About five months ago Dave Revan shared a video of this guy, playing “Ready to Rage” in a beautiful black piano, rocking a bandana and a defqon hat. Since then I’ve started my mornings scrolling my feed, anxiously waiting to see which classic The Pianist is going to tackle next. Seems like his music library and love for Hardstyle, are as big as his talent and improvisation skills. Jisk Lieftink, The Hardstyle Pianist, has been sky rocketing into the spotlight, after getting noticed and recognized by heavy names like Angerfist, Wildstylez, Ran-D, recently collaborating with Andy Svge on a track that is surely going to be a melodic master piece.
The versatility of his style and unique sound, transforms every melody into an instant classic. Ranging from Headhunterz Lessons of love to Gunz for Hire Plata o Plomo, Jisk isn’t afraid to cover the whole spectrum of the harder styles, adding his own spin to it all. Around Christmas time he recorded music video, for what he says was his favourite track from 2016, Wildstylez Encore; and enlisted the talented Judith Vander Klip to accompany him on her violin. The perfect chemistry between them, calm lighting and gorgeous set, makes you gain appreciation of the beautifully crafted melody, that sometimes may fall second to the power of the beat.
Growing up in the 80s, at the birth of electronic music, one thing we got tired of hearing was “it’s not even music, there’s no instruments”. Stripping the tracks of all the “computer sounds” (as my father would call it) and showcasing it with such grace while still displaying the strength behind it, it’s why I can’t get enough of his YouTube channel. His views count sky rocketed from 2 to 58k when Angerfirst shared his Mashup piano cover and requested him a track, which is coming very soon.
He was also a guest at the legendary Freqshow and managed to silence a sold out Ziggo dome to perform Audiotricz Inception, making grown men weep in the crowd. Kicking off the new year with Villain on stage of the biggest Hardstyle party of the NYE! His delivery of emotions through his beloved keys is so on point, I dare you to watch the video bellow and not get goosebumps more than once.
So what’s next for The Hardstyle pianist? He’s currently looking for management (so if you’re into gold mines, you’re welcome). And he has so much going on with offers coming from everywhere, he’s taking it one day at a time, planning his next steps. He is planning to perform at Defqon in June. And his goal is to create his own act for Dance events which would allow him to travel and perform at festivals around the globe. He’s also recording an album in the near future that will feature a lot of his, and crowd favourites, since he receives thousands of requests every day. As a fan, I’m very excited to see him grow while he continues to surprise me with new covers almost daily. If you follow his Facebook and YouTube channel he will become your new addiction, as he is already mine.
Sadistic is a hardcore artist, dj and organizer originally from Scotland. His recent releases are an interesting crossover between the psychedelic and more experimental flashcore aesthetics as well as more dancefloor friendly, yet underground, hardcore techno styles. He now lives in Thailand and has started organizing Darkside Thailand hardcore events in Bangkok. To report about these new musical developments and the latest expansion efforts of the hardcore scene to new areas, we’re here to bring you an interview with Sadistic!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your history. How long have you been active in the core scene as a dj, musician and organizer?
Hi Hard Data crew. First of all, I wanna say thanks for getting in touch with the interview and for the awesome write up on my EP’s on CSR. I would say that is quite an accurate description.
I have been a bedroom dj since 13, but really it all started at the age of 18, when I was legally able to attend clubs and events. I started a small event in Glasgow with a friend called Odyssey, putting on a variety of music styles at the event. This lasted for about 3 years, and also led me to meet some of my closest associates in the hardcore scene. Meanwhile I was bursting to get into producing music since the age of about 16, but never knew how. Finally around the time of running these events I came across some music production software and that was the entry.
About 5 years ago I stopped making core for a while. I wanted to experiment with different tempos, rhythms, sounds, styles, vibes, methods of production etc, just generally things which I wouldn’t do when making hardcore music.
(If you wanna hear any of that you can check out our Disasters In Shado Magic album we released on Miike Teknoist‘s Zombfree label). But from doing that I actually developed a lot of new production techniques and ways to use my synthesizers, and that all contributed to my style and developing as an artist. So when I started writing hardcore tunes again, I was coming at it with a different approach than before, and incorporating in all these different things I was doing with that other music. The EP I made around then was 25 Minutes Of Sonic Power, and now we have the sequel, Another 30 Minutes Of Sonic Power.
Sadistic @ Ordinary2016
What are your musical influences and what inspires you as a musician?
