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	<title>Kana Broadcasting &#187; Interviews</title>
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	<description>Concrete Espionage!</description>
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		<title>Kana Interview with Cesare vs Disorder</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:45:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cesare vs disorder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[House]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mean records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minimal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[psychedelic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[serialism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=2515</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; This weeks interview guest has been redefining and envisaging his own take on this scene for some 15 years and it has taken an unorthodox methodology in both the visual and sonic worlds to make a difference. It is these risks and digressions that excogitate work as opposed to linear approaches. It&#8217;s been this [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/cvd_coldes_high_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2516"><img class="size-full wp-image-2516 aligncenter" title="cvd_coldes_high_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/cvd_coldes_high_590.jpg" alt="cvd_coldes_high_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></div>
<p>&nbsp;<br />
<em>This weeks interview guest has been redefining and envisaging his own take on this scene for some 15 years and it has taken an unorthodox methodology in both the visual and sonic worlds to make a difference. It is these risks and digressions that excogitate work as opposed to linear approaches. It&#8217;s been this source of afflatus, and a lifetime of musical exposure, from minimal psychedelic house to classical piano and percussions, which has seen him assume the role as founder of Mean Records and Serialism.</em></p>
<p><em>Most artists would probably be content with their achievements if they were to claim the aforementioned paragraph as their own, though it&#8217;s only a prelude to varying expansive projects &#8211; entertaining a correlation between cultural distinctions in said affair will most certainly resonate in our own pursuits. His touring life seems far from finite so grabbing him from his schedule has been a success in itself.</em></p>
<p><em>The year ahead for Cesare Marchese (aka Cesare vs Disorder) will surely surpass expectations.</em></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p>Kn:  You established the &#8216;Mean&#8217; label in 2006 as an outlet for intelligent, boundary pushing house and techno.  Its sister label, &#8216;Serialism&#8217; was brought to life a year later.  What initially fuelled you to start each label respectively?  And looking back now, would you say both labels are comfortably traveling along their paths as initially intended?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Cvd:  The idea behind Mean records started in 2005; I was playing at local East London club alongside my partner Alejandro Ross (aka Rudolf).  Our sound was pretty different from the main hype at the time especially in the UK capital where Electro House, Progressive and Breakbeat were much more common.  We were experimenting, going more for mind psychedelic journeys inspired by labels like Perlon, Contexterrior, Vakant, Spectral, Dumb Unit, Cadenza, Musik Krause, that at that time weren&#8217;t so popular yet..</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">After years of studying and working on music, I decided it was the right moment to release some of my work (followed by Rudolf&#8217;s and then by other talented close friends like Ollie Silva aka Canary Fontaine), but <span class="pullquote">I wasn&#8217;t yet confident enough to send my music to the labels I was in love with, and Mean was born</span>.  I didn&#8217;t have a precise direction in mind, it was just all very natural, going alongside with my productions that were developing slowly with no pressure behind.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Serialism followed a couple of years later (when I met Stefano Pellegrini who is now actually living in Sydney) with a totally different goal&#8230; to seduce the dancefloor with slightly more classic sounds of Techno, House and Deep House, with a more dj-friendly structure, but leaving the door opened to experimentation and uniqueness&#8230;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">I would say that now the labels are travelling on a next level since then, thanks to my accumulated experience and the help of friends and colleagues along the path.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/cvd_studio_big_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2520"><img title="cvd_studio_big_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/cvd_studio_big_590.jpg" alt="cvd_studio_big_590" width="590" height="390" /></a><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/cvd_des_high_upper2_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2523"><br />
</a>Kn:  Serialism combines the use of visual arts with each release in the form of a video clip.  Tell us about the ideology and importance of having a visual reference to the product?  As you project yourself into the future, what further aspirations do you hold?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Cvd:  I&#8217;m a visual artist myself.  I&#8217;ve also studied Fine Arts, Design and Moving image (working also with video games and 3d design at a certain point in my life), apart from music, of course.  <span class="pullquote">I was always intrigued by the strong connection between sound and image</span>.  And it is no coincidence that my sister Federica and my girlfriend Fernanda are also very talented artists.</span><span>  </span><span style="color: #888888;">The fact that they become very good friends and started to work together on the image of my labels was instead a kind of luck for me, not having the time to follow full time the branding of the projects.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">After months of preparation and brainstorming we started to create together videos for each release, False Manners was born and together with Mean and Serialism (and other artists friends) we created a series of pieces that helped to build up the whole image of the projects.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;"> At the moment I’m travelling a lot worldwide and the new idea is to incorporate footage and experiences of my journeys into the main plan of the labels, keeping the concept of Art behind the projects that sure makes it more interesting and unique, and not only for a &#8220;Electronic music following&#8221; but also for a wider public that wouldn&#8217;t necessary buy the music itself.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/cvd_des_high_upper2_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2523"><img title="cvd_des_high_Upper2_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/cvd_des_high_Upper2_590.jpg" alt="cvd_des_high_Upper2_590" width="590" height="265" /></a><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/cvd_des_high_lower2_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2524"><br />
</a>Kn:  &#8230;as mentioned you place an emphasise on drawing a direct correlation between the art work and the music.  What’s your thoughts on further expeditions into other media that reflect your work cohesively?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Cvd:  We&#8217;ll try to optimise the whole package.  Our next step, for instance, after my Asia/Australian tour is to produce a kind of Music video/documentaries where we&#8217;ll unite the magic and uniqueness of oriental cultures with the futuristic sound scheduled for the next releases, making the connection between 2 totally different worlds coming together in a special way to coexist in a new dimension that is the multimedia, not thought in a classic way but in a more &#8220;exotic&#8221; way.  Let&#8217;s say like the way Brazilians treat and make Sushi.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  Combining a high creative production output with the ever demanding schedule of running two of your own labels, and constant touring, must pose its challenges and constantly test your limits.  How do you manage to meet the demands across so many platforms and if there’s any room for improvement you’ve picked on along the way, what’s the best example?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;"><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/serialism_270/" rel="attachment wp-att-2519"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2519" title="Serialism_270" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Serialism_270.jpg" alt="Serialism_270" width="270" height="270" /></a>Cvd:  It is actually quite demanding to combine a high creative production with the incessant travelling during the weekends, long tours, the nightlife in clubs around the world and the office work that is behind running a label, and I&#8217;m actually dealing with two labels, that have a totally different sound, therefore need a different kind of attention, but yes, it is a challenge for me and the team.  It keeps my mind fresh all the time and I always find room for improvement; when we brainstorm with the girls for the videos, when I work in studio with collegues that have big experience, when, together with my present partner Federico (aka Onirik) we try to follow special marketing ways to come out as catchy (but no cheesy) as possible, experimenting with new ways to brand our projects. There&#8217;s always room for learnin&#8217;.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  What projects are you currently working on and what do you have coming up for your current aliases, Cesare Vs Disorder, Cesare Marchese and Queen Atom?  Any release dates planned for your long awaited Cesare Vs Disorder full length album and how are you laying foundations for it?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Cvd:  At the moment I will be touring until end of march.  Now Asia (coming back from Japan, now I&#8217;m writing from Vietnam) next step is Australia, Noumea, New Zealand, then a quick come back to Berlin for my bday special party @ weekend club after some holidays in Thailand.  Then out again for USA tour during the WMC month.</span></p>
<p><span class="pullquote"><!-- I will follow the flow naturally, choosing from my box what I think will make the people and myself have a blast --></span><span style="color: #888888;">In the last few months I was working hard on few musical projects knowing I was gonna tour hard in start of 2012.  I&#8217;ve produced a few EP’s here and there as solo (my 4th ep on Stock5 that will be out in March/April), one with Jeremy P.Caulfield (out these days on Dumb Unit as Dynasty ep part2), one for Vakant and some very strong collaboration material with Inxec, with Konrad Black, with Sierra Sam (our new alias &#8220;Strangers in Heaven” that you&#8217;ll see a lot around in 2012), a couple of EP’s with Mikael Stavostrand, a EP with Walker Barnard. some tunes in compilations and a couple of remixes.  And a project I started a long time ago with Cesar Merveille that will be released by Jin Choi&#8217;s Private Gold next month with remixes by Bruno Pronsato and Jin himself.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">I&#8217;ve also finally finished my debut album.  I’ve been working on it for the past 2 years and if everything goes by plans it will be out by autumn this year.  I already have a lot of proposition and ideas for it, but won&#8217;t go in details until I have a final schedule, and don&#8217;t expect the usual Cesare vs Disorder sound.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  You last toured Australia in 2009.  What has changed since then in your sound and approach to DJ&#8217;ing?  What can we expect from you this time round?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Cvd:  Some would say that my sound is more complete now, maybe more friendly as my public grows daily you can imagine that 3 years are a long time.  I&#8217;ve learned a lot by playing all over the world during this time, mixing genres up in a smoother way and creating journeys that are less uni-directional and more sophisticated from different sides. I will follow the flow naturally, choosing from my box what I think will make the people and myself have a blast.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/cvd_des_high_lower2_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2524"><img title="cvd_des_high_Lower2_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/cvd_des_high_Lower2_590.jpg" alt="cvd_des_high_Lower2_590" width="590" height="265" /></a><a href="http://okkana.com/2012/02/kana-interview-with-cesare-vs-disorder/cvd_studio_big_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2520"><br />
