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elusive
. preferring or living in solitude and anonymity . avoiding clear perception or complete mental grasp First Known Use: 1719 From Latin 'elusus' past participle of 'eludo' (“to parry a blow, to deceive�)
# Seventeen Summer 2014
Beneath Rrose Inigo Kennedy Gantz Lucy Jack Hardwicke Hernán Marín Silvia Grav 8
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Maybe even if we didn't speak before, we communicated through understood what I was feeling, and what I was trying to say. Beneath
photo by Elliot Holbrow
Have you ever met someone of interest, couldn’t speak their language, and yet found a way to communicate without words? Some lucky people are smooth talkers or simply have the gift of gab. But even so, words often fall short of really getting out what is so clearly felt inside. Thankfully there is art, which, when in its pure form, can channel and express most accurately a message or feeling, where words simply can’t. The concept behind No Symbols, one of London’s most impressive new labels, is based on this understanding. Words like "outstanding", "total class", "proper murky", and "masterful" have been used to describe the label head’s style. But clearly the humble Beneath, aka Ben Walker, naturally believes in letting his music do the talking. interview by Luke McCann I’ve been easily listening to your music a lot for the past several months, especially after the Keysound night, and it’s really inspiring, man, it gives me hope. What has the response to your music been like? And how does this affect you? I think it's being well received, because the critics like it, and the heads like it. But on the wider scale I don't think a lot of people doing, 'cause I can't do anything else. I tried to do other stuff, but I can't. I can only do what I do. Are you getting a lot of bookings?
I've played in Berlin a few times this year. But in London I've only played twice this year, and only one of those shows had a crowd. Nobody really cares. I mean people care, but not many. Some producers don’t seem to think or care too much about their music after they release it. Where do you stand on this? Is it important to you that your music reaches those who need it, who appreciate it? Do you think about where it goes at all? That's why I do No Symbols. I've got some music on it now, but I haven't promoted it. You can buy it only on white label, so it's only for people who are 'in the know', for people who are like me, who come across it naturally. I don't want to feed it to it. It's my music, but I listen to it for years and then I release it, and then it's not mine anymore.
inspiration for me musically. I like that he has rarely done interviews, and I agree with a lot of his views. Like he doesn't really like technology, for example. Do you believe in life after death?
meat goes to worms. But your soul, your energy... I don't know how to explain it, I just feel and know... Like when I read about it in Eastern philosophy, in Buddhism for example, it makes more sense to me. I do believe in it, but I can't explain my ideas of what's next, because our brains are really limited. So if you ask "what's next?" I don't have a clue, I have no answer. I saw the photos you took when you were out here in New York. They're dope, man! Have you thought of taking your photography seriously? I studied photography at college before University, but I didn't really apply myself that much to it. I just enjoyed taking pictures. I have a friend Elliot Holbrow, who is a really good photographer. He told me to buy this camera, which is an automatic camera that takes good pictures. I took lots of pictures in New York, but I don't really know what I'm doing. I just point and click. The one of the Brooklyn Bridge is really good.
Who are your heroes? Not necessarily musically... One is Mala. When I was growing up and going through stuff, thinking about the world, when I was 17-18, his music soundtracked all of that. I was meditating on all these ideas, and it rewired my brain. Not his music as such, but it was a soundtrack to that. thing - I meditate - and it changes my perception of certain things. He is a very unique artist.
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and I completely forgot to use my eyes to make things and just used my ears. Where did you go to University? town, but it's so nice, and it's next to Peak district, which is an amazing green area. If you ever want to go camping....
photo by Beneath
Language is really limiting. Some people are really good with words and know how to use them, but I personally can't. My way of expressing myself has always been sound.
pure feeling, which would be a lot better than using words. Especially because I can't really communicate with words - my vocabulary is shit. So I got this idea, "no symbols, just it made sense at the time. Haha, it still makes total sense now. It has a lot of meaning. Words really fail to transmit what it is you're really feeling. Yeah, language is really limiting. Some people are really good with words and know how to use them, but I personally can't. My way of expressing myself has always been sound. Sound in itself is a symbol, but it's more of a feeling.
So let's talk about No Symbols more. Strangely attractive magnets, simple web store, or straight up lifestyle? Do you care to break down where this anti-authoritative ethos came about and what is No Symbols?
Music is the best form of communication for me. I can really express what I feel and by that attract people like yourself. So maybe if we didn't speak before, we communicated with my music, and maybe you understood what I was feeling, and what I was trying to say.
out, they made it all by themselves. They started off with a few
That's deep. What about Mistry? Is that a label too?
So when I was having my tunes played on pirate radio by some
Mystry is the new label for other people's music. I want to keep
what happens". So I took that ethos and did my little thing with it.
Nobody else wanted to sign it, so I thought I'm gonna release it. I've not got much of a plan, I'm trying to keep the spontaneity.
book by Huxley called and I remember at one point he was talking about symbols and how everything
It's the No Plan plan.
language is a really shit way of communicating. So I thought it would be nice to have a different way of communicating, like
Haha, yes. Should have called it "No Plan". You know, some labels have a year worth of releases, and then you don't have room to be spontaneous and do what you want sometimes.
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photo by Beneath
I quit my job after I came back from New York. I crossed that bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and it was amazing. That's when I realized, "Fuck work!"
Going to the studio to make music feels a bit forced to me. I can only write something when I need to write it.
In a club setting, it would be a dark space and a really physical sound system. I don't like going to big clubs, because you can't zone out. In a big club it's a different kind of energy: the most of energy there comes from this collective massive consciousness. In a small club it's easier to meditate on music. If you're gonna meditate, you should do it regularly, 'cause meditate, I try to do it in a really closed off space, otherwise I get distracted. This is interesting. So how often do you meditate?
Not Final" he's got vocals by Vengeance Tenfold. They didn't plan it, Shackleton didn't tell him to say this. He just got him
When you're making music, do you ever hear any voices in your head? Haha! I hear voices, but it has nothing to do with music! Yeah, man, unfortunately. When it comes to music, I don't really classify myself a producer, because I can't really sit down and say I'm gonna make a drum 'n' bass tune, or a house tune. I just sit down and it happens. I'll just be feeling like shit, or feeling something. I might be feeling bad about a girl. When I wrote Illusions EP on Keysound I was thinking "Fuck the world!". I was thinking how everything and everyone looks like an illusion. So I wrote all them tunes in a short period of time. Naturally. So I don't hear voices as such, I just hear a feeling, a calling inside of me to do something. Do you have a studio? Where do you work out of? I write most of my music in my bed on my laptop, through laptop speakers. Because it just comes down to me feeling something, and if I'm in bed, I'll just make it quickly on my laptop, and I can't even remember making it later. I moved into a new place and I've got a nice table, my keyboard, got my speakers setup... and then it just felt weird for me! I'll just be sitting in bed at 4 in the morning, feeling like shit and needing to make something, just to make this feeling go away, or to make something positive with this horrible feeling. making music to get rid of that paranoia. I guess that's why my music is naturally quite tense and dark. Going to the studio to make music feels a bit forced to me. I can only write something when I need to write it.
