Ghost Of A Ninja

[ghostofaninja]

Phatic Musk - Interview

One of the great things about the internet is meeting people you share similar interests with. I met Graham from Phatic Musk and Open Sussex via my good pal Black Classical on Twitter. We recently caught up to discuss open source and running small independant labels.

What exactly is Open Sussex?

Open Sussex is an idea I've had bubbling away for a while now. I am very keen on Free Software, and by this I refer to the Free Software Foundations definition "Free software is software that gives you the user the freedom to share, study and modify it. We call this free software because the user is free." Check FSF if you would like more information. Open Sussex is currently a work in progress but it will be an outlet for the promotion of free software and it's usage. Meet ups, hackathons and the sharing of open source / free software / hardware projects. I'm a programmer by day so I spend a lot of time around free software.

The whole concept of free software is very interesting to me. The designs I produce for Sector 12/12 are made using Gimp. It's very empowering being able to be that creative with a zero budget.

Gimp is a great piece of software. As a programmer, the freedom to see, use, change, learn from the source code is very important.

You also run a free net-label and have recently launched a physical label to go alongside it, can you tell us a bit about these?

Well, in 2004 I set up pathmusick with Alex Cortex this was / is a free label that gave us the freedom to release any music we really liked. There is a massive archive. On the back of pathmusick - I set up phatic musk to put out physical releases. As I set the bar pretty high with the Uschi-No-Michi - Ameratsu release I've had to come up with even more interesting packaging ideas, it's a lot of fun! We recently launched a limited edition MP3 player to accompany the subscription service Drones To Code By which is over 4 hours of new drones a month to aid concentration while programming.

DTCB​​​​:​​​​11/​​​​15 by apkallu of enmerkar

How did you hook up with Alex? I loved his stuff on Ann Aimme.

I met Alex through the no-future forum, was some fun times on there!

Ok, you mentioned the new project "Drones To Code By" what's the concept behind that?

I am a programmer and spend a large part of the day sitting in front of a computer trying to puzzle through a variety of problems. Quite often I need to be "in the zone". I listen to a lot of music whilst I work but I found that relatively minimal drone or long form stuff worked very well when trying to focus and keep my concentration. Some people use whitenoise when concentrating to remove distractions but I found a piece of music that slowly evolved aided me to work through a problem. I figured that other people might have the same need. Just as I was about to write my own subscription platform, Bandcamp announced they were launching one so I decided to use that to see if Drones To Code By could work. The plan is to release over 4 hours of drones a month that are designed to help you get "in the zone".

Between Path Musik and DTCB there are literally tens of hours worth of digital music to explore, what inspired the experiments into physical products?

I've always liked the tangible. Personally I don't have much attachment to digital "things". Music is also very much a hobby for me so I can sink money into it without the nagging worry of having to break even which means I have a lot of freedom when it comes to exploring physical releases. Obviously it would be nice to break even but it's not the primary goal.

Any other labels you can recommend?

Well, over the last few years I've been mostly buying stuff through Bandcamp. A lot of the music I listen to these days is either put out by individuals or small labels. You can see what I've been buying here bandcamp.com/decadnids I have a lot of time for the Broken 20 / Broken 60 label. They've been putting out some really great releases!

Is there a highlight from your label people should check out?

I think one of the most exciting releases for me was on pathmusick by Black Classical called Musique du Meuble, it's an exploration of the work by Erik Satie. People should go listen to it, it's bloody great.

So all the music on your label is free to download in FLAC yeah?

On pathmusick the newer releases are available as FLAC, the archive is mostly MP3.

Combined with your views on open source and free software where do you see the role of an independent record label going?

Not entirely sure I've ever thought about it. We live in interesting times for people who want to DIY. We have small scale manufacturing and production available at incredibly low costs plus 3D printers and CNC machines at rock bottom prices. With Open Source Software and Hardware there is so much potential. More and more people are buying lathes to cut their own vinyl, tape duplication is dirt cheap. We have platforms such as Bandcamp that are enabling people to dip their toe in the water to see if what they do is viable, coupled with services such as twitter , people can get ideas to "market" quickly. We have software that is incredibly powerful and incredibly cheap as well as more and more hardware for making music (and what ever you like) at lower and lower prices.

Obviously the market is going to get saturated so there will be less money to go around but then the whole music industry has had so many parasites feeding off of other peoples creativity in the past. If someone is making obscure music (or putting it out) that is only going to appeal to a handful of people then it's unrealistic to believe that that person is going to be able to make a living out of it... obviously some people have and do, but they're generally the innovators...

[ghostofaninja]

Black Classical - Interview

I am lucky enough to get sent a lot of abandoned music, alternate takes and unreleased projects by Black Classical. I caught up with him for more information on his productions.

You have told me in the past that a lot of your productions happen either on your daily commute or during the night when you should be sleeping. Escaping the mundane daily grind eh?

Yeah its something to do if Northern Rail put trains on with a table! That's not very often and they are bloody noisy machines anyway so its mainly sketching stuff out. As for sleeping, haha, yes I suffer from insomnia so making little musical doodles is a good thing for me to do.

Speaking of doodles, checking my iTunes library I have over eighty of your tracks so you are undoubtedly prolific! How long have you been producing now?

Hmmmm, a long time! Ever since I was a kid, maybe 1984/5? I used various bits of kit that where begged, borrowed or stolen. Christ, that long?!? For every 50 bits I start there tends to be one that might make it past the 3 minute mark. Most of it tends to be quite adhoc and never gets finished, either because I get bored or I have another idea to try. There is plenty of digital debris on my hard drives. Occasionally I find the odd track by serendipity and take it further but then the same process happens! I get bored or move onto something else… bit of a weakness really. Maybe, dunno.

Bandcamp has made it really easy for artists to set up shop and get their material heard. There is also a wealth of small independent labels getting really creative with physical product. Your recent Analog project is a great example of this, could you please tell us a bit about that?