</a></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p><strong>Links:</strong>  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CesareVsDisorder.Official" target="_blank">Cesare vs Disorder Facebook</a>  / <a href="http://www.discogs.com/artist/Cesare+vs.+Disorder" target="_blank">Discogs</a>  /  <a href="http://www.serialismrecords.com/" target="_blank">Serialism Records</a>  /  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Serialism.Records" target="_blank">On Facebook</a></p>
<p><strong>Booking:</strong>  <a href="http://harrykleinbooking.de/?artist=104" target="_blank">Harry Klein Booking</a></p>
<p><strong>Tour Dates:</strong></p>
<p>Sat 25th Feb :: Mean Show/ Cesare Vs Disorder Bday Bash, Weekend Club, Berlin, Germany<br />
Fri 2nd Mar :: Electric Pickle, Miami, US<br />
Sat 3rd Mar :: Kontrol, San Fransisco, US<br />
Fri 9th Mar :: 813, Dallas, US<br />
Fri 30th Mar :: Mean Show, Basing House, London, UK<br />
Wed 25th Apr :: Meet: Surealism, Watergate, Berlin, Germany</p>
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		<title>&#8220;Let life dance through you!&#8221; &#8211; Minilogue &#8211; Kana Interview</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/12/let-life-dance-through-you-minilogue-kana-interview/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/12/let-life-dance-through-you-minilogue-kana-interview/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:23:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ambient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[australian tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[experimental]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[House]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[imps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[live jam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minilogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minimal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mutek 2010]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[son kite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[subsonic music festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=2134</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; After headlining one of Australia&#8217;s more successful festivals in the form of Subsonic, our interview guests have left a lasting impression we&#8217;d like to think, one that&#8217;s naturally mutated from the earlier incarnations of Son Kite and Trimatic.  Key components of improvisation, meditation and consistent faith have been integral in their successes &#8211; appearances [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/let-life-dance-through-you-minilogue-kana-interview/old_vinyl_590-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-2334"><img class="size-full wp-image-2334 aligncenter" title="minilogue_old_vinyl_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/old_vinyl_5901.jpg" alt="minilogue_old_vinyl_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></div>
<p>&nbsp;<br />
<em>After headlining one of Australia&#8217;s more successful festivals in the form of Subsonic, our interview guests have left a lasting impression we&#8217;d like to think, one that&#8217;s naturally mutated from the earlier incarnations of Son Kite and Trimatic.  Key components of improvisation, meditation and consistent faith have been integral in their successes &#8211; appearances on Cocoon, KNM and mule electronic is more than reasonable evidence.  That&#8217;s of course all prior to their upcoming 12&#8243; on Traum as well as the heavily anticipated relapses into the discourse of an aforementioned alias.</em></p>
<p><em>Their perspective on life should be something that&#8217;s admired, and in their own words, life should most certainly dance through you.  We couldn&#8217;t agree more.  Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson are the clandestine soliders that configure the front that is Minilogue.</em></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p>Kn:  You&#8217;ve previously mentioned that you draw influences from both the techno and trance scenes alike.  What in particular influences the Minilogue sound, and in retrospect have there been any special moments that have played a major role in influencing the development of your sound to date?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">M:  We might have mentioned that we draw influence from trance and techno.  But that was before… and everything is changing and developing.  We get older and grow as human beings so I would now answer that life and this universe is inspiring us now. A major change in influence and development was when we started to feel more and think less… <span class="pullquote">we started to &#8220;jam&#8221; and improvise everything instead of planning what to do</span>.  Our daily meditation has made a big difference in our music as well.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/let-life-dance-through-you-minilogue-kana-interview/studio/" rel="attachment wp-att-2266"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2266 alignright" title="Minilogue Studio" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Studio-590x590.jpg" alt="Minilogue Studio" width="270" height="270" /></a>Kn:  You’re currently managing two very different projects; Imps and Minilogue.  Would you care to explain the differences for those who don&#8217;t know and how does the production process vary for both projects?  What’s coming up in the future for these two projects?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">M:  IMPS was a project we started together with two friends from Melbourne, Ian and Phillip alias Decoy.  They came to Sweden a few years ago and we had a jam session together.  We made an album out of the session and released it on Mule records.  Very improvised and jazzy sound to it… with no goals in mind.  We don&#8217;t have anything new coming with this project… yet… but who knows! Minilogue is our own main project (Sebastian and Marcus) and we make everything under this name… techno, house, ambient, jazz… well… music.  We&#8217;re releasing a new album with Minilogue next year… hopefully beginning of next year.  We also have a new 12&#8243; release on Traum Schallplatten in January.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  Minilogue encompasses a depth in musical ideas that seem creatively free, as displayed on the Animals album released on Cocoon in 2008.  From dance floor oriented organic techno to lush ambient electronica, how do these very different sounds intertwine with your own thoughts on the ongoing mission as a single entity?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">M:  Nowadays <span class="pullquote">we&#8217;re trying not to think so much and feel and experience things instead</span>.  So when we feel inspired and creative we sometimes use this creative energy and put it into music without thinking what to do with it… just letting the energy flow through us! In this way we never really know what is coming out… and that&#8217;s soooo nice!!!  It&#8217;s still us as an single entity but with a more diverse outcome.</span><br />
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2271" title="Minilouge Press picture" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/minilouge2_590.jpg" alt="Minilouge Press picture" width="590" height="390" /><br />
Kn:  Your own imprint under the same name was set up as a concept label where you freely release your own material.  So far we&#8217;ve seen great releases from the label which adopts a pre digital philosophy, whereby labels used to release both A side and a deeper B side track.  Tell us about the decision to stick to such a risky format?  Any new releases we should be looking out for?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">M:  It is like you say… a concept label where we&#8217;re free to release whatever we like without thinking of sales and profit.  We only print a limited amount and make it more of an art thing than a traditional label thing.  In this way <span class="pullquote">we don&#8217;t feel any risk since we&#8217;re not looking for profit</span>.  If we&#8217;re not looking for gain there will be no pain.  At the moment we don&#8217;t have any new release planned… we&#8217;re putting all our energy into the new album.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  You’ll be returning to a European winter after leaving Australia.  Is the quieter period of this season a time where you focus on different aspects of your lives and sound and is there anything in particular that you want to accomplish before the curtains of summer 2012 are drawn?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">M:  We’re moving away from the future driven way of living since we believe this is something that distances us from life, what is now is never away and we believe our purpose is to meet what is now as honest as we can.  When we get back home we’ll share some time in the studio together and finalize the last parts of our new Minilogue and Son Kite album, after that we don’t really know.</span><br />
<a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/let-life-dance-through-you-minilogue-kana-interview/minilogue-3_live_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2305"><img class="size-full wp-image-2305 aligncenter" title="Minilogue (3)_live_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Minilogue-3_live_590.jpg" alt="Minilogue (3)_live_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></p>
<p>Kn:  You’ve just played the <a href="http://www.subsonicmusic.com.au" target="_blank">Subsonic Music Festival</a>, just north of Sydney.  An outdoor event that’s perfectly conducive to the deep hypnotic techno sound of Minilogue.  How did you perform in terms of the live construct?  Surely there must be a level of improvisation going on between the both of you when you play live?  Are you showcasing any new material for your Australian tour?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">M:  It was an amazing festival and we had a super great time while playing.  <span class="pullquote pqRight">Our liveset is pure improvisations</span>, we have prepared a way of playing that enables us to create new soundscapes and rhythms while we’re playing, working to get into this very moment; creating a possibility for the people dancing to the music to move into the present moment; the only place where a deep experience can take place.  This is the main reason why we play live.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Let life dance thru you!</span></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p><strong>Links:</strong>  <a href="http://www.minilogue.com" target="_blank">Minilogue</a>  /  <a href="http://www.beatport.com/artist/minilogue/1818" target="_blank">Beatport</a>  /  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/minilogue" target="_blank">Facebook</a></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p><em>A few more words worth hearing from Minilogue at Mutek 2010&#8230;</em></p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yRosfmG3omo?fs=1&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
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		<title>Kana Interview with Paco Osuna</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-paco-osuna/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-paco-osuna/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:16:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[b4 bookings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mindshake records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paco osuna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plus8]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=2010</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; For a lot of people, it&#8217;d feel like yesterday since our interview guest found his feet at the footsteps of Amnesia, Ibiza.  Though as techno and electronica developed over the years and time marched on accordingly, he&#8217;s not only participated in the movement, he&#8217;s been a pivotal catalyst.  Furthermore, it&#8217;s given birth to a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-paco-osuna/paco-osuna-2011_3-by-jordi-carot_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2015"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2015" title="Paco Osuna 2011_3 by Jordi Carot_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Paco-Osuna-2011_3-by-Jordi-Carot_590.jpg" alt="Paco Osuna 2011_3 by Jordi Carot_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></div>
<p>&nbsp;<br />
