Aqosto (Moscow, Russia)
Posted by tipkin
To rephrase (quite drastically) George Orwell: all people are unique, but some people are more unique than others. They don't necessarily stand out from the crowd, in fact most of them are pretty modest and don't like to advertise their uniqueness. This is why I value their acquaintance greatly - they help me look at the world in a different light, through the prism of their talent. Today trippin' the rift is talking to one of those people.
tipkin - Tell us about your project Aqosto and its unique name.
Aqosto - You know, some people ask me how I managed to come up with such original and resonant name. They picture me sitting in an armchair and thinking, what kind of moniker should I pick for myself. No, it doesn't happen like that with me. I noticed that when I'm trying to come up with some title, not a damn thing comes to mind. And with time I cam to realize that the real titles have to find themselves. And that's what happened with Aqosto. One summer I was vacationing at my friend's place, we were sitting around, chatting, listening to music, basically just having a good time. Suddenly my glance fell on the big calendar that was hanging on the front door. It had dates and the name of the current month in different languages. Since it was end of the summer, I noticed the word Agosto, which means "August" in Italian. I changed the second letter, so it would sound somewhat softer and would look prettier in writing and that's how the name for my project was born.
t. - What is music to you - expressing your own thoughts and feelings or trying to evoke those in other people through art?
A. - Expressing my own thoughts and feelings, of course, mainly. But at the same time trying to bring my impressions, emotions, feelings to the listeners through the music. I wish that at least a dozen people find reflections of their soul in my music.
t. - I know that you're very interested in metaphysics and even preach your own philosophy of life. I must say that your views of live are full of optimism while your music belongs to much darker side of the spectrum. How do you explain that?
A. - Well, you're exaggerating a bit with metaphysics and philosophy. It's just every person forms a certain attitude towards life and certain way of thinking, and a lot depends on it. But yes, if analyzed, my views of life are in fact more optimistic than my music (laughs), it's just happens that way for some reason. By the way, some people after listening to my music say that this guy must be a very depressed person. But it's not the case at all. I don't think there are terms in music like grim, depressing, cheerful etc. When creating music, a person is immersed in this particular state that is impossible to compare with anything, it is euphoria and darkness and sadness at the same time. I was interested in creating something slow, dark, for listening in solitude. So the listener would understand something or at least felt something.
t. - So you don't see your music playing in front of the audience? Or live concert is a different story?
A. - I think a live concert is a very different story. It's something unimaginable and you have to present that properly. Generally, I see my music playing in front of the audience, but I feel like my muse isn't ready for that yet, she's very shy and distrustful, you know (laughs). Naturally, to play my music for a pleasant audience is on my wish list.
t. - My favorite tracks of yours have female names – Alison and Melissa. I wonder if those ladies exist in real life and if they know that they have music numbers created after them?
A. - Those are my favorites, too (laughs). No, everything is more abstract with me in that sense, my music in general is one big mysterious abstraction. It would have been too simple if I fell in love with some wonderful girl and dedicated a song to her. Alison, Melissa – they are collective female images, they can be put together from imaginary details as well as real. They are two main heroines of my album that exist in the form of a sound track. Non-material dolls that came to life through my melodies. There are parts of Alison and Melissa in every one of us.
t. - If you would compare your music to a different kind of art, would your tracks be more like paintings or works of literature?
A. - I think my music is more like painting. Literature is more sensible and informative, I guess you could create an abstraction with words as well, but it won't be the same, too specific. Painting is different story. You look at the painting, trying to find the meaning that the author was trying to convey, but then you get lost in your own thoughts, filling the painting with your own meaning. As a result, you see and think whatever you want. I was in Musée d'Orsay in Paris and there I couldn't tear myself away from the impressionist paintings. Every new look at the panting - a new idea, thought, try to guess what the author wanted to convey. This is a great field of creative planes. Our thoughts are so free and vast that one can easily get lost. But maybe there's no meaning in the very search for the meaning? Same thing with my music.
t. - Tell us about your last album – Hibernation. Why did you find the idea of seasonal dormancy so attractive? What was the reaction to the release?
A. - I came up with the concept for this album a long time ago. I wanted to create something mysterious, homogenous, wholesome. So the first track of the album would be the entrance door and the last - the exit door, and everything in-between depends only on the listener. Hibernation – album-dormancy. It's a background for listener's thoughts that I carefully painted. In this album I tried to express feelings and emotions from walking through a big supermarket at night, when there's no one around, from walking in the rain in the evening, etc. Hibernation is the music of emptiness. Empty cafes at night, empty airports, supermarkets. It's this strange feeling inside, when there's you and this place surrounding you, and from non one being around this certain state of lethargy is born. State of unreal. I think I hit the bull's-eye in the sense that if someone would ride an empty bus at night listening to my album, he'll understand what I'm talking about. About reaction. I don't know, it's Russia. There are some good comments, seven hundred downloads on the [torrent] tracker and whole bunch of links in search engine. Some berate, some praise, everything as usual.
Mimi Page: “Music is a wordless language within itself”
Posted by tipkin
She has everything. Beauty, brains, loving fans from all over the world, recognition from critics and about as much talent as you can possibly fit inside one person. People fall in love with her music and want more. And more she gives, and the beautiful flower of her music career is just starting to blossom. Mimi Page just released her outstanding debut LP Breathe Me In recently and is about to embark on her very first solo tour. Trippin' the rift caught up with her to ask a few questions about some things that matter.
tipkin - What was first – music or poetry?
Mimi Page - Music. I started composing instrumental songs on the piano at age 5, long before I could properly read or write. Music is great like that, you don't always need words to describe feelings - music is a wordless language within itself. I got heavy into poetry + prose from the 5th grade and on. I love the English language and playing with words in different styles and forms to describe my feelings. I always thought I'd become either a film composer or a novelist, I never considered merging the two and becoming a songwriter. Discovering amazing songwriters like Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Seal, Trent Reznor and Ani DiFranco in high school really woke me up to the merging of both worlds. Those artists kind of paved the way for my own craft.
t. - Was electronica always a part of your music or was there a transition from “This Piano Girl” to “This Piano + Programming Girl”? You are often classified as “trip-hop singer” – how do you feel about that?
