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Having looked at the latest release from the Singularity stable we now have the pleasure of some insightful answers to a few questions we wanted to ask of VOIDLOSS about his latest release & his take on the world of Techno...
2010-10-04@10:42 Having looked at the latest release from the Singularity stable we now have the pleasure of some insightful answers to a few questions we wanted to ask of VOIDLOSS about his latest release & his take on the world of Techno...
I wanted to ask a few questions :
BEN: With this particular release what was your approach to the sound – as in from what emotional perspective did you want to derive your ideas & how were you influenced with regard to the styling of the EP – it seemingly being aimed more purposefully towards a dance-floor audience and yet still incorporating an IDM ideological approach?
VOIDLOSS: Well, I`m trying to move forward with my sound, keep it complex and musical, but still keep it workable on the dance floor and for the DJ. Emotionally I just wanted to bring a wide breadth to the scenarios. Not just the dark side, but the light side as well. I like to play with opposites, juxtaposing rough and smooth, uplifting and harrowing etc. I wouldn`t say this is dark techno. It`s just techno. I`m not sure I am applying an IDM approach really. Intelligent Dance Music, well, that`s techno isn’t it? Or at least it should be.
I`m applying a techno approach, I just want to go forward, try new things, keep playing with abstraction, percussion and melody. IDM has a very different ethic , but I suppose I take the ideas I like from that arena, mainly melody treatments I suppose, and bring them into my own arena. But I could easily say that about all the other music I listen to really.
If anything I am trying to apply a post industrial approach, or something...... I dunno, I just try to make stuff like...like when I listen to stuff and I hear something on the dance floor and I think “wow, what the **** is that?” Or “how the **** did they make that?” That`s what I`m trying to do... To always try to have that element somewhere. An element of surprise. THAT’s techno to me. Standing out rather than fitting in. With this EP I was attempting to make the beats more overt, stronger. And I wanted to play with a lot more background subtlety. I really did a lot of complex sequencing/programming but tried to keep it subtle, not overpowering. There are a lot of changes that go on that you might not notice immediately but hopefully they will be the things that come out to people on a sound system.
BEN: Your music would go very well in some of the games that have been developed, such as Silent Hill & Resident Evil and also with your tracks having such a cinematic feel to them they would sit nicely within the sound design for cult movies and concept art films – have you ever considered steering your musical career towards this activity and have you been approached at all regarding writing for a film score or the like??
VOIDLOSS: Yeah I have some good contacts in this area now and I am waiting for a good project to come along. But musically I think it will be much harder work, more complexities are involved with scoring.
I`ve considered also going for gaming stuff but I still need a more diverse portfolio as I would be more interested in doing more varied music in this area rather than just techno, so I still have to build a body of work.
I`m still working on an album which has no considerations for DJ`s at all, it`s just music, some has beats, some not, but it is taking a long time as the music has to be more pure, it has to stand up to more scrutiny rather than just being part of a DJ mix, so progress is slow. I`m doing a lot of purely orchestral stuff for this as well and unless I am really feeling something strongly I just can`t progress. I think I am more interested in moving into just music. Like doing a gig that isn`t in a night club, just a gig for music, where it doesn`t have to be just dance tracks, rather than soundtrack work where the audio plays second fiddle to visuals.
BEN: I understand that you have been busy running your very own mastering studio for the past year or so by the name of Black Monolith – and I have listened to some of the work you have done on behalf of other artists and I must say that the end product is quite luxurious, for want of a better word, ummm -there seems to be a perceptible liquid polish on the final master which I can’t quite articulate… So what decisions brought you to this mode of employ &, without giving away any trade secrets, what do you feel gives your mastering productions that special edge as I have mentioned??
VOIDLOSS: Well I enjoy the technical side of music. Mixing and mastering and so on it`s quite cathartic and meditative in some way to work on music by others, where your subjective attachment is removed and you can just work on trying to make something sound as “good” as possible. I enjoy the challenge each mastering job presents as well. I started Black Monolith Studios as I was doing a lot of work helping other producers with their sound and it was just a logical progression. I have spent so long working on my technical skill and knowledge I had to do something else with it apart from making my own music, an I enjoy helping people improving their own work.
As for the polish, some of it may be down to using a reel to reel machine in the process. I use an old valve-state machine so you get the benefits of the zero delay/no pumping of tape compression, plus the flutter that smears the sound which adds to the harmonic depth. On top of that the top end is softened nicely and then the valves add some more warmth. It`s very subtle, I try not to drive it too hard, most of the polish comes in my method of spectral balancing I think, its a good way of filling out the sound without muddying it, and it’s my secret.
BEN: You have been releasing now for some years & have been subject to the machinations of the music industry that have been somewhat questionable from an ethical perspective, and on the other hand have also developed some of the finest of friendships through the business – how would you like to see the next year or so develop, both from the perspective of your own musical aspirations and also the music industry in general, and if you could mention any of the musical genres that you are currently interested in…
VOIDLOSS: Well...
From my own perspective I want to continue to make progress towards music that is unique, something musical and complex, and artistic, but accessible. A mammoth task maybe. I`m going to keep trying to move forward to some area that combines club music and music you would go to a concert to listen to. I`d really like to collaborate with some artists in the next year or so as well. It’s nice to be able to bounce ideas off of people. Musically I`m really into Techno at the moment. There is a lot of interesting stuff popping up on digital labels, very creative and unique. I`m into anything avante garde really, so genre wise it`s impossible to categorise. In electronic music terms I like loads of stuff, but I call it all techno as it seems to share the ethic. There is some great house, dubstep, hip hop, IDM and such that I really like but it all to me, has a techno ethic. Techno isn`t just about 909 (or these days, 808) 4x4 kicks all the time. Most of all I`m into contemporary orchestral stuff really. It`s so pure. Something about orchestral music and the way you can really focus on emotion with it.
As for the industry, I don`t know, I`d like it to be less industry-like. More independant. Digital media is becoming more and more acceptable so this is helping. I think proper techno has gone back underground which I find cool, it might cause some kind of new movement to rise. Something with a little more attitude and depth as things are a little...erm, passive right now, very droning and druggy, not very engaging.
I`d like to see an uprising. More dissent. Rebellion!!. Everything has gotten so.... Business savvy. Everything seems to be aiming at a demographic or a market, it`s all too calculated, stagnant, product. Things feel very soulless at the moment. Music being made purely for popularity, or to get ahead, like people who post daily photo updates of their lives on farcebook, I see this happening musically as well. I`d like more pure intention, more risk taking, more thought, more balls, a lot more people just saying “**** you I’m not doing what everyone else is doing, I’m doing THIS”.
MORE ADVERSITY
MORE CHAOS!!!
Certainly wise words and a very firm opinion being put forward there from which you should procure some thoughts of your own as to the current musical status of the world of Techno & those musical hybrid genres within – revolution might certainly be the key... Look out for Singularity 008 in all of your favourite & top online digital download stores and once I have the link for you to the full length previews I will post it up below...
The new release is here