<em>For a lot of people, it&#8217;d feel like yesterday since our interview guest found his feet at the footsteps of Amnesia, Ibiza.  Though as techno and electronica developed over the years and time marched on accordingly, he&#8217;s not only participated in the movement, he&#8217;s been a pivotal catalyst.  Furthermore, it&#8217;s given birth to a procession of heavily fortified releases which more than justified his inclusion on Cocoon&#8217;s booking roster.  Now some would argue to themselves, and rightly so, that taking a breath and finding contentment in such an achievement would put their aspirations at ease, though it only served as a direct mandate to continue a digital altercation.</em><br />
&nbsp;<br />
<em>Paco Osuna&#8217;s words and performances have never fallen on deaf ears, so it comes as no surprise our interview allocation shuts doors and sheds a glimpse of light on fresh projects.</em></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p>Kn:  Your early days playing as a resident at Amnesia in Ibiza must of been very exciting times for you as an emerging artist.  Where do you draw most of you inspiration from these days?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">PO:  Day to day I was looking at what the other djs played, it did&#8217;t matter what style of music, each dj that was spinning showed me something.  It was a great experience to be part of Amnesia during that period, because I learned how to make people dance and also I learned a lot about different styles of music.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  You&#8217;ve had some big releases on labels such as Plus 8 along with the growing success of your own <a href="http://www.mindshakerecords.com/" target="_blank">Mindshake</a> imprint.  What&#8217;s coming up next in your release schedule and what plans do you have for developing the label?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">PO:  Well, the schedule depends on the gigs.  <span class="pullquote">I am the kind of person that needs to be seated in the studio and relaxed to produce</span> and right now I have so many gigs that once I arrive home I don&#8217;t feel like going to the studio to produce.  But as soon as I have had a couple of days to relax I work on it;  hopefully soon I will be focused again on studio time. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">About Mindshake, the idea is to develop the label as much as possible, with parties, new artist, etc… Mindshake is like my little son and as I say before it has to grow up.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-paco-osuna/mindshake_logo_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-2018"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2018" title="mindshake_logo_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/mindshake_logo_590-590x92.jpg" alt="mindshake_logo_590" width="590" height="92" /></a>Kn:  Any plans for a Paco Osuna Album?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">PO:  Yes, very soon I have in mind to work on that, probably after the break I am going to have in January and in February I will be producing a lot and I hope what I do will be good enough to release an album, but what I can say is my album is not going to be for dancefloor, maybe 1-2 tracks but not more, it will be more for listen.</span><span class="pullquote pqRight"><!-- My dj sets always depend on the crowd and the atmosphere --></span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-paco-osuna/paco-osuna-2011_1-by-jordi-carot_390/" rel="attachment wp-att-2019"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2019" title="Paco Osuna 2011_1 by Jordi Carot_390" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Paco-Osuna-2011_1-by-Jordi-Carot_390.jpg" alt="Paco Osuna 2011_1 by Jordi Carot_390" width="273" height="413" /></a>Kn:  Technology has made it possible to stretch ideas without limiting one&#8217;s imagination.  Tell us about your new hybrid DJ/Live set up and how it allows you to translate your ideas to produce dynamic sets?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">PO:  I dont know, my dj sets always depend on the crowd and the atmosphere.  Sometimes I do sets where I focus more on the music than on the effects and sometimes I do sets creating crazy effects all the time.  It depends on the crowd but I always try to use the technology for the maximum possibilities, because for that it was created and I like not to be obvious and to surprise people with new things.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  You had quite a busy touring schedule with your Mindshake fall tour.  Tell us why this tour was so special for you?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">PO:  It was very special because I had a few people with me recording on video at all times, all the nights and all the gigs, for a project I have in mind for 2012. I will announce this soon!!</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Also, every time I am in US it is very special for me, I love that country and the scene there.</span></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p><strong>Links:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pacoosuna.com/" target="_blank">Paco Osuna</a>  /  <a href="http://www.beatport.com/artist/paco-osuna/15598" target="_blank">Beatport</a>  /  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/djpacoosuna" target="_blank">Facebook<br />
</a><a href="http://www.mindshakerecords.com/" target="_blank">Mindshake Records</a>  /  <a href="http://www.beatport.com/label/mindshake-records/5374" target="_blank">Beatport</a>  /  <a href="http://www.b4bookings.net" target="_blank">B4 Bookings</a>  /  <a href="https://www.facebook.com/b4bookings" target="_blank">Facebook</a></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p><strong>Tour Dates December 2011: </strong></p>
<p>07.12.11 | BCM, Mallorca. Spain<br />
10.12.11 | Kama Kama, Tuscany. Italy<br />
16.12.11 | Proyecto, Guimaraes. Portugal<br />
22.12.11 | Goa, Rome. Italy<br />
23.12.11 | Kristal Club, Bucharest. Hungary<br />
24.12.11 | Eventual Music 2011, Mallaga. Spain<br />
25.12.11 | Memento Night at Refresh, Padova. Italy<br />
26.12.11 | Pygmalio, Dublin. Ireland<br />
31.12.11 | Paco Osuna 5hr Set at Club 4, Barcelona. Spain</p>
</div>
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		<title>Kana Interview with Alexkid</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-alexkid/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-alexkid/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:39:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alexkid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[australia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[f communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[House]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[subsonic festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=1910</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; It&#8217;s been a calculated campaign that&#8217;s defined the lead up to Australia&#8217;s Subsonic festival, and one of it&#8217;s headline artists has spent a few moments with us to discuss his own relentless pursuit of electronic fulfilment.  It&#8217;s perhaps this focus that places his perspective in a more realistic space that insists on originative reconnaissance, rather than a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-alexkid/alexkid_fishes_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1912"><img class="size-full wp-image-1912 aligncenter" title="Alexkid_fishes_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Alexkid_fishes_590.jpg" alt="Alexkid_fishes_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></div>
<p>&nbsp;<br />
<em>It&#8217;s been a calculated campaign that&#8217;s defined the lead up to Australia&#8217;s Subsonic festival, and one of it&#8217;s headline artists has spent a few moments with us to discuss his own relentless pursuit of electronic fulfilment.  It&#8217;s perhaps this focus that places his perspective in a more realistic space that insists on originative reconnaissance, rather than a dilute solution that often others find comfort in.</em></p>
<p><em>These traits played an imperative role in securing consistent releases at Laurent Garnier&#8217;s F Communication&#8217;s imprint &#8211; a reassuring sense of purpose, surely.  Now, as we move forwards from those earlier successes he&#8217;s broadened his own expectations, that he&#8217;s solely placed on himself, leading to an eclectic foray working alongside the likes of Spencer Parker, Phonique and Pig &amp; Dan.</em></p>
<p><em>This weeks interview guest, Alexkid, will provide further elaboration.</em></p>
<div>&#8211;</div>
<p>&nbsp;<br />
Kn:  It’s been some 14 years since your first release “Playground”, and having the backing of Laurent Garnier would have fortified your own confidence.  How did that moment eventuate and what did you immediately take away from it?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:  The immediate effect was that my family understood I was being serious about making music.  Before releasing a record, your family always thinks you&#8217;re daydreaming and don&#8217;t really understand.  On top of that, the release was on Laurent Garnier&#8217;s [label] who was already widely known in France.  <span class="pullquote">It is funny how your music materialized as an object suddenly makes people understand you&#8217;re serious about it</span>.  I have to admit that my mother always supported me in my choices, but this made her feel secure about what I was doing.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Now, if we talk about confidence, I never had an approach to music as being someone who was doing the right thing.  Confidence is when you know what you&#8217;re doing but I don&#8217;t think that the opinion of someone else validates your choices.  I never ask my friends if the music I do is good.  Either they do like it, either they don&#8217;t… so, to make it short, releasing on FCom helped me, and of course it proved me and my family that I could be doing this &#8220;for a living&#8221;, but it never made me feel my music was better than someone else&#8217;s.  As an artist, I believe it is good to have doubts, and the fact that I&#8217;m never 100% happy keeps me going.  We&#8217;re all in search of the perfect beat.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-alexkid/alexkid_300dpi_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1931"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1931" title="Alexkid_300dpi_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Alexkid_300dpi_590.jpg" alt="Alexkid_300dpi_590" width="590" height="390" /></a>Kn: &#8230;and no doubt you were heavily involved within a fresh movement in the French scene back then. How do you feel the French music environment is proceeding at the moment?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:  Here in Australia, the french scene is mostly represented by the likes of Daft Punk, Ed Bangers, and Institubes.  I feel this is not really good.  It&#8217;s been shadowing other artists who truly want to defend electronic music.  I&#8217;m friends with some of the before mentioned guys, but I never did relate to their music.  I think it is pop, not electronic.  At the moment there&#8217;s a little crew in Paris doing amazing stuff, and also being great djs.  I would name all the people from Lola Ed (Dyed Soundorom, Shonky , Yakine, Seuil, Okain) and also people like Varoslav, Mlle Caro, Molly, who bring a fresh vision on the music and are passionate about it.  There is a bit of a Renaissance and I hope it will last.  The scene at the moment in Paris is much more interesting than when I left Paris to Berlin about 3 years a go.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  Earlier forays into Drum ‘n’ Bass and Nu Acid would have aided in a diverse outlook, surely.  How did you create a cohesive assortment of ideas amongst the deafening noise of the electronic music fulmination?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:  Ha… good question.  I actually just do what I like, I don&#8217;t know if I am cohesive or not.  I always felt I wasn&#8217;t making much sense!  I grew up with House and Techno but started with Downtempo and Drum and Bass…  I did so because I play guitar and it felt more right to include these elements in this genre.  Now that I barely ever put any live instruments in my songs, I feel like doing house and techno.<span class="pullquote"><!-- An artist needs a certain margin of freedom to feel comfortable in doing something --></span><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-alexkid/alexkid-%e2%80%93-shes-got-to-leave-ep-300x300/" rel="attachment wp-att-1932"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1932" title="Alexkid - Shesgottoleave EP - Freerange Records" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Alexkid-–-Shes-got-to-leave-EP-300x300.jpg" alt="Alexkid - Shesgottoleave EP - Freerange Records" width="270" height="270" /></a></span></p>