My synthesizers inspire me. I just like to jam and go with the flow and see where it takes me. Once I hear something I think I can work with, that’s where it begins. Once I feel inspired by the sounds then I can start to think about it seriously and how to turn it into a track.
Also when you listen to music as a dj you hear it differently than when you listen to music as a producer. When you’re a dj and playing tunes, you’re feeling the energy, listening to the main elements of the track, listening out for places you can mix and cut it up, thinking about what tunes work well with it, thinking about what will make people dance. But when you listen to music as a producer you listening deep into the sounds, how the track evolves, what emotions are in the tune, what story it tells. For me, I’m much more influenced by the latter. I always listen to people’s music from a producer point of view. I get inspired by the sounds or vibes in tunes that are nothing like the stuff I’m making. I’ll go through phases of listening to a lot of music and at times listening to only one thing. I often get obsessed by someone’s music and try to get everything they have done and listen to it over and over until I get bored of it. Usually I like the vibe of their music, the place it puts me in, the way it makes me feel, or fascinated by their music in some way. Over the years some of the people that have done that for me are Amon Tobin, Venetian Snares, Dj Hidden, Richard D James, Xploding Plastix, Rubberoom, The Opus, People Under The Stairs, MOG (Glasgow rapper), and obviously various producers, labels, djs within the hardcore scene.
Ultimately though I get inspired all the time by people who are just doing something unique or different and doing their own thing.
Your recent releases have a unique style similar to flashcore while at the same time being dancefloor friendly. What’s your opinion on the current state of atmospheric and psychedelic core music (with a lack of better umbrella term) and flashcore?
That’s true! And not a coincidence either! But that’s a tough question to be honest. I don’t really listen to so much music these days as I don’t have the time. I’m not anywhere near as collective as I used be and being able to seek out music and following scenes. I just don’t have the time these days to find or listen to more of it with working full time, studying for a degree in Astronomy, seeing my girlfriend and trying to make my own music. I love stuff when I hear it, but I can’t comment on the current state.
What brought you to Thailand?
I came to Thailand quite a few years ago to travel and about a year after going back home I came back here to live. I was just looking for something new really, but it’s worked out and I’ve settled here.
You have recently started organizing hardcore parties in Bangkok as Darkside Thailand. Tell us a bit about this concept. Have there been any local core events or core being included in lineups before this?
Over the last couple of years I have played at a few parties in Bangkok. They weren’t hardcore dedicated parties, but more so experimental electronic events. I played my hardcore and it was well received. So since there were no dedicated core events on in the City, I decided to fill that gap and put something on.
I spoke to my close friend Al Twisted who runs the original Darkside events in Scotland, which have been going on for 18 years now. He thought it was a great idea too and suggested that I could use his brand name and I decided to start the franchise Darkside Thailand.
How did the first Darkside Thailand party go in your opinion?
The first event was a success. We held our event at a club called JAM in Bangkok.
Each of the dj’s played great sets and the party people brought an awesome atmosphere. Even the club owners became part of the party. The club is quite small and compact, which is perfect for what we are trying to do. The underground scene in Bangkok is vibrant, but it’s a scene with underground music on a whole, rather than being a scene in hardcore. So events aren’t packing out hundreds to thousands of people. Events are still fairly small numbered. My only criticism about the event was doing it on a Thursday. I think weekends will be much more suitable nights for the events. That is what we’ll do in future.
What are the possibilities and challenges of organizing events in Thailand?
Events here remind me of what the gabber scene was like in Scotland 10 years ago, but still even smaller than that. Small events of like-minded people with an open-mind for good underground music. As for anyone anywhere in a position like that I think the possibilities are massive and exciting, but also will be very challenging and a struggle at times. But the people who stick it out will usually achieve their goals.
How has the music been received by the locals, expats and travellers?
At the moment we’ve only had one event as the first event was cancelled due to the passing of the king. It’s a bit early really to comment on that. All the events I’ve been at with the music I’ve played and other similar styles, including our event, has all been well received. It’s a totally open-minded crowd that attend most of these events.
In some Asian countries people seem to get their first touch of hardcore techno listening to j-core coming from Japan rather than the sounds from European scenes. Have you noticed if this is also a thing in Thailand or are there any other specific subgenres of core that you would say are more exposed locally or that resonate well on the dancefloors?