I go through phases where I'll do like a month and then I get out of my routine. But you should do it twice a day for you know listening to music is meditating. It's just giving your brain something to focus on. Going to a small club is kind of a meditation, a different kind, but it still is. I think meditation should be compulsory, we'd be living in a completely different world. Because meditation helps you selfanalyze, and relax, and everything becomes more clear. What were some of the best shows you've seen lately? I saw Shackleton in a massive church. The sound wasn't the best things I've seen all year. It's completely different from a club: the music being played, the performances... But yes, it varies, it all depends on the music and the setting, and why it's going on. If it's just to make money, I'm not interested. club, I used to listen to Youngsta and Hatcha mixes in my car, turned up sooo loud, and just drive around where I used to live. I actually had it so loud once, that my back windscreen popped, while I was driving, because of bass. No way, that's crazy man! So do you still listen to their music? Not really, no. So what's the biggest challenge now, man? Paying your rent? Yes. I quit my job after I came back from New York. I crossed that bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan (where I took that picture), and it was amazing. That's when I was like, "Fuck work!" I was doing 50 hours a week on a minimum wage. I mean that's what you have to do, but fuck that. My dad passed away last year, and I have a little bit of money I can live off, I'm not getting that much money. It's not even about money.
the number of people that go where you go, do what you want to do. So how do you prefer to enjoy music these days? What's your favorite setting, when you’re not performing yourself?
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care about money.
Wen. Photo by Beneath
I don't hear voices as such, I just hear a feeling, a calling inside of me to do something.
I don’t think looks should couple with someone's art. The two have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Gantz
Known as Gantz in the minds of an underhanded band of admirers and sound supporters, Emir Ongun lives, works and breathes a life so deeply devoted to his art and craft, so wholeheartedly indebted to his creation’s demands, you quickly grasp you're in for something beyond the psychic thresholds of daily life, should you get to encounter. Not only does
by Luke McCann
ON DANCE MUSIC AND NEW ALBUM
genre. I was never ever into dance music since I started getting into music when I was very very little. Then through dubstep I happened to get into it. Electronic music I listened to before that, I never associated with “dancing”. I still don’t. Nor do I think of dubstep as dance music. That’s why when I'm making tunes I never think if it’s something that people can move to. I notice very few of my tunes get played by people in clubs. There are people that say they like them, but they never play them. I don’t either. So I have this broken relationship with the "dance music” thing. I imagine my tunes being played by Or through their headphones. So my point is to not necessarily emphasize on “headphones”, but what I really meant was it being more like a personal thing to
Just because someone came all this way to play tunes for you doesn’t mean they’re divorced from their everyday right to be an individual.
where people went not to dance but to hear the odd tune. Sometimes you go somewhere to play a set, and you see people listen, more like nod and take it in. Those are the ones I enjoy. So yes, I want to make an album like that.
ON PRESS SHOTS Well, I was never a fan of photos, I don’t really like looking at myself or being documented. It’s very uncomfortable. But I got photographed here and there, with family or friends or whatever. Then I started deejaying out in places, and I noticed something has changed. People feel they are entitled to take photos of you without your consent. It’s not even considered to at least ask someone. If you walk to a stranger in the street and start taking their photos, obviously you’re gonna get a good punch in your face. Just because someone came all this way to play tunes for you doesn’t mean they’re divorced from their everyday right to be an individual. People take it for granted: if you’re behind the decks you want to be photographed. I just really-really don’t like it. People like to complicate it, with this and that or whatever, but it isn’t really. Some people are very cool with it, when you just tell them you don’t like it, and they’re like, “Oh yeah, I hear you. I hate it too,” and they
nothing to do with each other. You don’t see promo shots of the chefs of your favorite restaurants around, being all cool and shit (now they’re doing that too probably). It’s just not relevant, you know? That’s where I’m coming from.
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ON HEROES My heroes tend to be intellectuals who go against the tide of their times and actually manage to make it through to the other side of it. People don’t get scared of the backlash they’re gonna be put through, and actually seem like they enjoy it. I am also very interested in the art of stand-up comedy. I try to check as much comics as I can on the internet, it’s like checking new records for me. I like that experience of and I oddly feel proud of him. Every now and then, the person who deserves it all gets it all, and it gives you hope, you know. We swap
My main addiction is coffee, and it’s getting out of control, but it’s the only bad habit that I have (and cigs). I rarely drink and can’t smoke that morning after you wake up is when I go buy a large coffee and sit down and listen to music. I have to do that everyday, I can’t not do it. When it those guys who say, “I would die if I didn’t do music every day”. I tried
It’s a gateway that makes you enter a
out, I don’t even know what I’m inspired by. Sometimes a snare shot in a beat just gets me so excited that I try to actually copy it, but I can’t
really hard for me to do collaborations, because I may just happen to
once you’re in, it starts to flow, and when you’re on the other side, you have a tune.
forced myself to “work” ever, I only like to keep it for the times when I really-really want to do it. I recently got asked to submit a tune to a compilation, and I really wanted to give them something, but I really didn’t want to make music, so I didn’t. I guess this is the only thing that I have full control of, in terms of when I do it and how I do it, and I would die before I broke that. I played my bass in bands for almost 10 years before producing, and I almost never did what I really wanted to do. So I guess I'm done with that forever.
That’s interesting, because I noticed when I get sleep deprivation some defence mechanism breaks down, and I imagine melodies in my head. The thing about your brain is that it’s really good at fooling you. Say you try to construct a melody in your head, you may not have all the notes in it doesn’t work like that. It was different when I had my instrument in my hands, because then you actually created melodies out of thin air. But now I work with samples and found sounds, and sometimes I construct a melody myself, but sometimes you “select”, rather than create. It’s a very different form of creativity.
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ON UPBRINGING I was born and lived in Istanbul Gayrettepe all my life. Went and that’s where I picked up the bass guitar when I was 12. I never stopped doing music ever since. My brother and I wrote songs together, we were very-very into death metal, and we still are of course. We had a band and we played gigs together, and it was the greatest times of our lives probably. Then I enrolled in an Italian high school and studied Italian and some bullshit stuff for a year and a half, until I couldn’t take it anymore. I quit that school and started going to this conservatory. I met a lot of amazing people there, but absolutely hated all the shit they were teaching and the teachers. So many awful people happened to become teachers in my time, just for the fuck of it I guess. Then quit
making music together on computer, and buying records, and playing them in clubs. He pretty much showed me all the good UK music from bottom to top, and I took it from there. The producing slowly overtook playing the bass, and it remains that way, but hopefully I’ll get back to my bass one successful musicians in bands now, it’s amazing. Istanbul is very alive music-wise.
I am from where I am. I hate it most of the time, and it’s not what it used to be at all, but it’s an ancient city, it will take care of itself sooner or later.
You know what man, I would like to live in New York. When I was there last time I prepared myself to get shocked, but I wasn’t, it felt very familiar. To me it’s Istanbul on a bigger scale. Much bigger, but the feel of it is the same as home. It’s not polished at all, and it’s this giant bulk of shit, but it became something that makes sense in time. That’s what happens with cities in time, if you don’t take care of them well enough, they sort of start to take care of themselves, and develop their own system. If you’re born there, you get to know the soul of it. To outsiders it’s just a circus, but to locals it makes all the sense in the world. Having said that, I don’t think I would ever move out of Istanbul. I did travel a lot these past two years, and I am from where I am. I hate it most of the time, and it’s not what it used to be at all, but it’s an ancient city, it will take care of itself sooner or later.
photo by Eren Çevik
started my music study at some University, which still isn’t
CLNK
Your ANTI and frustration. Does it come from outside sources like the situation in your country? It comes from the only possible source… from messing around with some machines until one in my country, I guess those are everywhere nowadays. Truly dark if I may add. The cover artworks for ANTI as well as Black Ecstasy hint on environmental issues you might be raising. Is that something you feel strongly about? Nope, I’m not really worried. It’s all gonna end pretty soon anyways, so it doesn’t matter anymore. Wow, ok. Let’s say it’s the end of the world, and you’re escaping to a desert island, what album would you take with you? or Music Has the Right . I can’t decide yet. It’s annoying.
