifelong friendships, business relationships, and about 2 million miles of travel.
Xavier: What was your motivation to start Bomb Records, and what did it mean to have successful releases specifically from a label based in Los Angeles?
David: I honestly just wanted to replicate what I saw in other cities and scenes, that I never saw in LA. I wanted to be a label and a collective. I wanted to do what my friends in other towns and countries were doing with their close friends. Make music, travel, learn from each other. Through Bomb I was able to release Derrick Carter, Chris Nazuka, Kenneth Graham, JL Magoya, and Eddie Amador. With all of them I had the pleasure of releasing some of their first or early works. For me it was just a matter of showing people in LA that there was a bigger world out there and being able to represent to a world that was growing for me that LA had a vibe, a voice just like Chicago, SF, NYC, Detroit, etc. I’m proud of what it became. It opened opportunities not only for me, but for others as well.
Xavier: You have some internationally recognized singles on NRK U.K., Peacefrog Records U.K., Plastic City Records Germany, and Strictly Rhythm. What have been some of your favorites?
David: I think Mayasongs on Peacefrog is one thing that I’m very proud of. I didn’t know any better, and I had nobody around to tell me any better. As with all my other releases I just did what was in my heart. If you want technical perfection you won’t find it on any of my releases – I’m ghetto and incompetent, even I know that. But one thing I know is that everything I’ve done, I’ve been compelled to do and it’s honest. The Plastic City album that Kenneth Graham and I did I think was so ahead of its time. And the NRK album, Transfigurations, was something I wished more people had been exposed to. I think the concepts are being lost on this generation of sound bites.
Xavier: What is the process when you produce music? Do you set long periods of time to create, and what motivates your current productions?
David: I think in themes. I have to have a purpose otherwise I can’t sit and work. There has to be something, a “WHY” that I can answer in what I’m doing. I can’t just sit and try to pump out stuff like a factory. Sometimes I’ll read something, a word, or punctuation; something simple will set me off. I think lately I’ve been inspired by the tools, how to expand on them and deconstruct them and make something that’s unconventional. I used to do that with hardware. A lot of my early sound was just doing things that weren’t supposed to be done with certain machines. I have to keep myself interested. I’m easily distracted; right now I think it’s a matter of experimenting again. There’s too many turn-key solutions for producing and DJing, and it’s very easy to find yourself getting lazy and trapped by them.
Xavier: How do you feel about being an influence to many other DJs and producers in Los Angeles?
David: I hope I’ve been a positive one. I always wanted to build something, a label, club, studio, whatever, but it was never just for me. I had always hoped to be a part of something I could grow, pass down, or pass on. I saw that in Mike Banks, that was the thing that stood out the most to me when I first met him. He not only loved what he was doing, but he loved those around him and took as much interest in their success as his own. It was hard going all over the world and coming home to LA, even just physically the distance between people in the city, it’s just not built for community, but also the emotional and personal distance people would put up as well. It’s a hard city to get close and trust people sometime, but I tried and did what I could.
Xavier: Every time I hear your productions I envision them being played in dark warehouses. Would you agree that your sound is very “underground”?
David: Most definitely. That is probably the space I imagine in my head or visualize when I’m producing something. That’s like home for my music. A friend in Spain once told me that as well. One night we were doing his club and he had just moved it to a bigger venue and he said it clicked when I was playing… the music I was DJing came to life in that space, the music I produce has that space… he said that “it’s a very delicate fragile sound that’s waiting to fill every corner of that space.” I kinda like that, I think it captures what I’m imagining sonically.
Xavier: Has the rapid growth of technology helped you with your productions and DJing?
David: It helped my DJing substantially. I was one of the first beta testers for Final Scratch (no Traktor) probably 10 years ago. It opened up a world of possibilities and if anything enabled me to take my whole collection with me on one laptop. Gave me the ability to expose people around the world to the whole picture that was me and influenced me. I would say that today it’s opened up other possibilities to perform in a way that we never would have thought of just 5 years ago. I mean it really hasn’t been that long since Native Instruments release their first controller for Traktor, and up until then there were no practical controllers to make full use of the potential that Traktor brings to the DJ like it does now. I think there is a world of potential to move the craft along so long as there are people willing to open up and let go of what “used to be.” Don’t get me wrong, I love vinyl, I love the medium, but until the pressing plants are fired up 24/7 this is where we’re at. And I must say that 95% of the people doing it are not even touching on 1% of the possibilities that could reinvigorate the craft and inspire a new generation. In the studio I think it’s helped in a lot of ways, but hindered in more ways. I think it’s too easy to get trapped in the simplicity and therefore not fully explore the complex potential that the technology could unlock. I guess as long as the market makes heroes of average mundane production and producers there won’t be much incentive to get there.
Xavier: How do feel about your recent release “La Soledad” on Santiago Salazar’s Historia Y Violencia label? You have used many Spanish titles for many of your track releases. Is there a significant connection to being a Chicano/Latino producer?
David: Santiago and I have crossed paths many times before, but recently for some reason we just seemed to grow closer. I think that what I see in what Historia Y Violencia and Ican are doing reminds me of what I always wanted to do with Bomb. It’s given me a “WHY” to do some things. Like I mentioned I enjoy themes, and I felt there was a good platform and theme to build from with this release that could grow into other projects. I have always made a point to inject my culture whenever possible. It’s a way of reminding myself and others who and what I am. It’s always a part of me whether unconscious or premeditated, and I try to make it a part of my message in some way or another.
(info by droidbehavior)
From upcoming HV06 featuring David Alvarado + Santiago Salazar
SoundDesigners 