<p>Kn:  On a similar note, you’ve worked with a range of artists and vocalists.  How do these projects take form?  Are you proactive or is it something that mutually solidifies as you cross paths with others in your life and are there any examples in particular that have redefined your perspective?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:  I work only with people I have a good feeling with and I leave a certain amount of freedom as I believe good music appears from collaborations.  I like being surprised and being put in danger, artistically, so I&#8217;m always keen on hearing something I didn&#8217;t expect. Though, it has happened that I didn&#8217;t like some of the results and asked to restart again.  It is important to keep in mind that an artist needs a certain margin of freedom to feel comfortable in doing something, that&#8217;s what I try to give to the people I work with.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  F Communications was your prominent base for sometime &#8211; how do you work with labels these days given the fact your work has appeared on various platforms that have their own direction?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:  My latest stuff was with Cadenza, Freerange, Rekids, Cabin Fever, NRK, and now Desolat.  I feel that all of these have a link in common.  It is some kind of leftfield House, beat driven but a bit edgy too.  I feel this mash up represents me.  F Com at the end had too many expectations regarding what I should do and it eventually led me to release a third album (Caracol) that to me is a bit in between two worlds but not in a right way.  They would have loved me to release more &#8220;Come with Me&#8221;&#8216;s and &#8220;Don&#8217;t Hide it&#8221;s but I didn&#8217;t want to go that way.  <span class="pullquote">I always compare electronic [music] to jazz and we, as electronic musicians, are supposed to explore</span>.  I like pop but that&#8217;s definitely not what I want to do as Alexkid.  I love putting vocal tracks in an album but I dislike that they&#8217;re the ones becoming club singles… they should be aimed at radio play.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-alexkid/alexkid_300dpi_390/" rel="attachment wp-att-1933"><img class="size-full wp-image-1933 alignleft" title="Alexkid_300dpi_390" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Alexkid_300dpi_390.jpg" alt="Alexkid_300dpi_390" width="281" height="425" /></a>Kn:  As mentioned, many labels harbour their own visions but those that approach it from the angle of constructing a family certainly allure intrigue.  What are your thoughts on the over all approach of newly erected labels today?  What sets some aside from others?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:  Hmmm… difficult.  In my opinion, very few succeed to have a real image at the moment and some of them had it but lost it trying to follow a trend.  Also, and Alas, the whole digital era has brought a lot of confusion to the situation and people have lost perspective of what they should really do, and most of all why they should do it.  Less and less people are passionate about it.  A big part of the young generation of dj&#8217;s do it because it is cool to be a dj but they don&#8217;t wake up with that thing in their guts that keep them going.  You can also apply that to producers and labels.  Everything is diluted, now that it is so easy to come up with something semi-decent.  We have semi-decent-tracks- released by semi-decent labels, played by semi-decent dj&#8217;s and all the good stuff is lost in this tsunami of half-decent, generic music (not to say that most of it is pointless). </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Before, if you wanted to make electronic music you had to buy hardware, spend a lot of time learning; the labels would be more picky to release you music because vinyl has a cost and djs would be more picky  because a vinyl was 8 or 10 euros.  Now, the value of music is lost.  Why would a young kid try to put value in his music and have people feel the compulsive need to buy it when they themselves download the music for free on the internet?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;"><span class="pullquote">I would like people to do it with Love</span>.  Thank god there&#8217;s people doing so.  Maybe some should just stop making music, if they do it for Fame.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  The Subsonic festival here in Australia that you’re participating in this weekend is going to be a defining moment on the summer calender and you’ll also be joined by other well respected artists. How are you approaching the lead up to this festival as opposed to a standard tour or club event?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;"><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/12/kana-interview-with-alexkid/2011-12-02-subsonic-festival-australia-flyer/" rel="attachment wp-att-1918"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1918" title="2011-12-02-Subsonic Festival-Australia-flyer" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-02-Subsonic-Festival-Australia-flyer.jpg" alt="2011-12-02-Subsonic Festival-Australia-flyer" width="283" height="388" /></a>A:  I&#8217;m really looking forward to this.  I&#8217;ve only heard amazing feedback about it as being a first class festival as a matter of comfort and vibe.  I have played a few times already for the guys, and they&#8217;re lovely, so I can&#8217;t wait for the fun times ahead.  I really do not know how I&#8217;m going to approach this but I will do my best to bring something maybe a bit different.  It is always a connection to the audience.  Sometimes there&#8217;s a great connection, and you can go far, sometimes it is a bit more tricky and you don&#8217;t have the exact same freedom.  I&#8217;m sure it will be a blast.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  All the effort and prolific work in the past sets a precedence &#8211; where to from here?  Talk us through what’s going on in your head space that’s dedicated to tomorrow?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:  If I only knew where I&#8217;m headed, I most likely would be able to get there… <img src='http://okkana.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   but I like taking unusual paths.  Maybe I will end up doing arty installations, who knows…</span></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p><em>Alexkid plays Subsonic Festival this weekend in NSW, Australia.  Tickets available directly from <a href="http://www.subsonicmusic.com.au/buy-tickets2.html">Subsonic Music</a></em></p>
<p><strong>Links:</strong>  <a href="http://www.alexkid.com">Alexkid</a>  /  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/alexkidmusic">Faceboook</a></p>
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		<title>Kana Interview with Gary Beck</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-gary-beck/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-gary-beck/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:58:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BEK audio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gary beck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glasgow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=1640</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The lives of some of today&#8217;s more prominent techno figures have had their own paths destroyed, realigned and furthered and it&#8217;s these challenges and successes they harbour that illuminates their work &#8211; none more so than our interview guest.  He certainly isn&#8217;t the only notable artist that drew his inspiration from the industrial spaces of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-gary-beck/gary-beck_press2_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1642"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1642" title="Gary Beck press2_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Gary-Beck_press2_590.jpg" alt="Gary Beck press2_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></div>
<div><em><em><br />
The lives of some of today&#8217;s more prominent techno figures have had their own paths destroyed, realigned and furthered and it&#8217;s these challenges and successes they harbour that illuminates their work &#8211; none more so than our interview guest.  He certainly isn&#8217;t the only notable artist that drew his inspiration from the industrial spaces of Glasgow, however his unique and raw approach to production can mislead any listener into thinking they&#8217;re partaking in an unintentional assailment on their own world.</em></em>&nbsp;</p>
</div>
<div><em>His releases sprawl from Minus, Soma Records and his own imprint BEK Audio, the latter of which will play host to a myriad of quality releases over the course of the next year so it should be blatantly clear, if it already wasn&#8217;t, that we&#8217;ve all only observed the introduction to a definitive career.  In turn, it unequivocally justifies the time we&#8217;ve allocated with Gary Beck this week.</em></div>
<div>&#8211;</div>
<p>Kn:  There&#8217;s a number of fantastic techno artists who call Glasgow home.  How did you find your place in the thick of it all and how did you adapt along the way to ensure your own perspective moved forwards with a distinctive sound?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">GB:  It was very tough to break through in the Glasgow scene.  I remember going to listen to guys like Silicone Soul and Slam and thinking the quality was so good.  I had an idea of what kind of sound I was after and I just stuck with it.  I sent many demos away to the Glasgow labels but nothing really happened.  <span class="pullquote">I guess the ‘never give up’ phrase comes to mind</span> and eventually I was recognized.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  Moving the time line forwards from those earlier days to 2008 , being picked up by Richie Hawtin on <a href="http://m-nus.com/" target="_blank">Minus</a> certainly had an impact on your direction.  How did you adjust from a point of obscurity to the spotlight?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">GB:  It was a massive surprise for me when this happened, as I was only really releasing on small digital labels at the time.  It gave me extra confidence in the musical direction I had chosen.  I was only inspired even more to produce and I wanted to prove that there was much more in me than just one record on <a href="http://m-nus.com/" target="_blank">Minus</a>.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-gary-beck/gary-beck_590_2/" rel="attachment wp-att-1678"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1678" title="Gary Beck_590_2" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Gary-Beck_590_2.jpg" alt="Gary Beck_590_2" width="590" height="390" /></a><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-gary-beck/gary-beck_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1643"><br />
</a>Kn:  From that point onwards you&#8217;ve been featured on respected labels such as <a href="http://www.somarecords.com/" target="_blank">Soma Records</a>, Perc Trax and of course <a href="http://www.drumcode.se/" target="_blank">Drumcode</a>.  Some producers work with a strategy of consultation which eventuates in the final product, how do you approach your relationships with varied labels as they no doubt have their own superintendence?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">GB:  There were a group of labels in which I have always admired, however I never set out to make a record for a particular label.  I like to change my styles quite a lot so once the track is finished, only then will I decide where it might fit.  I set up my label <a href="http://www.bekaudio.com/" target="_blank">BEK Audio</a> in 2009 as a platform to release my music.  It’s really starting to grow and we have some amazing artists on board such as Mark Broom, Speedy J and Mr. G.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  You&#8217;ve had a busy schedule this summer in Europe.  A lot of artists manage their time differently, but for you, what tactics do you incorporate to ensure that not only your own studio work has sufficient allocation, but also the performances out?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">GB:  Yes it’s been very busy!  On my return from travelling (usually on a Sunday night), I will take time to chill and organize my studio ready for Monday.  <span class="pullquote pqRight">I will always work from 9-5 in the studio</span>, as this is the same hours my girlfriend works.  So when I finish at 5, I can switch off, and do things completely unrelated to music.  I love this approach and it’s working for me very well.<a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-gary-beck/bek-008/" rel="attachment wp-att-1645"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1645" title="BEK 008" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/BEK-008.jpg" alt="BEK 008" width="212" height="212" /></a></span></p>