Sadistic playing @ No Answer 2017 in Chiang Mai
Bangkok has a passionate underground scene for music and art. At some events I have attended, I have noticed that people listen to the music also as a form of art. And the style that many Thai artists play reflects this. When some of these events are organised they are intended for people to stand and listen and watch the performance.
There is also a quite a popular drum and bass scene, which is totally different where people do dance. I have heard a few breakcore sets in Bangkok, which is the closest style to hardcore I’ve heard. Sometimes these events are put on either of the two, or they are mixed. But exposure to the hardcore techno music and events in the hardcore scene is greatly unheard or unfollowed. So hopefully we can get more of the open-minded people here excited about the hardcore techno scene.
Any local artists/dj’s you would recommend for the readers to check out?
Space360 is one of the organisers that let me play a bunch of times. He produces IDM and Breakcore, and organises many underground events in Thailand. Top Guy!!
What future plans do you have for Sadistic and Darkside Thailand?
I have some really exciting plans for Sadistic, but can’t really say anything about them yet as there still in early stages. I’m doing some collaboration’s at the moment too with some guys I’ve never worked with, and I plan to do more over the next year or two. I want to be more involved in the scene this way, and bringing my new flavour to the table.
For Darkside Thailand the plans at the moment are to have a steady string of events every few months and build up the event. It’s a small event and we don’t have the budget to pay for international artists, so it’s a group contribution at the moment I guess you could say. When people are planning trips to Thailand we can sort out a date with them to organise events. That way we can afford to make these events happen and give artists the chance to play in this wonderful country that has largely unheard the sounds of core. But in general we hope for bigger and better things for Darkside Thailand.
The Teknoist @ Darkside Thailand
Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of The Hard Data?
It was a very exciting weekend in Alberta for the Hardstyle family! The return of Blackout festival by Boodang shocked fans with a star studded lineup, performing in two cities back to back. Union hall in Edmonton and Flames Central in Calgary dressed up in all black (and a little orange) to welcome some truly legendary names and celebrate the harder styles.
Friday night at Union Hall started off showcasing some local talent, with Pandamonium warming up the decks for what was gonna be one of the most heated nights I can remember. First headliner hitting the stage was Lady Faith. The sexy Hardstyle diva herself delivered a high energy hour full of bangers, setting the tone for what was coming up. I couldn’t help but fan girl a little bit, she’s much more gorgeous in person, and such a sweetheart!
When Audiofreq took the stage, I was expecting to hear a lot of tracks from his new album, Audiology. And THANK SAM he didn’t disappoint. His set was loaded with classics and new beats, featuring a lot of his new tracks and closing his performance with Audio God (my personal favourite from his album). It was an earth-shattering brutal hardcore banger that left me wired up and soooooooo ready for the final act of that night.
Celebrating 15 years of being True Hardstyle Legends, Tuneboy and Technoboy, “TNT” were ready to bring the house down. And DID THEY EVER! Listening to their repertoire makes you realize how much these men have contributed-and still do, to the rich history of our scene. The crowd couldn’t stop singing along to every track, and the energy continued to build up throughout the show. Nobody wanted to go home! I had the privilege of standing behind them through their set, and got to appreciate their old school style of mixing with CDs. No pre recorded bullshit for the kings of Hardstyle! Watching them flip through their folders looking for the next track was so fun and exciting. The way they feed of each other’s energy on stage, joking around and kicking each other’s butt between songs, shows how unique and timeless their friendship and partnership is. May they continue to bless us with their talent and banging beats for as long as they shall live, PLEASE!
Photo Credit – CYK Media
After the night was done, all four of the headliners were happy to stay and meet fans, take a million pictures and sign a million flags. Always with a big smile and showing appreciation for everyone that was there to celebrate them. Which, as a fan, always means the world to me. So once again THANK YOU for taking the time to show us how much we mean to you.
A Hardstyle fan once said, if you’re not hurting the next day, you didn’t go hard enough. But we couldn’t afford the luxury of a recovery day, because we had to be up for the drive to Calgary for the biggest show of the year. Another triple headliner, this time Atmozfears, Brennan Heart, and Coone. That’s any Hardstyle lovers wet dream right there, and it was happening Saturday night at Flames Central; or as Brennan Heart called it “The theatre of Hardstyle”
Photo Credit – Brennan Heart’s Facebook
It was my first time at that venue, so I was very impressed when I saw the size of it, and being a sold out show, it was expected to get rowdy. With Atmozfears euphoric style, it wasn’t long until we were all sweating, bearing huge smiles on our faces. Even though he played for an hour and ten minutes, it felt like five minutes to me. Maybe because I was so excited to finally see him again, time flies when you’re having fun. And that we did!
