Hi out there. There will be a series of posts coming up on Montreal based artists, sounds like there are lots of good things happening up there. Let’s start with this guy, Sinjin Hawke and his bootleg of a Brandy tune.
DD Hello Sinjin, really feelin’ your laidback, sexy grooves. How are you today?
SH Thanks, doing good. Yourself?
DD Staying motivated. How you like Montreal? What’s the electronic community like?
SH Montreal is a city that always has something new and interesting going on, and has so many small niches to explore. This past year we’ve really seen the electronic community come to fruition: all the producers and DJ’s are coming together to collaborate, and share sounds. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.
DD wowwww I must visit. If you could make an environment with your music, what would it look like?
SH I’d like to able to portray a concise picture of my musical environment but to be honest, it changes every day. For instance, one day I might feel like making a sparkley underwater sounding song while another day I might feel like making a hood anthem. It all depends on what mood I am in and what I’ve been listening to at the time.
DD What mood are you in right now?
SH I feel like vogueing.
DD Haha cover that mouth! What’s been the best show you’ve played so far?
SH They’ve all been so great in so many different ways…I wouldn’t be able to pick a favorite. That said, I do remember having a blast with DJ Rashad about a month ago (vimeo ‘lukewarmgirls’ for footage) That guy is so inspiring to be around, and we ended up spending the week together messing about.
DD For the rest of 2011, what do you have planned for Sinjin Hawke?
SH Quitting my job and moving to Barcelona in June, gonna lock myself in a room for a year and see what I come up with.
DD Damnnnn, Barcelona! I hope you reach some new depths out there with your music. Any last words for the readers?
Super terrific sounds coming from this guy, please download “Black Moon” and get to know Seazo in the interview below..
x
INTERVIEW.
DD: A buddy of mine is in Norway right now, what’s it like over there?
S: It’s madness over here. Norway is hosting the world championship for Ski this year, people are going all crazy with cowbells and horns, cheering on everything, and especially who is fastest in the world running on snow with planks on their feet. We also have trees, cats, dogs, buildings and some nice mountains up north. =)
DD: That all sounds so good. What got you interested in producing?
S: When I was a kid, I got a mini Casio keyboard from my grandparents. That’s how I started to learn how to make melodies and play on tangents. I have never learned how to read notes though. The first time I was introduced to a music program, was when I saw e-Jay. It was instantly caught my attention, and I couldn’t stop playing around with it. But I couldn’t stop wondering, how were the tunes in e-Jay made? Then, some years later, I saw FL Studio for the first time, and a great new world was opened for me. As I grew as an artist, I started to play around with other DAW’s and finally landed on Cubase. I have always loved to be creative. It’s like a drug, which makes time and worries disappear in the dark.
DD: It is very therapeutic. How’s 2011 been going for you so far, musically?
S: Indeed. 2011 so far, has been full of inspiration, and I’ve got a lot of positive feedback and attention on my music lately. It feels really great and uplifting, I have never experienced people have very much interest in my productions before, especially because of the underground theme. Big ups to soundcloud for such a great community, helping me share and discover so many great tunes all over the world, and of course, big ups for this blog also. =)
x
DD: Awwww. What artists have been inspiring you a lot lately?
S: Lately I’ve listened to a lot of Amon Tobin, Aoki Takamasa, Baths, Boards Of Canada, Chris Clark, Commix, Tipper, Eskmo, Tomas Dvorak, Mount Kimbie, and Off The Sky. Here’s some examples of some of the tracks that have given the most inspiration lately:
x
DD: What do love most about electronic music? what’s been the most influential moment for you with the very diverse genre?