M.P. - I think I have somehow morphed everything I love about each genre of music into my own unique style. Each and every one of my songs take on their own identity depending on their instrumentation and structure. I've been labeled Trip-hop, Dream-pop, Dream-wave, Down-tempo Electronic, Ambient, etc…but you can find traces of Classical, Blues, Jazz, Soul, Rock, Industrial, and World within my melodies and rhythms. "Breathe Me In" (the song) is structured like a Pop song, but uses a lot of Asian instruments giving it a World Music feel. "Gravity" is a Down-tempo Trip-Hop tune influenced by the Blues with its chromatic piano and vocal harmonies. "Black Valentine" has an Industrial feel with it's heavier production and aggressive rhythms. "Jigsaw" is your bare bones piano-girl Acoustic Pop ballad. Songs like "Come What May", "Phenomenon" and "My Vanilla Sky" all have that soothing sound that gives me the "Dream-Pop" title, which is what the majority of my older and newest songs sound like. I generally gravitate towards that ethereal dreamy vibe but if I'm pissed off I'll come out with a "Black Valentine" or "Colorblind" which is awesome because the songs end up being something I can really rock out to. The BPM of my songs tend to fluctuate like my pulse, when I'm relaxed they're chill and down-tempo and when I'm worked up they get faster and louder.
t. - Releasing Breathe Me In was a long journey. Can you share some of the most memorable moments?
M.P. - I finished the majority of this album pulled over on the side of the road at my former night job. I was a delivery driver for a small, privately owned grocery store. In between runs I'd be looping demo tracks in my CD player trying to come up with lyrics and melodies. When the right words would come, I'd pull over and write them down on my iPhone and then sing the melodies into my voice recorder. I finished "Gravity," "Come What May" and "Colorblind" in that delivery car. My favorite memories are when I'd listen to myself on the radio during my night shifts. A few of my songs got picked up by radio and every time I heard "Gravity" or "Come What May" on a bad shift, it would make the nights pass by a lot faster. It gave me hope that I wouldn't be there for the rest of my life.
t. - You have one of the most supportive and dedicated fan bases I’ve ever seen, and you keep in touch with your fans. Is it hard to maintain such relationship as your music becomes more popular? Is there a typical “Mimi Page fan”?
M.P. - I think it's fascinating how diverse the age/gender/race demographic is with my fan base. I've got love from teenagers, senior citizens, and every age in-between. All different types of ethnicities and cultures across the world. There's no "style" of listener, it just seems to be everyone who's discovered me. Maybe it's like the genre thing, I don't fit in one specific demographic, I kind of belong everywhere. The ones who have been following me a while are very dedicated. It's pretty amazing, every day I wake up to these beautiful heartfelt emails and messages from strangers describing how my songs effected them. We're a team in the end, I give to them and they give back to me. When I'm feeling blue I read my messages from them and they keep me going.
t. - Can you tell us a bit about your blog? It seems like it’s a very important part of your life as an artist as well.
M.P. - I'm equal parts composer and writer, when the words fail me I sit at my piano and express what I can't verbally. When the music dries up… I play with words. I write prose whenever I've got a music block so I keep the creativity flowing. I love writing for a music magazine now, it's fun. Lemonade Magazine offered me a monthly column after reading one of my blogs. My writing tends to display more of my humorous and sarcastic side which is absent in my music. My writing and my music are like two different personalities, two different sides of myself.
t. - Let’s talk about your upcoming tour. Who are the lucky ones that will be able to see you live? Are your live shows much different from the sound we hear on the album?
M.P. - I'm super excited about this tour! It'll be very intense for me…as I'm a complete novice when it comes to touring. I'm a slave to the studio, so I can go 14+ hours of nonstop recording, but the traveling and live rush of different faces and places is completely new for me. We've got 9 straight dates, a different city each day and no days off. It'll be really intense but totally amazing at the same time. I think this will be the biggest learning experience of my entire artistic career thus far, and I think it will inspire a ton of new songs from me. As for my live band, we are a trio. I've got my drummer and bassist: Damian Fink and Mehdi Hassine. Not only are they fantastic musicians, they have so much respect for my music and totally bring my recordings to life. They are also fantastic people and I love hanging around them, all 3 of us met in recording engineering school so we're big tech nerds. Aside from being in my band, Damian is the sound engineer for the Jay Leno show and Mehdi is a professor at several different universities. They are both brilliant and inspiring people.
t. - What’s in the future for Mimi Page?
M.P. - So many things! I love collaborating with other artists, and I've got quite a few songs on the verge of being released. I just finished writing a really beautiful song with Bassnectar for his upcoming album VaVa Voom. I'm also wrapping up some awesome collabs with Phrenik, Gladkill, and Kezwik. Warren Huart and I are working on a down-tempo trip-hop cover of Blondie's "Call Me" which is risky because of how awesome the original is, but I love the challenge of taking classic songs in completely new directions. I did that with Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" last year, you can sample those covers on Youtube. Warren is also my co-producer on Breathe Me In and he's currently working on the new Aerosmith record right now which is SO exciting. I LOVE Aerosmith, their classic hits are amazing but my favorite tune of theirs is "Pink" - I've watched that music video a zillion times. As for my own original material, I've got a couple of new tunes which I'll debut on my east coast tour. One of the new tunes is called "Black and Blue" and I think it's my favorite song I've written so far. It's not finished, so you'll only be able to hear the live version, but it will definitely give a taste of what my next record will sound like.
Can hardly wait! I will also have to wait for a while to see Mimi Page live, but if you happen to reside along the East Coast make sure to catch her show - visit www.mimipage.com for dates and also check out her Facebook page for updates and sweet little gifts that she keeps giving to her fans.