The highlight of the night, for me, was Brennan Heart. The IAMHARDSTYLE king never lets me down. Absolutely incredible set, all our favourite sing alongs, new music, collabs with everyone, different styles, and incredible energy. The man knows how to make the crowd lose their shit every five minutes, and he’s not afraid to do it. I will for ever front row every one of his shows anytime he’s here, because no one delivers a high energy experience more than he does.
Brennan Heart at Flames Central – Photo Credit: Shane Moseley
Just when you thought you couldn’t keep going any harder, Coone came out, celebrating Ten years with Dirty Workz, and utterly destroyed Flames. The crowd went insane track after track. I saw a few people crying when he told us he wanted to play us a song about his daughter, and everyone was singing along to Faye. It was a very emotional end to a weekend every Hardstyle fan in Alberta will remember for ever.
Coone at Flames Central – Photo Credit Josh Murray photography
The drive home back to Edmonton was pretty quiet, and two days later we’re still hurting. Couldn’t be happier to say, we gave this weekend our all and we can’t wait to do it again.
Saturday January 21 was Basscon’s return to the Belasco theater in Los Angeles. The show was a 15yr celebration of Italian heavyweight duo TNT aka Technoboy ‘N’ Tuneboy, with support from opening act Crime Family, rising America hardstyle artist Mekanikal, and the energetic Audiofreq. The night promised a flashback into some of the classic tracks that brought TNT to such notoriety, as well as a selection of the current top tracks on the dance floors. There was another prospect for the night, the hybridization of psytrance and hardstyle. The internet had been buzzing about this combination of the two styles lately, and Mekanikal, Audiofreq and TNT all promised to play their take on “psystyle” that night! Psystyle- you heard it here first!
My friends and I arrived at the show and grabbed a drink around the beginning of Mekanikal’s set. I looked around and noticed something different about the crowd- it was a very young, enthusiastic crowd who were already getting wild!
“This is her first show, we can’t wait for TNT!” I heard someone talking to their friends say. It reminded me of the enthusiasm I felt when it was raving was new to me too. The reverse bass from Mekanikal’s set echoed through the Belasco, and I expected the night would be full of it. He played his new track with Reactor and MC Sik-Wit-It, Hardstyle Made Me Do It, and we even heard his new psystyle track PSYchedelica.
Following Mekanikal’s set was the versatile Audiofreq. Audiofreq is well known for the energy he brings while performing, but he is also well know for pushing beyond the boundaries of what has been done before and creating new and exciting sounds. His set included bangers Screwdriver, Warcry, and Sandstorm Sub Sonik remix. He also gave a subtle nod to his Australian roots with tracks like You Got the Love and Dragonblood (Defqon.1 Australia 2016 Anthem) and even showed us his take on psystyle with a TBA track.
15yrs of TNT was a memorable night filled with classic hardstyle tracks that brought the genre into the spotlight where it is today, and it may have given us a glimpse of what the future has in store. Up next, Basscon returns to the Belasco on February 24 for Atmosfears LA stop of his North America GVTE tour, featuring Atmosfears, Code Black and a Tuneboy Classics set. Get your tickets here.
The midwest United States is, for many people, the birthplace of modern electronic music. The area has produced a long line of influential labels, DJs, and producers, as well as playing a key role in developing genres and shaping new directions for future generations to follow. A number of artists have left their mark over the years, but few have made an imprint on as many different strains of electronic music as Jason Snell; the shape-shifting musician who has made quality contributions to a wide range of styles via an ever-growing list of projects. His late-90s cassettes turned heads worldwide, and he soon found himself releasing material on a number of influential labels. From Hangars Liquides in France, Addict and Ghetto Safari in Milwaukee, Vinyl Communications in California. The visionary Detroit label LowRes even dedicated the Division 13 sublabel to his output. The Hard Data dives into the heart of darkness and brings you an in depth look at the man behind the monikers.
You’ve produced work under a number of different aliases over the years. At what point does a new project emerge? Do you discover, as material nears completion, that it stands apart from other work and deserves its own name, or do you enter into the creative process with fresh concept in mind and approach it differently from the outset?
