Ana Katana & Li Vox (Tampa, USA/Almada, Portugal)
Posted by tipkin
Ana Katana
There are some artists that just get everything right. You come across one of their songs and go: "Yeah, that's the shit, who is this?" And then you find out that it's some band who hadn't even had any releases yet. Which makes you extra proud that you made that disovery before anyone else did. Now I have this lucky chance to introduce one of such promising collectives. If it was all about image, they still would have gotten it - just look at that sexy/dangerous/mysterious picture. Luckily, their music lives up to expectations. Ana Katana & Li Vox create a combination of knock-out beats and enchanting vocals that is both "retro" in its stylistic similarities to "classic trip-hop" and refreshing in its enthusiasm and love to music that is reflected in every note. Naturally, I wanted to know more.
tipkin - So, is it Ana Katana, Ana Katana & Li Vox or something else entirely? How did it all start and how did Li Vox become part of the project?
Ana Katana - I’ve been writing, recording, and performing music for many years, mostly as a bass player. A few years ago, I started getting really into the world of electronic music. In 2010, I decide it was time to start releasing some of the music I had been making online. I started out just as “Ana Katana”, but I felt the instrumentals I was putting out were in need of vocals. I posted an ad on my MySpace, and got a bunch of responses from interested singers. When I got the demo that Li sent back to me, I was blown away. She was exactly what I was looking for. Her voice really fit my music. As soon as I heard her sing, that was it. I took the ad down and stopped looking.
I felt the best way to represent what we are doing is to make a change from being Ana Katana to being Ana Katana & Li Vox. I really think what we have is greater than the sum of its parts.
Li Vox - I just contacted Ana Katana through MySpace, because she was in need of a vocalist. So, firstly, I recorded the song «She Change Her World», and apparently she liked it!!!
I must say there's a 3rd person involved in the whole process: Daniel Matias. His amazing skills and studio (Djungle Productions), allowed me to record our first songs.
Then Ana and I started chatting through Facebook, Skype, SoundCloud, e-mail, and we started exchanging ideas and concepts. Amazingly it's working great! We match perfectly, musically speaking, and I'm very honoured that she picked me to sing along her songs.
t. - Why trip-hop? Do you feel that there is still demand for trip-hop music out there? What is trip-hop to you?
A.K. - I never really set out to specifically make trip-hop music. I had been listening to a lot of it, and I think the influence found its way into what I was doing. When I started listening back, I could hear those influences in my music, so I decided to let the label stick.
I think there is always a demand for music of every genre. The internet is what allows everyone to connect with others that have the same musical tastes. The audience is there, they just might not exist in any concentration. If a few people in every city in the world love trip-hop, multiply that by the number of cities, and it adds up pretty quick.
To me, trip-hop is electronic music that moves your body, your heart, and your mind. It’s not the music you hear at the club on a Saturday night. I think of it as being a little more personal, something a person can form an emotional connection to, which seems to be absent in a lot of electronic music these days.
Li Vox
L.V. - Personally, I always enjoyed trip-hop - stuff like Massive Attack, Tricky, Thievery Corporation, Portishead, even some stuff from Lamb... it's a "relaxing" genre, I guess... this is a genre where I feel comfortable whilst singing.
t. - What is the music scene like in Tampa, FL (and in Portugal)? Is it hard to find distribution for your music?
A.K. - The music scene in Tampa, Florida, has a lot of unrealized potential, in my opinion. There aren’t really any clubs that play trip-hop or downtempo that I’m aware of. Most of the electronic music around here seems to tend toward the more harsh, breakbeats and drum and bass. There’s definitely a lot of the club stuff for people to shake their asses to, but without any emotional depth. That’s all my perception, of course, so I could be mistaken. As far as distribution goes, we’ve been going the internet route. Bandcamp, Reverbnation, Soundcloud, MySpace. We try to get our music up anywhere we can. I think we’re to the point where some help from a record label would really put things over the top. The way things are with the music-industry these days, though, I’m not holding my breath.