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this year. There’s a bunch of guys that are also messing with the robots so… yeah. What’s your day job? Do you ever think of making music full time?
full time… Most of the time I would just mess around with four bars doing nothing actually.
Who are these guys you speak of? Their names are: Minus, Fjord, Garten, mgch, Polochord, clnk, unknown (?) and a bunch of some other guys that have not decided about their “artist” names. Who are your favorite producers that we haven’t heard about yet (any underrated sound masters?)
Sometimes. How often do you play gigs? I don’t do gigs too often. Probably it’s gonna play with them for myself now.
What’s your ritual in the studio before you start?
Tell us about this new label you are starting with your friends.
There is no ritual. I just go there and mess with it. Sometimes I already know what I want to do, but that doesn’t happen so often now. I do lights, stage
It’s called listen2me. It has been decided that we want to have a place where we can release our stuff, and I really hope that we will start it
Do you have any other secret talents besides music? No. made for us? The mix is made from a bunch of tracks that I made, plus some others from the guys I told you about earlier. It’s all unreleased stuff. It’s like a fucking “teaser” for the listen2me label. Or promo,
I love the idea of something that lasts forever, that is timeless and indestructible.
Jack Hardwicke
Not quite a photographer or digital artist, Jack Hardwicke's experimental art converges many styles, processes and themes. He works humbly and hard, to establish himself as a designer by working ceaselessly on projects. He doesn't believe the creative process ever stops, once you've become ingrained in your work. His work ethic - “You can always do more” - shows throughout an apt and fervent body of work. His pieces exist in between realms - the surreal and the real, the
some time to answer our questions concerning the magical nature of his work, his devotion to a creative life and his inspirations. With all of this in mind, he notes, “Sometimes I make something because I think it looks pretty and that's all that matters at the time.” He plans to launch “Sleep/Walk/Listen” alongside SnowSkull, which is devoted to electronic music and aims to give back to music which
Sometimes for yourself allows for a more unique outcome and making mistakes is a massive part of that.
interview by Elena Herrera
Although we found your work to be illusory, eerie, vacant yet spiritual, how would you describe your own aesthetic? It’s hard to analyze your own work, especially when it comes to the overall aesthetic, which is perhaps more obvious from an outsider's perspective. I try to think of my work as quite varied, and because of the number of different processes involved, the style of the work I do is quite changeable. That’s my interpretation at least. I guess from another angle it might be a little easier to see a constant. I really like the way you described it though, I love to hear other people’s take on my output, more than I enjoy trying to describe it myself. Fundamentally it tends to blur the lines between digital and analogue, between the real and the surreal. I think there’s an ambiguity to my work, and Something with a kind of celestial, science But that only speaks to a section of my work. Sometimes I just make something because I think it looks pretty and that’s all that matters at the time.
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Some of your pieces, such as Headspace, XIV (2014) have an emulsion type quality to them. What kind of process do you go through with your photography? What other mediums do you practice with?
a mix of these is actually involved in the process or not. I don’t like the idea of my and that’s one of the reasons I don’t like to involved - I’d rather leave it all to the audience's imagination. I do use a camera for a lot of my work, but I would not call myself a photographer, or my work photography. I also don’t particularly enjoy the "digital artist" tag because a lot of the processes are real world, physical and analogue mechanisms. The Headspace series was a project based around the concept of creating a visual representation of my inner self during a challenging personal situation. I wanted to draw on the therapeutic nature of the actual physical processes and how using artwork might come to heal some of my own personal suffering. That project really was art as therapy.
Has a mistake ever impacted the development of a piece? Ha, this is a great question for me because I make mistakes all the damn time! When it comes to my creative processes I’m a pretty not a very organized one. My plans are never usually set in stone, and I’m always looking for something unusual or unexpected to occur - mistakes are great for this. In fact I was talking with a friend about this very topic the other day, and I think touched on in your last issue, so I’m clearly not alone in my thoughts on this. I have no experience of formal artistic education, and I’m certainly not in a position to stand here and devalue it, but what I can attest to is that sometimes for a more unique outcome and making mistakes is a massive part of that. I know I probably don’t use processes in a particularly conventional way, sometimes to my detriment I’m sure. However, I think that’s what has allowed me to stand out a little in a crowded world of artists and designers. They probably aren’t all doing it the way I am.
Google Neptune, II
Headspace, XI
Untield II
Intangible Fertility
I think what’s got me to where I am so far is the willingness and desire to work, and to work often. Has there been any progression in what you
three-four years ago it was purely for hobby’s sake - there was no artistic goal, there was no conscious or unconscious style involved - I never even thought about what I was doing. It was really just killing time with a camera in my hand. I think I’ve evolved a lot as an image maker during the past couple of years things a great deal more and enjoy working on projects rather than just individual pieces. though, that’s just my philosophy on image
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appreciate more concept-driven work over commissioned jobs as well, but I’d always rather leave things open and ambiguous. How did you come to be a creative professional? I ask myself that question a lot, because really I’m not 100% sure how this happened. I didn’t study art or photography or anything remotely think I showed any great aptitude for creativity when I was younger. I came to this off my own back and really just out of my enjoyment of the practice. I’ve also worked pretty hard at it. It’s strange to call it work because ‘work’ has this
negative connotation to a lot of people, that ties into struggle and labour and isn’t usually pleasurable, yet I love what I do a great deal. I can’t tell you how many days I left the house at 7:30am, got home 10 hours later after a full day into the early hours. I think what’s got me to where I am so far is the willingness and desire to work, and to work often. If I speak to people just starting out, that’s what I always tell them: talk is cheap, work is everything. You can always do more. I’ve still got a long, long way to go if I want to keep doing this, and that means a lot more work, but there is absolutely nothing that I would rather dedicate myself to.
Into The Void
I’ve still got a long, long way to go if I want to keep doing this, and that means a lot more work, but there is absolutely nothing that I would rather dedicate myself to.
I’m often climbing on things in the house to get a better position to shoot from. That’s about as risky as it gets.. What has been your riskiest creative endeavour? I think creatively speaking there is no such thing as ‘’risky’’ - that should never come into it. I certainly don’t think my work is all that risky… I’m often climbing on things in the house to get a better position to shoot from. That’s about as risky as it gets. I suppose every time you put a piece of work out into the world you are taking something of a risk. You are opening up yourself to scrutiny that a large portion of people will never do. It’s a risk worth taking though. What’s "on your plate"? Also what was your last meal?
and her husband, they are both great cooks. Last night he made a caramelized onion and goat cheese stuffed bread, served with homegrown asparagus, salad and veggie skewers, and for dessert my mum made this amazing chocolate and almond tart. I’m incredibly lucky, as it’s like eating out every night. Whose work do you follow currently? Do their styles parallel yours? There’s only a handful of artists who I actively follow. Leif Podhajsky and Samuel Johnson are both brilliant designers working largely in the music industry, and every time they put out a piece of work it pushes me to want to do better work, to try to keep up. I have Podhajsky’s "Follow" print hung on my bedroom wall, it’s absolutely beautiful. Van Loom are artists who are making some of my favorite work right now. Olschinsky is the gold standard for me, I want to spend the rest of my life working towards that standard. I probably won’t ever get there, but it’s important to expect yourself to try. The quality and sheer of Jacob Van Loon’s work has a similar appeal
I’m working on loads of stuff right now. This is
work at an incredibly minute level and yet are able to create pieces that are beautifully rich and cohesive in full.
dedicate myself to projects and commissions, and moreover my own development as a creative person.
I think there are elements in all of their work that can probably be found in mine, though I’m not sure there are any direct parallels whilst I appreciate what all of them do I hope my work has its own space and identity.
