Some of his music almost approaches D&B / 2-step with his
programming, but he's also into 4/4 stuff and just about everything
in between. Yet he continually makes it all very listenable. And
for what it is, incredibly funky..
I had the opportunity to have dinner with him before he played NZ
recently .
A very giving person . who was willing & eager to take user requests
for ableton live
over a Thai curry. Only 1 hours after giving a two hour workshop on
Live. (which was
really interesting too .. (sales pitch?))
He was saying that Dubstep is the sound that is influencing him at
the moment and his
current meddling are in the area between electronic and these types
of half steps.
I found his live (monodeck) set to be quite remarkable. It was
incredible to see/hear
someone play a dj style set in a live format (if that makes sense).
He was playing tracks like a Dj, picking and choosing what to do
next, but was not
in anyway limited to just nursing the sequencer in its inevitable
program. The feeling
remained like a Dj set, where you felt at any point he could (and
did) choose
to drop it or break it down .etc.
He argues strongly (and proves it live) that the interface is the
future of computer based
music. However he talked a lot about thinking about your set/
interface, creating limitations
and then working with in these parameters.
He felt that in this digital age of possibility, the best results
come from working within a
set of boundaries you make for yourself. ie. 10 buttons, 10 faders,
10 knobs. 10 banks (?)
(Which is the universal success of the Dj medium. bring on Claude
Young!)
..
I did ask him weather he would call his music minimal or techno .. he
didn't really bite
either way and preferred electronic to minimal but admitted n long
term affinity to techno
and Detroit. (telling a great story about sitting next to Mills on a
plane, having no idea who
he was, but being surprised at his knowledge about Detroit techno!)
However it was conversations with monolake that started thoughts
about minimal being a
production technique as much as a genre.
In the regard of setting yourself a framework of limitations and
creating with in that.
Where Dub perhaps was a technique developed as a result of limited
access to gear,
and studio boffins using what they had in new ways.
Minimal is a result of an almost infinite access to options through
software, that is best
managed by develops a self imposed philosophy of limitations.
Obviously technique is no filter for quality. However a technique
might help the music
develop itself and create some direction in a sound. Turning efforts
towards musical
content as opposed to gadget/widget content.
..
I thought monolake and his music was very refreshing. The greatest
aspect of his show
in NZ being that he brought a new audience out to listen to
electronic music. Something
that many recent visits by old masters has failed to do.
It kept me pulsing on the floor, knees up and all that.
I would tender that the relationship between techno and dubstep is in
the production
values of using space & sonic density. There is also a closer BPM
relationship in that
dubstep is nearer to half of techno than half of other breaks styles.
etc
.simon