I'd already made some stuff for Open Sussex, a collection of Erik Satie piano pieces with orchestration, so it was easy to work with his label, Pathmusick. The Analog LP was put together earlier this year with Matt Bower. We basically spent a couple of months writing loads of doodles and passed them backwards and forwards. We then edited each others work and compiled what we thought were all the best bits together. There wasn't any plan or anything like that, the whole process was quite organic. I love Matt to bits and we work really well together, he gets me and vice versa, so to be honest it was a really easy thing to do.

Much of my material on there was made with custom built instruments in Reaktor. I've spent the last 10 years building them up, mainly because the VST's didn't make the sounds I wanted them to. I'm still not sure I have done that but I do think it sounds unique.

You are known as being one of the biggest collectors of Spirtual Jazz and your DJ sets have turned me onto some amazing music that I previously knew nothing about. I understand that is something you now want to walk away from. What's next for Black Classical?

Yes, there is too much of that stuff going on now. All of a sudden its very much back in vogue and everyone is a Jazz expert. What that actually means is there are a lot of self proclaimed “crate diggers” whose skills are limited to what a Google blog / YouTube search will throw up.

I find it very sad to be honest because these charlatans are jumping on a bandwagon wanting to find some sort of online glory or fame. They actually don't care for the music and it just winds me up. It shouldn’t but it does. I'd much rather distance myself from it. The whole reason I started posting jazz mixes online was because friends used to say I should to educate people in this music because no-one else was.

Links: Bandcamp / Twitter

[ghostofaninja]

Tommaso Cappellato - Interview

Cheers Tommaso for talking to us! Would you like to tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Hello Dave and thank you for reaching out for this interview. I’m originally from Padova, Italy, not far from Venice. My main instrument is the drums and I have a passion for the piano. Right after high school I moved to New York to study jazz (attending the New School University) and get some real experiences with the masters. After spending 9 years there I started moving around to explore other countries for musical and personal purposes, something I still do to this very day. Currently I play drums with my own groups and as a sideman, I compose, produce albums and love to select vinyl records for people. I perform anything that goes from traditional jazz to Detroit techno.

Music has taken you to many places around the world, where do you call home?

Italy and New York.

I guess your travels serve as a constant stream of inspiration, how does this impact your songwriting?

Traveling, meeting people and finding out about particular geo-politics in different countries is the best way to understand culture, philosophy and spirituality. As a consequence all these experiences and impressions become a huge source of inspiration for anything that is to come in someone’s artistic activity. Lately I’ve been working a lot in the middle-east, a territory that has been facing hardship for a very long time. People there are big dreamers and work very hard at whatever they do, eventually excelling and succeeding around the world. Going there is teaching me big lessons.

Cosm'ethic by Tommaso Cappellato

With all these influences what do you listen to when you're not working?

Anything from the past and present in any style of music that contains elements of vision, utopia, originality, sexuality and romance.

One thing we love about your music is its diversity. What project have you enjoyed the most?

Usually the one I’m currently involved in but I could name a few sideman projects that were fundamental for my musical growth: “Trio65”, a jazz piano trio performing nightly atop the Rockefeller Center in NYC for the 2 years preceding 9/11; Yah Supreme & Brohemian, a Brooklyn-based atmospheric hip-hop collective serving as drummer, producer and musical director; my musical partnership with vibraphone virtuoso and member of “Groove Collective” plus “Jazz Passengers” Bill Ware; recording original music in Senegal, Africa for a month and a half with local musicians; the cosmic-techno ensemble “Upperground Orchestra” led by Rabih Beaini (formerly known as Morphosis) and the many collaborations with jazz greats, for example saxophonist Michael Blake, clarinetist Don Byron and the legendary Harry Whitaker.

Harry Whitaker eh? A highlight for me has to be your "Astral Travel" project where you covered his Black Renaissance material, spiritual jazz is becoming increasingly relevant to me as I get older and the world changes. How do you see jazz in 2015?

I feel really positive about it as I see more and more projects giving music a chance to say something deeper other than just showing off a musician’s skills. It has happened in the past where music had an important role as a message to uplift people’s spirits. Now more than ever we need to concentrate on our strengths and positivity. Human beings need to understand that we can change our reality for the positive if our consciousness goes towards the same direction as a collective. That’s why rather than complaining we must be constructive and foresee a better future for ourselves. Music can be a great vessel for that and I hope that more and more artists realise it.

The recent LP by Kamasi Washington is a great example of spiritual jazz being widely accepted by traditional electronic music fans, does this surprise you?

Not at all, each style of music can only go so far on its own and now more than ever electronic musicians, who have the most influence on larger audiences, are giving the proper space to what came before and influenced what we hear today. I highly respect and admire Flying Lotus for giving so much attention and creating a deeper knowledge about such music to his audience, and big up to Kamasi Washington and his musicians for such dedication and vision!

Can you recommend me a couple of LP's to check and in a few words why?

One would be Toninho Horta’s “Terra dos Passaros” a 1980 Brazilian cosmic jazz album containing lush songs with dream-like textures of guitar, strings, percussion, vocals and synths. An album I’ve been listening to a lot lately is Taylor McFerrin’s “Early Riser”, I truly think he accomplished the perfect balance between present and past with much beautiful taste. Another Brainfeeder hole-in-one!

What can we expect from you next, haven't you just finished a new LP?

Yes I have. It started out as a study for my new solo live performance where I wanted to add more sounds other than just drums or percussion. I borrowed a few analog synths and some effects from friends and began recording everything I was experimenting with. After a few months I had recorded about 70 sessions. I picked 9 to post produce and collected them for an album. I had a lot of fun playing and recording everything myself. There are 3 vocal features by drum legend (also my former teacher) Victor Lewis and singers Nia Andrews and Dulcinea Detwah. Final mixes were done in two phases by sound engineer Max Trisotto and DJ/producer Donato Dozzy. The project is called “Aforemention”. It’s a blend of experimental afro-futuristic and neo-soul sounds and I’m currently negotiating with different labels for an upcoming release.

Sounds great man, before we go how can people connect with you?