L.V. - I'm not too involved in the trip-hop scene in Portugal. (I'm not really sure there's a "scene", actually!!) We have some radio stations that promote electronic music in Portugal. Also, some gigs and small events. But, I was always a "rocker", more than a trip-hop"er".
t. - Your music is very "classic" trip-hop (if one can say so) - you're not trying to incorporate trendy genres like dubstep and such into your sound. Is that deliberate "purity" or are you planning on experimenting with different styles in the future?
A.K. - If our music is considered “classic” trip-hop, it was unintentional. Everything that I write has only one deliberate goal, which is to find sounds and loops that work together to make a whole. I try to avoid falling into the trap of striving for things like “staying pure” or experimentation for its own sake. I’m just trying to lay down some tracks that sound good in my headphones, and I’ll pull the sounds from wherever it takes to achieve a great song. If I have to write 50 shitty songs in order to come up with one really good one, then that’s what it takes.
As far as the future goes, who knows? Sounds and ideas can come from anywhere. The only thing I can say is we’ll write the best songs we can, and hopefully the music continues to resonate with people like it has been so far.
Anomie Belle: ‘Darkness can be beautiful and sexy’
Posted by tipkin
Twinkle twinkle little star. The star of Anomie Belle started twinkling back in 2008 when her debut album Sleeping Patterns came out and touched many souls of music fans, and probably broke a few hearts. Today this star is shining bright with the new beautiful single "How Can I Be Sure" getting well-deserved media attention and the new album being eagerly awaited by thousands of fans. Singer, composer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Anomie Belle shines not only as a studio musician but as amazing live performer, continuously touring alongside such artists as Tricky and Bonobo. Today Anomie Belle answers trippin' the rift's questions about inspiration for her music, the upcoming album and being a genius.
tipkin - You wrote your first song when you were ten? That's pretty impressive! Can you tell us a bit about it? It was inspired by a horror movie soundtrack, right? This darkness remains in your music. Why do you find darkness inspiring?
Anomie Belle - My parents gave me a karaoke machine when I was ten, and as soon as I realized that I could record back and forth from tape to tape to stack instruments and layers in my songs, my world was altered forever. I didn’t really know what multi-track recording was, but I was drawn to layering from the start. One of the first songs I recorded was called "Revenge", and was inspired by my recent exposure to the eerie soundtrack for the movie, Child’s Play. (I was also reading a string of teen thriller novels at the time and so felt amply qualified to write this creepy little love-song.)
First I recorded a simple piano line in a minor key, then a bass line, a few violin parts, a vibraphone, and a few vocal lines. As I recorded each instrument, tape distortion was created by recording back and forth from tape to tape, and the original piano line became more and more garbled and wobbly. This made the recording even creepier sounding. These days I create the distortion on purpose.
I guess the inspiration in darkness comes from the mystery in it. The experience of walking into new unknown spaces can be really powerful. It is often the things that we don’t know that are most exciting to us. The shadows leave room for imagination; they are alluring and inspiring. Darkness can be frightening, but it can also be still, quiet, beautiful and sexy.
t. - Do movies (or their soundtracks) still inspire you? What are sources for inspiration in general?
A.B. - I am always inspired by art, film, music, and life in general. Film soundtracks are particularly appealing because the marriage between narrative, visual art, and music can evoke such emotion. I got to tour with Gustavo Santaolalla recently and he is a pretty inspiring film composer. I also really admire Jon Brion as a film composer.
t. - A question I ask all my interviewees: what is trip-hop to you? And how do you feel about Anomie Belle being classified as a trip-hop artist?
A.B. - I suppose “trip-hop” is a label people use to identify a particular genre of music, and it also refers to a general sound with a specific history. Most people refer to music as “trip-hop” when its sexy or trippy, and that is the mood in which I most often write music, so I’m cool with it. Any label is both useful and meaningless.
Amon Tobin about ISAM
Posted by tipkin
Amon Tobin knows. Everything. In particular that we all are waiting for his new album ISAM with about-to-piss-my-pants kind of excitement. And that we are a bit scared - what if it's too crazy, what if if is too different from what we used to (= what we want to hear). We will find out soon, but for now Amon Tobin eases some of this tension with a Q&A session with his fans, with questions picked from Facebook and Twitter.