The rest of 2014 should be very exciting. I want music industry, and I want to take to the next level (a project that I cofounded with the awesome Matthew Evans, aka SnowSkull). We have so much planned, and it’s now time to turn those ideas into actions. We are about to launch which is a project devoted to electronic music and visual art - eventually we want to put out records and support the music scene that has inspired so much of our work. My main focus is always just to work on as many projects as possible and make a living doing what I love. was amazing! I’ve just been visiting my Mum
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The "Eyecon" was originally designed by Michael on a project a couple of years ago. Early on he great person to discuss ideas with. I asked him to design a logo for my site, and I still love the concept we developed. The Eidophusikon name comes from a now extinct piece of artwork by a British painter from the 18th century. The concept of the work was that when viewed from the correct spot, and using a series of pulleys and mirrors, the artwork would appear to move. I imagine much like an analogue version of how animated gifs work today.
‘Eidophusikon’ is ‘images of nature’. I guess it came to have a resonance with me around the concept of ‘illusions of nature’ - making something that appears to be something that it is not. That’s what the ‘Eyecon’ design symbolizes. original design, as I wanted to update it a little to design. I’ve always been kind of obsessed with my work. I love the idea of something that lasts forever, that is timeless and indestructible. Is there anything about your creative process that is a daily phenomenon? I think when you get to a stage where being creative is your job, it’s so engrained in the way your brain operates, it’s almost impossible to switch it off for long periods. In that sense the process is always ongoing. Somebody once told me to ‘’create something cool every day’’, and whilst that’s not always a practical notion, the idea is one that I try to follow. Even if it’s writing down an idea or researching some work - I don’t think many days go by without a part of the creative process. music, so listening to music is a massive part of the creative process for me. I don’t think a day has gone by where I haven’t listened to some music in a long, long time. Right now Family Vacation, which is a really great record. It’s feeding me ideas all the time. There seems to be a duality between the physical and intangible world in your work.
Elements of my work exist for brief moments, other elements are more permanent, but functionally my work exists digitally. This is something that doesn’t sit all that well with me, as I like the idea of creating something in the physical realm. I used to put most of my work online, but made a decision over a year ago to keep my favorite work back. I want to start creating work that has to be seen in the real world, which in the age of the internet is
Fractures
What you can do with software is incredible, but if you can't control it, it's pointless. Inigo Kennedy
photo by John Younge
As a pioneering techno producer and DJ with an over two-decades-long career, more than 100 releases spread throughout numerous record labels and aliases, and an extensive map of worldwide touring, Inigo Kennedy (yes, it is his real name) can teach us a thing or two about time management. Even his new album Vaudeville, released on the Token imprint, was written in the period of just two months, yet he considers it the most cohesive and proper album he's ever done. Be it a studio session or performing live on three decks, Inigo works quickly happening only after the fact. Getting in the mind of such music wizard is no easy task, but we tried... interview by Katya Guseva
Hi Inigo, I'm calling from Brooklyn. I have to admit I'm nervous talking to a techno master like yourself, especially after listening to your new album. You're pretty much a living legend. Thank you. I'm just nervous that my one-year-old boy might wake up. He's in the other room.
we've got quite a connection with that city. That's where my wife and I got engaged. Nice! And now with a baby it's like a whole new life... It really is. It's a miracle I did an album at all, with everything else involved... I'm sure it must have been time consuming. How long did it take you to produce the album? whole music-making life when I've had a bit of pressure. I've been quite a long time, but we got serious about it towards the end of last year, just after the Phase album was out on Token. I think it like: "So, do you think we can have the album ready by the end of January?"
say yes, because I'd be delaying it later. But in the end I got it done. By January?! We had eight tracks done by the end of January, and a couple more came along two weeks after that. I just had to force myself to make music every evening. Get home, have dinner, put the But thankfully it turned out pretty good. 34
Wait, so you only did it for an hour every night? then I had a few other nights, when I was home alone, and turned these ideas into tracks. Then I sent them to Kris, and he was so relieved, because he was getting pretty nervous. I was too, to be honest, but suddenly we had like 75% of the project done. That was really nice. Ha! Seems like you work much better under pressure. I don't have anything to compare to really. It wasn't like I was forcing the music, I was just trying to make more time for it than I would normally. Luckily I can work quick. I am quite designing tracks for days, I'm more performing the ideas and recording them, catching the accidents, and then make a track afterwards out of all the bits. It's probably because I come from the hardware background which is a diplomatic way of saying that I'm quite old - that teaches you to be more hands on. Especially when you're performing you can react to the sound right there, in the moment. I think for people who started out a lot later than me, only doing it in software, it's much easier to fall into the process of designing your tracks a lot: drawing everything out and making it perfect every time you press start. For me it doesn't really work, because I'm not really catching any energy this way, if you know what I mean. But it does annoy other people, because it's really hard to get bits of my tracks for remixes, or for me to change something that's not quite right after the fact... There are pros and cons for everything. So let me understand... If I compare it to designing a piece in Photoshop, you basically work with layers and then save it as a JPEG, so you can't change it anymore? Yes, in your analogy I would be manipulating all those layers in real time, because I would have them all on the desk, and I would be able to change the sounds then. But at the end of that process I click "Merge Layers", and it's baked.
Working on this album was the first time in my whole music-making life when I've had a bit of pressure.
Ah, I see. I bet having so much knowledge about the hardware, and doing it for so long, you have a lot of tricks you could teach some people. Do you have any apprentices? Or do you ever work with anyone on collaborations?
So back to the studio... When you go in, do you usually have an idea of what you're going to make?
my phone, and it was perfectly 130 bpm. I actually forgot I had that recording, and when I started working on the album I
It usually comes out of nowhere. I'm really into the sound design side of
The short answer is No. It's tricky. I tried to do collaborations before, but I found it
sounds. I know I've been quoted before, saying I never use samples in my tracks, but technically that's not true anymore, because there's a whole load of percussion samples in the software I'm using. But I'm really interested in making my own sounds. That's where my tracks usually come from: just messing around
became the beginning of the track. You can actually hear some people in the background too, although you can't tell what they're saying. That's the best kind
more a compromise than a constructive combination. Mainly because I had to stop my creative thinking and start explaining it. It takes you out of the creative zone and puts you in a different place. I'm sure I could teach the right people some great stuff. I learn a lot of stuff myself from great people. Like when I go to the mastering sessions, or the vinyl cuts, I'm always learning. But I would have to treat that as purely teaching, not creating. So among all your 100+ releases, you didn't have a single collaboration? There's a very small handful. There was a record store in London called Eukatech Records, and the guy in there Marco Lenzi started a record label Molecular, which was go to Eukatech a lot, and we became friends, and started making music together. I still play some of those tracks we made. Those were the most genuine collaborations... Really far back in 1997 I did some tracks with Umek in Slovenia. Obviously, we went different ways since then, but we did spend some time in the studio together. That collaboration was a little bit contrived, I suppose, but our records were coming out, and people liked it.
me to sit down and say, "Ok, I'm gonna today". It doesn't usually happen that way. Sometimes I come back from my gigs and I have some energy from what I've heard, and I might try and replicate it, but I don't hear a song in my head and then make it. you ever go around and record like... some children playground sounds? You can get arrested for that.