S: I love electronic music, because it has the ability to create the most complex, advanced and interesting sounds, textures, beats and moods, because of it’s vast tool set and technology. Some people believe it’s easier to make music on computers. I’m sorry for their lack of knowledge. I see music as a tool to get in a certain mood. I mostly like the calm, melancholic adventurous mood I get from IDM, Glitch, Ambient etc., instead of the “Imma cool n populah gangsta” mood most people seem to prefer. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like any other kind of music though. House and Liquid Funk/ Atmospheric DnB is great to listen to when I’m at work =) I have always loved electronic music, and was most into Trance when I was younger. The first time I fell in love with typical chillout electronic music, was when I was introduced to Royksopp’s first album: “Melody AM”, and that’s when I really started to experiment with wicked sound design.
DD: Awww “Melody AM” is very nice. Where do you see your music going from here?
S: Well that’s a hard question. My productions are always driven by inspiration. How can I predict how my inspiration will look like in the future? I have focused a lot on melodies and braindancing droids and sfx’s the last years, and I kind of got where I wanted with that. So I’ve been playing a lot with beats lately, and I’m getting more and more aware of how I want them, so I guess my work will be more characterized with semi-massive beats from here. I find it a bit hard to figure out how I want to merge the droids and sfx with the beats, so you will probably find some experimental elements there. I also want to try out different live recording methods in the future, and try to make some wicked sounds out of that.
DD: What have you always wanted someone to ask you?
S: I’ve never thought about that before, but I usually prefer the non-typical questions. Questions have tendencies to become allot more interesting when the asker dears to step out of the typical social patterns. I like to ask controversial questions myself, it’s just too bad so many people get scared of them =) Except for that, I would be happy if someone asked if I would like to have their $1 million left overs…Anyone?
DD: What’s the most distinct memory you have, that’s connected to a song of yours being created?
S: That must be back in the days when I was young and producing trance. The first time I met my mate, Joel Kolltveit on a party (who is producing Dubstep today,) we desided to hook up, and try to produce something together. I remember I took the bus in to the city to meet a person I only had met once before. It went quite well, and we made a track named Acid Waves. Typical hardtrance with epic riff’s and huge takeoffs. Haha, funny times. Today we are sharing an apartment in Oslo, producing music in every corner of the apartment.
DD: Awww that is a great connection you two have. Any last words for all the readers?
S: First of all, thank you for the promotion, I appreciate that. I would also like to hand over some big ups to everyone who have given me support and feedback. I love the thought that some people out there are enjoying my productions. Greetings from earth!
Exploring new depths with Edinburgh based composer, Jamie Wilson.
This is beauty.
INTERVIEW
DD: First time featuring an artist doing film scores. Very interesting! After hearing the Tron:Legacy soundtrack, I’m opening up a lot more to the film scoring world. How are you?
JW: I’m good thanks. Yeah, that score had some sumptuous synth sounds on it! The sound FX design was the most inspirational aspect of that film for me though; Is it normal to get chills from the sound of a Lightcycle being activated?!?
DD: Daft Punk always delivers, on their own time. What got you interested in doing the orchestral music?
JW: Film scores opened me up to the world of orchestral music, they are a great way of acclimatizing towards a field of music that is often seen as irrelevant or inaccessible to those outside. Speaking from my own path of discovery, we tend to have narrow preconceived views of what certain types of music are, and they generally conform to how popular culture presents them. For instance, I used to (still do!) listen to a lot of instrumental progressive rock & metal, but I “wasn’t interested in electronic music” because I “didn’t like clubbing, it’s all four to the floor”. I was then exposed to interesting electronic music and loved it, but “definitely still wasn’t interested in classical music!”. That is completely crazy, the constituents of ones personal taste in aural excitement can be found within any field or general genre of music, and that includes orchestral (or “classical”) music. This notion tends to be hardest to realize or accept with orchestral music because we are almost entirely surrounded by works composed by works composed before the beginning of the 20th Century. Our interest is caught by what is culturally relevant today, once held, we may then be interested in the roots of the movement. I don’t see a lot of kids getting into popular music by discovering “this crazy band called The Beatles”. Classical music is also “taught” in schools, if you want to kill the childish awe and infatuation with something, that’s the way to do it! So yah, that’s my long winded soap box way of saying that I got into orchestral music through the accessible door of film music. It helped me realize that there is no general difference between our various sound type categories of music, they are only there to help arrange CD cabinets in a more orderly fashion.