Cheers, here’s a few links:

http://tommasocappellato.com http://facebook.com/tommasocappellatomusic http://twitter.com/tommycappellato http://youtube.com/user/falloubackrecords http://soundcloud.com/tommasocappellato http://tommasocappellato.bandcamp.com http://instagram.com/tommasocappellato

[ghostofaninja]

Altered Soul Experiment - Interview

Its rare that a new label makes you sit up and take notice with their first release but thats exactly what the guys at The Altered Soul Experiment have managed to do. We caught up to get more info on this exciting project centered around physical mixtapes released on cassette.

What is the Altered Soul Experiment?

The original idea for the label came about in a moment of deep frustration with friends here in Berlin. We had these little events called The Altered Soul Experiment where we would avoid playing the generic electronic music you normally hear and focus on jazz, funk and soul instead. We didn't really get the chance to push it forward due to it being difficult to find a club with a decent sound system willing to give you the freedom needed to built something meaningful. We decided to keep that same ethos but around a label instead so we could push what we think deserves more attention.

Can you please tell us a little bit about your first release?

Yeah, its a 90 minute mixtape put together by Volcov and is available now on chrome cassette. We are trying to focus on the DJ's, producers and selectors we love and who we feel constantly inspired by. Enrico has always been someone we look up to whether its his curation, music, label or DJ sets. I met him in Berlin last year (special mention to Yuval for the introduction) and since then we knew we wanted to open the series with one of his mixes. He sent us a 90 minute blend of smooth and groovy 80's boogie as a follow up to his classic VSV mix released on CD a few years back.

A lot of people were involved in the production of this tape, how did you go about putting it all together? Its great to see a DJ set actually being released on cassette!

The label is run exclusively by Aurelien and myself. We share all the tasks and decide together who we are gonna put out. We try to connect with artists through mutual friends avoiding being another lost request in a full mailbox. The process is in theory quite straight forward once we have the music and artwork. With that said, it took us a while getting this one sorted as we wanted to duplicate everything on Chrome tape and that turned out to be a nightmare going back and forth with the company.

Do you miss the days of pre-internet mixes? CD's or tapes are way more appealing that Soundcloud links eh?

Yes! Mixes have definately lost a little bit of character over the years. The quantity available online is overwhelming and I feel that physical mixes kinda lost their value as CD is a bit of an odd media nowadays. The fact that everyone consumes so many mixes on the internet regardless of quality is an issue we tried to tackle by releasing this on a physical format. Even an amazing set wouldn't stand the test of time online if released today, people would talk about it for a few days and then move on to the next one. With cassette you have to make more effort to get it and then play it so you probably make sure to listen that little bit more carefully.

Some sets manage to capture a time or movement perfectly, I still play Rebel Soul From A Deep Galaxy mixed by Domu and Volcov back in 2003 as it is a great representation of the whole Co-Op philosophy. What are some of your favourite mixes or DJ sets?

That is a really good example as on top of being amazing sets (I'm also a big fan of the Co-Op period) they epitomise an era perfectly. I don't listen to a lot of mixes online anymore but in the past couple of years I can say that Volcov's Terraforma and Plastic People sets were true inspiration. I've also enjoyed Hunee's LN-CC podcast, especially as it got me looking for a couple of records for quite a while. One thing I always go back to are the mixes on Independent Movement - you can spend weeks looking for records played on those mixes.

What else do you have planned for A.S.E?

We are planning to release 2 or 3 more tapes before the end of the year, we just need to find another duplication company as the one we went through the first time was an absolute nightmare. We are still curating upcoming projects and we continue to get in touch with people from all backgrounds but our second tape should be ready just after the Summer. We aim to spread more good music and re-invest all profits (as if you would make any selling tapes! Haha!) into different projects for the label.

Links: Soundcloud / Store

[ghostofaninja]

Greg Foat - Interview

With the release of the fourth album by The Greg Foat Group imminent we had a little chat with its leader to talk about the writing process and working with Jazzman Records.

How many people are in your group and how did you all meet?

The group consists of musicians I have met over the years. There's always new musicians and old friends on every album.

Your music has been called both cosmic and spiritual, how would you explain it?

I'm just making records I like. I have heard people describe my music as sci fi jazz or psychedelic jazz but I am conscious not to be pigeon holed. I try to make every album different and not repeat myself. I think it's because I want to make concept albums so they have a story and identity rather than just record endless choruses and solos which to my ears gets boring and repetitive.

Since your debut LP in 2011 you've released a further three albums, can you explain to us a little about the writing and recording process? It's very rare to hear groups keep up the high quality like you guys have.

The writing and recording process is a mix of ideas and motifs I've been working on, sometimes the best stuff is written on the spot in the studio.

Was there any pressure recording Girl And The Robot With Flowers after the positive reaction your debut Dark Is The Sun received?

I don't remember pressure. Obviously I wanted it to be as good if not better than the first album. I was also pretty heart broken about splitting up from my ex girlfriend at the time so the whole album is tinged with that I guess.

Girl And Robot With Flowers by The Greg Foat Group

Jazzman Records clearly believe in you, how did your relationship with the label begin?

I have known Gerald for 16 years. I used to work for him selling records at Camden Market. When I recorded Dark Is The Sun I sent it to him and he loved it so much he wanted to release it. We haven't looked back since!

Your latest LP The Dancers At The End Of Time was recorded in an ancient church with vintage equipment, is the process as important as the song writing?

Yes. It's all about Mattias Glava. His knowledge and sound craft makes every album sound great.

Who's idea were the 10 mins of beautiful wave sounds that close the album?

It was my idea obviously! That's the sound of the waves at Rocken End, the beach in Niton.

The attention to detail of the recording process also applies to the cover design. The effort that has gone into the vinyl packaging is akin to 70's jazz or prog rock LP's, is keeping that spirit alive important to you?

I just want to make something that I'm proud of. The packaging and artwork are important because I want it to reflect the music. I am lucky that I have such an input into the record sleeve design. That's a benefit of working with Jazzman, I'm sure I wouldn't have such artistic freedom with a bigger label.