Yeah. But funnily enough, the second track on the album is called "Birth". It starts with a recording from the labor room from when we went into the hospital where our son was born. That sound is going to give anyone who's hear for hours - or days in some cases - those heart monitors. I recorded it on
what hell we were really going through those days. the title of the track. I have to say one of was "NGC5128". I had no idea what the title meant, but the track itself drew a How did you get the title for it? galaxy. She's kind of an astronomy geek. She's had a telescope, which is impossible to use in London, because of so much light pollution, pretty much like where you are. The way I get titles for tracks is 99% after I've done them. I listen to them on the Tube with my eyes shut and thinking, "What am I thinking? That's kinda spacey." So I thought this tracks sounds pretty galactic, so why not use the name, because it means something for us as well. That's how it happened. What about the title for the album itself? 'Vaudeville' was a word I read in a paper one day, I thought it was a cool word and it probably hasn't been used. 35
The second track on the album is called "Birth". It starts with a recording from the labor room from when we went into the hospital where our son was born.
photo by John Younge
photo courtesy of Bleep
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People in front of the speakers are not gonna know what's happening on stage - they can't see me. So if a record skips, it's my problem. nothing connected to techno anyway. Then I discovered that the word came from "voix de ville" which means "voices of the city" in
just like with music making with hardware,
sounds like that.
photography is incredible, it's a revolution, but it's nice to know all the technical stuff.
That's true. And what about the artwork? What's the story behind that? I actually do quite a lot of photography as well, so when it came to the artwork I sent Kris some of my favorite pictures I took. There was one we both totally loved. It was pretty abstract, and I couldn't remember where it was from. I
teaches you a lot more about light and
I noticed that throughout your career you've had many aliases, that sound very country Helki Tรถrsnum. Yeah, that was pretty weird, 'cause I made that up when I didn't know anything about Finland.
took that shot in a science museum in London of a wooden sculpture by this artist Thomas Heatherwick - the same guy who designed
I've got really good friends there, and I go for a visit almost every year. It's not a grammatically correct Finnish name, but it's pretty close.
London. He's done huge projects, so there was a copyright problem. We asked his studio if we could use it, they responded and said no. So we just took the same idea of wavey lines, contours and organic layers that were in that picture. We had a designer working on it and that's what it became.
And Tomito Satori?
It looks quite unusual for a techno record, I think it looks more like an old jazz record. So it plays well with the old school entertainment vaudeville idea.
What was the worst corruption of your name?
So tell me more about your photography. How did you get into it? I inherited that from my dad. He was really into photography. He was developing his own remember as a kid he had this red light on and tanks full of chemicals. He died back in 1996. It was a big year for me. I just graduated and international gig. It was a huge turning point
I made that up because I really wanted to get some gigs in Japan. But that didn't happen yet, maybe it's an insult in Japanese. But "satori" in Japanese has something to do with "understanding" and "comprehension."
It's not unusual for me to be called Indigo, but the worst corruption of my name was way back in the '90s in Manchester, when I was
going out to a lot of indie and industrial clubs in my late teens, and then got more into what techno was then, which is acid trance and techno combined. out. But at the moment I'm in the middle of ten on the way back. I'm still a bit upside down. Australia is an interesting place. What was the show like? Melbourne. It's very British, everyone drives on the left, like we do in the UK, and the Queen is on the money... I played in a small warehouse in Sydney, it was basically at the Those kinds of events outside of clubs almost always guarantee a good time. easier. I was having trouble on Saturday, because people were hitting the decks constantly and falling on the stage. There was a guy who literally fell on the stage a few times, and the whole thing was shaking. I couldn't play any vinyl, 'cause it was skipping. It was a bit frustrating for me, because there's so much stuff on vinyl I want to play, but I was the vibe for about half an hour, and I had to
I can't even imagine how many hardcore raves you have been to/played at since being in the game... To be honest, I'm not the most hedonistic person. I went to a lot of parties, but I was always more into the clubs than dancing in the
atmosphere, but it can get frustrating for a minute, because you just want to do what you're there for. Especially when I've gone a really long distance. I just want to do my best. People in front of the speakers are not gonna know what's happening - they can't see me. So if a record skips, it's my problem.
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To me, the software is still not as cool as hardware ever was, in terms of having control and immediacy. Is your son gonna have an iPad when he's two years old?
this week. But yes, it's shocking how technology will be natural to him. He's playing keyboard, wiggling the pitch bend thing... It's just fascinating to watch babies. They have a natural rhythm. You put on techno and they move! Techno is pretty tribal and primal, so they react to it. He also started day care recently, and they said he is really into music, which was really cool to hear. He's probably gonna end up loving RnB. But we played him music when he was in the womb, so we started him early. We played him "Nannou" by it after he was born. You could see it! It's crazy to think something is wired up on a subconscious level. Do you believe in ghosts, or reincarnation or anything like that? No, not really. I had a pretty religious childhood. My family is an Orthodox Jewish family. I left it all behind, because I don't agree with the spiritual side very much. I appreciate the cultural side with the family values and traditions, but I can't understand the spiritual side. That said, but I think it is equally just a function of your brain chemistry and a sense of something bigger than it is. You can dream of things bigger than your life, or what you see, so you can project and feel some sort of shared energy going on. 40
I get that when I'm deejaying in a good thinking what record to put on, I'm playing with three decks, and everything is cool. So I feel inside the music. I'm not behind it, I'm in it. You DJ with three decks?
my sets people would tell me that I always have two tracks playing, and if I look back it's pretty much true. I have two tracks always going and another one coming in.
get to a place where I'm happy creatively, and don't feel like I'm stuck in a box with software. What you can do with software is incredible, but if you can't control it, it's pointless. going to keep doing what you're doing? I hope so. I'm so happy with the way the album came out, so I'm gonna make some more of that. It was really honest music for I was just doing the music. It's quite unusual, when you're working with a label that you're not running. That's a pretty cool thing about Token.
in Slovenia back in the '90s when I was just using vinyl. There were three decks, I gave it a go, and have been doing it since
been with the label so long and done quite a
standard, and it's harder to get vinyl decks
is growing. So it's working pretty good.
I don't have a problem with equipment so much. Some people can pick up a crappy guitar and play good music. I feel like that, when the decks or the sound is not right. I can still do good stuff, I'm not gonna complain about it. I'm just gonna try and do what I can with what's there. I'm just lucky enough to be ambi-decks-trous, and my mind is thinking to me it feels very natural. I get a bit bored if I'm only playing on two decks, 'cause it's become so much a part of my style or muscle memory even, the way I'm using the EQ and taking parts of two tracks together and then bring another one in, cutting them across. I get so used to that kind of excitement and the way that sound works, that when I only have two decks, it's like having your arm cut off. Are you going to develop an A/V show? I doubt it. To me, the software is still not as cool as hardware ever was, in terms of having control and immediacy. It's gotten so is much more organic, and controllers are
Do you think you've reached a culmination of your career so far with this album?
feel like I've done a proper album. I think it worked very well to be a bit time-pressured, because all the tracks were from the same period and have the same feeling. Whereas the albums I've done before have been a bit more disparate, like a nice collection of tracks, but they didn't gel really. I think Vaudeville gels pretty well. ordering and mood. I hope I'm going to be as proud in a few years, as I am now, 'cause I do feel very proud of the album at the moment, compared to other projects. I think a lot of the tracks on it are timeless, and I think there's quite a lot of emotion and melody, which is important to me. I think it's going to be alright, but I wouldn't mind to have another culmination in a couple of years. I was joking that I should make the next
They come from a reality where time is paused and cyclical. Where it’s always cold and the fog never dissipates. It’s like being in a limbo inhabited by memories. Hernán Marín
They’re trapped - in paper, in glass, in metal - frozen in time that moves whenever a memory is evoked or leaving marks on the walls of inhabited places. Anatomical studies of a Spectrum graphite on glass
Ghosts walking through the walls, people with no faces, loners staring into the fog, blurry landscapes are some of the motives in the haunting work of Hernán Marín. Working with graphite, Colombian artist the face smudged, blurred or completely out of the picture. As if the images are not chilling enough, Hernán employs the coldest surfaces to put his creations on, resorting to ice, glass and metal. Why such a choice of interview by Katya Guseva interpreted by Rob Lindo 44
Cover graphite on paper
Why can’t we see faces of any of your characters? Are they hiding something? In the majority of my work I conceal the identities of the characters I draw, because I don’t intend them to be portraits, but rather I want them to be images that anyone can relate to. For example, in a drawing we don’t see Sara immersed in fog, but rather see any woman immersed in fog. Which dimension do these characters come from? How is their world different from ours? I would say they come from a reality where time is paused and cyclical at the same time. Where it’s always cold and the fog never dissipates. It’s like being in a limbo inhabited by memories.
