One of the most innovative artists on the planet gets us ‘Paralyzed’ yet again
Interview : Dan Prince
Brian, welcome back to DMCWORLD . Well it is finally here! Your new tune ‘Paralyzed’ feat. Christian Burns has at last been given it’s release date. Please talk us through the sound and history of this great tune that’s out on August 11th. Your musical paths cross yet again…
“This is a song Christian and I wrote a long time ago. We wrote this on guitar and bass with Christian singing on a beautiful fall day. It’s a song that lingered on a hard drive for a couple years before we pulled it up and listened to it, thinking “wow this is an amazing tune we should finish it”. Christian and I have an incredible musical connection so we’ve written so much together it’s hard to remember it all at this point! I love this vocal and the meaning of the lyrics. Not much dance music has substance these days so this is one I’m really proud of.”
Loved the video, who was behind the shoot?
“Our friend Alyster Ann. She’s an amazing indie photographer that lives in Nashville. She’s been a friend of Christians for years. She lugs around all these cameras from the 60’s, I instantly loved her. For our band, All Hail the Silence, I can’t imagine shooting anything without her. Like my graphic designer Gavin Taylor she has this instantly recognizable esthetic. Although she’s young, she’s not of the generation of “plugin’s” and “in the box” type art. Is all vintage cameras and warm analog ethos through and through. Love her stuff.”
“With electronic music you’re always riding on this very thin edge of improvisation and watching people’s mannerisms and body mechanics. Discuss..
“Seems these days lots of sets are very programed. In fact, lots of the new guys are “performing” their music for the first time after they have released a couple records. I heard a pretty funny anecdotical story of a warm up DJ for Tiesto that as a joke the promoter told him he had to play 5 more minutes. His set was so programmed he nearly burst into tears. As a guy that grew up playing in bands, no matter the size of the room, I love improvisation. These days I push myself harder than ever to just go with the crowd and see where that leads. It can be super unpredictable but ultimately when it works out way more satisfying.”
A recent quote from a certain superstar DJ…“I believe true DJing is actually an art, but it’s a dying art, as everyone is pushing the sync button…it’s a real shame when you see a ‘DJ’ plug his laptop in and call this DJing. Music will always evolve but sometimes not in the best way.” What are your thoughts on that
“With the exception of the laptop comment I totally agree. I don’t necessarily think the artists should entirely shoulder the fault for this though. My feelings about it are complicated. With the incredible explosion of dance music in America you see two things, more and more music (some great and some not) and a growing group of people that want drop/break/drop/break. This really easily digestible version of dance music. I think this is time delimited. Our culture is not indoctrinated into dance music culture the way the rest of the world is. We don’t “get it” yet. Once we do, you’ll see more journeys on a dance floor. That’s certainly what made me fall in love with dance music. The opposite of drop/break/drop/break these 3 min pound you in the face tracks for 60 min. The American “festival set”. What made me fall in love with dance music is the community surrounding a 10 hour set of mind bending, uplifting music played by Sasha or John Digweed. Where you pass a water bottle around with people you don’t know and leave the night a more open and enlightened person. Dance music when used properly is utterly transformative. I hope that eventually our noob culture in America gets that. I believe we will.”
Something very interesting you said in an interview recently, you wanted more room for greater reverence for the people that have contributed to our scene which is going through the roof right now. Can you elaborate on that…
“The turn over rate in dance music, or the arts in general is at a break neck rate. People forget things before they finish listening to them. I believe music and the culture surrounding music should be savored. I am still learning things about my favorite records from the 80’s. Lots of things. Today, you have 18yr olds blogging about what is “relevant” or “unprecedented” and it’s honestly kind of embarrassing. I saw Matt Zo taking about how Porter Robinson is the only person doing anything “different” in dance music. I was like, uh..ever heard John Cage? It’s just kind of embarrassing honestly. Shame because his music is beautiful. I really hope the upcoming generation is able to get their head out of YouTube and look at the incredibly rich diversity and depth with which electronic music was founded. From Xenakis to Kraftwerk to Carl Craig, there is so much that has come before that defines what is now cresting in our country. We owe more reverence to the path that brought us here.”
With that quote in mind, I was leafing through some of your recent press and the sentence “one of the most under-rated producers in the contemporary landscape” was written. Do comments like that fly over your head or is their a slight niggle there?
“I know what I’ve accomplished and how significant my contribution is so no not in the least. The only person I want to be is me.”
A quote from Faithless’s Sister Bliss this week…”I think people will become bored with the stock crude generic sounds of EDM and the artists themselves may be somewhat musically bankrupt (David Guetta even admitted as such in a recent interview) as there is only so much touring you can do before it impacts on studio time and having space to think creatively.” Thoughts on that?
“It’s big money business right now. Some of the biggest brands will be in rehab or dead in the next 5 years. I have a good handful of friends I worry about atm. There’s a lot of fitting in and chasing the dragon. Both of which end poorly.”
Who are some of the great young producers you’ve checked out recently that we should be looking out for in 2015…?
“Au5 and Fractal. They are stunning and great, grounded people too. Watch for them.”
Over in Ibiza Guy Gerber has been promoting his new ’11 11’ project that he is doing with Puff. He has received a fair wack of stick about this, people saying he should of stayed well clear on working with an artists who’ll throw his hat into any musical ring. Hip Hop artists getting into dance is nothing new…what are your thoughts on this…?
“Sounds inauthentic. Don’t care really.”
What’s with the ebay clearance, did you need more room for sparkly new equipment?
“Yes, have collected so much stuff over the years that I’ve used once. Making room for some insane new stuff in the studio. Don’t worry, keeping all the classics.”
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
“New Order ‘Power Corruption and Lies’.”
…always get you dancing?
“’E2 to E4’.”
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
“The Blue Nile, ‘Walk Across the Rooftops’.”
…you wish you would have made?
“Sasha’s ‘Expander’.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“Just scored the new Anthony Hopkins thriller Solace and working hard on some insane new material.”