How do you feel about digital or streaming services?

They don't provide enough revenue. No one is making money from selling music via streaming except the streaming companies. Spotify for example have nice big offices and the owner is a multi-millionaire. Why? That's basically because they're exploiting a massive lag in online copyright laws. Streaming a song should pay 100 times more than it currently does. These companies are getting rich by ripping off musicians and that is not right.

Will the band be doing any live shows to promote the album?

No gigs planned at the moment. I'm waiting for my U.S artists visa so I can go to America and play out there.

What's next for the band?

We've still got some unreleased music to put out later this year and I'm planning a new album for next year!

Links: Bandcamp / Facebook

[ghostofaninja]

Ethan Hull - Interview and Mix

Ethan Hull just supplied one of the greatest mixes we have heard on Beyond Sector 12/12, we spent a few minutes chatting about the selection and his amazing record collection . . .

Tell us something about yourself and the mix you've recorded...

I'm a DJ and collector of all things analog and obscure. To me music is a daily adventure to learn, explore, and challenge yourself to find something new and unknown. The mix I recorded is truly made from records that I have cluttering my DJ area. Records that I'm not ready to file away for whatever reason. I just hit record and let it flow. As a DJ this is fun to do. Not overthink it too much. Just start playing and see where it goes. So that's what your hearing. Something off the cuff and spontaneous.

Wow! Was it really improvised? It flows effortlessly. Can you pick out a couple of your favourite tracks from the mix?

Thanks so much. Yeah it was totally improvised. You can probably hear that in a few spots but again it's fun to let the music flow. I would have to say one of my favorite songs from the mix at this time is the last song on the mix, "Flying Saucers" by Captain Torkive. That song has such a beautiful feeling to it. Incredible bass that carries it along and lighter cosmic textures on top. An all around perfect tune. Eddie Hooper's "Tomorrow's Sun" is also a beautiful stepper of a tune. Perfect any time, day or night.

Some library records exchange hands for large sums of cash, can you give us an insight into this tight knit world of collectors and do you have any tips/labels for people on a budget?

The library community certainly is a fairly tight knit community for the most part though the past couple of years it seems to be getting much more popular. Some records are starting to exchange hands for really extreme prices. "Zoo Folle" by Giuliano Sorgini is one that comes to mind immediately. Like a lot of other people I was first exposed to Italian and European library music by the Easy Tempo series in the late 90's. The overall mood and slickness of the music really stuck with me. It has now grown into a full obsession. I have a great deal of contacts in Europe that help to connect me to the sellers and dealers of these albums. It is definitely a community all it's own.

My tips for buying on a budget would be to check out some of the labels that are doing straight repress' of some of the classics like Lorenzo's Sonor Music Editions. Hands down he is putting out some of the best stuff there is. He just re released Puccio Roelens "Research For Sound" which is from front to back an absolutely incredible record. Also Marco Dubba's Cinedelic imprint has made a huge comeback lately.

Really impressed with those reissues which truthfully, I don't buy many of as far as library LP’s go. Other than that for originals check out some of the Bruton library LP’s. There are a bunch of good cheapies in that series. I'm still missing quite a few of those myself.

I think I'll make do without the "Zoo Folle" after checking it on Discogs! I first heard about you after I stumbled across one of your mixes on Soundcloud. Can you tell us about Rendezvous and the horror connection? I've always been interested in Italian Horror but never an obsessive, any recommendations apart from the obvious?

Rendezvous is a monthly night that takes place the second Friday of every month at the Hyperion Tavern in Los Angeles.  Rendezvous was started about 6 and a half years ago by Alfonso Carrillo and the idea was to combine music and film together.  Play soundtracks and library records, show obscure films, and celebrate the great culture behind Cinema.  I was asked to DJ the night a few years back and was blown away by what this group of people were doing. 

Everyone is truly passionate about the music and films and very welcoming to anyone that comes.  They have created something that is completely unique and very different than anything else going on in L.A. nightlife.  As far as the horror connection goes I know that Alfonso loves those films.  Horror is something that brings about strong emotions.  Most people will either love it or hate it.  People that love horror movies have a ton of passion for it.  Alfonso has that passion so I can only assume that giving Rendezvous that horror theme was only natural.  The night is also sponsored by the best soundtrack label out there Death Waltz.  Finders Keepers Records, Severin Films, and Mondo Macabro are also sponsors.

My recommendations for some great Italian horror films would be Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace which has one of the best giallo killers ever.  The film also has a great psychedelic look to it.  Andrea Bianchi’s Burial Ground is another one.  Here we have very resourceful zombies crashing a group of jet-setters weekend. If you haven’t seen Pieces then do that immediately.  It’s actually Spanish and was directed by  Juan Piquer Simón.  This is the greatest Grindhouse movie ever made in my opinion.  I can watch this film over and over again.

For more mixes follow Ethan here: https://soundcloud.com/lethalethan

[ghostofaninja]

Teotima Ensemble - Interview

Undoubtedly one of my favourite jazz albums from recent years is Counting The Ways by Teotima Ensemble. I was lucky enough to catch up with Greg Sanders from the band to discuss the LP, Kickstarter and cooking.

Stream my favourite track “Gloves Off” and find out more about the band and this excellent project below.

Could you please tell us a bit about the Teotima Ensemble and how you got this 14 man unit together?

The musicians are all people that I’ve known for quite a few years through doing music in London - either through playing in the same bands - bands such as Ruby and The Vines, Wara and FUR or just through meeting each other repeatedly at different gigs - mutual friends, seeing each other’s bands such as United Vibrations etc. Some of the musicians are people I’ve been playing with in one form or another since we were 12 / 13 years old!