Are they trapped in this limbo?
Why do you chose to work with translucent
Yes, they’re trapped - in paper, in glass, in metal - frozen in time that moves whenever a memory is evoked or leaving marks on the walls of inhabited places.
and ice?
Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen or felt a presence of one? Yes, I do believe in ghosts. I think some of the energy that we all use and share every day can remain in places or people. So far, nothing like that has happened to me, but this subject really attracts me. Do you draw from a model or a photograph?
Working with this media allows me to complement the atmosphere of my images. Moreover it helps me transmit cold temperature, which I’m always trying to achieve, not only in the visual, but also in the touch and fee of cold materials. If your art could speak and communicate a message to us, what would it say? I think it could be summarized in silence, cold and time.
real photographs. 45
ATM 2 graphite on double glass
I do believe in ghosts. I think some of the energy that we all use and share every day can remain in places or people.
Paraguas / Umbrella graphite on metal
Music's main function is to let you escape from what I call the 'horizontal' plan of reality.
Lucy
Lucy is a Berlin based producer whose uncompromising sound is capable of reawakening a dormant mind, whether from a winter hibernation or simply dulled ears. His album Churches, Schools, and Guns brought us closest we’ve come to inexpressible astonishment. We’ve had the random luck of album playback on a nice array of formats. From a well-equipped Audi IS4 sports car, to a small set of Bose computer monitors, down to headphone commutes in crusty subways to bicycling across car-clogged bridges thru bike lane edges, this album is one to get lost and found with.
It’s a timely soundtrack for the unseen urban decay and the painful ironies happening all around us, a sort of audio antithesis to what one can witness in their day to day life if they choose to take a closer, more thoughtful look. interview by Luke McCann
Let's dive right in then. Your latest album Churches School and Guns has been met with a lot of praise and support. Did it come as a surprise to you? You know, the album was a statement for my own self. It was something very intimate and personal. Every time I was in the studio working on it, I was purpose. So it was free of any kind of automatic compromises that you always have when working on music, and even free of any thoughts. When I understood that all the material that was accumulating could become an album, because songs started resonating with each other, then I thought, "I want to put this out, because this is really good". But I wasn't expecting anything in particular from it. I thought people would probably say "it's a very lyrical expression of himself", but nothing more than that. But actually what happened was quite the opposite. The reception was very surprising. I realized every time you actively try to detach yourself from a lot of common dynamics in general reception of electronic music is to chase after you even more. It's a special feeling. Did it make you want to keep using the same format of not caring about anything else but satisfying your own creativity? No, it's not always like this. That was the case for the album, but I usually like to challenge myself in a kind of discipline exercise: "Ok, Luka, try to stick to certain dogmas and try to deform the archetypes." What I call archetypes is all those elements that So even if my album is not techno, in my opinion, people still perceive it as techno, because I play with archetypes, which are the basic elements that make you recognize it as contemporary techno, them into something completely else.
Hi Luca, how are you man?
This mental exercise of sticking to those archetypes allows you to get much more interesting results, in my opinion, than just do whatever you fucking want. There's more of a construction, there's more of a challenge I'd say. That's brilliant. Last time we spoke you mentioned
You don't want to be on Skype then! You need to be under a palm tree on the beach. Exactly!
Can you go into more detail? Yes, sure. Historically music has always been connected with religion and spirituality. Music was
today, it is still a very important social ritual. Music's main function is to let you escape from what I call the 'horizontal' plan of reality. By that I mean your everyday life, where you work to get your money, to get your food etc... all this working bees system. When you have a ritual experience, like a club night, you really go somewhere else, you're not just getting distracted or entertained. For me it's a very important function, which is showing you another perspective of reality, because you feel things, which you very rarely can experience in your everyday routine. It's taking you as a subject out of that 'horizontal' routine, giving you the mindspace to go somewhere else, with the help of music, obsessive rhythms etc... This is incredibly important, because this new 'vertical' perspective you get has the same dignity of existence as the horizontal one. Most people think that only 'horizontal' one is the reality, and the 'vertical' one is something like a dream. But if you think about it, our dreams have a huge will stay with you. I don't know exactly which way, for some people it's stronger, for some it's much smoother, but it affects your life for sure. I've been reading a lot of books by Carl Jung where he talks about dreams a lot. moment. The Red Book on my way of perceiving life and consequently of perceiving music in the last two years, I know you have a background in percussion, and you play tabla. Do you use it in your music? In my music Indian classical music and tabla in particular are very important, because they have a very different approach from Western classical music. For example they never start at point and end at point, which we call loop. You get into a can fully control that cycle, or establish where the beginning is and where the end is. You just kinda get into it and then get out again. It's really beautiful if you think about how techno music
came connection to pure integral electronic music. By by electronic, like hip hop or something like that, but really pure, fully synthetic.
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When you loose sense of time, you have very different fractions of it, because it's expanding, and you're being able to dive deep into just that fragment, you know how to go....
How did you come across that record?
pretty often. There was this guy there, I became friends with, who was an old-school record shopper, and he'd prepare a stack of what he thinks you would like. He knew everyone who came there. One day he showed me Selected , I pushed play and immediately I was going really vertical . This is one of the albums I never stopped listening to, I never got thinking that I want to be able to express myself that way too. It's a kind of an artistic must - the immediately felt like that was my medium. That's around with them, and computer too... Did you have anyone you could bounce ideas off of at that time? older than me, has always been a spiritual guide for me. We have been hugely exchanging ideas visual contemporary art, he's in the galleries world. But he was the one, who I was talking to about my ideas. We are very critical about each interesting and enriching. Other people I was showing my music to, didn't really have much to say, 'cause they didn't have any idea of what it was.
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Did you got into techno then? No, back then I was still in high school, I was 15. I was still living at home. I kinda started deejaying when I was at University, for house parties with friends and stuff. It was very experimental: from sense of the term. It was a big salad of stuff. I got into techno pretty late, when I was already living musical identity enough to launch a platform, which only afterwords took a shape of record label (in the beginning it wasn't), I moved to Berlin. In the beginning I just wanted to have a group of creative people to work with on stuff. From poetry to music to visual art. But then I found that record label could be the best shape for me. I went to Berlin, because it was very cheap and it was easier to build something like that there. There was enough infrastructure to make an underground label run, distribution wise and community wise. So I moved and Berlin seems to be more welcoming of subcultures of people who don't participate in 9-5 type of life. Berlin is like the grey area of society. Most places are divided to "you do nothing, you're shit" type of people, like drunks, junkies etc and very there's nothing in between. That "in between" is the most precious part of society for me. That's where artistic community and creativity can grow. It's the people who improvise their lives, create their own jobs. This grey area in Berlin at the time was still very present and alive. Would you ever move away from Berlin? I think the only thing I would do, if I didn't stay in Berlin, is come back to Italy. But for different reasons. The nature, the climate, it would be for retirement life. But for active dynamic life I have, I don't see any reasons to leave Berlin.
