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Komatssu Interview & Music

From clubbingspain.com an Interview with Hector Sandoval regarding his Komatssu project:

Te has tomado con calma la producción de este disco...
Muchos de los temas que aparecen en el álbum son antiguos, algunos de ellos tienen más de dos años. Cuando empecé el proyecto comencé a grabar muchos cortes. De hecho tenía alrededor de cuarenta o cincuenta temas.

¡Son muchos!
¡Es que yo hago mucha música! Con Komatssu tengo un procedimiento diferente, no es igual que cuando hago techno, que el proceso es más mecánico. Cuando a Valentín y a mi nos llega un encargo o afrontamos la producción de un nueva referencia, trabajamos rápido y de forma sincronizada. Con Komatssu, cuando me siento delante del ordenador o cuando enciendo los sintes, simplemente me dejo llevar. Dejo que las canciones surjan e intento hacerlas crecer, les doy el cuerpo para que puedan sonar en un club, aunque no haga material de pista.

¿Eres más mental o emocional cuando trabajas en tus temas?
Creo que soy una persona muy pasional. A veces intento ser mental y me sale todo lo contrario. Lo que me gusta es dejarme llevar. A veces me sale algo para Komatssu, a veces para Exium, y a veces algo que no encaja en ninguno de mis proyectos. Pero siempre acabo los temas. Aunque sepa que no vaya a hacer nada con ellos, los acabo...

Eso es muy raro.
Puedo tener más de trescientas canciones en el ordenador... A veces recupero proyectos y me sirven para comenzar nuevas ideas. Me guío mucho por las sensaciones. Puedo escuchar un tema bien veinte veces, pero como lo escuche sólo una vez mal y no me guste, ya lo descarto. Tengo que tener los tracks redondos para que les dé salida. Pero a veces es algo que se escapa de tu control... Las canciones están ahí, tienen vida propia, has de moldearlas, y ellas escogen su propio camino. Por eso me gusta terminarlas.

Dices que este álbum es una retrospectiva de todo lo que te ha gustado durante los últimos veinte años. Personalmente encuentro que hay muchos guiños (intencionados o no) a grandes artistas de la IDM. Un tema te recuerda a Clark, otro a Autechre y Plaid, luego aparecen formas a lo Raster-Noton...
Sí, son influencias... Escucho mucha música, soy el típico que se empapa de todas las novedades pero que también le gusta descubrir música antigua continuamente. Cuando escuchas Komatssu puedes pensar: 'Se nota que a este tío le gusta a Aphex Twin y le gusta Warp; ahora este corte suena un poco a Raster Noton, en este tema hay una suciedad que recuerda a Ben Frost...'. Yo lo que intento es expresarme y, claro, las influencias siempre salen a la superficie de manera inconsciente y condicionan tu trabajo. Pero no es porque quiera copiar, simplemente hago la música que me gusta escuchar. De creadores natos, gente que ha sacado cosas de la nada, hay muy pocos: Krafterk, Juan Atkins...

Pero ellos crearon sobre un territorio virgen. Ahora estamos expuestos a mucha información...
¡O Stockhausen! Que lo escuchas y dices, ¿y este tío de dónde coño sacó esto? El 99% de los músicos no somos genios. Clark, por ejemplo, es cojonudo, es buenísimo; pero realmente no ha inventado nada. Aphex Twin sí que es un puto genio. O los Autechre de los 90... hicieron cosas extraordinarias. Pusieron un discurso muy innovador encima de la mesa. Ahora lo vemos todo muy cotidiano, pero lo cierto es que sus obras forman parte de la cultura popular de ahí en adelante, y eso es lo grande de estos creadores. El factor tiempo es importante para valorar las cosas con serenidad y criterio. El tiempo es clave.

¿Qué utilizas para producir los temas de Komatssu?
Uso mucho software, aunque empiezo muchas canciones con sonidos que grabo por ahí. Siempre llevo conmigo un reproductor mp3 que graba sonidos y lo uso mucho cuando voy de viaje. Suelo utilizar atmósferas y sonidos y construyo cosas encimas. Para este disco he utilizado también bastante un Access Virus, pero no soy de los que tiene mucho equipo. La tecnología es importante, pero creo más en el talento, no vas a ser mejor por tener más equipo. El tío que tiene talento te hace música con una cafetera.

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Interview with Xhin

From Truants:

Hi Xhin! What have you been keeping yourself busy with lately? “I’ve mostly been touring, I just came back for Christmas. I’ll be a having a small gig over here in Singapore, which is quite rare. Unfortunately, the general support here is not good enough – not from the people themselves, but from the big boys behind events, which is why I don’t play here very often. After that I’ll be heading over to Europe to tour again in January and February. I currently also need to work on some releases and remixes that need to be done within this year.”

What can you tell us about your creative process? What does it look like, do you follow the same type of pattern each time or does it differ each time? “I would say eighty percent of my creative process depends on my mood. I like to work with things that occur in my everyday lifestyle, so if I’m happy today I’ll probably work on some stuff that’s quite energetic or if I’m very emotional I’ll probably do something along those lines. There is a certain pattern that recurs of course, but parts of it are also very random. I try to keep the same sort of progression throughout my work, not necessarily the same style. I think it’s good for an artist to be like that, not to change things too often. I think as an artist I’m quite stubborn, I like to create things that I can call my own and that I am proud of.”