In terms of getting the project together, it was done step-by-step. The first step was writing one tune (Counting The Ways), and getting together first with Fabio one of the percussionists to check how it came across to him, then with Ellie the singer to do the same thing, then with a group of drums, percussion, bass, keys, vocals & guitar to see how it felt to actually play it all the way through as a song, and then finally with a full ensemble including horns & strings, just at a rehearsal. The idea was to play that one song all the way through with all the instruments at a rehearsal, and then if it felt good to everyone - I would keep writing, and if it didn’t, I’d go back to the drawing board! It felt good and everyone seemed enthusiastic so I finished off a second arrangement (Gloves Off), and the next step was to record them both and use them to try and find a label who might be up for releasing a whole album, if one were to be made!

Quite often projects of this size just don’t make it to fruition, what helped drive this? The logistics must of been a nightmare!

Yes - it was complicated logistically. There isn’t really a special way of doing things like this, I think making something this size happen boils down to planning everything very far in advance and remembering to keep reminding people to reply to your emails and texts! I think it really is as simple as that. And maybe having spreadsheets where you keep a note of who’s replied, who hasn’t, what they’ve said etc! Just admin like in any office or organisation really! That first full-band rehearsal where we played through the song Counting The Ways was on 28th Jan 2012, and I was emailing people to organise it right at the beginning of December 2011.

To me the album is 42 minutes of perfection. I love the way that each track could be a single yet it also works flawlessly as an album. How did you go about the writing process?

The writing process was gradual - the first song was started in August 2011, the last one was finished in March 2013, so the writing was happening whilst I was working with other bands and teaching. When I started thinking about this band, I had clear ideas of the different things I wanted from music at that time, and I wasn’t hearing any music that seemed to combine these different things. That meant I wasn’t really listening to any music for quite a while, or when I did I didn’t find it very satisfying. A friend suggested that if I had clear ideas of what I wanted to hear, and nothing else was providing them - I was in a good position to write the thing I wanted to hear!

These were such things as:

The amazing elegant and deceptively complex grooves of west-african, cuban and Brazilian music.

Powerful and unusual arranging in the style of arrangers such as Gil Evans - whose arrangements have so much identity and character.

Improvisation, but within the forms of strong arrangements - rather than really long solos over a relatively small bit of source material such as in much jazz (although I also love jazz and play that kind of stuff as well!).

A kind of relaxed or soothing / healing character to the music, for want of a better word. Not that I wanted it to sound like ‘post-club classical chill-out’, or whale song, but to have some aspect that would be calming and maybe stress-relieving. So this might have come out through the generally medium-to-slow tempos and danceable grooves. A kind of juxtaposition of melancholy and sadness, joy and something slightly unsettling. A lot of West-African music, particularly from Guinea, I find has that mix, and I find it really beautiful and amazing.

I also wanted each piece to have it’s own distinct identity but for them all to work well as a whole. I started quite a few different things, and then once I had a bit of music that I thought could be developed into a whole tune, I did that! I also enlisted the help of a couple of other people in the group - Nick Sigsworth one of the violin players wrote the string parts for Darbari (which are amazing). Ellie Rose Rusbridge and I wrote the song Orange Lamps together through a kind of back and forth process - she wrote the song using some chord progressions I put together, and then I wrote the arrangement around her song, checking it with her bit by bit.

The LP is very emotionally charged, full of character and vivid imagery. Was its creation painstaking or did it come naturally?

I’m not sure if I can remember very accurately - I think the answer is both! The source material for each tune - the bit of music I had to start off with, was usually something that had come naturally or had come out of just playing around, not always necessarily trying to write. The painstaking part was writing the arrangements and actually finishing the tunes - it’s one thing to have a cool idea, but another thing to turn the cool idea into something with strucure, a good beginning, a good ending, etc! And when you know you’re going to have 14/15 musicians playing what you’ve written, I think you take a lot of care to try and make sure that every single note you’ve written for every single musician is the best possible thing you could give them to play at that moment, considering all the things that are happening in the tune!

Obviously with something like that there’s never any single definitive best arrangement, I suppose there’s an infinite number of best solutions, but also an infinite number of rubbish ones, so you want to make sure you’ve arrived at one of the best ones!

The stand out track for me is Gloves Off, what was the inspiration behind this one?

The source material, or first bit of music, for this one was the main bass line, the line that starts at 00:57 and comes back in various forms at different points in the song. That bass line came in to my head when I was singing 'Crazy In Love’ by Beyonce to myself, whilst cycling home from a friend’s house late at night. At first I used the bass line to write a kind of simple jazz-groove tune to play at function gigs etc - something that people could dance to but that we the musicians could also use as a starting point for improvising. At this point the tune basically just consisted of that bass line, and the melody that comes in at 1:19.

When I started thinking of this band, I thought that that bass line and melody were strong material, and might be a good thing to use to try and write a longer, fuller piece. Then when thinking about structure, I thought about trying to write something using quite a standard structure in classical music which is basically - first theme, variations on first theme, second theme, variations on second theme, first and second theme together.

This is more or less the structure of the tune, although with some extra bits and bobs along the way.

This project was helped financially via Kickstarter, more and more productions seem to be funded that way, do you see this as an important tool to getting projects like this off the ground?

Definitely for me! I’m not sure this would have happened without Kickstarter. There are still quite a few arts grants available in the UK for various things, but at the stage I was at (two songs recorded, no live performances, nothing released) it can be quite difficult to successfully apply for funding of the amounts needed to do something like this - for example to spend a week in a studio recording 15 musicians live to tape!

You wouldn’t have been able to use Kickstarter five or ten years ago, is this a sign that the traditional record label is dead?

I’m not sure - to me it doesn’t seem like the traditional record label is dead - but that might depend on my definition of a traditional record label. To me a traditional record label is a company that makes a huge profit margin on a tiny percentage of it’s products, (it just so happens that the product is audio recordings) and loses money on everything else! I think that’s still what happens with the major labels - perhaps what’s changed is the willingness of record companies to take risks when investing in new artists. As far as I can tell that almost doesn’t happen any more - by this I mean any new artist that has significant financial backing from a record label, the kind of amounts necessary to push them into a level of popularity where they can actually make a living solely from that one musical project, is usually one that sounds very similar to most other things that are being released and making that kind of money! Labels feel less and less certain that they might make money on things that sounds noticeably different to anything else! With a few rare exceptions . . .