<p>Kn:  &#8230;we just touched on production, and with so many standardised digital tools and tutorials (I.e. YouTube) available to the producers of tomorrow.  Do you feel it breeds a sense of mediocrity or is it something that should be encouraged more often?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">GB:  I like to use lots of hardware in the studio!  I feel that technology is becoming too advanced which is ripping a chunk out of the soul in music, not just in the techno scene, but everywhere.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Of course there are producers who are making great music with the new technology, however I&#8217;m a lover of rawness &amp; unclean music.  I still use programs and keyboards which are at least 10 years old!</span></p>
<p>Kn:  There have been a lot of techno artists of late that have done, and also hinted at a foray into other artistic mediums that intertwine with their music.  Have you contemplated the idea?  How would you subsume the concept so it reflected your own work appropriately?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">GB:  Absolutely.  I played in an orchestra in my youth and this kind of music means a lot to me. I&#8217;m currently working on an album for <a href="http://www.somarecords.com/" target="_blank">Soma Records</a> which will showcase some of the other styles of music I like.  In each track I have tried to get my sound to come across to the listener, except in a completely different genre!</span></p>
<p>Kn:  There&#8217;s a lot of deep thinking that&#8217;s associated with electronic music for some and for someone like yourself the music has led to a successful path that&#8217;s shaped who you are.  Do feel there&#8217;s too much or even not enough analysis, not just from those who fill the dance floor, but also in your own discourse?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">GB:  Never think too much about things, it will only get you into a pickle.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  Life plays tricks on all of us so I guess it&#8217;d be presumptuous to some extent to get a clear picture on where it&#8217;s all going, but are there any goals and aspirations you&#8217;d like to share with us regardless of the time frame?<br />
<span style="color: #888888;">GB:  I would love to continue what I’m doing for as long as possible.  I love to travel and meet different people and that is one of the most special things to me in this career.  I&#8217;m also really looking to move my label <a href="http://www.bekaudio.com/" target="_blank">BEK Audio</a> forward over the forthcoming years.  It’s an exciting project with many amazing releases to come.<br />
<a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-gary-beck/bek_audio_strip_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1644"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1644" title="BEK audio_strip_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/BEK_audio_strip_590.jpg" alt="BEK audio_strip_590" width="590" height="204" /></a></span></p>
<div>
<div>&#8211;</div>
<div><strong>Links:  </strong><a href="http://www.garybeck.co.uk" target="_blank">Gary Beck</a>  /  <a href="http://www.bekaudio.com/" target="_blank">BEK Audio</a>  /  <a href="https://www.whatpeopleplay.com/?redirect=/artistdetails/rel/id/3189/order/date/items/25" target="_blank">What People Play</a></div>
</div>
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		<title>Kana Interview with Sei A</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-sei-a/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-sei-a/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:24:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[editing shadows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glasgow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[milton jackson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sei a]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=1515</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; &#160; Our interview guest who recently provided an eclectic variation of sounds across Kana Broadcast 015, has taken some time to reflect on his own ascension over recent years.  His home town of Glasgow no doubt served as a source of inspiration, primarily via industrial submergence but he&#8217;s found further cause for cementing his [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-sei-a/sei-a-1_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1517"><img class="size-full wp-image-1517 alignleft" title="Sei A 1_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Sei-A-1_590.jpg" alt="Sei A 1_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Our interview guest who recently provided an eclectic variation of sounds across <a href="http://okkana.com/2011/10/kana-broadcast-015-sei-a/">Kana Broadcast 015</a>, has taken some time to reflect on his own ascension over recent years.  His home town of Glasgow no doubt served as a source of inspiration, primarily via industrial submergence but he&#8217;s found further cause for cementing his position as a caretaker of electronica&#8217;s interest &#8211; the move to London has opened fresh doors on both his music and personal anterior.</em></p>
<p><em>With a foray into film scores, nurturing upcoming artists and branching into foreign creative avenues, Andy Graham, Aka: Sei A, has no doubt induced a demanding schedule upon himself, but one he&#8217;s more than satisfied to undertake.</em></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p>Kn:  Growing up in Glasgow certainly would have given you an opportunity to being exposed to the electronic movement.  What role did it play in defining not just your sound, but yourself as a person?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">T:  Glasgow growing up is a privilege for someone into electronic music.  For a city so small, the amount of great club nights that have kept on top of it is amazing.  As a producer and with the surroundings of the Sub Club and The Arches in particular, these have been regular places to listen to the very best DJ&#8217;s and producers.  I&#8217;ve always said &#8211; Sub Club is somewhere special for House &amp; Techno.  Every week there would be a new guest and while being a lot younger you could take so many ideas and inspiration without really noticing.  With Glasgow the City itself, portrays a very industrial feel, which I think this helps a Techno/Electronic producer as well.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  It&#8217;s been a few years now since your debut album &#8216;Editing Shadows&#8217;, a great record that proceeded a few earlier EP&#8217;s.  A turning point without a doubt &#8211; what approach did you take to the album and what had you learnt about yourself after its release?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">T:  Editing Shadows is a funny one.  It just happened.  It was easy, no real thought went into it.  <span class="pullquote">It was like everything I was doing at one point just seemed to click.</span>  The Missive crew were great to work with because they loved everything I sent so it was really easy to just do an album without much thought to it.  When it comes to the whole &#8216;Album&#8217; idea, at the time it was a little daunting, but after you realise you have 12 or more tracks ready after only a few months, then there&#8217;s nothing to hold anything back.<a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-sei-a/sei-a-editing-shadows/" rel="attachment wp-att-1547"><img class="size-full wp-image-1547 alignleft" title="sei a editing shadows" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/sei-a-editing-shadows.jpg" alt="sei a editing shadows" width="218" height="218" /></a></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Now, I would love to go back to that way of thinking but as I&#8217;ve grown older I&#8217;ve started to scrutinise certain sounds I&#8217;ve been working on.  I guess as well with so much amazing music out there you have to grab a space and try to be recognised but it&#8217;s getting harder without a doubt.  The hard thing about releasing music now is that everything is there one week and gone the next, so you really have to think about the structure &#8211; what product you want at the end, whether it&#8217;s vinyl or digital only and how it will be marketed and PR&#8217;d.  Taking yourself out of the producing world and stepping into the business &#8211; you can get completely lost with it all.<a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-sei-a/sei-a_blur_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1522"><br />
</a></span></p>
<p>Kn:  Whilst we&#8217;re on the topic of your time in the studio and production, it&#8217;s been some time since you&#8217;ve collaborated with another artist straight up, Milton Jackson would of been the last?  Being in your own space without compromising is a prevalent tactic you&#8217;ve employed, have you entertained other ideas of late that could lead to projects with others and how do you personally function in such an environment?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">T:  With Barry (Milton Jackson) it was quite easy.  We both lived in Glasgow so would hook up for a pint and listen to new ideas and speak about what we had planned.  After that we would both start a track and then just share ideas through iChat.  It was really simple and really effective as we were in our own environment.  We&#8217;ve got so many tracks lying about when I think about it!</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">With other projects and if I&#8217;m honest I have a few alias&#8217; but with that I cannot say who&#8230; I&#8217;m doing another collaboration or &#8216;collective&#8217; with 2 well known DJ&#8217;s/Producers but that is something that&#8217;s &#8216;unknown&#8217; (for the time being).  There&#8217;s other collabs in the pipeline with Jacques Greene which we&#8217;ve been trying to finish for a while now but I guess pinning him down at the moment has been slightly hard.<br />
<a href="http://okkana.com/2011/11/kana-interview-with-sei-a/sei-a_blur_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1522"><img title="Sei A (blur)_590" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Sei-A_blur_590.jpg" alt="Sei A (blur)_590" width="590" height="390" /></a></span></p>
<p>Kn:  The move to London from Glasgow took place a year ago.  Many artists have done similar things so was it a strategic move to further your own goals?  If so what was your reasoning and how have things developed since the relocation?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">T:  It wasn&#8217;t completely a strategic move but it definitely has helped.  My girlfriend was staying in London but there was also a small incline to make my way down to see what sound I could grow attached to as well.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">Without a doubt it has progressed my sound in so many ways.  <span class="pullquote">With everything that comes out of London, it makes you really try and create something that is different</span>.  It&#8217;s hard to find the right balance as I want to try and cross certain genres, hoping it will all tie in at some point.  For this to happen, London is definitely the best place for me at the moment.</span></p>
<p>Kn:  So much has happened this year alone.  Looking onwards, whether it be in the imminent future on the news front or in the many years to come as aspirations develop, is there anything else you&#8217;d like to add about your thoughts on where you&#8217;d like to be?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">T:  My aspirations have definitely fallen more and more towards music for film.  This along-side Electronic music is where I want to be.  I&#8217;ve written music to a couple of scripts and waiting for a full feature length to begin.  This keeps everything fresh for me as a producer.  Developing younger artists is also an aspiration and something that feels rewarding.  On top of the techno I want to have my own take on &#8216;Pop&#8217; and see where that goes.  There&#8217;s so much to do with music on a whole which is why it makes it so exciting and the best thing is, I&#8217;m always learning.</span></p>