Q: what part of the production process did you spend the most time on with this project?
A: I did spend allot of time learning new techniques in sound and instrument design. I spent about six months learning new software and hardware then the same amount of time adapting them to my needs.
Q: What tune/s are you most satisfied with?
A: I love all my children : )
Q: What part of the creative process did you enjoy the most? hate, if any?
A: I love'd learning new things. being surprised by it all.
Q:were you working on any other side projects we haven't heard about while doing this one? and if so, do you feel that had an influence to this album in some way?
A: this is the only long term thing I've been working on for the last couple of years. I put aside pretty much all sound track work and shows.. my extensive commitments to charity work, spiritual consultation to the stars and fighting crime. basically anything that would have been sensible or unselfish to do and instead dedicated myself completely to making this record.
Q: what everyone wants to know, what can we expect?
A: a labor of love made without a shred of a care for much else.
Read the rest of the Q&A on Amon Tobin's website.
coldreavers (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Posted by tipkin
This FEA(U)TURE is very special to me. Here I talk to a musician and a person without whom not only the existence of my tiny but mighty netlabel TTRR would be impossible, but quite possibly the very idea of promoting independent electronica on the pages of this blog would have been mercilessly abandoned. You may already be familiar with his work - if not from the latest release Blue Eyes (my microscopic involvement in which still makes me indecently proud), then from his multiple previous albums, EP's and single tracks floating around the interwebs. His music has a quality that is pretty rare these days - style. And everyone seems to hear this style in a different way, which is also pretty amazing. Well, without further ado - coldreavers.
tipkin - When and how did it all start? Where did the interest for electronic music come from and how did it develop from an interest into the actual creating?
coldreavers - It began around the year 2006, - I didn't have anything to do and I started working with sequencers and such. I didn't have enough patience back then and until 2009 I gave up on it and was just a listener. Then in 2009 it all started spinning again, this time for real. At first the works were primitive, with time the level built up. I've been listening to electronic music for a long time, as all the other ones however, I don't have preference to one genre.
t. - Then why in your work your prefer downtempo/experimental electronica, and not, say, techno etc.? Was there a particular influence? Or...?
c. - I just like more melodic and slow music, with BPM up to 100 maybe. And if it's faster... it just doesn't fit me. But there are exceptions, like if you take house, I just adore Beach House from Hed Kandi and some of the releases by Defected. I don't know what influenced me in particular, - I'm not a huge fan of Massive Attack or Portishead, even though Tricky's first album I almost know by heart.
t. - Another standard question - what is trip-hop to you and what do you feel when coldreavers is being referred to as a "trip-hop project"?
c. - To me personally trip-hop has expanded so much so long ago that one can shove anything in it. I personally go by this line - Tricky's first album is a trip-hop perfection, I haven't heard anything better. The rest is to some extent repeating it, but still cannot get even close. Well, he cannot get close to himself in his early years to be honest. Regarding coldreavers as a trip-hop project... well, I guess that's what it is, what else?
t. - No, really, what else? Can you describe your style to someone who never heard your music?
c. - Well, if you think about it, it would probably be some kind of ethnic-hop, or what they called Four Tet - folktronica.
t. - OK, let's leave alone genres and styles, I know artists usually hate talking about things like that. What is music for you at this point - hobby, passion, life's work?
c. - At this point I'm sort of at the crossroads. On one hand I love doing that and don't know how to do pretty much anything else, on the other hand I'm scared of what would happen if I dedicate all my time to music and end up with nothing as a result. I'll see how the new album will do and then make the final decision.
Teh Nizzim (Tallahassee, USA)
Posted by tipkin
This is it, this is what keeps me going, this is what fuels my rocketship on this long journey through the Rift. Listening to the music, naturally, but also talking to people who create this music, and being surprised every single time how very different they are but how similar they are in their dedication to their music and how this dedication makes them more enlightened and... alive? than the rest of us. Some of them are more alive than the others 
Like my today's guest Riley Content, whose solo project Teh Nizzim caught my attention with its crafty beats, and who is also a part of two hip-hop projects and is publishing two blogs. Absorb this energy, 'cause he's got some!
tipkin - You are a man of many faces! Can you tell us about Enigma MC, The Greater Numbers and Teh Nizzim? Which project(s) is/are more important to you?