One of your incentives in the Kickstarter project was to cook the pledger a feast of foods from around the world, does the fusion that runs through your music also run through your kitchen?

Haha, I think the answer is yes! I live with 6 other people at the moment and we all love food from all over the world. I think we’ve covered most areas of the globe in our own cooking at one point or another. We also live in an area of London where it’s easy to find ingredients from all over the world, which makes things a bit easier!

What is next for the Teotima Ensemble?

Not sure yet! Hopefully loads of gigs in beautiful sunny corners of the world with delicious local produce! More music will probably come, slowly but surely. I’m having a bit of a rest right now from some of the intense admin and organisational side of things, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I’m back on the treadmill.

As and when there’s enough good new music to record, hopefully we’ll do that! I did an arrangement of a Joni Mitchell song called 'Rainy Night House’ that we played at the Teotima launch gig at Wilton’s Music Hall in December 2013, I’d quite like to record that!

Buy the LP here: Bandcamp

[ghostofaninja]

Christian Prommer - Interview

Hello Christian, first of all thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us today! You have been composing and producing music for the last two decades, how did you start and what drives you to keep writing?

I started playing the drums at the age of 12 and also started to listen/collect records at that same time. This led to making my own music in bands and, when the computers and drum machines made it possible, on my own. There is so much that inspires me every day to write music. It’s like breathing or eating. I just need to do it. There is so much I have not tried yet, thats the strongest drive for me; curiosity. I am very interested in the “decontextualisation” of things in music. Taking ideas from one place to a different one. My main method of doing that is through sampling or recording in different locations.

During this time you have worked with a wide range of diverse artists from Carl Craig to Incognito, when you collaborate how does the writing process work?

One of the first things you need to find is the voice of the project. The best way to find that is to jam and play without rules. Listen to the other person. I really love to work this way. I try to keep it fresh and interesting by jamming and playing around with unusual ideas as much as I can.

What I love about your music is the fusion of styles. I guess the main example of this would be the Drum Lesson LP where you combined Jazz and Techno, how did this come about and what was the reaction from Josh Wink and Derrick May?

I felt that the energy I get from jazz and Detroit techno are very similar. I played around with the piano chords from Strings Of Life for some time until I had the first version. With the help of great musicians like Roberto Di Gioia and Wolfgang Haffner we recorded the first track. I played it for a while in my DJ Sets and when it got released it worked really well. Derrick May called me up and thanked me . . . that was a great moment of course! Same with Patrick Pulsinger and Masters At Work. Josh Wink liked it, but was not so crazy about the idea of a jazz version at the beginning.

Will there be more Drum Lessons?

Yes. I am pretty excited about this already.

Tell us a bit about your first solo album Ubermood.

This album is the result of a year making music and traveling. All my music projects so far have been collaborations so I took some ÜberMood and the result is my first solo album. I still collaborated with a variety of musicians and singers but I went to a lot of different places for inspiration. Classical, Jazz, Folk, Soul and Club sounds. The record came together very spontaneously at the beginning without a big masterplan. Michael Reinboth of Compost Records got involved early on, that was a great push. We have been working on music projects together for almost 20 years.

When I played the LP I was struck by how rich and crisp it sounded, dynamically and sonically it is amazing, how did you record it?

I recorded it in many different locations including some really great studios in London, Berlin and Munich but also in kitchens, beaches and train stations. I only used my laptop, Logic, Ableton Live and a good microphone. Ableton Live is the best composition tool for me. I never stop playing and improvising with it. I mixed it all inside the box as we call it, when you do it in the computer. For a long time in my career I have used big studios and a lot of gear but for this record I wanted to limit myself to my laptop.

My stand out track from the album is undoubtably Aturo. When it came on I was instantly captivated by how you fused techno with jazz, classical and Phillip Glass style minimalism. What’s the story behind that track?

Happy that you mention this tune. This was my blueprint or benchmark track for the album. Its based on a chord sequence from a Claude Debussy composition. I replayed the piano and Kelvin Sholar played some great piano overdubs on it that gave the track this great live feel. We even recreated the hiss from that old recording and used it as a musical part. The tune stayed with me for a whole year. Always changing and, hopefully, improving. I played this live with my Drumlesson band as well as in my DJ sets and whenever you hear it in a fresh location, you hear something new in the track or feel a different direction.

Where can people find out more about you?

Best at a club or concert when I play live. Thats the direct way. See you there . . .

View upcoming shows on Christians website: christianprommer.com

[ghostofaninja]

Mono Sono - Interview

To celebrate the release of the Cosmos EP by mono_sono we caught up with him to discuss how he started producing and his current inspiration/influences.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

Well, my folks and friends know me as Jarred Parenzee, producer/dj/daydreamer. By day I work at a school theatre fulfilling their sound, lighting and theatre management requirements. We also run an extramural program around that. For fun, there’s food, coffee (at the minute Kenyan and Guatemalan), gifs and general fun stuff.

How did you get started producing music?

Alright, so it all began with a little tape recorder grabbing music off the radio and making mixtapes for myself and friends. I then started recording them into my computer, back then it was all Cool Edit Pro. The first track I made was a remix of Bad Company’s Numbers; well it wasn’t so much a remix, I just added some extra bass as I felt it was lacking (128k MP3). Shortly after I got a copy of FLstudio (then Fruity Loops) and started making beats, that was around 2003/4. I was just making tracks and mixes for my travels at that time until I met my friend Lee-Ursus who brought me out the bedroom and into the hip hop fold. Fast forward a few years and a few hip hop albums that I helped produce with friends and I launched mono_sono.

What message are you trying to relay with the tracks on the EP?

Nothing specific, I’m always imagining a space/location/time where my music could exist whilst I produce. I guess it is always some form of communication.

Cosmos by mono_sono

Can you describe the recording process?