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		<title>Kana Interview with Adultnapper</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/09/kana-interview-with-adultnapper/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/09/kana-interview-with-adultnapper/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:39:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adultnapper]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[australian tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clink]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[get physical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lets get minimal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lgm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scissor and thread]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=1154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Having left his Philosophy PhD studies some time ago, circa when he was submerged by a fresh movement of punk rock, our interview guest has crafted his own articulate circuitry thoroughfare which has seen his releases featured on the likes of Clink, Poker Flat and Audiomatique. We wind the clock forward to September 2011, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/09/kana-interview-with-adultnapper/adultnapper-1_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1180"><img class="size-full wp-image-1180 aligncenter" title="Adultnapper 1" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Adultnapper-1_590.jpg" alt="Adultnapper 1" width="590" height="398" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Having left his Philosophy PhD studies some time ago, circa when he was submerged by a fresh movement of punk rock, our interview guest has crafted his own articulate circuitry thoroughfare which has seen his releases featured on the likes of Clink, Poker Flat and Audiomatique.</p>
<p>We wind the clock forward to September 2011, and as the hand rolls over midday in New York City, we&#8217;ve taken some time with one of the most innovative purveyors of minimal and house on the global touring scene.   With an imminent Australian tour on the door step as well as further releases and progress on Scissor &amp; Thread, all the furtherance in recent years appears to be nothing more than an introduction.   Deep thinking, an eclectic venture into other musical vices and electronica paves the way for this weeks spotlight to be firmly placed on Francis Harris, aka: Adultnapper.</p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p>Kn:   It&#8217;s been some years since your foray into punk rock and a higher educational venture into philosophy, but you now call the electronic world home &#8211; a complex mix that you&#8217;ve reflected on surely?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   I guess I mean life is kind of strange like that.   The funny thing is, is that a lot of people I knew that used to be into more hardcore music and indie rock ended up in electronic music.   Its just that punk rock became really commercialised in a lot of ways, with every single teen movie having a punk rock soundtrack to it.   It sort of became something that really wasn’t reflective of an alternative lifestyle or culture which is really what always attracted me to, you know, whether it be literature or philosophy or music or a different way to live or some sort of subversive culture which is something that I’ve always been attracted to for whatever reason that might be.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;"><span class="pullquote">Now a lot of club music isn’t subversive at all.   I’d say 99.9% of it is quite trite and superficial</span> and a duplication of a high school popularity contest, without having to do your homework.   Lots of people getting A’s without actually doing the work for it.   But there are those really special moments that are the reason that you keep doing it.   There’s something quite primal and real about it in a world that doesn’t have much in it other than mediated feelings and mediated experiences.   I would say that when a dance floor is right and a groove is really tight, there’s something somewhat pure about it.</span></p>
<p>Kn:   The move to the Adultnapper alias would no doubt have meant something to you and the direction you&#8217;ve proceeded into.   What&#8217;s the moniker&#8217;s purpose and why was it created?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   I used the moniker before with a couple of art projects when I was in college.   The first one was an installation piece that I did where I took a bunch of guitars and took the pick-ups out of them and put transistor radios and created this feedback loop with radio signals and delay pedals.   I would sing the top ten music videos from MTV one step out of key and it was called ‘Adultnapper’.   It was kind of a joke.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">I’ve always been attracted to graphic novels and Adultnapper was meant to be sort of like a joke, a graphic novel character with this sort of dystopian piss-take on post-modernism.   Which I think a lot of people take as really dark, because the music is really dark but there’s always something kind of funny and strange about the music.   I’ve always had a sense of humor about it.   Mostly Americans get the joke and that’s why my popularity in America has been more prominent than what it has been in Europe.   <span class="pullquote">Adultnapper was meant to be somewhat of a humorous jab at post modernism.</span></span></p>
<p>Kn: On the subject of concepts, lets talk about the concept behind the Ransom Note label and the art and literature associated with it?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   Ultimately Ransom Note was meant to be a part of a graphic novel.   Really what it is, is making fun of postmodern literature.   The language is extremely verbose and it’s written in this dystopian philosophic language.   It’s not meant to be serious.</span></p>
<p>Kn:   Well there’s a direct correlation with your music there.   There’s always been an element of quirkiness and playfulness in the Adultnapper sound.</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   Yeah, I’ve always attempted to do that.   I think that any kind of one-dimensional music can be a bit of a downer to me.   I always try and have the music and the compositions to be multi dimensional.   It’s always good to have any kind of humor in any project that’s somewhat serious.   It’s the balance that makes the message all the more clear.   That’s what we were attempting to do with Ransom Note &#8211; was create this comic book figure.   It was supposed to be a full concept.   I’ve always appreciated record labels that were ‘full’ concepts, both from artwork design, conceptually, artistically, where every element of it is important.   It’s not just putting out records.   So that’s where we were going with Ransom Note.   Then things started to change for me and its pretty much come to a close.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/09/kana-interview-with-adultnapper/adultnapper-3_590/" rel="attachment wp-att-1181"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1181" title="Adultnapper 3" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Adultnapper-3_590.jpg" alt="Adultnapper 3" width="590" height="390" /></a>Kn:   How do you go about tailoring each production to each label you work with?   This must be quite an involved and rewarding process?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   Well at this point I’m working with very few labels.   Now that I have a new imprint, I feel like I’ve started developing and honing in on a sound that I’ve been looking for.   The only other labels other than my own that I’m working with are Get Physical and Poker Flat.   Get Physical, mostly collaborations, and Poker Flat because Steve and Tobias &#8211; the managing director of superstition &#8211; are good friends of mine and I trust them wholeheartedly with pretty much everything that they do.   I can always trust that the choices Steve is making has nothing to do with trends and nothing to do with trying to remain hip.   He’s just releasing music that he loves.   They do it the right way and they take care of the artist.   The business is right, contracts are done right and I can trust them.   The older you get the more you want to feel somewhat grounded in a career.   I just want to work with people that I trust, that really have my best interests and their own interests in mind, working together where we cover mutual interests.</span></p>
<p>Kn:   You&#8217;ve mentioned in the past that you like working with an A&amp;R strategy, how have you developed personally as an artist from this process?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   I think I’ve developed a great deal, not only in the A&amp;R process.   I think in any artists’ life there are two developments that get you over the hump and to becoming confident enough to start creating things that have significance.   In terms of developing yourself, I think the biggest developmental aspect of it, is firstly, understanding that not everyone is going to like what you do and being ok with that &#8211; not being swayed by that.   And number two, being able to take criticism from people who matter &#8211; who know what they’re talking about, without being personally offended or hurt by it.   And lastly, being able to let go when you’re finished with something and move on, and understand that its not going to be the last piece your going to do.   I think when you&#8217;re first starting out, you hold onto the music that you’ve made like it’s the most important thing.   But as you go along you begin to realize that there’s different stages and you are always going to be developing and moving in a different direction.   If you&#8217;re stuck on one thing then you really not going to go anywhere.   <span class="pullquote pqLeft">That was a big step for me.   Being able to swallow my pride and not be paranoid about what people think – and I really just don’t care what people think, at this point.</span>   I just do what I do.   They can take it or leave it.</span></p>
<p>Kn:   Staying with production, your new album &#8216;Leland&#8217; on Scissor and Thread should see the light of day shortly.   Tell us about the idea behind the album?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   The album is a requiem for my father who past away in February of 2010.   It was written almost immediately.   The music was written within two to three months after he passed away.   I recorded all the instruments for it, recorded all the players on it, and it was mixed over the course of last summer, over a course of three months on 48-channel SSL board &#8211; all very organic, in a style that is the exact opposite of the trends in dance music &#8211; and the trend in dance music is ‘volume’ or I should say ‘loudness’, not ‘volume’.   I don’t think a lot of producers understand the difference between loudness and volume – “a limiter is not volume, its loudness” or the perception of volume.   <span class="pullquote"><!-- We mixed everything very low, very soft and organic.  We did an experiment and didn’t sacrifice dynamics for any aspect -->We mixed everything very low, very soft and organic.  We did an experiment and did everything very soft and didn’t sacrifice dynamics for any aspect</span>, so the album took a long time to mix.   </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">It went through a few different stages of possibly working with labels, but I really wasn’t willing to compromise.   In the end, the guy who helped mix the album with me ended up being the main artist on our label &#8211; Black Light Smoke &#8211; who is a guy named Jordan Lieb.   We realized we have a sound here and a concept and an idea of how we want to do things &#8211; “so lets do it ourselves”.   </span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/09/kana-interview-with-adultnapper/scissor-thread/" rel="attachment wp-att-1179"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1179" title="Scissor &amp; Thread" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Scissor-Thread.jpeg" alt="Scissor &amp; Thread" width="309" height="163" /></a><span style="color: #888888;">We’re starting out as vinyl only format and eventually we’ll do digital.   The Album is being released as a triple pack vinyl.   Because the music that we’re making for the label is format specific.   Meaning &#8211; we’re making it analogue; we’re making it for vinyl.   That’s one of the things that I think is left out of the debate between vinyl and digital.   Music that is made for vinyl should come out on vinyl, and music that is made inside of a computer, release it as digital.   Why would you make something completely in a computer that never leaves the box and then put it on vinyl?   It doesn’t make any sense to me.   It’s not format specific.   This isn’t a judgment.   There’s great digital music out there and great producers producing on laptops for electronic music and just because it sounds digital doesn’t mean its bad.   You know, Richie Hawtin’s music is digital and its great, it’s just not the kind of music that I want to do.   A lot of the former Adultnapper stuff was digital, but now its become more and more organic and that’s an aesthetic choice, its not right or wrong.   The only criticism I would make of the digital industry is that there’s too much amateur music being made and being released because nobody wants to invest &#8211; neither in A&amp;R or in an artist.   That’s a big element of our label, we’re not signing EP’s, we’re signing artists and album deals and investing in an artist.</span></p>