Riley Content - Hah yeah, I've got many different sides of the cube going on I suppose. I'd always tried to stay as versatile as I could musically ever since I began writing and arranging in early 2000. It's good to have multiple avenues and to always be constantly trying your hand at new things. I've even got some things you don’t know about! But as far as importance goes, it’s like asking Paul McCartney whether his solo work or The Beatles was more important, not by mere comparison of course. But, to each his own, and as a writer, your personal endeavors are always important, but a group effort is also a very big commitment and means a ton to each person involved (hopefully heh).
t. - A question from a non-musician - when is the realization comes that a certain tune doesn't need any lyrics and is able to exist as an instrumental track?
R.C. - Ah, sometimes that is just the key to making or breaking something. In today's musical frame, people are of course less likely to listen to something that isn’t lyric reliant, or that doesn’t have a catchy pop chorus. I’m of course speaking commercially on that, I would hope everybody enjoys a good jazz jam record now and again. It really depends on the project, and even down to specific songs. For The Groove Pile, I just wanted to make a dance mix that was... well... groovy. Sometimes the music itself says everything you need.
DJ Vadim: ‘I love what I do and do what I love’
Posted by tipkin
Always too funky, vibrant and progressing in all kinds of directions, DJ Vadim is never listed among your regular trip-hop staples, and yet I bet every trip-hop fan has a few of his tracks in their collection. Today the creator of timeless favorites like "The Terrorist" and "Your Revolution" is talking to trippin' the rift about old friends and new beginnings.
tipkin - First thing first - new label! Exciting... and probably a bit scary? What made you want to start your own label? Who came up with the name?
Vadim - It's all about control. Labels have full diaries, so often you have to wait a long time before the record can be released. That can take the urgency and the now out of a release. We've got a good team around us so we wanted to all work together on the release and do everything the way we wanted to. The name Organically Grown Sounds was Yarah [Bravo]'s idea - One Self created an EP called Organically Grown EP and we eat very wholesomely at home!
t. - About the new band - how would the sound of The Electric differ from just DJ Vadim on his own or from One Self? Is this going to be a long-term thing or is it just a bunch of friends deciding to get together to make a record?
V. - Good question. When it's DJ Vadim, it's just me and different people I invite, but the direction of any given track can sweep from reggae to instrumental beats to rap to... The Electric, it's much more focused. It's the same voices on every track so it's not like a compilation. Musically it's a progression of where I was before!
As for how if differs from One Self. Sabira [Jade] is a singer and not a rapper. Yarah is a rapper and not a singer. Also the sound is different too. The music I was listening to in 2004 making that album is different to what I listen to now. Music has moved onwards...
t. - You are one of the most prolific DJ's out there. Where does inspiration come from?
V. - Life, friends, traveling, meeting people, listening to new music, being challenged... I love what I do and do what I love.
t. - I've been always fascinated by your ability to touch political/social issues in your music and at the same time to write feel-good tunes. Is it hard to keep that balance?
V. - That's just a personal thing I'm into. I have always been interested in politics and social causes. Fighting injustice. So I'm a big supporter of people like Amnesty International, Greenpeace, NSPCC, NSPCA etc. If it wasn't for AI, Yarah's parents whould possibly of been executed in South America by puppet dictators put into power by the CIA... But I'm no Chuck D or Immortal Technique. They are amazing but my mission is not the preacher. More like a teacher and entertainer. Like KRS-One said - 'edutainment'. Education and entertainment. I just do it. Have fun and try to express deeper issues too!
t. - How do you feel about being associated with trip-hop music (among other genres)? What is trip-hop to you?