It initially comes up as a need for new expression that I can’t comfortably produce under the Bombardier name. I’ve had the Bombardier moniker the longest (started around 1997) so each new project is in relation to that foundation. When I find myself working on new material I like but it doesn’t feel like a “Bombardier” song, I start considering other options. After having so many monikers in the late 90’s – Bombardier, 13th Hour, Kamphetamine, and Useless Generation – I was reluctant to start anything new again, particularly because in retrospect all that late 90’s material is very similar in tone and could have easily fallen under the Bombardier name. So for years I tried to expand the Bombardier umbrella rather than start new projects, but I’m constantly exploring and eventually ran out of runway.
The purpose of new names isn’t so much to distinguish my work for listeners but rather free me up to express what I need to express. The last few years I’ve wanted to explore more melodic, pretty ambient music and kept balking at pursuing it because it didn’t feel “Bombardier” enough. The Bombardier ambient sound is more atonal and dark and I felt restricted by that history and body of work. The result was The Space Where She Was, which was initially a song title about the strange phenomenon of when someone leaves or dies and their physical space, the room they lived in, the bed they slept in, the space they occupied in a community is now empty.
In contrast, my 5th of July band project was created as a fresh concept. I was auditioning different vocalist when I lived in the Bay Area and connected the most with Jessica Schoen. She grew up in Chicago and listened to the same industrial and goth bands I did in the 90’s. She liked the dark atmospheres and percussion of my Bombardier work and we both wanted to work on something down-tempo. I love working with her vocals and she’s incredibly tolerant of how much I manipulate them in the mix. I’ll often start with a simple backing track and she’ll sing lyrics that either of us have written. I usually then break the backing track into individual sounds, chop up her vocals and reverse them. I listen to the vocals and sounds and get a sense of its unique DNA, and build the song from scratch. Once we did our first show (January of 2016) the visual aesthetic came together – a sort of David Lynch meets Sleep No More. That led to a number of film shoots in the spring and the overall project is becoming more multimedia than just a band.
On the subject of the visual component, you do much of the graphic design for your releases. Is there a difference in how you approach creating moving images to accompany music and how you craft the elements that go into the package elements of a release? Does this process of matching images to sound differ greatly from providing soundtracks to film, where the images come before the audio?
There are two different directions. When I design album art, I know the music and look through my photos to find something that connects well with the sound of the song or album. When I work on films (whether scoring someone else’s film or shooting my own), the footage / image comes first and I then began to “hear” the corresponding sounds in my mind that fit. And the challenge then is getting my machines to make the sound I heard in my head. So with graphic design it goes sound to image, and with motion picture it goes image to sound.
An interesting aside as I’ve learned more about sound production and mastering – the process of adjusting levels, pan, or effects to move the musical elements in the sound field – is its incredible similarities to graphic design. Changing the alpha on a graphic element feels like changing the volume on a musical element, etc… They use a similar non-verbal part of my mind that moves from focusing on individual elements to the whole picture, back and forth, during the editing process.
You’ve moved around a lot, is environment something that has a distinct impact on your output?
It definitely does. There’s an inverse relationship between the amount of chaos in an environment and the amount of risk I’m willing to take creatively. When I moved to NY in 2000 I thought the activity of the city would inspire me creatively. However the opposite happened – I began to take less risks with my music. It’s only when I’m in quiet places that the loudest music comes out of my brain. When I left NY in 2009, my art and music had atrophied to the point where I thought I was just out of ideas. I moved to a quiet apartment in the Bay Area and slowly began to feel creative again. However that city-type of compression came back up as the tech boom hammered the Bay, and I started to lose focus again. I moved to LA and that helped, but as it is also becoming more expensive I know I won’t be here forever. I spend a good amount of time in Iowa where I have a comparable studio set up as my California one. Some of my best ideas have come out there. On the flip side, I need some exposure to great artists and new music to stay inspired, so I do this balance of spending some time in cities, seeing shows and jamming with other artists, and some time alone in the middle of nowhere making music.
Bombardier performing in NYC
Do you use different gear, or tailor your studio set-up for each individual project?
My Bombardier work has been heading in the direction of outboard gear again. I started with gear in 1995, a drum machine, and slowly built on that. I didn’t use software until about 2011 when a friend loaned me Maschine for a weekend and I liked what it could do. Using software has taught me a lot about sound production – EQ ranges, compression, effects – that I didn’t learn from my early gear because I just blasted the signals through distortion pedals and a 4-track. However making music just with software doesn’t fit my style. I like the erratic sounds of wires getting crossed and the hum of machines and pedals. It’s a more raw sound and fits the Bombardier style.
