Question: What first inspired you to create music this way? Answer: When I was 15, I got into a lot of college radio, and I discovered noise and experimental music. That was my eye-opener that anyone could start a band without any traditional musical background.
I then discovered John Oswald and some others that were working with sound collage, and that was interesting to me, because I was always a pop music fan as well. I liked the idea of making something progressive that was also entertaining, because it’s based in pop culture. When I first started doing this, I was much more experimental, but now the shows have become a hybrid between a rock concert and a house party.
Q: How spontaneous are the compositions at each show? A: I use a program that allows me to upload templates that contain hundreds and hundreds of samples. When I perform, I do everything live, so when you hear a change, it’s me muting and unmuting things.
But before the show I rehearse the set, so it’s not necessarily improvised. For me the art is the composition. Q: Have you had to change anything in the production of your shows since crowds have gotten bigger?
A: Basically, the show has always been about me interacting with the crowd. I try to get into the crowd, and I also try to get the crowd on stage. That’s more difficult at the larger level.
Many of these places are bigger than my ideal venue, so I am trying to adapt and include more visuals here and there. Luckily, it’s still been translating well, even with the new, bigger vibe. Q: Do you limit your mash-ups to certain genres?
A: I really sample anything I like. People introduce me to new things all the time. Sometimes it’s just a small drum part or a vocal line.
My whole thing is sometimes I sample things blatantly and sometimes I just sample small parts to almost hide the sample. I’m very open to anything. My work process is just listening to music all the time and using what jumps out at me.
Q: What are some recent favorites that you can’t keep out of your sets? A: As far as older stuff, I’ve been using some Temple of the Dog. I’ve also been doing some of the new 50 Cent and Kanye West records together.
I have been listening to those a lot. Every week it’s different. Q: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever mixed in?
A: These days the basis for me is manipulating familiar sources. In my early work I was more open to sampling obscure sources, but sometimes I’ll still use some weird things. On my second record I sampled the Austrian laptop composer Christian Fennesz.
That was a little bizarre. Jedd Ferris writes for take5. E-mail him at jeddferris@gmail.
com .
News RSS