V. - When that term came out in 94 or so, I hated it. It just sounded really bad and stale like mullets and clogs on German truck drivers. I tried really hard not to be labeled that. I wanted to be so down with hip-hop. That's all I could think of. Nowadays I don't give a flying tahoot what people say. All I want is that people come to listen. I just make beats. Always have. What it's described as differs by whom reviews it, their experience, preferences, country they live in, views... Really and truly, a lot of musics are very related if you break it down to their building blocks - keys, bass, paterns, riddims, vocals, chorus etc... What's the difference between DJ Shadow and space rock in the 70's? Well shows drums are louder... What's the difference between heavy metal and some dub step... Well, sometimes very little.
t. - You tour A LOT. What are some of the favorite places to play? Something that I witnessed during your show in Chicago - there was a group of Russian immigrants, sitting by the bar all dressed up in suits and cocktail dresses who obviously had no idea who you were and just came to see "a Russian DJ". Do thing like that happen often?
V. - Sometimes, but I'm trying to drop this whole 'Russian' thing. It's about music and not your or my nationality. I think regardless whom you go to see, whether it's Bassnectar, A-Trak, Diplo, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Shadow,... if you asked each person why they were there, not everyone would say - 'cause I'm the biggest fan... I was on tour with Bassnectar and he is undoubtly humongous in the USA but I asked some people in the crowd, and some people just came 'cause it's the party to come that night.
My favorite places - France is great, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, Korea, China, West Coast... Everywhere really. Russia is great too. St. Pete especially.
t. - And speaking of touring - are we to expect The Electric world tour? When will your fans in the US and in Russia have a pleasure to see you (in any incarnation)?
V. - USA in April, and Russia, not sure. People are asking but nothing confirmed as of yet...
Visit DJ Vadim's fresh new label Organically Grown Sounds and enjoy these great gifts from him and his talented friends:
A music pack loaded with goodies from Vadim himself and The Electric.
DJ Vadim - "Winter Wax" mix
Winter Wax by Dj Vadim on Mixcloud
Ink Project (London, UK)
Posted by tipkin
Very interesting guests are trippin' the rift with us today, my dear friends. As announced in the previous post, Ink Project, a London-based electronica duo is introducing themselves and their music to our readers. To call them a "trip-hop band" would be accurate, too, since their sound is driven by darker rhythm structure and features beautiful female vocals, but squeezing Ink Project into just one category would not be fair - their music is very diverse and hard to capture with just one word. Or with any amount of words for that matter. You just have to listen to it. Melanie Dymond (vocals and production) and Jez Lloyd (electronics, keys and production) are here to provide some guidance.
tipkin - Was there a particular moment for you guys when you just decided to go for it and start making music together? Or did you come to it gradually?
Jez - We met around 2007 on the London underground house scene – at a legendary night club some people may have heard of called Wiggle run by Fabric resident Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Eddie Richards. Having both grown up in South London, we were both regulars and had a lot of similar mutual friends so after bumping into each other countless times we soon discovered a shared love for music production; me more house and techno at the time and Mel was also singing on various records for well-known house DJ Asad Rizvi so it made sense to try and work on something together. We never really had a set agenda as we both like and listen to all kinds of music, from dark electronic stuff through to techno, indie rock, folk, blues and disco/funk/soul but we both agreed that it had to be electronic with a large soulful element, utilising traditional song structures. We felt that this was an avenue with the most scope to be explored…
We’ve both always been heavily into trip hop and bands of the late 90′s like Tricky, Lamb, Morcheeba and Massive Attack but felt that scene died an early death in the UK after achieving so much, so we wanted to try and almost take that baton and run with it, incorporating more club grooves as well as jazz influences into our live shows especially. We pulled together lots of initial demo recordings with various other musicians including Colin Webster on saxophone and flute who now tours the world with Anthony Joseph and The Spasm Band and took the project live throughout the UK between 2007-2008, playing at venues including The Dogstar in Brixton, The Big Chill Bar in Kings X, Cargo in Shoreditch, Audio in Brighton, The Magnet in Liverpool and Timbuktu in Bristol. It was good fun and we developed a strong fan base but the electronic scene was suffering and we became a bit dis-illusioned with how live dance music was stagnating in the UK so took a break for a few years. I went on to produce with various other people and Mel moved over to Barcelona but we recently got back together and decided to focus on creating a more refined, electronic set of songs which have resulted in an album’s worth of material.
t. - How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it before?