I've always wanted to know what's behind Stroboscopic Artefacts name.
visual identity of Stroboscopic is in their hands. We wanted to merge these two factors: sound I wanted to keep the word 'artefacts', because I wanted to keep the sense of hand-made music, which is not using any kind of preset, some used and re-used dogmas. So artefacts mean that it's hand-made, and there's a holy meaning in that. kind of connection to how club culture was when you're in stroboscopic lights, you see these blocked, kinetic images. They cut the movement, cut the time in pieces and show it to you in different phases. It's very interesting to me: that play with timeline in dark techno loose the sense of time, you have very different fractions of it, because it's expanding, and you're being able to dive deep into just that fragment, So that was the idea for the name. I'm sure it strikes a chord with a lot of people. Do you get tired of being asked the same questions? No, it's actually okay. I know a lot of people to the artist too. Most of interviews I just refuse, because you can get an idea if you just check out the magazine, you know. But I also am aware of my responsibility as a recognized artist, because a lot of people listen to what I say and what I do music wise. If you have that sense of responsibility for what you say and the way you say it, then it becomes educational. I don't want to sound arrogant, please understand what I mean. Yes, some things you have to repeat, but that's a part of the game, if you want to say something.
It's interesting, Jung speaks a lot about how the modern man has been uprooted from nature, and if we live out of balance with that it ultimately will cause neurosis.
to be silent and let only the artefacts talk. Both
I try to keep contact with nature as much as I can. Every time I have a chance to take a vacation, it's never a metropolitan place, it's somewhere in nature, away from everything.
I'm happy you were down to do this with us. Thank you for your time.
very communicative, talk about the things I do. Others prefer to have more mystic approach.
No problem. It's no problem at all.
photo by Riccardo Malberti
When you're in stroboscopic lights, you see these blocked, kinetic images. They cut the movement, cut the time in pieces and show it to you in different phases.
The screen of vision, for better or for worse. Rrose
that mediate favorable or unfavorable feeling, thought, or action toward objects or concepts. Association test has been used to develop theories to understand cognitive processes of which a person has no conscious awareness. These processes may include memory, perception, attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Because the test requires that user attitudes which people are unwilling to reveal publicly.
Studio objects associations:
Studio Object #1: Analog Clock Nothing like the smooth motion of an old trusty second hand. 56
Rapid judgement associations: Reoccurring dreams.
Living differently
Reflection in the mirror Disappear.
Step outside at 4:40am.
Instant gratification
Gut feeling
Still trapped.
Now.
Guess again.
Sound of silence
Who could have known?
Touchscreen
ClichĂŠ.
No secrets.
Studio Object #2: Artwork by Aaron Sinift A skull by any other name‌
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Studio Object #3: Old Records Something to feel.
Studio Object #4: New Records Never perfect.
Studio Object #5: Buttons The grid is reassuring, but also misleading.
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Studio Object #6: Framed score by Larry Polansky and sketch of unknown origin Triangles and notes connected by harmonic frequencies.
Studio Object #7: Gong Eternity in metal. 64
Studio Object #8: Artwork by Jon-Paul Villegas Where body parts, hospitals, toys, and toxic waste come to play (American style).
Studio Object #9: Zapatista doll with microphone Watching over me with a wink.
Studio Object #10: Deer head on windowsill
Studio Object #11:
Studio Object #12: Passport False proof.
Studio Object #13: Rose-colored vintage speakers Rose-meets-skin-colored speakers, complete with ceiling hooks.
I've always been uncontrollably the same time I love life. It is a terrible and beautiful contrast. Silvia Grav
Every pixel of monochromatic work by Spanish artist Silvia Grav bleeds fear, suffering and pain in a strangely beautiful manner. For Silvia, creating is the only way to escape her personal battles, so she uses images of herself as the main model - working with others is not an option. Living in an emotional roller coaster, she perfectly transmits her imbalances into images, making her work personal and universal at the same time. Poetic in her expressions, and precise in her message, Silvia answered a few of our questions. interview by Katya Guseva What are the main reasons why you prefer to work with your own self as a model for your art? When I just started out, the reason was to explore and
You write poems on your website with some of your artwork. Are they written by you?
still don't know myself completely, now it's different. Now what fuels me is not curiosity, but the void, and usually I don't decide when it appears. Every day I'm
I don't know if you can call them poems, but yes, they're all written by me.
it comes and goes randomly, unbalancing everything makes it so. See, it's very hard to work with other people like this. I'd like to be able to... What is your process like? usually feel like taking photos, it's not something fun for me, given the reasons that push me to do it: anxiety, helplessness, pain. I guess since it's so dictated by my mental state, that's why it has to happen completely spontaneously, and any attempt to work otherwise is a failure.
I have tried analog photography, but ever since I've Do you have a photo studio where you work? Or are these photographs taken in your own home? Lately I have stopped working completely outdoors and in my house, and I have begun to use photo studios. It is wonderful. I rent them or use my friends' studios. Most of the work takes place on computer, so I don't need to have my own yet. sorrow, pain and suffering. Does it come from your Everything comes from my own experience, it is inevitable. be honest, most of the time I try to avoid them as much as The issue is that I don't have a choice: I've always been
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love life. It is a terrible and beautiful contrast.
There’s a motive of weightless levitation in your artwork, but in a morbid way, is this your portrayal of life after death? I never think about life after death, because it hurts. What I do is much more human: I just wish to live forever. Are you a religious person? Do you believe in ghosts? In life after death or reincarnation? I don't believe in anything. Hence comes this dreadful fear of death. Can you recall any interaction with metaphysical world, Nothing besides very vivid dreams. How can death sometimes be more beautiful than life? I don't think that anything can be as horrible as death. Your Illum Sphere album cover is beautiful. What kind of music do you listen to when you work? say exactly what I listen to. There are certain songs that have something special in them, just like certain people who you connect with and don't know why. Regardless of musical genre these songs tend to be sad. But it's not just sadness, that touches me, it's something in between. It's hard to explain, it's better to listen. What was the nicest compliment you've ever gotten?
I don't believe in anything. Hence comes this dreadful fear of death.
Time
Universe
I never think about life after death, because it hurts. What I do is much more human: I just wish to live forever.
El amor nos aísla. Que oscuridad. No sé si nací para compartirme, o me comparto para aislarme. Nada ni nadie ordena ni delimita mis pasos. Puedo encuentro motivo para detenerme. Me gustaría tenerlo, sin embargo. Nadie lleva mi mano ni me abraza ni me añora ni me exige estar. Me gustaría tanto. El amor y el asco más irracional a quien lo encontré. Un alivio mudo. Pero no, no, no lo vemos. La lucidez es momentánea y pasajera. ¿Entiendes? Vuelve la ceguera. Lárgate, te encontré porque es el deseo hace el resto. Esta farsa ha sido preciosa, sombra. Esto no está bien. Suerte que ya has huido. Hoy te echo de menos.
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Artwork for Illum Sphere's album Ghosts of Then and Now
Lost Photographs
viviendo... Y yo no sĂŠ como se vive muriendo.
synonymous of living is synonymous of dying is synonymous of living is synonymous of dying is synonymous of living is synonymous of dying is synonymous of living is synonymous of dying is synonymous of living is synonymous of dying is synonymous of living is synonymous of dying is synonymous of living... I really don't know.
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New Music
Application
[Dust Science]
Release Date: June 30, 2014 Standout tracks: They say: System Fork was designed around the principle of Itamae. From a same way, every detail in ‘System Fork’ was described and thought about before any work in the studio was done. .