<p>Kn:   The Scissor &amp; Thread label is New York based and you’ve expressed your love for the city in the past. Places and their space have, and will always have, an impact on people &#8211; how has it affected both your life and the evolution of your sound?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">A:   I love New York!   It’s a love hate thing with New York.   The New York vibe is the fact that you always have to hustle and work and there’s a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #888888;">consequence to all the actions that you have.  </span></p>
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-1234 alignright" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial;" title="LGM LOGO" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/LGM-LOGO_150.jpg" alt="LGM LOGO" width="150" height="121" /></p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">No decision that you make in this city comes without a price, so you get some true artists that come </span><span style="color: #888888;">out of this city.   You have to work really hard, there’s no laziness, you know.   There’s no cheap rent, and hanging out, and going to parties if you </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #888888;">want to get something accomplished.   You have to make a lot of sacrifices, but there’s no greater city in the world for musicians in my mind.   The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #888888;">multicultural vibe and its economic diversity produce an energy in the city that is unmatchable.</span></p>
<p>&#8211;</p>
<p>Adultnapper plays the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=285727491444101">Subsonic Festival Launch</a> at Brews Brothers, Woolloongabba, Brisbane on Saturday October 1st hosted by the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/letsgetminimal/">LGM crew.</a></p>
<p><strong>Links:   </strong><a href="http://www.halcyonline.com">Halcyon Online</a>  / <a href="http://www.adultnapper.com">Adultnapper</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scissor.and.thread.nyc#!/Adultnapper">Facebook</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/scissor.and.thread.nyc">Scissor &amp; Thread</a></p>
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		<title>Kana Interview with Secret Cinema</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/08/kana-interview-with-secret-cinema/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/08/kana-interview-with-secret-cinema/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:35:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[album]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cosima]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dj]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[egbert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gem records]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kalden bess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Live]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mental youth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minerals lp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ramon tapia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secret cinema]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selected gems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=780</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week Secret Cinema treated us to an exclusive hour of straight up Techno.  If you haven&#8217;t heard this great mix yet be sure to check it out here.  This week we&#8217;ve managed to interrupt his busy schedule for a few wise words on what it takes to keep moving at this level.   &#8212; Kn: [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Press-shot-Secret-Cinema-1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-large wp-image-814" title="Secret Cinema 1" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Press-shot-Secret-Cinema-1-682x1024.jpg" alt="" width="245" height="368" /></a>Last week Secret Cinema treated us to an exclusive hour of straight up Techno.  If you haven&#8217;t heard this great mix yet be sure to <a href="http://okkana.com/musiconline/radiopodcast/kana-broadcast/kana-broadcast-007-secret-cinema/">check it out here.</a>  </em><em>This week we&#8217;ve managed to interrupt his busy schedule for a few wise words on what it takes to keep moving at this level.  </em></p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>Kn:  Few techno artists have maintained their presence on the global techno scene for a prolonged period of time, yourself being one of them.  I guess everything comes and waves, how have you adapted over the years?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">SC:  By continuously re-inventing your self.  Also I always have the feeling I can do better, which keeps the energy flowing.  Now with my label <a href="http://www.gemrecords.nl/">Gem Records</a> and the change from playing only live to DJ-sets a few years back, I can reach more and more people.  And having a lot of talented producers around me helps as well raising the bar production wise&#8230;.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kn:   On the topic on ups and downs, and regardless of what creative industry you&#8217;re in, some artists deal with the concept better than others.  What do you do to pull yourself out of a &#8220;block&#8221; or what do you do to best deal with it?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">SC:  <span class="pullquote">Breathing is all you can do.</span>  After I finished my album there was complete emptiness&#8230;  It took me a while to come back from that, but now with the remixes doing well and all the good music coming out, it all came back!  I realised I need to trigger my senses a lot to keep myself on top all the time.  So good feedback and people liking your music helps to keep me going!</span></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Persfoto-Secret-Cinema-3-Trimmed.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-806" title="Secret Cinema 3" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Persfoto-Secret-Cinema-3-Trimmed-1024x424.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="244" /></a><a href="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Persfoto-Secret-Cinema-3-Trimmed.jpg"><br />
</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kn:  You&#8217;ve got some big gigs coming up, but you&#8217;ve also had time to put out some great releases of late, the <a href="http://www.whatpeopleplay.com/artistdetails/null/id/5450">Minerals LP</a> is definitely one of the standouts.  You&#8217;ve collaborated with a few different artists on that album &#8211; how do you survive and achieve results when you&#8217;ve got different ideas being thrown around in the studio working with others?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">SC:  The &#8216;Minerals&#8217; idea had already been in my head for two years but I never really got it started. The best thing for me at the time was to give myself a deadline.  So I ended up having only eight weeks to make the album.  Therefore I checked my computer for unfinished tracks which I liked and also asked my friends and favourite producers to do collaborations with me.  Kalden Bess sent over some files and I finished them as I also did with Egbert.  The Ramon Tapia and Cosima tracks we worked on together and were almost finished so that was that.  The Ambient CD was done afterwards and I directed Mental Youth and myself to the deeper side of sound utilizing what we already had prepared on our hard drives.  <span class="pullquote pqRight">The pressure helped to make things work between friends, otherwise it&#8217;s easy to say ‘let&#8217;s do it later’, haha!</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img class="size-medium wp-image-801 alignright" title="Gem artwork" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Gem-artwork-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="144" height="144" /></p>
<p>Kn:  Gem Records has gone from strength to strength since you founded it, the most recent release <a href="http://www.beatport.com/release/selected-gems/401960">SELECTED GEMS</a> is killer.  What sort of direction is the label heading in and how do you tie it in with your own work?  Are they one in the same?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">SC:  The tracks on Gem are tracks I have to like in the first place.  It&#8217;s really my taste in (dance) music.  Also all of our artists have something special that separates them from other artists in my opinion.  </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #888888;">It&#8217;s always something I care about as well, doing something different every time within the limits of my </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #888888;">own taste.  In that way things are similar you could say.  I can only be happy others recognize something special.  <span class="pullquote">That way you communicate without using words.  That&#8217;s the great thing about our music!</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kn:  Where to from here Jeroen?  Any ideas and/or concepts you&#8217;ve been throwing around inside that you&#8217;d like to touch on?</p>
<p><span style="color: #888888;">SC:  I have a lot of ideas all the time.  The online platform will be bigger and better.  Also I&#8217;m about to start a vinyl only label with no print and handwritten numbers on it with the Gem artists.  We&#8217;re looking for opportunities to host Gem nights in clubs around the globe and give all the Gem artists the attention they deserve.  Making video&#8217;s, albums, t-shirts, tours, etc, etc.  All for the love of music and each other here at Gem HQ!!!</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kn:  Thanks for the interview and hope fully see you around somewhere soon!  Don&#8217;t forget to follow Secret Cinema on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/secretcinema.gem" target="_blank">facebook</a> / <a href="http://soundcloud.com/secretcinema" target="_blank">soundcloud</a> / <a href="http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/secretcinema" target="_blank">residentadvisor</a> / <a href="http://www.whatpeopleplay.com/?redirect=/albumdetails/null/id/33140" target="_blank">whatpeopleplay</a></p>
<p><a href="http://okkana.com/2011/08/kana-interview-with-secret-cinema/secretcinema_interview2/" rel="attachment wp-att-795"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-795" title="secretcinema_interview2" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/secretcinema_interview2.jpg" alt="Secret Cinema at Free Your Mind festival 2008" width="800" height="451" /></a></p>
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		<title>A brief insightful interview with Alex Smoke</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2011/08/a-brief-insightful-interview-with-alex-smoke/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2011/08/a-brief-insightful-interview-with-alex-smoke/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:32:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kana</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alex smoke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auditree]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hum + haw]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=644</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the ever changing world of electronic music, from it&#8217;s production, to it&#8217;s distribution, to the club and festival mediums it&#8217;s heard in, we&#8217;ve taken some time with Alex Smoke to grab his thoughts on the status quo of digital life. &#8212; Kn:  The sound you&#8217;ve focused on of late is definitely pushing things in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Kn-Interview-Alex-Smoke2.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-645 alignnone" title="Kn Interview Alex Smoke" src="http://okkana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Kn-Interview-Alex-Smoke2.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="441" /></a></p>