Generally I’ll start by banging in some grooves on my qwerty keyboard, then working it until I’ve got a basis. With Cosmos, I already had an idea of the type of sounds I wanted. Torus was more of a challenge. Once I have a groove I’ll create a few melodies and a couple of passes of automation and then begin the editing process. I’ve only recently got into using my 25 key keyboard for jamming melodies and using my phone and iPad as sound sources; in fact everything is lot more jam and audio based now which is quite exciting (I know, what took me so long?).

What artists do you admire?

First off, Chris Eschaton (Omnimusic), his music is just inspiring; he creates entire worlds with each release and he also put out some of my first releases. In addition to all that he asked me to remix a track of his and has always had faith in my music and my (long) production process.

Jason Os! The mood and atmosphere he creates gets me every time. Drum and Bass perfected. dBridge; for his groove and atmosphere plus his label Exit records for pushing the boundaries of DnB. djrum! The way I channel my influences has changed because of him and lastly, my amen brother/friend, Tehsynes. He’s supported my music right from the start, watch out for some crazy jungle/footwork/DNB he is putting out later this year, trust, as well as everyone I’ve encountered on the Subvert Central forum.

What else helps inspire you?

Mostly my friends and family; there’s also digging for records, making the perfect cup of coffee (fresh beans and aero press), food, books, sneakers and all that cool stuff.

Links: Facebook / Soundcloud / Twitter

[ghostofaninja]

Mattic - Rare and Unreleased (Ghost Of A Ninja Mixtape)

Mattic aka "The Ghost In The Machine" (US & FR) and Shift aka "The Ghost Of A Ninja" (UK) dig deep in the vaults to explore unreleased music from Mattic's studio located in Northern France.

Alongside never before heard solo material the mix also features tracks which have never seen the light of day by "The Others" and "ZKPRZ". On production duties "Madwreck & The Mighty DR" drop a consistently high standard of jazzy and soulful beats that would sit proudly on any top flight hip hop album.

This half hour selection will please fans of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, DJ Premier and Madlib. Highlights of the mix include the penultimate track "Mutations" featuring Marina Quaisse which is reminiscent of The 6th Sense by Common and the Marvin Gaye sampling "Tea With Marvin" with its strong anti boasting message and criticism of modern day artists priorities.

Mattic is currently working on projects with Empire Of Sound, Pitch from The Mouse Outfit, Marina Quaisse and mononome.

Discover more music: soundcloud.com/mattic

"Life Blessings and Creation are never far.....Just Know Where You Are".

[ghostofaninja]

Ross Hillard (Magic Number/Numb Records) - Interview

We were lucky enough to speak to soulful house producer Ross Hillard from Magic Number about his good friend Atjazz, a Broken Beat revival and advice on setting up a label.

Magic Number - That Day (Single) by Magic Number

First things first, would you like to introduce yourselves and explain where you have been the last few years!

Wow, well, where do we start? Magic Number is Ross Hillard and Tom Wardle. I (Ross) am a bass player and song-writer and Tom is a drummer and writer. In terms of where we have been, Tom got married and I set up a couple of companies, one being a studio, which I still run The Paddocks and an audio installation company (building and fitting studios, selling audio equipment and training). We both trained as music teachers. I was until recently Head of music at a school, which is funny for anyone that knows me outside of teaching, especially anyone that knows me as “Atjazz’s” bass player, because Martin and I always try to be as inappropriate as is humanly possible (sorry Kev Beadle) lol.

Basically Tom and I have both been busy doing things that have accidentally taken us away from music so we both recently found our self saying, ‘hang on this isn’t what we signed up for’, it was then we decided to get back into writing. The problem is, as anyone knows who runs their own company or works full time, jobs just eat into your entire life and down time or time to be creative just doesn’t exist. However I have been working hard to get back into music and I am currently in a great position as I have relocated the studio to a site that I own, cutting the overheads to a minimum and allowing us to invest money generated from the studio into things we want, like record promotion, old synthesizers and compressors instead of rent. At the studio we have a really cool old mixing desk that came from Procol Harum and an extension desk that came from Olympic studios, which has consequently had Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling stones record on it. Cutting the overheads means we are able to do really interesting and creative projects with realistic and affordable costs for artists and labels.

We recently had Atjazz at the studio to mix Karizma’s new EP for his Arco label, which was great because Kris is a really nice guy to have around and obviously his music is next level, also with Martin (Atjazz) in the studio it means as well as having a great producer around, its always a laugh and you eat well because he loves to cook. I (Ross) have also been mixing for N’dinga Gaba and his label plus the music he does for DJ Spens Quantize label. The Label ‘NUMB’ is also based at the studio. Obviously having a professional residential studio is the perfect partner for the record label as reducing recording costs allows us to develop artists at a cheaper cost.

How would you describe your music for those who haven't heard a Magic Number release?

I think it wants to be house but I (Ross) write songs, so the songs come before the style. I like the Magic Number stuff because I tend to write serious lyrics, but phrase it so it sounds upbeat and it hopefully comes across as happy. I’m not trying to be clever I just write down beat songs, I’m not really sure why? Tom's music brings it in a little deeper which works really well. We are currently developing a sub project that’s real deep sounding.

The first album ‘That Day’ had lots of Latin influenced house rhythms and a real summery feel, but the actual lyrics reference the day, ‘That Day’ my mother passed away and the fall out of what happened during that period of my life. Something I wouldn’t have got through had it not been for Tom and Martin (Atjazz or Atdad as I knew him then).

Coming Back To Me Part 2 by Magic Number

You work closely with Atjazz how did this relationship come about?

Martin ‘Atjazz’ signed a single after I took him a track to remix. He basically adopted Tom and myself and we have been bumming off him ever since. Lol. In truth he essentially did adopt me (Ross) and I lived with him for about six months while we wrote, mixed and produced the first Magic Number album ‘That Day’. We have been friends ever since. I generally play bass on the ‘Love Soul’ remixes and Martins album stuff. I play bass live for him a lot, which is brilliant. It’s all about having fun and the experience. We try and get as many people as possible to join in along the way. Martin is truly one of our dearest friends and one of the nicest people on the planet. Both Tom and I are doing live stuff with Martin and Karizma for their ‘Exist’ project this year, which will be awesome.