Mel - I would say it is electronic song based music, inspired by a variety of genres, including electronica, blues, soul, trip-hop, dub-step and early 80's electronic pop.
t. - What is trip-hop to you? It's heartwarming for me to see that projects like yours are trying to revitalize it, but do you think people still care? Do you feel like the level of interest to trip-hop is different in the UK from the rest of the world?
J. - I think people definitely do still care about trip hop! The genre may be considered a ‘has been’ sound by many of the snobby music press in the UK as passing trends come and go so quickly, but we know it still has a huge following worldwide with bands like Massive Attack, Lamb and Tricky being just as popular and relevant now as they were in the 90’s. In fact, I’d say Trip Hop’s even more relevant now than ever before! It didn’t progress as much as it could have in my opinion. Trip hop was always a very reflective, relaxing, introspective but future thinking sound and with the world in such an awful state, people have so much on their minds and like to relax when they go home so I think the genre caters so well for the times we live in now – especially in album format. In the US, France, Eastern Europe and Russia it’s huge and new acts like James Blake, Jamie Woon, Mount Kimbie have very trip hoppy sounds which are proving massively popular at the moment.
We’re not consciously trying to revitalize trip hop as such but merely progressing that basic formula, updating it and taking it a new direction with many of our other influences mixed in.
M. - To me trip hop is simply another musical genre and there are good and bad examples of it, but at it's best it encompasses many elements that I enjoy in music, fat beats, heavy bass, interesting electronics and vocals, often at a slower tempo than most electronic music which for me allows a lot of the sounds to breath, you get time to listen to them. I think the only thing that people care about is the quality of the music and whether they like it. There are obviously fashionable trends, but judging by the response of many of our fans on our Facebook Fan Page, people still enjoy listening to that type of sound, and we have fans from all over the world, including the U.K.
t. - Is it hard to get noticed on the electronic scene in the UK? How do you keep up with all the new sub-genres and trends that are popping up faster than mushrooms after the rain?
J. - The UK is so multi-cultural and overflowing with such a huge array of creative and talented people all trying to create something new and musically different that it’s always going to be competitive and tough to invent a unique sound. But whilst we try to keep a close eye on many of the different and revolving scenes, we avoid letting ourselves get swept away by one in particular and first and foremost, produce what we like. You have to be true to yourself musically or you won’t be happy with all of your hard work. For me, it’s personal soul food. If other people connect with it, great but ultimately it should be more of a personal discovery than anything else! We hope people into trip hop, dubstep, soul, jazz, electronic club music, indie and even pop like or at least understand our music.
Soundcloud is a great resource for networking and discovering new music as is Facebook and Twitter and I’m a regular listener of Gilles Peterson and Benji B’s shows on Radio 1 who play everything from abstract jazz through to dubstep, house, soul and hip hop so I’m always discovering new music that way but I think having grown up in London and being exposed to so many different people, cultures, sounds and scenes from an early age, it makes you open your mind and ears to anything new and at least give it a chance. The quality will stay with you. London was a great place to grow up in musically and we’re only just starting to appreciate that now
What’s up, 11?
Posted by tipkin
Greetings! I hope you all had recovered from New Year celebration and don't regret any stupid things you've (allegedly) done that night. It's all good. It's 2011, which promises to be an exciting year for trippin' the rift. These robo-alien-looking critters on the picture are in fact just the letters TTRR, standing for Trippin' The Rift Records (logo is subject to change), yep, that's right, our very own netlabel that we're hoping to launch by mid-January, with a couple of very promising releases already in the works. Let me know if you're interested in releasing some of your work on TTRR! More details (and dedicated page) to follow, so stay tuned!
Huge thanks to all of you who still listens to trippin' the rift Shoutcast Radio, now playing only independent trip-hop/downtempo. New material is being added practically every day, I hope it helped some of you to make one or two interesting discoveries. In 2011, hopefully starting this month, we're planning to start podcasting. If you have any content suggestions for podcasts, they are more than welcome.
