Catchin’ Up With IG88

DD Welcome back, what’s going on in Bellingham?

IG Hey Lad, Bellingham is still perspiring art and patchouli as always. The music scene seems to be coming closer and closer everyday, its a fabulous and inspiring place to create.

DD What’s inspired you most this past summer?

IG I would say caffeine and field recordings, its a great way for me to get out of the studio and rest my ears.. Where have all the cowboys gone?

DD How have the shows you’ve played recently (w/Gold Panda, Battles, Matthew Dear) impacted you? What have you learned from these well developed artists?

IG It has been pretty surreal honestly, seeing the way that they take their music live has been nothing short of inspiring. Gold Panda is an amazing example of how Electronic music should be performed, lots of live looping and hands on beat thrashing. Each opportunity has been a great chance for me to spread my name around, along with a handful of cold sores.

DD What was your process like for understanding Ableton Live? You’re quite the little expert around here.

IG I originally started with Pro Tools and reason in 2003 and felt pretty comfortable with my tools after a few years. Coming from a band oriented background I couldn’t help but feel like I needed a better way to take my music live. After trying everything from DJing to routing my guitar, vocals, mpc and synth through a mixer that had a Kaoss Pad FX return, I finally found Ableton Live. I started slowly diving into the program with lots of small loops and elements that I had rendered from PT and Reason, mashing them all up in an improv fashion live. Once I realized my fluid workflow with production and sound design in Ableton I eventually quit using PT all together and only become more infatuated every day.

Talking to lots of aspiring producers and mash up artists after shows I was often asked what I use and what I would recommend. After I started to notice that quite a few people were calling and emailing me with questions, I started organizing Ableton workshops around town. Weather it was out of my house, or at the fabulous Bellingham venue The Wild Buffalo with the amazing Erin Barra. Ableton is the best thing to happen to me since Spy Kids 4D.

DD Can you give any insight into the sound of upcoming IG88 songs?

IG I am currently finishing the final mix down of my next full length release that will be called “A Loom And Not Me”. I incorporate a lot of Field recordings of my environment and lace them with my compositions to establish a nostalgic Western Washington mood. I also enjoy taking things like individual notes from my guitar lines and stretching them out, drenched in FX to create some beautiful textures. “A Loom And Not Me” will be a lot less vocal driven and also more bass heavy than my last EP “Blackberry Light”. Taking inspiration from a lot of shows I have played has helped me to combine my favorite aspects of live performance and incorporate some of those elements into the studio. Also finishing the new Triceracorn album has been a huge weight off my shoulders, allowing me to sit back and complete my solo work with no real deadline. I am having an amazing time doing what I do and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.