THE NEW LAW: “The longer we go without making music, the crazier we get”
Posted by tipkin
A couple of weeks ago I was watching a certain reality TV show about art and artists (not going to say what show it was, but Congratulations, Kymia, I was rooting for you from the beginning!) and looking at the winning artist's exhibit I thought (aloud as usual): "This is the work of a true artist. This person cannot do anything else but this, this is why it's so crazy and so good." This goes for music, too. You can tell right away who does it for money, who does it as a hobby and who cannot live without doing it. And while we may like music created by the first two types of musicians, it's only the third ones who manage to blow our minds. Today trippin' the rift talks to Adam Straney and Justin Neff - two parts of your new favorite band THE NEW LAW.
tipkin - What is it with Seattle and electronic music? I feel like every notable US-based electronica act is from Seattle. Do you feel like there’s a lot of competition around or is there a sense of community?
THE NEW LAW - Seattle is an amazing city for electronic music. There is a huge variety of styles and cultures that are playing and listening to the music. Plus, there isn't much competition here because there are plenty of venues and shows going on most days of the week that cover various genres. Every producer or band here has a different style of music too, so it's not so much of a battle with each other, but a celebration of each individual's sound and style. Most producers we know aren't trying to emulate the hottest trend or style, but are more trying to find themselves in their own music, and by doing that, create their own style. It's more rewarding, and it's fascinating to watch all these artists pave their own path.
t. - You sure do have a very unique and distinguishable style. Was there a “this is it” moment, when you realized that you’re onto something new?
TNL - That's an interesting question. We are still exploring and venturing to find our style. There definitely was a "this is it" moment, but it's hard to pinpoint. I think it reveals itself more and more through time. We feel with each new tune, we've learned something to add on to the next one. We never started this to actually be an official band. Honestly, we got together to get drunk and jam in the garage when we were both in college.
Our first song we ever did was a theme to the movie The Exorcist, and we thought, "Shit, this is pretty epic." It was basically us jamming out on an old Akai synth and some funk breaks, but it had a sinister and raw feel to it that we rarely heard in other beats. Justin played Sax in a funk band at the time as well, so we decided to try that out, and that's where "Deconstructed Funk" came in. When we finished that, we realized we were onto something. So we just started making songs that combined both the elements of synths from the Exorcist song, and the jazz elements of Deconstructed, and make it as tripped out as possible.
However, we can't ignore the fact that we LOVE movie soundtracks and the cinematic feeling we try to reflect in our music. That was definitely always an intention from the start, and it will continue to be as we keep learning and exploring in the studio. Our listeners probably can tell which movies we love.
t. - Congratulations on the new album, it’s fantastic. Were there any particular sources of inspiration for The Fifty Year Storm?
TNL - Thanks so much. It's seriously a blessing to be able to release our music. We never thought we'd be doing this, and here we are on our 3rd album. It's amazing. The main inspiration was to make more music really. We both have day jobs to pay the bills, and our own lives. However, we both are musicians, and have that itch to make music. The longer we go without making music, the crazier we get. We both do this as a sort of escape from the daily routines that everyone gets in their lives. That's the main reason we make music: to escape to a different world. This last album just happens to be the continuing of that escape, which has developed itself into an actual story. It's become its own being in a way, and we're excited to see it grow.
t. - I feel like there’s one continuing story going through all three of your albums. If there’s any truth to that, what do we learn from the new chapter, and does the story end with The Fifty Year Storm?
TNL - You definitely got that right. The first album was more of a bundle of tunes we made. However, once we heard the album and songs all combined, we realized it sounds sort of like a soundtrack for a movie. Then, when the art came in from Seth (Grym), who by the way is one of the most talented designers around, we knew we were on to something. High Noon was then deliberately following the story of the unnamed hero. The basis was the ultimate battle. The ones you see movies build up to: The struggling, outnumbered hero who is up against all odds, and his fight to survive.
Once we covered that part of the story, we wanted the story to continue. However, we couldn't do the same theme, it was already covered. So this next chapter covers the main character leaving the scene after the battle at High Noon, and meeting some other characters who help take him to sea to another world. He learns the way of the sea through the journey, but on the red horizon ahead, there's something brewing. Something dark and sinister, and he's unwillingly heading straight into the storm of it. We love a good story, so why not add one to the music we make? We had another artist and friend (Scott Rickey of sweatshopmade.com) do the artwork for this album to help change the vibe a bit, and we think it came out fantastic. It really portrays the sound of our album through a visual presentation.
t. - I’m sure you gained a whole lot of fans since the release of The New Law back in 2006. Do you feel a lot of anticipation around the new release? What should your fans expect?
TNL - We have, and we love our fans. The great thing about our music is it doesn't exactly fit into any specific genre. And because of that, we have fans of all ages and from all types of cultures around the world, especially Eastern Europe and Russia. Also, we do this all on our own. We release the music ourselves, no label, no manager, nobody but us. So, the fans contact us directly. It's a ton of work, but it's worth it. We've definitely been hearing from our fans that are anticipating the album.
This album is slightly different than the rest, but it continues the story. It's definitely our style of evolving beats and soundscapes, yet it's a bit more deep and flowing, kind of like the waves of the sea. We want to keep making our style of music, but we have to change it up each time in the studio a bit to keep us learning and interested. Also, we change equipment all the time. It helps us evolve, but it also changes the sound and style of the music that comes from it. Adam's already sold and bought a bunch of new gear the last couple months to continue the next chapter.
t. - Even though I wouldn’t call your music “trip-hop”, there are definitely common elements, and you don’t seem to shy away from this tag. What’s your take on trip-hop and its current state?
TNL - To be honest, we don't really consider ourselves "trip-hop". It's just the closest tag we could label our music when we uploaded online. It's definitely trippy, and it has some hop (haha). Trip-hop will always be the '90s for us. It's where it came from, and had the major players of the scene blow up. It was new and fresh, and fit the sound of those times. It's like classic rock. You can play classic rock style today, but it will never be Cream, Led Zeppelin, etc... I hate when people say a certain genre is "dead". It's not dead, it's just not new anymore, and because of that, it's not fresh to listeners looking for the next thing to blow their minds.
With that said, trip-hop helped pave the way to the sounds of now. There are more people making beats than ever before. There are tons of producers and bands making instrumental beats that combine trip-hop, hip-hop, dubstep, dnb, etc... We have so much technology at our hands at a fraction of the price that it cost back when trip-hop was starting out, so we have so many more talented people making music that wouldn't be able to if the price of equipment was the same as 15 years ago. It's great. And the kids making the music now are coming up with new sounds and styles that are blowing our minds. Sure there's a lot of crap to sift through, but there are way more gems to be found if you search hard enough. It's definitely rewarding.
t. - I’d love to see you play live. Is it a possibility?