And, naturally, more of the stuff that we've been doing already. Album reviews (first up - Frozen Memories by Danny Bow) - there are a few quite exciting releases on the way, I'm particularly pumped up about the new Red Snapper album, interviews (DJ Vadim is coming up) and, of course, my favorite (hopefully yours too) FEA(U)TURES - Ink Project and Josh Furey are ready to share their stories with trippin' the rift readers.
What I'm hoping for in the year 2011 is feedback and more feedback from you guys. I'm not complaining, all those Facebook likes and multiplying flags tell me that you're visiting, reading, listening and possibly even enjoying some of this stuff. I just want to know if this blog is trippin' the rift in the right direction. I'm also hoping to find some new writers, especially for album and concert reviews. There's just too much music out there to keep up by myself and as far as concerts go, some of the artists never make their way across the ocean (or even across the country!), so a little help please! I promise the very minimal editing!
I have a feeling that it's going to be a very successful year. Let's keep trippin' the rift together!
Wax Tailor – making sincere and deep music
Posted by tipkin
French virtuoso-producer Wax Tailor is one of the most intriguing names in electronica music scene. His deeply rooted in hip-hop style with inventive use of samples and featuring talented guest musicians is fresh and instantly recognizable. He kindly agreed to answer some questions for trippin' the rift about his latest release, his style and plans for 2011. I might have come off as a douche-bag in some of the questions, which was not my intention at all and for which I apologize to Wax Tailor (who've always had my utter respect) and to my readers. Mr. Tailor answered them all with grandeur of a true master and professional.
tipkin - Let's start with your new Live at Olympia CD/DVD set. Sounds/looks pretty amazing. Why was this particular concert chosen for the DVD release? What was special about it?
Wax Tailor - OLYMPIA is a very famous venue, full of history. It was also a good opportunity for us because we had a lot of guests on this show. Besides, it arrived on the second part of the tour and I felt ready for that.
t. - You have the most fitting name in the industry! How did you come up with it (or was it a suggestion from someone else)?
W. T. - No, I actually came up with it by trying to find what could define me the best. The vinyl wax is the main ingredient to build and create my instruments and I really think about
music like a Tailor so it was really logical for me.
t. - You are often being classified as a Trip-Hop musician. How do you feel about that? What is trip-hop to you? And how did the transition happen from hip-hop to "tailoring wax"?
W.T. - Well I don't care anymore about music classifications. I mean, I'm coming from the Hip Hop culture, this is my background and the backbone of my music. I've grown up listening to my father's music, which was mostly Pop/Rock from the 60's and 70's, and my grandfather's Jazz records. My mother was listening to Britpop & easy listening. With Hip Hop I've learned about Soul, Jazz, Funk, OST etc. I realize more and more that all this had a big influence on me. I just try to create my own music with all these influences. Sometimes people talk about Trip-Hop; it's probably fine for some tunes, not for some others. But once again, who really cares, the most important is to create a music that has a strong evocation.
t. - It's pretty common lately to refer to trip-hop as a "dead genre". Yet your work is the best proof of the opposite. And you're not desperately trying to catch up with new trends and, say, include dubstep tracks in your albums. What is Wax Tailor's secret to keeping it alive?
W.T. - It's probably because I don't care about trends in music at all. The Beatles have released Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band, 43 years ago, should we stop listening to Pop music? I think that a band like Portishead has created something really personal with their first album but it doesn't mean that you can't try to introduce some different nuances in a kind of music family.
t. - Your latest album 'In The Mood For Life' features more guest musicians than the previous two, and in general it seems more polished, with less experimental (even though just as inspired) but more radio-friendly tunes. Is this the new sound for Wax Tailor or is this just a stage in your development and we will see more surprises?
W.T. - It's your point of view. Regarding to my past 20 years in the music, In The Mood For Life is probably my most surprising album. Tales was the reflection of all I had been doing for 10 years so it was maybe surprising for some audiences, but not for me; I'm really proud of this album, but I'm also proud of Hope and Sorrow and ITMFL. If someone had told me when I was producing Tales that 5 years later I would be writing and composing music for a string orchestra, and then recording and mixing it, I would probably not have believed them. I also think that this album is the first time I really succeed in combining elements and moods into the tracks, not only between them. About surprises, it is sincerely not an obsession for me, I just try to make sincere and deep music. I hate the idea that a musician should be surprising, it's more about the emotion you feel or do not feel with the music.