DD: If you could score any movie what would it be? This could be an imaginary film that you have envisioned..
JW: Definitely a Sci/Fi film (must include spaceships….). One that would allow for interesting combination’s of electronic and acoustic sounds, and, in which the music would become part of the extraterrestrial vista. Star Wars and John Williams are pretty much responsible for most things in my life!
DD: Are you in school learning how to produce this kind of music?
JW: I’m musically self taught, until September this year that is; at which point I will be attending the Royal Scottish Academy to study composition. I have never really got on with the education system before, but in this case I think it will be a fantastic environment to work in. I plan to apply what I learn to my electronic work as well, many ideas!
DD: I would be so down to collaborate with you sometime! When my computer isn’t broken..
JW: Yeah man!
DD: What do you plan to do musically for the remainder of 2011?
JW: I’m working on an electronic/orchestral/guitar track right now that I hope to finish by the end of the year! 😉 a few others of similar vein in progress too, hopefully I can get them together properly and release something. I’d also like to finish my piece for string quartet. Slow progress on all fronts however!
DD: Any last words to all those reading?
JW: Meshuggah seem as good a note to go out on as any, cheers!
So happy for Branden Clarke AKA IG88, he’s had a string of amazing sets in Seattle. I’ll be going nuts at the show tomorrow, here’s my short interview with the spaced out wonder.
DD: Welcome back IG88, What music stuff’s been going on with you lately?
Well hello you sexy molecular combination of Patrick Swayze & Randy Newman. I have been working on quite a few projects, the latest being my newest release to come out in aboot a month called “Blackberry Light”. The release features vocals by Jenni Potts (http://www.jennipotts.com/) & Mike Harris (www.idiotpilot.com) and bass by my long time collaborator Ricky Wilson, there is also a track featuring an artist named Isum (http://soundcloud.com/isum) we are also currently working on compiling a release. He lives in Switzerland so we email Ableton sessions back and fourth to each other, making it a very inspiring project. I also have been spending a lot of time doing remix’s for people including 7 deadly Records artist Sphyramid. I am going to be giving away a free EP of recent remix’s I have done. Here is a link to it for anyone is interested, should be updated on my site soon.
x DD: You’ve had some recent shows with highly established artists such as Matthew Dear and Tiny Vipers, plus Gold Panda coming up this Wednesday. Congratulations first off! What did these shows mean to you, and what are you looking forward to most on the 23rd?
I have been working a lot on my live sets to make sure that I am not boring myself on stage, trying to include a lot of live sequencing, hand percussion and instrumentation. It has been really motivating and surreal to be playing with such amazing artists in Seattle, constantly pressuring me to step up my performance button mashing swag points. I look forward to huffing oven cleaner and eating 6 pounds of marshmallows before going on stage where I will do an experimental set of Anne Frank monologues into a vocoder for an entire hour..
DD: Favorite song of the moment?
Tough question, but my favorite song of the moment would have to be either “No Encores” by The Notwist or the Danger Doom remix of “Somersault” by Zero 7
A very special pairing of blog posts. This is the original track that I recently remixed. Null.dll has some of the most distinct and stark sounds on 7 Deadly Records.
x
INTERVIEW.
DD: How would you describe the mood/environment of “Certainty” and “Aftermath”?
NULL: Certainty and Aftermath remind me of the credits of an anime or video game–it wasn’t my intention for them to have that sort of vibe; both of them were created from a need to expand my sound and incorporate melodies into my songs, so I find it hard to answer that question.
DD: What do you hope to accomplish this year with your music as null.dll? How do you hope 7 Deadly Records can assist?
NULL: I hope to lengthen my songs and cement them in their selves, so that they stand separate, along with adding a more “organic” feeling. Setting 7deadl(y)ines will definitely help me get my music finished and working with other artists from the label is extremely exciting!
dd 