TNL - Yes. Where do you live? We're wanting to tour, and we have added a new drummer to our live set, so our live show has gotten really fun. We've played a lot of shows around our region, but we want to play everywhere else now. Not having a record label and a manager doing the "non-music" tasks makes it a little harder for us to organize a tour. However, if you're reading this, get in touch with us. We want to tour. We want to do the rest of North America, and Europe/Asia as well due to our large fanbase there. Our fans are spread out across the world, and we want to see all of them.
And we want to see you. In Chicago (where I live), Russia (where half of my readers live) and anywhere you'll go, I'm sure you'll meet a warm supportive crowd.
Let's make THE NEW LAW show in your town happen sooner - go to www.thenewlaw.com and support Adam and Justin with your downloads (you can get the first two albums for free there - just enter "0" for price). And don't forget to spread the word - everyone appreciates a good music recommendation.
Tensei (Chicago, USA)
Posted by tipkin
It's raining Chicago trip-hop projects! Just a little while ago I was a lonely trip-hop soul in Windy City, and then all of a sudden Scarlet Monk appeared with her album, I was finally able to make contact with Atomica Project (them and Scarlet Monk are playing a show in January and I'm definitely going to be there!), and now another Chi-Town duo emerged on the trippin' the rift horizon. Please welcome Tensei, presenting yet another fresh and exciting dimension in what turns out to be a rich world of Chicago electronic music scene.
tipkin - Who are Tensei? How and when did it all start?
Tensei - Meaning ‘heaven star’ in Japanese, Tensei consists of producers Simple X and Midas Wells, kindred spirits of sorts, one might say. Midas from the Chicago suburbs and Simple X from the Chicago south side, the two first met circa 1998 at the dorms of Southern Illinois University during a cypher. Soon, the two were banging out tunes on whatever their limited student resources could afford. However, Tensei’s journey has certainly been anything but linear: post-graduation saw a “regular” job for X and a momentary complete departure from music for Midas.
Then came the serendipitous run in at a mutual friend’s gig a few years ago and Tensei was born. Both committed to their crafts, Tensei does not heavily rely on samples and in fact play many musical parts themselves. Any gaps that need to be filled are done by session musicians and vocalists. An incredible amalgam of soul, house, jazz, electronic, and eastern sounds comes alive.
t. - While Chicago is known for its dance music tradition, it’s not the first (or even second) city that comes to mind when talking about downtempo electronica/trip-hop. Are you hoping to break this stereotype?
T. - While we love our upbeat music, yes we are hoping to break this stereotype by working with LA based super indie label Plug Research.
t. - What are some of your main influences/sources of inspiration?
T. - It’s really hard to list off all of them. But we both started off as golden era hip-hop heads. Digging for samples over the years we both started to get deep into other music such as jazz, soul, library, afrobeat, brazilian funk, and such. We both have extensive record collections that influence us. I would say in the modern era our influences could be seen in The Roots, DJ Shadow, Flying Lotus, Sa Ra Creative Partners, and Pete Rock.
t. - Would you consider yourselves “a trip-hop project”? What’s your take on trip-hop and its current state?
T. - Yes and No. Yes, because we do use many trip-hop-ish music influences by blending hip-hop with other genres. No, because we are not exclusively a trip-hop artist. I would say the state of trip-hop has turned into future beats, i.e. Brainfeeder Crew (LA), Hoya Hoya (UK), a lot of records Alpha Pup dropped. I would say that trip-hop has mutated into such music.
t. - Your music is a combination of samples and instrumentation. What are the most difficult (and most fun) aspects of creating your works?
T. - The most difficult part about making our music is finding vocalists who get what we are trying to do. A lot of times we end up getting vocals that are really heavy in RnB which is not what we are looking for. MC-wise it’s pretty much we want smart dope raps and none of this watered down coonery.
The funnest part is making the music, we literally jam out in our studio and tracks pop out of the blue.
t. - You’ve done a decent amount of remixing. How do you choose songs that you want to remix?
T. - A lot of remixes came about in one of two ways - a trade with an artist or a contest. If someone is paying us, we will remix anything (as long as the OG is NOT terrible), but the contests we choose based on how much exposure we think it will result in. This strategy worked pretty well for us as the Bilal - "Robots" remix leaded to us getting signed by Plug Research.
t. - Let’s talk about your upcoming LP. What’s the concept, what kind of listener do you think will appreciate the album?
T. - Our upcoming album is going to be an experience through life. There is not going to be one genre this fits into, there is a good blend of jazz, funk, soul, electro, and hip-hop in these tunes. We think the trip-hopper will dig it, people who like genuine music will dig it, and also other artists. This one is prolly going to end up as an “artists artist” type of album.
t. - Do you do any live gigs? Where can people find your music?
T. - Midas from the team DJ’s, we are prepping our new live set at the moment. We will let you know when it’s ready to go…
Please do, I like the way Tensei blends those styles into a new vibrant sound. Crazy, but tasteful. Not all of it is downtempo, but does it have to be to be liked by trippin' the rift? You know the answer!
Check out Tensei's music on Soundcloud and Bandcamp and stay tuned for the updates, cuz I'm sure am intending to keep in touch with them.
Anomie Belle: “Everything is always changing”
Posted by tipkin
Photo by Eric Krebs
Anomie Belle does not waste any of her time or talent. Less than two months ago The Crush was released (and my, what a great record that is), but instead of taking a well-deserved break, Anomie Belle dived even deeper into work and in a few days (on December 6th, to be exact) she's releasing a new EP, featuring some very exciting material. I was lucky to snatch a few moments of her time for a quick Q&A for trippin' the rift.
tipkin - First of all, congratulations on the success of The Crush and on the new EP release! You sure keep busy. How did the idea for the EP come around? The timing couldn’t be better – the Occupy movement is fighting the corporate machine as we speak.
