Heart Collapse
Turning electronic music into a powerful stage show can be difficult. Do you play live? What do you do to bring a live feeling to your prerecorded sounds?
I don’t play live that often simply because I’m lacking good equipment. Right now I’m working off a single MPC and a few samplers, so doing a one-man show is kind of a challenge. When I started producing, it was mainly making tracks and remixes for other artists. Slowly, I began to work on my own instrumental solo stuff, and eventually released an EP and full-length earlier this year. I simply wanted to record what was going on in my head, and make some instrumental hip hop music that you could dream to. Doing a live set was far from my mind. However, I’m trying to spread the word around more, and when more people start to take notice and I can book a full U.S. tour, I’m definitely going on the road. My ideal live show would be to have a handful of MPCs with samples of my tracks all chained together, plus some keyboards and samplers. I also want to integrate as many live musicians as possible, probably a bass player and a couple guitar players. I also play drums, so I was thinking about having an acoustic plus electric drum set that I could switch off, and simultaneously triggering samples at the same time. And to top it off, I also want strong visuals for my sets. I had this idea of making a short film for each track, and have that playing in the background during those songs. It’s definitely going to be a task, but once I have more man-power and money I’ll be doing it.
As far as bringing a live feel to my tracks on tape, I try to make the sounds as organic as possible. Most of the sounds are sampled from acoustic sources, and I try to preserve that kind of sound throughout my records. There are all sorts of “easter eggs” in Buried In The Fold - there’s little samples from The Clash, Refused, Thrice, Boards of Canada, Incubus, to old jazz records, the list goes on and on. It’s really subtle though. I’m also a big fan of “found sounds.” A good majority of the ambience on the record is either from number station transmissions, satellites, astronauts, or even subway stations. Also, most of the sounds I work with are just piano or guitar sounds, which have been heavily manipulated and sampled. For example, the song “Oceana” was almost entirely done with a piano, with the exception of the drum track.
It seems like the instrumental hip hop / downtempo / homemade synth sound has been gaining steam steadily for the past few years. Do you feel like you're part of a particular musical movement or wave? Was it a conscious decision?
You know, it’s kinda funny that you ask that, because if I went back in time and could talk to the person I was three years ago, I bet I’d be surprised at myself. I never set out to have an intentional “sound,” it just kind of developed over time, partly by constantly discovering new producers that influence me in so many ways. I was raised listening to punk rock bands like Millencolin and NOFX, so when I was a kid I never dreamed of becoming a hip hop producer. However, it all started by listening to bands like Incubus and Deftones that subtly incorporate different electronic textures into their songs, either from turntables or samplers or whatnot. Things really clicked in 2005 when I heard Team Sleep for the first time. DJ Crook, who does the programming and electronics for that band, is really an amazing musician and inspired me to look at music in an entirely different way. The way Team Sleep mixes organic with synthetic sounds really impacted me, and in my songs I always strive to create a constant balance of organic sounds vs. electronic sounds. From there, my mind was opened and I began to listen religiously to producers like Fat Jon, 9th Wonder, Dan the Automator, Danger Mouse, DJ Premiere, the RZA, and J Dilla, to name a few. Each producer can teach you to approach a track in so many different ways.
About the movement part, I do see myself as a member of a new wave of producers. It’s definitely a global movement - you can hop on myspace right now and hear some amazing instrumental hip hop from all corners of the globe. Japan especially has some really hot shit coming out. And then there’s Beat Dimensions - which is a collective of beatmakers and producers that appeals to a more international audience. And then you have all the J Dilla apostles, including producers like Flying Lotus and his whole crew, that are bringing the sound to the U.S. from California. So I’d say it’s definitely a movement, even if it currently lacks a defining center. Take me for example - my tracks sound totally different from Flying Lotus or Hudson Mohawke and all the other hot underground producers, who tend to have a synth-heavy electronic sound to them. But when you hear our tracks side by side, you can definitely hear all the shared influences.
If you could choose your own record label, past, present, or future, what label would it be?
That’s a really tough question, but the beauty of being a producer is that labels really don’t matter - if you work freelance. Producers are kinda like the cowboys of the music industry. But I’m gonna go with a totally left-field answer and say Jazzy Sport, which is a record label from Japan. Everything they put out is straight heat. I think they also own a café too - nothing better than eating Asian food while listening to instrumental hip hop.
Rank these 5 things in order from best (1) to worst (5)
1. Old Man Winter - if you’re talking about the mythic man, we’re tight.2. Young Tom Jones
3. Old Tom Jones
4. Tire Swings - they suck
5. Winterized tires - pretty sure I’ve never driven in snow
Who would you most like to do a song with?
Forget songs - I’d do an entire album with Refused. I’m going to single-handedly reunite them and put out possibly the best record so far of the 21st century. I’d also like to co-produce an album with somebody, probably either Dangermouse or someone like Nigel Godrich, who did all the good Radiohead albums. That would be fun. In terms of hip hop, I’d love to produce tracks for a new P.O.S. record, who is probably my favorite rapper out right now (go check out his crew Doomtree).
Have you gotten to meet any of your musical heroes through being in the music scene?
Most of my musical heroes are dead.
List your favorite albums at age 5, 10, 15 and 20
5 - probably the soundtrack to the Lion King.10 - Third Eye Blind self-titled, or 311's Transistor
15 - The Clash - London Calling
20 - Hopesfall - Magnetic North, Doomtree- False Hopes, or Smashing Pumpkins - Adore
Any great stories of crazy fan mail?
I haven’t got any “crazy” fan mail yet but I’m always impressed by all the talent that’s out there now just waiting to be discovered. People message me all the time about collaborations and things like that, and I’m always blown away by some of the shit I come across. Recently, this girl called Soul Subjektive (myspace.com/soulsubjektive) messaged me and we’re doing a track together. She takes instrumental tracks from producers like MF Doom and really makes great things out of them. The tracks are very lo-fi and rough but you can tell there’s some serious talent underneath it.
How has being a musician changed your everyday life? Or has it at all?
I think it’s made me more open minded about music, being a producer. My mind has slowly broken down the borders when it comes to finding new music. Every time I hear a sound anywhere I go, I’m always thinking how I can sample it and incorporate it into a new song. It really makes you look at music in a new way. It may be a train passing by or the way footsteps sound in an empty stairwell - but it makes you want to capture it and make new noise out of it.
Where can people get a copy of your most recent record? Any new releases on the way from yourself or anyone else at your label, Rare Candy?
You can jump onto iTunes or Amazon.com and get the EP or full-length. Right now it’s only available digitally, but there might be a physical release coming soon. I’m also dropping a free mixtape out sometime this year on Dusted Wax Kingdom, which is a netlabel based in Bulgaria that has an amazing roster. Rare Candy is a fairly new label that specializes in electronic downtempo stuff. I’m actually the first release, but there will be plenty more to come.
Shout outs, plugs?
I want to give a shout out to my musical brother Zach, who plays in the band It’s Alive (myspace.com/itsalive). They just got signed to a major, so I’m sure you’ll be hearing things from them soon. Also, if you like rap or hip hop in general be sure to check out the DOOMTREE collective. Amazing artists. And of course, I want to give thanks to all the producers from around the globe that are constantly pushing that musical envelope.
