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Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:53:14 -0400

Kevin Saunderson

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:49:00 -0400

Kevin Saunderson is a very impressive guy. He is humble, talented and very passionate. Over the past few years I have had the opportunity for a fair few run ins with Derrick May and Juan Atkins. It is safe to say I have spent the least amount of time with their close mate Kevin, which might also be the reason why he seems the most mysterious to me.

As a youth, what was it that drove you into uncharted realms of electronic music? Why weren’t you interested in conventional sounds?

Well, what drove me to electronic music was the technology. It stimulated my mind. The fact that you could create music without relying on a band or anyone else but myself was a big attraction. The people who I was surrounded by (Juan and Derrick) had an obvious influence on me too. I was raised in New York, where I was into the underground New York radio stations. Through this I found dance, vocal and instrumental music. My style was from the very dark deep underground to stuff like inner city. That was just part of my nature. I was influenced by people like Shaka Kahn and Evelyn Champagne King. I also wanted to do the deep dark basic underground stuff. It’s a combination.

What role did Juan and Derrick play in the creation of your early creations, such as Triangle of Love?

Juan helped me a lot. I didn’t know how to finish a track. I knew how to tape my tracks and lay it all down but I didn’t know how to make it a record. The pieces didn’t fit. It was all there, the drums and bass, but it wasn’t arranged. He showed me how to place an arrangement and do a mix on it. I just played what I wanted to play. Basically I had a repetitive set of loops. He showed me how to create changes in a track. He showed me how to mix down, EQ and put the effects on. So he was basically your tutor? Yeah, he gave me the knowledge of how to completely arrange and finish a record. He was making music before me, so I got to hang out at his house and check out his studio. It didn’t really hit me until later down the line (the fact that it was my calling). Pushing techno before the early 80s in an era where funk and other genres prevailed must have been challenging. What do you accredit your success to? I accredit it to being around at the right time and getting my hands on the right tools, as well as being around Juan and Derrick. Being introduced to the equipment was a great help. They started making drum beats so I started making drum beats. It’s something I felt too. I didn’t realize this was my path, it just crept up on me.

In a previous interview you said ‘a lot power exists in technology’. To what extent have developments in technology since the early days of your production benefited artists?

Now you can produce tracks more easily. It doesn’t take people two hours to time structure a loop, to get it in place. Editing isn’t so time consuming, the process is quicker and arranging is easier. Synths are easier to create and Oscillators are easier to use. (Laughs) There are too many benefits to list! Derrick suggested that it is a little too easy to make music. He feels that it has led to a lot of poor production being put out. What’s your view? Yeah I agree, but good music always finds its way of coming out. Those who use it correctly are able to really create something special. Someone who plays shitty music does just that, but when it’s from the heart it usually turns out well. It just depends what your interpretation of good and bad music is… When the second wave of Detroit techno artists surfaced, what was your initial reaction to the sounds being produced? What level of involvement did you have in the movement? Stacey. Carl made an art of warping sample-based material. It was quite creative. A lot of European stuff is very hard. Still Detroit but they had a hard edge approach. Kenny Larkins reminds me of Derrick May. His production is a little slicker but it’s the same kind of sound. It was good to see a second wave. It was nice that the scene was still moving and that we were making a difference.

You have talked about young kids in Detroit being disinterested in techno. How do you feel about the impact of music commercialisation, particularly on young people, in the Western world? That many are content listening to homogenised radio and the top 40 without ever caring to go past what’s on the surface?

It’s a bit pathetic. People should be more opened minded and not so brainwashed. They are set in one way of thinking - “If it isn’t on MTV then it ain’t good” - that’s the problem with America. It’s very driven by radio and TV, so people really don’t know how to think for themselves. They hear “this is good”, even though it may not be, and the trap of commercialism occurs. Fortunately for London, it has plenty of pirate radio stations through which these artists can find support. In America they just can’t get away with that shit, so people can’t get away from the mainstream sounds. I think people and kids will love the music when they come out and hear it. Like with the Detroit festival, when people come and listen to the music it’s a new experience for most of them. People were loving what they were hearing. That was it though… it’s a once a year event. Do you think more effort needs to be made to bridge the gap? Yeah definitely… I like the idea of merging hip-hop and techno together. Even my kids listen to hip-hop way more than techno, but when techno is played to them, for instance in my car, they really enjoy it. They’re down with the melodies and they will play it, but kids get hit by peer pressure to listen to what’s cool. Everyone is following each other. What do you think of initiatives like what Missy Elliot did with Juan? When Missy Elliot grabbed Juan’s melodies that was a great start. It needs to be continuous. It needs to show a combination of tempos so people realise what techno actually is. People probably don’t even realize that what Missy Elliot did was use part of a classic techno track.

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Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:16:43 -0400

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Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:12:24 -0400

Trentemøller

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 02:44:00 -0400

Trentemøller is one of the fathers of modern psychedelic electronica and one of my biggest inspirations. Blending exotic soundsscapes with modern dub techno, Trentemøller has created some of the most interesting electronic music to date. Trentemøller speaks about his production, surroundings and experiences.

Some might view your remix work as much more anthemic than your original production. Does your approach differ between the two? How, if so?

It’s a very personal thing, I have my heart and my soul in my own productions , but of course I’m happy with some of my remixes, not all of them. But yeah, it’s a different attitude. When you do a remix you basically work on other peoples music, and that’s sometimes cool, if the track is great or if there is a good vocal to work with. If not, it can be a really pain in the ass.

Previously you have said, Moods like sadness, melancholy, and deeper emotions are better expressed in rock music.’ As an accomplished electronic producer, why do you think this is so?

Because generally with dance music, it’s all about getting people to dance. While that’s fine and there is nothing wrong with that in other kinds of music, not only rock, (it can also be electronica), you can go much deeper, make it more dimensional in a way, because you don’t have the limitations that are forcing you to please the dancefloor!

Why have you chosen (so successfully) to produce electronic music, and not rock music, if you believe that electronic production is limited?

Again, I was referring to Dance music… not electronic music in general. But I am also doing rock tunes. I play in a band here in Denmark. I think it’s great when you mix it all up. Like Peaches, Le Tigre or Rapture. It’s electro/rock and you can still dance to it. I like that rock’n’ roll attitude to it. I’m so tired of minimal-nerds starring into their fucking laptops… It’s so boring!

For my album I have mixed both electronic and ’real’ instruments, because it’s natural for me. I play a bit guitar myself and I have some good friends that are musicians too, and if I can’t play the part I ask them to do it for me. But I always know what I want- I also like the sound of a cold electronic beat and then some warm acoustic guitars /bass…I love those contrasts..

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Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:53:00 -0400

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