Anomie Belle - Yea, the values and critiques that are coming out through Occupy are really exciting to me. It’s inspiring to see the general public talking about the effect of “the corporate machine” on our lives, our culture, our values and our communities. I have long admired the contributions artists have been making to the conversation (I am a huge fan of culture jamming) and am happy to be able to contribute as an artist myself. When Occupy started springing up, Lif and I felt like the match with the track and video we did for "Machine" was really striking. I’d just returned from England having written some new songs with Ian [Pickering] from Sneaker Pimps around similar issues and ideas, so it seemed like a good time to pull these songs together with some of the great remixes I’d had done for The Crush (including an awesome remix of “Machine” by Big Spider’s Back) and put them out.
t. - Most of your fans (myself included) appreciate your adventurousness in terms of genre and style, but I personally did encounter one hardcore trip-hop fan who said after listening to The Crush: “Anomie Belle is dead to me”. And you keep broadening the range with the EP – from “Slither”, which is guaranteed to please any “traditional trip-hop” fan to a bouncy dance remix of “Machine”. Do you like getting your fans out of their comfort zone?
A.B. - In general, I think getting out of our comfort zones in life is an important part of challenging ourselves to be humble, to grow, to broaden our perspectives, and to reconnect to the world outside of ourselves. We want things in life to live in boxes, to be easily identifiable, predictable… not to change. People, ideas, art, our self-identities… The truth is that nothing is fixed. Everything is always changing. For me, it’s about pushing myself where I’m most afraid, challenging myself to confront the areas where I know I have judgments, to grow… This is the spirit in which The Crush was made, so it would make sense if that came through to people in the music.
t. - Let’s talk about “Slither” more. The legendary Sneaker Pimps! Did you know Ian Pickering before? What was it like working with him? Are we going to see more collaborations with him in the future?
A.B. - I loved working with Ian. He is a delightful person – sincere, kind, positive, and with such a genuine spirit of openness in collaboration that made him a real pleasure to work with. Making music with someone can be such a great opportunity to connect. With Ian, we spent several days holed up in a little smoky room in London, bouncing music, lyrics and melodies back and forth, and came out with some material I think we’re both really excited about. "Slither" is the first thing we worked on together, and since it was written over production from Augustus Skinner (who had worked on the Sneaker Pimps Becoming X album years ago), it was easy to finish and release quickly. That said, folks can definitely anticipate more from Ian and I in the future.
t. - Where did the remixes come from? What were the criteria for choosing the right remixes for the EP?
A.B. - Choosing folks to do remixes for The Crush was a lot of fun. In general, I reached out to folks whose music I like. I think Big Spider’s Back did a fantastic job on this remix of "Machine", and I love Tapage’s glitchy programming on the "Electric Lullaby" remix on this EP. Atropolis and Damiak did great remixes of "Inky Drips", and I’ve got a few more remixes on my hands that haven’t been released yet as well… It’s been a cool process because with most of the musicians, I’ve set up trades for the remixes, so now I’m getting to work on a lot of these artists’ material, which has been a ton of fun and will end up resulting in even more new music and collaborations.
t. - Do you want to tell us a bit about the music video for “Machine”? The combination of skater dudes (who are those guys anyway?) and the chess game in scary makeup in front of a fireplace is pretty bizarre!
A.B. - That video was a lot of fun to make. The director, Bogdan Darev, is a wonderfully imaginative person, and he pulled together an incredibly talented, enthusiastic group of folks to make that video. Brendan Flynn did the cinematography, and Matthew Pew grabbed a lot of the shots of the skaters on the ramps. AsMyth came up with the concept and found that great location for us. Jason Singler is the skater you see doing a lot of the really cool jumps and stuff in the video. Liz Krebs did a really epic job with the makeup; that really took things up a notch. Everybody who came out to film that (and it was a pretty big crew) had such positive energy, and we had such a fun time shooting… I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.
The mansion was a crazy cool place to shoot. It’s huge, and it’s actually being rented out by a dozen artists right now, so they were super supportive and into what we were trying to do with the video and the critiques of excess wealth in the song, which was awesome. When we saw the bear rug and marble chess set inside of the living room by the fireplace, we knew we had to incorporate them into that shot. Lif and I got super into embodying the greed and self-interest of the wealthy people we represented, so it was fun going over the top with it. I loved it when Lif knocked down all the chess pieces. That was unexpected and awesome. I had a hard time not smiling on camera when he did it.
t. - Should we expect another LP anytime soon? Or more collaborations perhaps?
A.B. - This is only just the beginning, my friend… In the near future, you can look for me on Yppah’s new album, which will come out on Ninja Tune this spring.
Can't friggin' wait! Yppah! Are you as excited as am right now? You have all the reasons to be. Don't miss the new EP (I already lisened to it, it's awesome, stay tuned for the review), check out the "Machine" music video in my Video Digest and if you haven't listened to The Crush yet... well, it's totally your loss. Just, please, get out of your boxes!
Marilyn Carino (New York, USA)
Posted by tipkin
There are some people with such interesting and rich personalities, that when you find out that they're also extremely talented and create amazing and beautiful things you're not even surprised, you just go, "yeah, that makes sense". It happened the opposite way with Marilyn Carino - first I heard her new beautiful record Little Genius and then I got to ask her a few questions for trippin' the rift. But even when I was listening to her music, I had a feeling that only a truly extraordinary person is capable of producing something that sensual and sincere. See Marilyn's answers below to see for yourself that I was right.
tipkin - To say that your life has been eventful would be not saying much. There are some crazy facts about you posted on your website. Want to share just one story with us to illustrate?
Marilyn Carino - Well, all my strange adventures are loooong stories that just sound surreal to paraphrase! Sometimes I wonder how I survived til now. I consider myself an adventurer – that’s the spirit with which I approach life and enter into every endeavor. And it seems to run in my family in a bizarre way – cousin in the CIA, uncle in the mob, grandmother running off to jet-set with royalty, nobody did anything destructive like abusive behavior or addiction, except I was REALLY into drugs for a while – and I had a great experience! I think making music is my own way to really eat life up – I’d never do sky-diving or climb a mountain, to me that’s just gratuitous risk and a bore. I’m interested in creative adventures – putting your heart and intellect to the test, having faith in your actions when you don’t have all the answers. To me life is all about embracing that risk and encouraging others with your experience. The essence of my music is about that.
t. - Where did the affection for music come from? When did it all start? Can you talk a bit about your country and jazz background?