100th
Posted by tipkin
Here it is, my dearest readers and listeners. The 100th post. A micro-anniversary in trippin' the rift's mini-history. I want to raise this glass of this fine Oatmeal Stout to all of you, who's been reading these posts (not always inspired and almost never grammatically correct, but always honest), listening to my tiny radio station, watching videos and even going as far as leaving comments. Appreciations all around. There is iTunes Almighty, there is a mega-community of Last.fm and yet there still is this blog and there are those exceptional (and very attractive, I'm sure) individuals who keep checking it out every once in a while. Thank you.
I wanted to make this post memorable. I could have made a compilation of my top 100 trip-hop tracks (hm... not a bad idea actually. How about a poll to pick top 100 trip-hop tracks ever?!), write a long boring "ass"-ey about history of trip-hop and "how Coldcut started it all" and how "Portishead, Tricky and Massive Attack made everyone care". But I'll save those novel ideas for the future anniversary posts. This very first one should be small and intimate, full of hope, love and good trips. And it kind of came out like that, despite its big topic.
How do you get people to listen to your Shoutcast radio? Right, play what they want to hear. Trip-hop fans want to hear "trip-hop" - the Wikipedia version of it. And that's a pretty solid version, but built around the same proven names and with a devastating "post-trip-hop" ending. Nothing about the future. It's all in the "post-". It all starts with Portishead and ends with Morcheeba. If you don't hear either of those or anything in-between, then it's "not trip-hop", and you can enjoy your shitty radio all by your lonesome. Well, how about that - I'm listening to Josh Furey's album Archaeology available at Bandcamp for "name your price (no minimum)" and it doesn't sound even a bit like a fuckin' past. It sounds like a good fuckin' trip-hop and it's CC-licensed and that means that I can play it on my radio. And I do. With pleasure. And apologies to all you guys who stopped listening after I went 100% CC-licensed and thank you for being with us for as long as you did, but kudos to ones who are listening now. There aren't many (like, right now it's 0 as in "zero"), but just yesterday afternoon two dudes (or gals) from USA, and one from Russia, Germany, Brazil, Czech Republic and Chile were listening to (and I'm sure lovin' the shit out of) Josh Furey's (Canada) songs. Or Botany Bay's (Germany). Or KARIZZA's (Ukraine). Or Veell's (Russia), who isn't even trip-hop, but kicks major ass anyway.
And that's the weirdness of it. Of the whole entertainment industry and us its consumers. We're still readily forking over 99¢ for a song (here in the US. Most of us do. I think...), but watching new Dexter episode on an illegal website without any hesitation or emotional discomfort. We're starting to realize that there's no actual need to pay for something when there's so much FREE SHIT out there. And that they apparently have no idea how to fight it. Or simply cannot fight it because how do you fight artists offering their music (ready for it?) for free? Willingly. Just so people (I bet you're not ready for this one quite yet) would listen to it. What's even scarier for them is the fact that people are often paying money for those artists' music even though they don't have to! Wrap your head around this one. I asked some of the people whom I interviewed or reviewed their music to shed some light on what the F is going on in the music industry today and what is poor little aspiring musician to do in all this craziness. Here's what they had to say.
Language
Pages
Trip With Me
New and Upcoming
Links
- …aquietbump
- Abracadabra Recordings
- Bandcamp
- Chillout Scene
- CUNTROLL RECORDS
- Deftune
- Dusted Wax Kingdom
- GOOD NETLABELS
- Humanworkshop
- Jamendo
- Lagunamuch Records
- Last. fm
- Liminal RECS
- Ru Trip Community
- Sethmol Recordings
- TACHYON netlabel
- THE FRONT ROW CHICAGO
- The Trip Hop Blog
- Trip Hop Music
- Trip-Hop HQ
- TTRR
- Electrocircle.ru
Views
Tag Cloud
ADs
SPIROS KOUFOS
Phil Brammer
Ross
tipkin
http://4ydostereo.blogspot.com/