There seems to be a mini broken beat revival at the minute, the Atjazz Astro dub of your track Coming Back To Me is a classic example of the traditional bruk sound returning. How do you feel about this?

It’s cool, we were really into the broken beat thing. I think between Tom and myself we bought every broken beat 12” released at the time and we’ve still got them. It’s not something that we are looking to get back into, maybe the odd track, but having been away from music or at least having music at a distance for a while, it feels like only yesterday to us. So a revival feels a bit too soon.

The current fusion of electronic music seems much more in vogue now than it did back in 1999/2000. Do you think the broken beat sound would stand more of a chance in 2015?

Possibly? I think people take ‘scenes’ far too seriously and this is not necessarily the artist’s. It can be a consequence of the consumer or both. Jazz is a classic example. We love jazz but I think new people (listeners) can be put off by the people involved in the ‘scene’ it’s just all too serious and often comes across as elitist. Who cares what pressing it is or even who played on it or why Miles played something a certain way? (and as I geek and collector, I generally do haha) but people on the outside wanting in don’t know, and why should they? The question should be, is it good? if someone likes the music then lets help them to get into it.

People should just enjoy music for what it is. To us we write songs within dance music. We don’t think about genres or the micro managing of genres, it makes things smaller than they need to be. There’s a place for it all in ‘dance music’. The ‘broken beat’ thing doesn’t need to come back as a scene it should just ‘Exist’ (see what I did their?) within ‘Dance Music’. When Martin sent the ’Astro dub’ we were like, "Yeah that’s cool" and a lot of people have said they like it, which is awesome because it is, but its just great, refreshing dance music.

As you may have noticed from our website we are not taking music too seriously. It’s fun. We are not in it for anything other than to write good music in whatever style/genre it turns out to be.

Magic Number - Turn Back by Magic Number

You run a label called Numb Records, how have you found setting it up in these modern times of digital downloads, reducing profits, streaming sites and online piracy?

It’s me (Ross) that runs Numb and I love it. It’s realistically a little too early to tell how well it is doing. Generally the only thing that gets me down is that no one seems to value music anymore. As a collector I love the physical product, but I also love digital and the infinite possibilities it holds, however, no matter what the format, there is so much value to an album. If you buy an album for £10 it will sit in your car for months getting played over and over. It’s such great value, but people don’t seem to see this anymore because music is available everywhere on the Internet for free. It’s annoying but I can’t see it changing. I am however amazed that the government have watched one of the biggest forms of taxable revenues slip through their fingers, especially in the current economic climate. I understand the ethics and rights issues associated with stopping downloading, but when has any government bothered about ethics and morals? What we have to do as artists and labels is just get on with it. We (the artist) want to write music, if people steal it, then that’s on them.

Ultimately though, as an artist and label I don’t think the consumer is to blame. If Sainsbury’s offered free food, you wouldn’t say no, and then go buy your shopping at Tesco. People that buy music buy it because they understand that artists cannot write music without the revenue form sales and gigs. The problem is that too few people recognize this. On the flip, there are so many positives to the internet, especially the transparency and communication between artist and fan.

For Tom and myself it’s all about writing music, recording, playing live and spending time with people doing what we love.

In terms of the label and setup, it’s been a really enjoyable experience. I have worked for Martin (Atjazz) at Arco so I knew a little and unfortunately for Martin I bug him a lot of the time but it brightens up the day and gives me my daily dose of weirdness. Yesterday I called Martin on Skype about the promotion for ‘Coming Back To Me’ Pt2. He had set up a lamp and talked to me the whole time via shadow puppets he had made with his hands projected on the wall.

Finally, any tips or advice for anyone considering starting up a label or an artist trying to get noticed?

To us it’s all about people. We work with people because we like them. Obviously it’s all about music but good music starts with good people. If I could go back 10 years, I’d take it less seriously and try and be a bit cooler. By ‘less seriously’ I mean worrying about what and how you are perceived, ‘do they like me and my sound?’, ‘am I cool enough’ and so on. Just be yourself it's way more fun.

In terms of starting a label or being an artist it’s simple. You just have to work really hard. The thing that has always amazed me about a lot of people that want to be involved in the music industry is that they seem to think they don’t need to work as hard as people that have ‘normal’ jobs. This is sooooooo wrong. You need to work at least twice as hard, and be eight to ten times more skilled. It’s no longer just about writing a good record then mixing and mastering it. It’s about the graphics/ branding, promotion, social networking. gigging, networking and on and on. We have to wear many hats, and personally we think its great. We are really enjoying it. You have so much control over everything it’s amazing and luckily for us we are surrounded by amazingly talented, hard working individuals like Martin ‘Atjazz’, N’dinga Gaba, Si Tew, Christo and Charles Webster who help us at every turn, make us laugh, cook us food and make us tea.

Perfect.

Links: Bandcamp / Soundcloud

[ghostofaninja]

Classic Albums - Part One

Funki Porcini - Hed Phone Sex

This LP is the epitome of what Ninja Tune stood for in 90's. A true melting pots of sounds that resulted in a heavy dub fuelled trip hop experience blended with a warped sense of humor.

Stand out track: Wicked, Cruel, Nasty and Bad.

Source Direct - Exorcise The Demons

Trademark darkness from the St Albans duo. This LP is loud, offensive and paranoid. Razor sharp breaks and jaw dropping bass take center stage in what is surely the most uncompromising and relentless drum and bass album ever made. Worth noting there is only one remotely light moment on the album, the first half of Love and Hate. Suffice to say it takes a nasty turn.

Stand out track: Concealed Identity.

New Sector Movements - Download This

A genre defining moment for the broken beat scene from one of its pioneers, IG Culture. This LP is as much a classic example of modern jazz fusion as it is a bold and futuristic dance album. This was like nothing I had heard at the time and to this day gets played regularly. The future has never been closer.

Stand out track: Mass Car Raid.