M.C. - My mother always had music on. Always. A little transistor radio in the kitchen while she cooked, food + music, a deadly combination for an Italian! She loved everything. One of my first memories is Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack” on my mother’s radio. I sang it over and over, I was in a high chair so that’s pretty young. And my dad loved Dixieland jazz, Kid Ory especially – and Eddy Arnold who sang beautifully and also yodeled something fierce! Lots of singers, really high-level: Tony Bennett, Sinatra. He was an older dad and old fashioned to boot. But the music was always great and always on.
t. - Where did the inspiration for lyrics and music come from at the beginning and what keeps inspiring you today?
M.C. - I have been practicing Nichiren Buddhism for a long time, I chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Herbie Hancock, who also practices this Buddhism, spoke to a group of artists at our culture center in New York and what he said affected me profoundly. About artistic inspiration, he said, “When I want inspiration I need to remember that music is what I do – being a human being is what I am. Everything originates from who we are as human beings.” Everything is inspiring if you are able to be sensitive to what the world is telling you and if you have the wisdom and courage to interpret your own feelings about it. So I am always trying to cultivate that insight. I am really proud of my lyrics, and to me each of my songs is a perfect expression, a perfect little question. If I can’t get to that when I’m writing, I have to ask myself what do I need to change or cultivate in myself in order to get to that level of openness and honesty? It’s a process that excites me more than anything. And as long as I’m alive I’ll never be out of ideas and I also know that I will always keep getting better as an artist.
AM444 (Shanghai, China)
Posted by tipkin
Suck on this, all ya'll who ever questioned my taste in music. A little chronology of events: April - yours truly is digging through Bandcamp searching for something good to play on the radio (not the easiest task) and finds this project from Shanghai called AM444. Later the same month - AM444 gives trippin' the rift an interview that sits in yours truly's inbox waiting to be edited due to the author going through all kinds of mini-crises. June - your truly gets an RSS update from the UK's Guardian Music Blog, where in the post 'June's best new music from across the MAP' he finds what? Yep, AM444, which is described as "a jazzy, funked up, dubbed out Chinese language sonic assault and some of the most exciting music to come out of Shanghai in a while"(C) and their debut album Eye Wonder is referred to as "a landmark release for Chinese underground music"(C). 'A landmark release' bitches! And trippin' the rift discovered them first. I should quit my job and go work as a talent scout for EMI. Nah, I'm not gonna do that, I know you'll miss this blog. But enough about myself (really), let's talk about (and with) Jay.Soul and ChaCha (aka AM444):
tipkin - Tell us a little bit about your project. How did you meet, how long ago, what does the name mean?
ChaCha - AM444 is producer Jay.Soul and myself on vocals. We met when Jay first dj-ed at Shelter in early '08. We liked each other's music so we planned to work together back then already.
Jay - Being both busy with a lot of other projects it took a while to actually happen. Last year ChaCha freestyled along with a dj set of my own productions. The vibe was so good, we decided to finally get the ball rolling. The name AM444 is derived from the time in the twilight of the night that ChaCha often noticed on her clock, for example after going out: 4:44am.
tipkin - Why did you choose electronica as your style? You call your music "Electronic Soul", but I couldn't help but see similarities with trip-hop. Do you agree? What is trip-hop to you? What are your music influences?
Jay - We didn't choose any style actually and we think there's quite a wide range of different sounding songs on the CD. We're just trying to create good music. Genres are not important. My background is mostly in hip-hop but also soul, funk, electronic, jazz, reggae, etc.
ChaCha - It's hard to label, but yes a lot of people think it sounds trip-hoppy. I really love trip-hop, but also am into pop, dubstep, reggae, etc. etc.
tipkin - You are the first trip-hop project from China that I've ever heard about. Do you think this certain exotic angle works in your advantage, or do you think it could work against you and that some people may see you just as "this Chinese trip-hop band"? What are your songs about?
ChaCha - We're not worried about that. There's not a lot of artists yet doing similar things so that can also be an advantage. My lyrics are in Mandarin and talk about - of course - emotions and feelings, but usually a bit different from average songs. For example "Eye Wonder" is about most of us having turned into digital zombies, always glued to our screens, iphones etc and spending more time online and less time meeting people face to face.
tipkin - What is electronic music scene like in China? Is it hard to find distribution? Do you play live shows?
Jay - Electronic scene is rapidly developing (as everything else in China...). We've only played a live show as AM444 once so far but are definitely gonna play more. Shanghai just hosted the big Midi Festival ... (previous 10 years in Beijing) and the electronic stage was a massive hit. CD distribution is pretty much non-existent as they're virtually no real cd/record shops. Everything is bootleg.
tipkin - Congratz on the "Eye Wonder" video! Looks great. Do you want to talk about it - what's it about, how was it made?
both - Thanks! See [answer to question] 3. 
We made it with a local film production company who were very interested to make a good music video. We mostly shared the costs and came up with a lot of creative solutions to keep it as affordable as possible. Due to some investor politics, for now we can't disclose their company name. Hopefully this will change soon, because they've put in incredibly long hours and delivered a great video.
tipkin - What are the plans for AM444?
ChaCha - Once we're both available (I just got married and Jay's becoming a father soon) AM444 will tour different cities in China and possibly other Asian countries.
Jay - Also, we'll start recording more material as we both see this as a long-term collaboration.
So, if you're in Asia, you might get lucky and catch AM444's show, if not, check out their trippy video here and their funky album Eye Wonder on Bandcamp.
