Glitch.CZ: You come from two relatively distant places with diverse cultural backgrounds. The style of music you produce is quite distinct from what someone could hear on the radio in your home country. Yet, your music shares similar qualities. I’m curious to learn whether you have similar influences. How would you describe each of your progressions as musicians?
Pixelord: Well, yes sure our music is different from what people listen to around us in the modern world, but the situation changes slowly, the more we make music the better we can do it, and more people getting involved, more people want to hear it and try to make it.
My personal influences were videogames, tape recorders, music from 90′s and dialup internet. For sure we both were “grown up” on IDM and electronic music like Warp released in past, Planet Mu, and others like that. I had very strong influence by dark ambient music, and I had lots of albums and EPs by Gultskra Artikler project which were reflecting this dark music with no beats. But then one day I got bored and started making beats and more active and positive music. At that time videogame’s influence was there. Modern bass music is a great platform to realize myself and to make danceable club music. And this works now, I’m glad I can perform live and play in clubs, people dance and rock out, they love the bass and bleeps, so do I!
+Verb: My musical journey is quite boring to be honest. I used to listen to hip-hop non-stop. I then got involved in the club scene and local raves at a super young age. After a brief stint with house and techno EDM, I moved on to drum and bass. This was before the big anthem DNB became dominant and every tune was an interesting journey. This didn’t last long though, and the sound became bland to my ears.
I then found Autechre and the entire IDM/noise movement. This was bliss to my ears. So experimental, I loved it! Many years later I was still absorbing quirky noises and intentional musical errors, yet I again grew a bit bored with the sound. At this time dubstep was just catching on and I immediately latched on to it because my love for bass. Everything sounded so fresh. After a while I became tired of the musical formula that is dubstep and starting looking elsewhere for new sounds.
I had been making music for quite some time at this point, but never could categorize my music. I continue to make music from within me that I hope is the newest/craziest sound. Outside of music I draw inspiration and influence from family, culture, and communication as an art, visual design, books, video games, and interactions with people.
Glitch.CZ: What do you think it is about bass that attracts people so much? Does its popularity influence how you use it in your music?
Pixelord: I think wobble bass is still kicking, and I don’t really get it why people start to hate it, yea it’s overused a bit. You need some skills to make wobble sound right and don’t build your track on that wobble as main element, I like how some people like Itak Tek make dubstep. In the past my music had no bass or some synth bass, I never played with bass and I usually paid attention to drums and fx, but now I see how it’s important to have deep bass, well sequenced and mixed. Modern dubstep with that saw bass sounds like hard rock music, it’s pretty cool! Electronic hard rock, I love to rock out to that kinda music in clubs and play it in my sets, but I don’t listen to hard bass stuff at home.
+Verb: I think bass attracts listeners or dazzles them because of the sheer weight it brings on an individual. You can feel it throughout your body and it vibrates your eyesight… that is way cool.
Glitch.CZ: Alright, let’s shift back to your releases. Any recent or upcoming EPs or albums we should be on the look out for?
+Verb: Oct 11, my “Sensual Frequencies EP” came out at most major retailers via Car Crash Set. Next is an EP for Vermin Street that has remixes by Freddy Todd (who killed it btw) and a few other people that I can’t disclose yet. I also have done a remix for Starkey and Anneka that is getting released in December on civil music. I have done a few other remixes as well and I am always open to more. There are a few other things which are not concrete yet so I just won’t mention them.
On the tour side of things… my availability is really restricted while at university. 2011 will hopefully be a busier year of shows.
Pixelord: We had released Acid mafia VS Pixelord on my label Hyperboloid records. It’s the digital release + 50 audio cassettes with good cover art print and stickers, handmade. We plans to do more releases like that and feature each with cassette limited copies.
Next is Pixelord “Fish touch” EP, will be out on vinyl 12″ on Error Broadcast records, it will be featured with Om Unit remix, Herobust remix, Kidkanevil remix and Leonard Dstroy. The art is ready, amazing collage mess from Ciara. After that I will release more of a dubstep/funky/future garage EP on Car Crash Set records, with remixes from VVV, Milyoo, Doshy, Monky, +verb, Submerse, and others. Huge EP is coming! But I can’t say when, it’s still in works; just few remixes are fully done.
I have a lot of shows and gigs this year, mainly in Russian cities, Moscow and Siberia. Next big festival in Russia where I will play is Elektromehanika, really big names will take part in it: Biosphere, Fennesz, Alva Noto and more. It’s really cool to be a part of it with such genius artists.
Next big gigs are Berlin’s Worldtronics 2010 festival and Stat-X new forms festival in Netherlands. It has awesome lineup: Joker, Mount Kimbie, Darkstar, Hauschka. Looking forward to play there!
Glitch.CZ: How did your collaboration on the track WHYYY come together? I imagine you never met in a studio, only passed the track back and forth online. Is that right? How did that influence your creative process?
+Verb: Hmm… if memory serves me right, we had liked each other’s music via soundcloud. We followed each other on twitter and went back and forth somewhat with small talk. One day we decided to do a tune together. It was all done over the interweb via ichat and skype.
Alexey sent me a short drum with a sub loop. I laid down some synths and bass, some small fx, and 1 vocal stab. I built a small arrangement from that and sent back. Alexey then worked on the arrangement a lot, added a grip of female vocal stabs which truly made the song in my opinion… then he sent it back to me. I then added a few things, sent it back if I remember right, and the track was basically finished. It came out quite well. The response has been really great.
We have started a few other things, and have even finished another track together called “I wasss” that is also on our respective soundcloud accounts. We are aiming to do an EP together of this material.