5th of July began software based and still is, although I’m experimenting with bringing in some sounds recorded from my modular of gear into it. Because of Jessica’s vocals, working in software makes it easier to arrange around them. It’s more delicate work and software helps with that precision.
And the melodic, lo-fi sound of The Space Where She Was is outboard gear. Even if I use a software synth, I route it through a chain of external pedals. Most recently I’ve been experimenting with an AI I programmed into my Refraktions iPhone app. I’ve been having it send generative sequences to my desktop synths (the Waldorf Blofeld, the Analog Four) and my modular kit to make its own songs. I set it up, tap the iPhone screen a few times, and let it create a composition while I turn knobs – essentially like having a robot band mate. That’s produced some really beautiful results – lo-fi melodies and drones that fits the project well.
You mention ‘generative sequences’ in relation to The Space Where She Was. That term was coined by Eno to describe the use of algorithms or processes to compose ambient music. This is fitting considering the ambient nature of the material, but also suggests an influence in terms of approach and structure. What are some of your biggest influences, and who are some of the artists you’ve been exposed to recently that you’ve found particularly inspiring?
I use the term “generative” in the same way Eno did – a composition run through a series of algorithms that generate new sequences. I’m pushing myself and the music by developing an artificial intelligence in my Refraktions app that can remember and respond to a musician’s initial choices before the algorithms are applied. The generative code in the app began as randomized selections of sounds and notes. Now the AI has a memory matrix that remembers the musician’s choices, stress-tests those choices against a randomized element, and produces a result that is new, yet favoring the instruments and notes the musician prefers. It’s a blend between existing trajectory and new input, which is how I experience life in general. My goal is to make this sequencer generate sequences and rhythms that are as organic and life-like as possible within a technological environment.
In terms of influences on this process and my ambient music in general, Mahr is the top of my list. She is a musician out of Madison whose music strikes a balance between dark and beautiful, complex and understandable, like a lucid hallucinogenic trip. Perhaps there is something about the Madison area, because I credit Ablecain as the biggest influence on the breakcore I’ve made.
Other influences include the abundance of performers I’ve been able to see in Los Angeles these last two years. Orphx’s modular set was the best performance I saw in 2016, followed closely by Richard Devine and his two coffin-sized modular racks. Also Autechre, Alessandro Cortini, and local artists from the LA modular scene like Bana Haffar and Baseck (who I’ve known now for 19 years – we used to trade breakcore cassette demos). Not a week goes by without several world-class electronic artists performing in Los Angeles. It’s an honor and privilege to be here right now.
How different is your live set-up from the studio you use for production?
I’ve experimented a lot with my live set up – playing off gear, Ableton, Traktor, modular, or any combination of them. When I’m traveling a lot, I usually have a Traktor X1 mapped to be a 4 channel mixer, with a live stream going into the D deck. That live stream could be a drum machine, synth, my app – just depends on the set and the sort of sound I’m going for. I experimented with Ableton for a while (and certainly will again) but gravitated towards Traktor so I could play full songs that have their progression built it. It also opened me up to mixing other artists songs into my sets, which was new for me because I started as a producer and not a DJ. So my production studio is often what I’m traveling with, but when I’m stationary, I have a set of hardware synths, pedals, Maschine controller, and Elektron boxes. Here’s a full list of gear that’s scattered between my 2 studios:
Maschine Studio Elektron Rytm and Analog 4 Moog Delay, Bass Murf, Drive, and chorus Electro Harmonix delay, flange, reverb, phaser Novation Bass Station, Bass Station II, Super Bass Station rack and drum station Waldorf Blofeld Roland JV-880, R8, MC-50 Boss SYB-3 synth filter, DD5 Delay, Metal Zone, and Hyper Fuzz
That last pedal, the Boss Hyper Fuzz, is the piece of gear I’ve had the longest and is a fundamental piece in all my favorite tracks. I started using it in 1993 with a guitar and amp, making feedback and learning how to get beautiful tones in noise. Later I started running 808 kicks (from the R8) and that began my hardcore and industrial catalog.