AM444 - "Eye Wonder"
Djeh – Screenatorium/Asleep We Live/Asa Zen’ Seï (Lyon, France)
Posted by tipkin
Interesting (to me) fact - ever since I started writing this blog probably over 90% of the music I listen to is independent, cherished by a few but not ever seen on TV or heard on the radio or written about in magazines. The funny part is - I don't miss the "Big Music" at all. Sure, sometimes I wish I could join the discussion about the latest release by Those Guys or have some kind of opinion about This Lady's new music video. But I don't miss the quality of it, because my total immersion in the world of independent music opened up exactly that - an entire new world of music. That is just as good, just as exciting, but a helluva lot more free (in every definition of this word) than its spoiled commercial relative. In this world there are projects like Screenatorium, which you would find on many, many trip-hop fans' favorite lists, somewhere in-between Portishead and Bonobo, and yet Screenatorium is as independent as they come. Please welcome Djeh - the man behind the music.
tipkin - At first I wanted to introduce Screenatorium, but when I looked further into the project, I found out that I should really introduce Djeh, because in addition to Screenatorium you work on several acts, all of them more or less related to electronica/trip-hop: No Color, Asleep We Live, Asa Zen’Seï (which I'm not familiar with yet), ... Am I forgetting something? How are all these projects different and how do you find time to work on all of them?
Djeh - Let's start with the most important music project for me: Screenatorium.
I started to make music on my own with this project. Before that, I was playing bass guitar in a few nameless pop-rock bands in Lyon. And when I discovered trip-hop, I was rellay hopin' to make some records with MC and female vocals. So I left my band and started to work alone, searching for some people who'd agreed to work with me a little. Since then I've met so many people who taught me things about their way to make music and tried to understand what I was trying to do. You may know Degiheugi, he's like my sound daddy (laughs). Anyway, actually Screenatorium is not really a band, it's more like a collective project where musicians come and go. I'm still searching for my dream team, which I think I've found for the third upcoming album Flyentists. Future will tell...
No Color is some abstract hip-hop duo I made with a very talented French beatmaker Mobster. Man this guy is amazing, but he's working slower than I am, so that's why we've only released one EP at the time. We're actually working and talking about making some LP, but I really can't say when this will be ready. There's no purpose in No Color, we only like each other's work and try to leave some fingerprints together. I'm really enjoying working on this. And go listen to Mobster's work, he's some dope beatmaker, like I've rarely heard.
Asleep We Live is a pop project I wanted to do when I moved from Lyon to Montpellier, 'cause I though Screenatorium was gonna be on hold, with Nawelle Saïdi (singer) in Paris. I started to search for another voice, and I've met Astrid Van Peeterssen. We did Showmance EP in 3 months, 'cause I was really expecting some quick work. I wanted to do some catchy love songs, which I don't believe is possible with Screenatorium. I'm actually thinking about some Asleep We Live LP, but I think if we make it, there will only be one, cause I really started this with a side project idea. Actually, Astrid is working with us on Screenatorium and Asa Zen' Seï too.
Finally Asa Zen'Seï was my former dub band when I was a teenager. We were three at the time: Mote (saxophone player on Screenatorium's album Audimat), Bice and me. When I moved to Lyon they made some 5 track EP without me, and then nothing for 6 years. I've finally found Bice again, and we talked a lot about music and stuff, so we decided to make music again together. Mote is no longer playing with us due to different way of living. People change heh?
I think AZS is like Screenatorium, more of a musical project than a real band in fact. We're actually mixing our (second) first EP, with Astrid singing and some talented piano player. Release in 2011... let's pray! (laughs)
Ночная Жизнь Наших Книг (Nightlife Of Our Books) (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia)
Posted by tipkin
To be honest, when I first started listening to Ночная Жизнь Наших Книг (Nightlife Of Our Books), my hand instinctively went to the STOP button. "Eh, another amateur crap," - I thought, - "another inarticulate self-indulgent mumbling on top of handicraft almost-music". But something stopped my hand, some unknown energy, or actually very well known - the energy of NOOB's music. The more I listened, the more its mysterious atmosphere filled me, the more I understood how terribly wrong my first impression really was. If there is an indulgence in their work, it isn't in any way "self-" - it's indulgence in poetry, in the surrounding world in its every manifestation, and in people - which is an especially strange phenomenon. And the minimalism in the arrangements is actually very subtle and thoughtful - instruments are not dominating or submitting to vocals, but carry on a live and harmonious dialog. NOOB's music reminded me, an early 90's kid, of that "Russian rock" which is so trendy to dump all kinds of crap on nowadays, but which, despite its technical imperfections had a soul and desire to actually say something rather than make a quick buck with a loud hit. I asked the guys a few questions about their project.
tipkin - As usual let's start with a bio - who are you, where are you from and where did such name come from?
NOOB - In English language there is a word 'Serendipity'. One of its definitions is "discovery made without deliberate actions". This exact word perfectly describes the formation and development of Nightlife Of Our Books. But if you want to go into details, it all began in a provincial town Kstovo on the Volga river, when certain multi-instrumentalist Daniil Rubtsov (Даниил Рубцов) one day invited his friend, an aspiring guitarist and poet Roman Bizyaev (Роман Бизяев), to just for the sake of it try and experiment with recording some ambient music at home, just for themselves. Then the name came about. Have you ever fantasized about what the characters of your favorite books are up to when you ignore their drama and/or happiness filled lives? And then there was a show of the band Записки Неизвестного (Notes Of an Unknown). They left a deep impression in guys' minds and they decided to just for the sake of it, for themselves, try to work in the genre of abstract hip-hop. The recipe turned out to be simple - guys just combined the accumulated Daniil's keyboard pieces and Roman's poetic exercises, simply laying them on top of uncomplicated trop-hop betas. This is exactly how in the course of a few weeks 11 songs were recorded, that together make one story called Твоя Ночь. Моё Утро (Your Night. My Day). After we uploaded the first album on the internet, the duo was joined by their friend Roman Beloglazov (Роман Белоглазов), who became a permanent member of the group. In this exact lineup - Daniil, Roman and Roman, based on the good and bad sides of the first album, guys started recording their second album Жизнь Есть (Life Is).
t. - Even based on online comments I can see that you're being categorized as trip-hop "just because". What is trip-hop to you and is the genre identification of any importance to you at all?
NOOB - NOOB never defined themselves as any kind of genre. It isn't an attempt to escape everything old and reinvent the wheel, it's just no one ever really thought hard about (other than times when we had to submit the album to websites and online forums).