<p><em>With the ever changing world of electronic music, from it&#8217;s production, to it&#8217;s distribution, to the club and festival mediums it&#8217;s heard in, we&#8217;ve taken some time with Alex Smoke to grab his thoughts on the status quo of digital life. </em></p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>Kn:  The sound you&#8217;ve focused on of late is definitely pushing things in a more challenging direction, as opposed to some of your peers, more so than ever after the Lux release.  A natural progression you&#8217;ve been conscientious of?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  I think it&#8217;s down to your approach to music, whether it&#8217;s something that you do for a living or whether it&#8217;s something you do because you feel you have something to express.  So for me it&#8217;s just a question of pushing at the boundaries of my own musical interests and moving forward.  For others, particularly in a shrinking music market, it&#8217;s about consolidating your career and maintaining a particular musical style.  I understand both points of view, but I care much more about music than money.  I&#8217;m maybe also a little restless, and the idea of making just the one style of music ad nauseam would kill me.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>Kn:  There&#8217;s a lot of music out there at the moment, some great, but the majority could be categorised as an ‘electronic faux pas’.  It&#8217;s been a while since the introduction of Beatport and it&#8217;s brought a lot of quality music to the world that otherwise would have been missed.  However, do you think the online electronic vicissitude of recent years should have proceeded differently?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  Ultimately I think these things simply develop the way they can, organically and as influenced by the market and the technology at the time.  I love physical music formats because of how we interact with them, but I don&#8217;t have anything against digital distribution and all its associated repercussions.  The digital music world has led to a massive increase in people making music and people having a much wider knowledge which is why I think we now have so much music blurring the boundaries of disparate styles.  People are downloading dubstep and jazz and afro-beat and techno and then making music which contains elements of all of them.  This is exciting.  It all comes down to artistic integrity and talent, and if you have these I think you can still make an impact, but you have to be prepared to fall in and out of fashion as you make your way because the media and the public are not so patient in following one career amongst so many other new ones.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>Kn:  On a similar note, there&#8217;s a strong global sentiment that retail DJ charts and the like often harbour a clique culture&#8230;.?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  Ultimately it is a clique culture I guess, but I think DJ charts have probably always expressed the DJ&#8217;s personal relationships with labels and artists.  In the case of Beatport charts, I don&#8217;t entirely see the point as by its nature it is limiting you to tracks on Beatport, and that cuts out about 80% of new music, particularly in other genres than just straight dance floor stuff.  There are still DJ charts out there that are informative and illuminating, but you have to track down the individuals whose charts aren&#8217;t just a list of the 10 best promos of the month and their own releases.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>Kn:  Anyone with a laptop and pirated software can contribute to the world of electronic music production which has changed so much in the past 10 years.  The debate of analogue/outboard gear as opposed to the exclusively digital approach has been thrown around more times than we&#8217;ve both taken breaths.  How have you adjusted over the years and where are you now?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  Electronic music as far as I&#8217;m concerned is an expression of whatever technology is around, so really I&#8217;m open to everything on an equal footing.  I&#8217;m no analogue purist, that&#8217;s for sure, and I suspect that most people ultimately feel pretty similar.  It&#8217;s all about ideas and whether you make hip hop on fruity loops with tracks you got off bit torrent, or techno with a studio full of analogue modulars, most people listening won&#8217;t give a shit if it sounds good.  Technology allows us to push forward and do new things which is important in electronic music I think so I wouldn&#8217;t want to limit  myself by only using equipment that&#8217;s 20 years old.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>Kn:  There is a growing trend of digital retailers inflating costs of songs, especially high quality versions such as .Wav and .Flac files.  In some cases, these come in at half the price of a Vinyl for a single track.  How do you feel about this new music commerce?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  Utter, utter bollocks.  The reason vinyl was and is expensive, is that it&#8217;s fucking expensive to make and distribute.  Once you take that out of the equation, then the cost should reflect that.  The artist will benefit very little from vastly inflated format prices, and really I think it&#8217;s just profiteering on the part of certain online retailers.  All music should really be sold as WAV/FLAC now that storage costs are so low.  MP3 was created to solve a problem that largely doesn&#8217;t exist now so I think we should start to be more vocal about demanding full quality music.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>Kn:  Do you think this has had a negative impact on the volume of sales, pushing more consumers to find an alternate, albeit more affordable medium to access their music?  And, going one step further, if you were to set up a digital shop yourself how would you do things differently to attract more sales; would you set a lower price point (mp3 320 kbps vs high-quality Wav/Flac), or focus on ‘added value’ items such as gig tickets, merchandise, composition stems and exclusives?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  All music now should be full quality, although if people still demand small downloads then distributors will ask for it and shops will provide it.  At the least, you should be able to get access to both for the one price.  I think it&#8217;s more interesting to provide extras, but it takes imagination to implement it.  Good music won&#8217;t need extras anyway.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>Kn:  This leads us to the question of direct artist to consumer exposure where online music retailers are bypassed.  What are your thoughts on that and do you see it as a viable solution for artists/labels at all levels?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  It&#8217;s a very viable option, especially for labels, where the label&#8217;s job is to sell the product.  For artists, it&#8217;s much less appealing, certainly for me.  I don&#8217;t want to have to spend more of my time fucking about online when I should be making music, so I&#8217;d always want someone else to handle selling it for me.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>Kn:  You&#8217;re playing a club gig in Brisbane <a href="http://www.inthemix.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=394486500" target="_blank">for the Auditree crew at an intimate venue</a>, which is lining up to be a killer show.  Club culture has taken a big hit in Australia which can mainly be attributed to the over saturation of music festivals.  Is it a feeling you&#8217;ve picked up on elsewhere; if so, do you see it declining?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  Festivals in Europe have also blown up over the last few years, but many have also gone bust more recently due to over-saturation.  A club is not a festival and as long as it can accent the difference and make it appealing, club culture will be fine.  Personally I like both things, but if I really want to get the full music experience I go to a club.  At a festival it&#8217;s more dilute, although the distractions are fun.  There&#8217;s also the fact of attracting musicians and festivals can pay more so if Australians want to continue seeing good acts, then support them at clubs when they&#8217;re in town.  I&#8217;m not being entirely self-serving when I say that! It&#8217;s just that having a healthy club scene in a town is part of what makes it alive.</span></p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Kn:  Anything else you&#8217;d like to add, Alex?  Any thoughts on your own direction and the ever changing world of electronic music?</p>
<p><span style="color: #999999;">AS:  I like to take the long view.  If you get too caught up in the ephemera of any current situation, you lose sight of the general lay of the land.  The best thing anyone can do is to stay open-minded and inquisitive.  There&#8217;s too much analysis and too much looking backwards.  Personally, I&#8217;m going to make weird pop music, bang out straight techno and compose modern classical and see what happens.</span></p>
<p><strong>&#8211; </strong></p>
<p><em>Many thanks to Alex for putting the time aside for us.  Full respect.  You&#8217;ll be able to catch Alex Smoke at Barsoma, Saturday August 20, which will be run by Brisbane&#8217;s <a title="Auditree crew" href="www.facebook.com/auditree" target="_blank">Auditree crew</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>Support Alex by sharing this article and following the links below:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.whatpeopleplay.com/?redirect=/artistdetails/null/id/5492" target="_blank">Buy his new music from What People Play</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.whatpeopleplay.com/?redirect=/artistdetails/null/id/5492" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.humandhaw.com/" target="_blank">Alex&#8217;s Label: Hum + Haw</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/alexsmoke" target="_blank">Follow him on Twitter</a></p>
<p><a href="http://soundcloud.com/alexsmoke" target="_blank">Link up on Soundcloud</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.myspace.com/alexsmoke1" target="_blank">And if you still use Myspace&#8230;</a></p>
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		<title>Joris Voorn Interview &#8211; Balance 14 Tour &#8211; Brisbane 2009</title>
		<link>http://okkana.com/2009/07/joris-voorn-interview-balance-14-tour-brisbane-2009/</link>
		<comments>http://okkana.com/2009/07/joris-voorn-interview-balance-14-tour-brisbane-2009/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:17:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adamg</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gig Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Balance 14]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Barsoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brisbane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joris Voorn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Logic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Techno]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://okkana.com/?p=516</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Joris Voorn Interview &#8211; Balance 14 Tour &#8211; Brisbane 2009 After the success of Voorn&#8217;s Easter Saturday appearance in 2008, Logic &#38; Kana were quick to get the Brisbane leg of the Balance 14 tour nailed down and after a heavy dose of everything from disco, house and tech from Mike Redfern, bpm, Elliot Clarke [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object width="600" height="450" data="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5642930&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=0&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=00adef&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5642930&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=0&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=00adef&amp;fullscreen=1" /></object></p>
<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/5642930">Joris Voorn Interview &#8211; Balance 14 Tour &#8211; Brisbane 2009</a></p>
<p>After the success of Voorn&#8217;s Easter Saturday appearance in 2008, Logic &amp; Kana were quick to get the Brisbane leg of the Balance 14 tour nailed down and after a heavy dose of everything from disco, house and tech from Mike Redfern, bpm, Elliot Clarke and Fuzion, Voorn&#8217;s return appearance was set for something fairly monster.  Kicking things off with some of the quality deeper music he&#8217;s been throwing around for sometime the afternoon dynamics shifted seamlessly in to the darkness of sunset.</p>
<p>Three hours later we were left floorless.  The comments being thrown around and the intensity of the party rattled from one wall to the other, long after we left the venue.  There&#8217;s no doubt in our minds it was one of the best parties we&#8217;ve all been a part of so a huge thanks to Joris and most of all those who turned up!</p>
<p>Post-Party, Joris was kind enough to have a few words with Kris Swales, chief editor for Time Off, and we&#8217;ve attached it to the footage from the event.  Australia&#8217;s Techno and House scene definitely has something to be proud of and it&#8217;s only getting better.</p>
<p>See you all at the next party &#8211; thanks and all the best <img src='http://okkana.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>Kana</p>
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