At Furthur you played a techno set on the Network 10 Venus stage on the Friday night, and then were called upon to take a Saturday night slot on the mainstage. You were able to perform a completely different style with no notice. How did that come about, and how much work goes into always being prepared to shift gears like that?
There were a lot of factors, but basically it boils down to something I heard in NYC years ago. Luck = preparation + opportunity. It’s sort of a Karate Kid thing, waxing the car and painting the fence over and over because it’s the next task in front of me then in all comes together in important moments like these.
The preparation element was being on tour that summer and playing about 15 shows before Furthur. They were DJ + live hybrid sets, each one being unique, something I did as a personal challenge. I was also pushing myself to move away from the safety of planned out sets and pick the first track of a set just seconds before I start. I’d try to launch off the moment, transitioning from the previous artist and reading the energy of the crowd. By the time of Furthur, I knew my gear, I knew my songs, and could enter and exit at any point. I was listening to Fixmer McCarthy’s last track and knew to pull up a techno track I did called “Pavement” that my friend Joey (Blush Response) had told me sounded like Nitzer Ebb. I knew my destination, which was to ramp things up to a hard set by Perc, and I was filling in for Lenny Dee, so each time I looked for a new track I simply thought, “harder.”
The other part was the opportunity, which came about through several tenuous, simultaneous threads. Even the night of the event, several random coincidences occurred (me watching the show from backstage, Perc being delayed at the airport, Joel not finding out that he was needed at 1am instead of 3am) but what is even more interesting to me were the threads that began more than a year and half before at a very small show in LA.
I had been booked to play a Thursday night in the outskirts of LA. I knew other people who had played this venue and liked it, but for whatever reason the turnout was really low. It was essentially artists performing for each other and about 5 other people. The venue was huge so it felt painfully empty. It was one of those nights where anyone could have bailed and no one would blame them. But my attitude is to do the best I can with whatever is in front of me so I enjoyed playing and listening to the sets on their big system, hung out with the other artists, and enjoyed the evening.
One of the other artists was JB (Zeller) from France. We hit it off and the next summer he booked several shows for us in Europe. In June, I played a hardcore set in Renne, posted it online, and that was heard by Maria 909 in New York. Later that summer, David (Cervello Elettronico) – who also was at the LA show – booked me to play at Nothing Changes in downtown New York. Maria showed up at that show, we hit it off, and a month later at Furthur she was key in advocating for me to play in Lenny Dee’s spot.
If I rewind the tape and think if I had bailed on that small LA show or had a bad attitude, would JB or David want to continue playing shows with me? Would I have been in Renne and Maria heard that recording, or met her in New York?
All of these elements combined to make that moment where Kurt asked me if I could play main stage with 5 minutes notice. Without hesitation I said yes and the rest was auto-pilot: Plug in the gear, get a sense of what to play immediately, and perform the best set I can play.
Do you see common elements that connect your entire body of work?
I think the common elements are darkness, hard-driven sounds, grief, and a sort melancholic beauty. That comes out in almost all my mediums – illustration, painting, film, and music. It can pendulate from hard techno to dark, beatless atmospheres. The Space Where She Was project is probably my biggest deviation from those themes because it moves into pretty, melodic sounds, although they are probably still on the dark side of the spectrum compared to most melodic music.
I think another element that comes out is that my body of work is uniquely me. Of course this or that element is going to overlap with my peers, but I don’t think people hear one of my tracks and say “oh that’s just like so and so.” I was talking to a friend in France who I did a remix for and he said “You’re an ovni in the industrial scene.” I asked what ovni was and he said “UFO,” meaning my sound is unique. I took that as the biggest compliment.
Over the years, I’ve heard many times that my music is too dark, too hard, too weird, too whatever. The benefit of that is I’ve developed an incredible amount of resilience and persistence. A few years ago I was in a slump and wondered if I should stop making music. I thought it through and wondered, “well, what else would I do?” and realized I’m built this way. I have to create. It’s not up to me. I wouldn’t be happy being a Wall Street broker or project manager or full-time dad. I find my equilibrium through creating. So I do it regardless of whether it’s going to land well with others or not. It’s emotional survival for me. There are times where it connects with a lot of people and times it doesn’t, and during the down times it becomes about what the music does for me, not others, that gives me persistence and meaning. It’s cynical, and usually with experimental music at some point it goes from being “weird” to most people to becoming “visionary.” It’s a validating feeling, but not something I need to count on to keep going.
Dedicated to the harder sound of electronic dance music.