But trip-hop had a very serious influence on all of us, especially such projects as Portishead, Arms And Sleepers and Tricky. By the way, "just because" NOOB is also being categorized as post-rock (it's hard to overvalue the influence of the Icelanders Sigur Ros on us) and abstract hip-hop (it sure is hard to compare Bizyaev's amateur melodeclamation with rapping, but what else would you call music that is based mostly on modern poetry?).
t. - How is the creative process distributed within the group? Does it ever happen that a song is radically changed from the moment of the author's idea under the influence of collective creativity?
NOOB - In the collective there is no such things as author's idea. The entire creative process is based on the formula "1+1=3", where the combined work of several talents results in something bigger than the sum of those individual talents. There three of us, each one comes up with his own part and combined and complementing each other these three pieces become something ready and finished...
But in general we have a healthy anarchy - no one is directing what every one should do, but everyone knows a priori what their goal is at the moment.
Red Snapper: “Our music is immediate, simple and dark”
Posted by tipkin
I wouldn't go out on a limb if I say that Red Snapper is one of the most under-appreciated bands in contemporary music. They have been delivering their intense, unique, always fresh but instantly recognizable sound since the early 1990's and have an amazingly dedicated fan base (which includes yours truly). And yet they seem to be almost ignored by glossy magazines and flashy entertainment news media. Probably because they care more about music itself than its promotion. I remember picking up Making Bones CD while going through "Trip-hop" section in a record store just because I liked the cover art and the name (had a "snap" to it 
). And I was hooked instantly and happily stay hooked until this day and try to get everyone I know hooked as well. This is how they gain their fans and isn't this the most honest and respectable way to get your music promoted? And something else - they absolutely despise the term "trip-hop" and don't want anything to do with it. Yet, here they are, on the pages of this blog, that humbly tries to change peoples perspective of what trip-hop really is. Hopefully, listening to such music phenomena as Red Snapper will help. Richard Thair answers some questions for trippin' the rift's readers.
tipkin - You have been around for almost two decades now. What are some of the favorite moments from the past years?
Richard Thair - When we released 3 EPs on my label Flaw Recordings and then in two months got signed to Warp Records/EMI Publishing and got to play Glastonbury Jazz stage. Supporting Björk, Massive Attack and The Prodigy. Writing music with my best friends. Koktebel Jazz Festival... hundreds of people on a beach going crazy to us. Funding our own album and not being dictated to by the music industry.
t. - When the first releases came out, your sound was so fresh, so different from everything else that was around that time. Is it easier for you now - since you are a known and respected project, or is it harder, since people expect the same level of freshness and since there are lots of bands out there (many of them influenced by you) that are playing in similar vein?
R.T. - Good question... As musicians, we are always aware that there is someone better, younger and more exciting than us... That makes the live show more passionate and exciting.
What is in our heads is still as fresh and bent as it was 15 years ago, it is about not caring and using technology to work for you. You are only as good as your last idea... What is in your head and heart is what matters, the blues and jazz musicians proved that years ago and musicians are still copying what they did.
t. - Your sound definitely doesn't fit in any particular genre boundaries, but you have been often associated with trip-hop. How do you feel about that and what is trip-hop to you?
R.T. - Trip-hop was a lazy category invented by a lazy journalist, our music has nothing to do with that kind of music. Think about what it means to you and then listen to our music!
t. - What made you want to re-form Red Snapper in 2007? What was the reaction from the fans and do you keep working on projects you had been working on during those years when you were apart?
R.T. - We missed each other, wanted to make film soundtrack music and realised there was still a 'band' sound there... We should never have stopped making music for those years. Fans were elated. I have a new Toob album out, David [Ayers] continues to work with the BBC and Ali [Friend] is still modeling underwear.
t. - Let's talk about the new album. I'm dying to find out what the Key opens! What should the fans expect?
R.T. - A step back to early Red Snapper... Rockabilly, surf music. Dark beats, real blues and sax... And of course twisted double bass. It's about what we hear in our heads... Nothing too clever, just soul, passion and the coming together of four very unique musicians. The vocals are an added extra... The listener is the judge.
t. - You just returned from touring Ukraine and Russia and are getting ready to the European tour in May. How do people react to new material so far? Are you playing old stuff as well (I know fans want to hear their favorites)? I feel like you have a huge and dedicated fan base in Eastern Europe, particularly in Ukraine and Russia. What do you think is the reason for that? What are some of the best experiences from the tour?
R.T. - We are constantly shocked by the amazing support we get in Russia/Ukraine/Eastern Europe. As always the crowds are so passionate and supportive. I think we play 6-7 new tracks so far and they are all going down well... Some are already becoming classics... to us! It is wonderful performing tracks like "Architechtronic" with Ali singing and the crowds really getting behind us, it means so much to us. We still play plenty of old tracks - "Suckerpunch", "Hotflush", "Lagos Creepers", "Get Some Sleep Tiger"... We love the way the crowd gets behind us with these tracks.
We have been really lucky to tour in Eastern Europe, I think we connect with the people in those countries because they are open, passionate and soulful, like our music. The Western approach is about over marketing and hype. All I can say is that our fans in Eastern Europe watch us and react to their hearts. Our music is immediate, simple and dark, maybe that appeals to peoples' experience. Finally I would say that playing to these people has changed our lives in a fantastic way. Moscow, Ekaterinburg, St. Petersburg, Koktebel, Kiev, Kharkiv, Donetsk... the list goes on. 
t. - Are there any plans for an American tour? It's weird but I feel like not that many music fans in the US are familiar with Red Snapper due to lack of promotion.
R.T. - No money but plenty of fans. ;(
Damn it, America! I demand Red Snapper!!!
When I asked to add whatever else they want to share (which basically my way of saying "Thank you for the interview, insert any promotional material here"), he said: "Just... Thank You to everyone that cares about us. We care about you!" I guess I'll take promotion in my own hands and post their new video for "Loveboat".
Red Snapper - "Loveboat"
You can preview the new album Key (I already did and it's as good as you think it is) here and buy it on iTunes. And don't forget to visit (and bookmark) their official website for more music, tour dates etc..
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