You’ve mentioned before that you usually embark on creating a body of work with a certain idea behind it beforehand. What type of ideas would you identify with respects to one EP or album? “For each release I try to create some sort of a story, so that people can relate to something in it. They don’t have to relate to what I was thinking exactly throughout creating the whole thing, I think the point is to let people decide. I try to infuse whatever emotions I want to convey by means of things like a title, certain sounds or frequencies. I like the darker side of fairy tales. I like everything that falls within a dark atmosphere actually; forests, trees, elements that are very organic. I like to create music that relate to those kinds of atmospheres. That is for now at least, maybe in the future things will change.” I think many would agree that your  music sound very organic. Does nature play an important role as a creative inspiration? “Yeah, pretty much. For example, last year I went for a gig in a city in Germany and I visited a dark forest that surrounded it, I loved being there. There were times that I almost felt like there was something out there chasing me. I think in that respect I’m a very dark person and draw inspiration from that.”

I understand you’re interested in watching films and documentaries on historical people and war. What is it about these that you find fascinating? “I find that hard to explain. I suppose it’s just life and death. Nostalgia of people, the way they live, the way that we use things.” Do you think that there is a link between the creativity behind both film and music, is the storytelling element you describe in your music something similar to that of films and documentaries? “No, I wouldn’t say so. I just get some ideas and inspirations from films and documentaries, but in the end I just describe myself in the story of my music. You could say that I am the lead character. So maybe it’s about friendships, family, relationships within my life and I try to bring that back in my production. I want my audience to know that electronic music has soul. It’s not just about music for the dancefloor, you can listen to it at home and reflect on things from your past or your own emotions.”

What would you describe as the most important influence on your creative process aside from your own mood? “My friends. Within the conversations that I have with them, within the situations that I share with them, I am inspired by that a lot. It’s very hard to describe but I think when I’m inspired by that, the music and frequencies that I create reflect on what I’ve shared with them.”

Do you ever worry about the intentions behind your music being lost in translation to the listeners, or possible misinterpretations? ”No, I don’t really care about that. It’s up to them whether they want to enter my world or not. Maybe some people can actually describe you through your songs, but some people don’t have that capacity and that’s okay too. As long as I have songs to deliver that can trigger people to think about the music and form their own interpretations.”

Read more: Interview: Xhin « Truants

Best Music of the Year 2012- Mati Zundel

Basic and funky in a latin jungle way, Zundel takes our south of the border beats and reformats them into the 21st century electro mode. And goes into rap and rythms of universal appeal with head and hip shaking finality. Back and forth, disonant as my mother.  More, more, more. Let's see who recognizes these hometown beats!

From CMJ:

Amazonico Gravitante plays like an audiobook that details the history and prominent musical genres in Argentina. Zundel blends together a variety of influences including chacarera, huayno and Argentinian folklore music. When all meshed together, it creates these lively, powerful sounds that pulse with Argentinian culture. Zundel’s favorite genre to pick from seems to be cumbia, a Latin American genre that was originally used for courtship dances but has since expanded. Despite the influences, each song carries a modern sensibility with it. Zundel has a love for dance and electronic music, and that’s what gives him that modern edge. Throughout the album, Zundel utilizes synthesizers and drum beats that would seem right at home in a dance club. This sensibility is apparent in “Aero Tinku,” a song that finds a way to make Andean pan flutes blend effortlessly with an upbeat electronic soundtrack. Zundel isn’t a one trick pony, though. While his more energetic songs will most likely stick with you the most, Zundel also knows how to dial it down with strong, guitar-driven melodies, like in “La Montaña En El Medio Del Mundo.”
 
Only a few tracks on the album feature Zundel’s voice, but it’s always a welcome addition. He’s capable of many ranges, at one point serving as the head of the party, the next as a more intimate vocalist. It might seem like Amazonico Gravitante is a concept album of sorts, but it’s really more of a love letter to Zundel’s musical upbringing. Zundel doesn’t just imitate his influences; he injects his individual style into them. The end result is an extremely original debut from an artist who knows exactly where he came from.

From Sounds and Colours:

Imagine a journey through Latin America; picture the people you would meet, the places you would go and the music you would hear. The indigenous rhythms that have shaped a continent and its culture for generations. Now imagine that music with a bolt of cosmopolitan Buenos Aires electricity through it.

Originally from a small provincial town half way between Buenos Aires and the seaside resort of Mar de la Plata, Argentine Mati Zundel has been on many people’s radar for a good few years, though many people may know him better as ‘Lagartijeando’.

The electronic, experimental, nu-Cumbia style heard on his early mixtapes captured many people’s attention, making Amazonico Gravitante the perfect first co-release between Waxploitation and ZZK Records. Waxploitation are the LA-based label responsible for acts such as Gnarles Barkley and Danger Mouse. Throughout 2012 they will be co-releasing a number of new albums from Argentina’s ZZK Records, the digital Cumbia label that was home to many of Zundel’s releases as Lagartijeando.

It appears that Zundel’s travels across Latin America broadened his musical horizons beyond his hard rock and metal beginnings – as a teenager he played bass in several local rock and metal bands – resulting in a fantastic mix of eclectic experimentation, traditional folkloric rhythms and psychedelic soundscapes from across the continent.

From Dirty South America:

Amazonico Gravitante, translated into ‘Gravitating Amazonian’, is the title of Mati Zundel’s aka Lagartijeando’s newest album. Released on the psico-infamous cumbia-digital label, ZZK Records, there is no reason to doubt that this album signifies a digital, humanistic shift in rhythm that is happening worldwide. Mati mixes his influences from the high-altitude folkloric sounds of the Andes deep down into the underground Latino-Caribe bass-ment. The album is filled with recorded samples of birds and jungle animals, tribal shamans blowing mapacho, and the sound of river water interweaving the album into a homemade raft of digital cumbia moving down the Amazon river telling stories of each landmark passed. Once again, ZZK delivers another master piece in the outer-space-cumbia-jungle-bubble that is South America 2012.

 

The Incredible Rocio Molina

Interview with Rocio at dancemedia.com