Submerse 'Slow Waves' [Project:Mooncircle] Release Date: July 27, 2014 memories, handmade cassette tapes, slow beats. Standout tracks: "Buildingbloks.insert". They say: It’s a collection of multi-layered memories, stacked like grainy polaroids in an old box in the closet or under the bed while the colors are Europe and Japan, moments slipping in trains or planes while landscapes passing by. Memories so unique to his life, yet so similar to the fading memories of youth and adolescence we all have…
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Dark Sky 'Imagin' [Monkeytown Records]
Release Date: Moderat, tumbler of funk, post rock, trip hop, balearic house, bossa nova, disco, 80ies pop and ambient. Standout tracks: They say: To the sworn fan this album may come as a surprise, but it will prove to be a pleasant one, as the evolution from the analogue metallic into the sound palette of Imagin.
MoirĂŠ 'Shelter' [Werkdiscs/Ninja Tune] Release Date: combination of musical and physical experience, lines, patterns, fast lane. Standout tracks: They say: Immersion into Shelter creates a parallel situation his medium and the other interpreting the output, essentially resulting in an intensive and introspective experience. Simply put, Moire is creating something personal and honest, and inviting others to get lost in the patterns.
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Synthek & Audiolouis 'Unwise' [Natch Records]
Release Date: July 14, 2014 Standout tracks: "Miasma", "Thread Between Us", "Headroom". They say: very beginning, but even then we felt the need to express something else. The debut album Unwise of an organic, natural process that was inevitably shaped by the contrasts between us of temperament and imagination. Throughout production, the evocation of intimate feelings and atmospheres was an essential goal of this project.
Om Unit Presents: 'Cosmology' [Cosmic Bridge Records]
Release Date: July 21, 2014 electronica, cross genre experiments. Standout tracks: They say: the producers involved.
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Sendai 'Monad XVIII' [Stroboscopic Artefacts] Release Date: July 28, 2014
Standout tracks: They say: create rhythm out of nowhere with unique style, and take the Monad manifesto of boundary-pushing to new extremes. It is the to move both body and mind.
Jimm-e Stack 'Tell Me I Belong' [Innovative Leisure] Release Date: July 28, 2014 hip hop beats, drums, body-moving, emotional resonance. Standout tracks: "Below", "Reassuring", "Everything To Say", "Out Of Mind". They say: "More so than anything, it's really on some personal shit," says James of the themes woven into his debut LP. "The time period between leaving San Francisco and moving to New York was tough for me, and the music may speak about a kind of alienation, but it also offers the chance fearless juxtaposition is the lifeforce of Tell Me I Belong, what JimE Stack calls
Lamin Fofana
[Sci-Fi & Fantasy]
Release Date: Standout track: "Two-Spirit" They say: temperature using mostly digital-based techniques and processes, 'First Symphony' deepens Lamin’s exploration into sonic parameters of techno and electronic music. In the three distinct pieces, he weaves a complex narrative of collapsing meanings and emerging multiplicities, transcending staid ideas and notions of genre through increasingly fractured electronic music.
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Patrick Zigon 'Ich See' [Biotop]
Tessela 'Rough 2' [R&S] Release Date: July 14, 2014 frenetic drums, hallucinogenic laser light show, They say: eagerly anticipated next installment of his alchemic blend of
Release Date: deep, dubby and detroitish techno They say: dubby chords and atmospheres, a huge kick, a heavy bassline and
the disorienting elements that swim around the fragmented drum
close to the original, adding a huge organ-bassline, which makes
same time as tearing them up.
Physical's Noah Pred completely rebuilds the track. He adds noises and bleeps, and delivers a techy, trippy voyage.
Ténèbre 'Poison The Machine / Bright' [Ténèbre Audio]
Mr Jones 'Reality Check' [DSNT] Release Date: September 1, 2014 of production.
propulsive energy, hypnotic loops and a mastery
They say: Ténèbre, derived from the French word meaning music producer, based in Seoul, Korea and It is the city itself, Seoul, and its frantic pace and motion that has induced the inspiration
Release Date: June 16, 2014 techno chaos, dense, industrial aesthetic, Inigo They say: Jonas Uittenbosch aka Mr Jones has started to make waves with the Netherlands techno circuit and has already acidic patterns on to linear techno music. "You just cannot simply develop your own sound in a few months, it cannot be done, least not the challenging techno I've always loved" as he said himself. 81
One Circle 'Transparency' [Gang Of Ducks]
Release Date: July 21, 2014 sounds, rituals, experiments. Standout tracks: They say: Our next release was born in Istanbul from the three-headed sonic monster and Italian minds of Vaghe Stelle, Stargate (Lorzeno Senni) unto you 'Transparency.'
DVS1 'Klockworks 13' [Klockworks]
Release Date: July 16, 2014 Berlin techno.
dark eerie techno, seven-minute haunting audio trips, minimalism,
Standout track: "Black Russian". They say:
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Ligovsko誰
[DEMENT3D]
Release Date: July 21, 2014 ambient soundscapes, collaborative efforts, long audio voyages, cinematic immersive music. Standout tracks: They say: emotions and states some radical aesthetics,
Ikonika 'Position' [Hyperdub]
Release Date: serious Standout tracks: They say: solid tour experience and made for big room dancing. The EP is made with an sounds and shinier new ones and reshape them into something that sounds really fresh.
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Wallwork/RZR
Release Date: July 14, 2014 UKG, constant tension, metallic unhinged techno, UK bass. Standout tracks: "Mad Techno Invasion", "Keep Going". They say: Having cut their teeth as ghost producers for some of the UK's and substantiate as a powerhouse club act of their own, courtesy of their Mad Techno Invasion. On an EP chock-full of rinse-worthy material, that is advice to be taken to heart. Be kind, reeewiiiind…
Who did you guys ghost produce for and why did We unfortunately can't reveal who we've produced for, but after years of working on other people’s pop, rock, hip hop and electronic stuff we decided it was time for us to have a project of our own. We wanted to get to a standard where we were happy We actually made drum and bass together for 3-4 years before slowing down the bpm. is brilliant. What’s the story behind it? We wanted to have a strong image that stood out. The release is called Mad Techno Invasion, meaning we live in crazy technological times where not many things make sense. The bird is quite random, but it has something crazy about it. We live in a huge converted rubber factory, where we have the studio. I (Wallwork) went through loads of images with an artist mate from the warehouse and we thought that was the one that stood out the most. In your collaboration, who brings what strengths to the table?
producers and engineers. We constantly send
an EP for up and coming singer Sam Wills, that
though normally, 'cause he has amazing ears!
Can you put us on some underrated musicians we might not have heard of, but totally should?
Who gets in trouble at the gigs more? Any stories you might share? difference between us, but I'm usually the most responsible one (Wallwork). We are obviously both party animals, but there have been a few warehouse parties here in Hackney Wick, where a massive rig at the last one, I woke him up at impressive :-) The warehouse parties here are quite intense though, I don't blame him, it's hard to stay sober waiting for your set. Do you still work on solo projects? I (Wallwork) work on some indie rock band stuff alone, but all the electronic stuff we do together. We also have another trip hop, ambient project
Yeah, close friend, and fellow Italian (Wallwork TSVI - who's been getting an EP ready for Byrslf division, and very young up and coming producer from Italy - Butti who I think is worth looking out for. We are also gonna all be releasing EPs under our own label Nervous Horizon, so stay tuned. us about it? live to make sure it was on point. But we have Serato and Traktor - any medium is good for us. There are tunes in the mix from all of our mates,
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