I’m hyped on this incredibly talented, young producer.
DD What do you enjoy most about living in Switzerland?
FR I moved here two months ago to study Audiodesign in Basel. The quality of the education you get here is absolutely mind blowing. I cannot imagine any better place for a person with my interests. However, the electronic music scene in England is still unmatched in my opinion, so I’m still planning on spending some time there once I got my degrees.
DD Right now I’m basking in your remix of “Hei Poa”. Amping up the original while still holding a atmospheric and emotional environment.
FR I enjoy remixing other people’s music just as much as making originals. The challenge of putting certain aspects of a piece into a different musical context while preserving its overall character is exciting and in my opinion making a good remix takes just as much creativity as making an original. The Hei Poa Remix was particularly interesting to make because the tempo of the original is so different. So the sounds and melodies are pretty much the same and you definitely recognize it as a remix but the end result still has an entirely different feel to it.
DD The rise of young producers is encouraging. The high level of maturity and poise within your style is so impressive! How does your everyday personality compare to that of your productions?
FR That’s an interesting question. I guess I have just the right personality for the music I make. I am pretty much obsessed with electronic sound production. This has made it possible for me to spend large amounts of time doing just that without ever feeling the need for doing anything else. So if my music is mature I’d have to say I myself am not. When it comes to music or anything related to it (like my studies) I am extremely disciplined and focused. For everything else I have a kind of “doesn’t really matter to me right now but it’ll work out somehow” attitude. Not very mature but so far it all did work out somehow :-]
DD I like this sound used in “Vocalligraphy” coming in at about :25, that percussive thing that plays a little melody. Bounces off the ears nicely. Where do your sounds tend to come from?
FR In order to put the desired amount of detail work and constant changes into a piece (I made Vocalligraphy a year ago and it’s not the best example here) I have to use large amounts of minimalistic and often simple sounds. Otherwise they just mask each other and you can’t appreciate all the different elements anymore. For the harmonies and smaller percussive melodies in most of my pieces I use simple sines and then use acoustical sounds to fill the upper spectrum (rhodes, pianos, vocal snippets ect.) because the higher frequencies of electronic sounds tend to sound cold and unnatural. With this concept I am often forced to use sounds which are generally considered to be boring or overused but designing more complex sounds would eventually limit my structure and detail work. I constantly learn new digital sound processing techniques though so that might change with time.
DD When your not making music, what takes up a lot of your time? Where do you enjoy going to grab inspiration?
FR When I am not making music I study music.. sounds pretty boring, I know :-]. My inspiration mostly comes from listening to other music. From time to time I listen to tunes which just blow my mind and are almost like a spiritual experience. Many of my pieces have started with the thought “Do you remember that awesome feeling that tune just gave you? Imagine a piece that would make you feel the same way and write down what you hear in your head.”
DD Which artist are you most inspired by? What’s impacted you the deepest about them?
FR A year ago when most of my current releases were made I was inspired by a few amazing people in the drum and bass scene, Stray in particular. You’ll probably hear that reflected in my music as well. Now I am also really enjoying lower bpms. Synkro gives a similar attention to detail work but his tunes have a more organized structure than mine which makes it easier for the listener to really understand what is happening. Maybe you have to be a producer to hear it but the kick and the rim in Synkro’s “Look At Yourself” alone make him a genius. There are also many musicians outside these genres that inspire my. I should mention The Field for his looping techniques and the album “Insen” by Alva Noto for the huge impact that complete minimalism can have. Often stuff that is not so easy to listen to can still broaden your horizon and widen your imagination.
DD How will you push yourself, going into 2012? What would you like to be known for?
FR Next year I will keep on experimenting in different styles and refine the concepts that I already have. I will start working with vocalists, carefully trying to add a lyrical message to the musical one without pushing the instrumental into the background. Also, many of the audio design concepts I learn at uni can be implemented into my music so people with an ear for sound design will hear some interesting things.
FR What I would like to be known for is a question that I have asked myself a lot lately. With many new influences around me and because I started at a pretty young age my music will definitely change from what I am releasing now. Already the pieces I made a month ago are much different from my older stuff. The only thing that really ties it together is the detail work and the rather complex (for the genres I work in) harmonies. And I think that’s what I want to be known for: my production style, no matter which genre I work in or which sounds I use. Not an easy task of course but I do have a lot of time..
Frederic Robinson on Facebook & Soundcloud
Take Care,
Jimi Jaxon
dd 