| You currently live in Atlanta - how's the electronic music scene there? |
| The electronic music scene here is solid. We get headliners through almost weekly, but only of the trance and hip hop/commercial variety. Luckily there is a core group of people who have some of the best tastes in music and humor that I know, and these really are the fabric of our local vibe. |
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| You've had a lot going on recently. If you had to pick your top three career highlights in the past year, what would they be? |
3) The release of my EP, Outside The Box, on Audio Therapy in February
2) My guest mix for John Digweed's Transitions show on Kiss FM in March
1) Sound Theory01 Sample Pack- while this may seem a bit obvious, this experience honestly made me approach writing sounds and music as well as performing in a whole new light, one that I will be building on with each passing day. |
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| As a DJ and as a producer, you've gotten a reputation for having a very unique style. Do you ever feel any pressure to live up to that reputation by deliberately keeping your sound away from the norm? |
| Ahh...the irony! No, you're quite right actually. I suppose it's inevitable, as I've spent my years in music forging a career based on defying genres, labels, and expectations. That belief in itself becomes it's own trend which I am limited by. |
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| What motivated you to take on the project of engineering the SoundTheory 01 sample collection? |
I'm always in search of new ways of not only pushing my audience, but also pushing myself. It's normally in these uncharted waters where I seem to excel. I suppose you can look at it like a new toy or record for example; the first times you play with them are the best times, the times when you have no preconception or predetermined approach of how to 'play' something.
The sample collection was an intriguing project for me, and it's through this project that I've learned the most in these last few years. Also, approaching this sample collection from the intentions of performing live really made me consider every detail in context, and more importantly outside of that context. |
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| Do you have any advice for artists who are using the SoundTheory 01 samples? |
| Please explore the possibilities of these sounds, not only in conventional production manners of splicing loops and sounds, but also in the live element of performance. Not only are you getting 600 MB of sounds, but you can then take those sounds and cut them or edit them in any way you choose, nearly doubling the possibilities. |
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| You created an exclusive mix for us using only elements from the SoundTheory 01 collection. This seems to have been a new musical step for you. Can you explain how you created the mix and what you tried to accomplish with it? |
The Sound Theory mix, or rather live recording, was recorded using Ableton 6 software and a Behringer BCR controller (one of the prizes for the winner of the Sound Theory track competition). I tried to achieve this simply, using straight forward methods that would exemplify the many easy applications of the loops.
Here's a quick rundown on my process, for all you nerds like me out there:
I loaded all the loops into the 'session view' of Ableton, creating new tracks for each group of loops, so variational loops of the same name were loaded sequentially into one track, then the next and so on. Loaded similar one hits into tracks by themselves and that's about it.
I set the snap to 4 bar.
I hit the record button.
I started triggering loop, after loop, after loop, going into the envelopes of each one (while still recording) and changing the envelopes of the transpose, volume and pan, using the draw mode set to 1/4 or variation.
I would change several other parameters on the fly, such as transpose, and under the warp area the *2 (times two) /2 (divided by two) to stretch out or speed up the loops and sounds without losing the timing....it's a fun function!
...all the way down the line....
And here we are! |
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| The SoundTheory 01 original track competition is underway now. With all of the prizes at stake, including a release on your own label Lobotomy Records, do you have any thoughts you’d like to share with the contestants? |
| I'm really excited to hear what people come up with. The experiences I've had jamming with the samples is that there are infinite possibilities, and I think even being limited to the samples themselves, you can manipulate them in so many ways these days it's ridiculous! We'll be really looking for creativity, originality, and excellent production. |
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| Do you have any other projects in the works right now, either for yourself or for your labels? |
On the remix front, expect to see Habersham remixes of SOTEG (Son Of The Electric Ghost), Fine Cut Bodies and Chris Carter, and Speculum. I'm doing an EP here and there, plus working on my album. It's going to be interesting.
Lobotomy is being operated by Phil Martinez who graciously helps run virtually all things with the label minus involvements in music and securing agreements and such. Of course the Fine Cut Bodies remix of my "Song Of The Lizard" was last released, along with Datguy's "Resuscitate" and "And Another One." Tony and Geof from Datguy are wicked producers and teamed up with Involved for their release on Lobotomy. |
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| How do you see yourself evolving as a DJ and producer in the next year? |
| I'm definitely going to explore the live performance thing a while, really trying to perfect that and still probably taking only some DJ gigs here and there....As a producer, I'm properly doing my album now and doing some singles, and the sounds I am exploring now have more texture and attention to detail, truly minimalistic approach, much like my taste in all things. |
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| If you could say one thing to every visitor to the Resonant Vibes website, no matter what nationality, age, gender, or level of appreciation for electronic music, what would it be? |
| Be The Change You Wish To See In The World |
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