For The Dreams and Aspirations Issue, i-D collaborated with the fab folk at New Power Studio on an extra-special musical extravaganza…
Untold
What was the song that really got you thinking about making music? Jimi Hendrix - Crosstown traffic.
What do you think about the ever expanding, mutating world of electronic music in 2011? Good clean fun.
Which DJ or producer did you used to stand by the box and gasp in admiration at? Anyone who played at the Metalheadz Blue Note sessions.
Does electronic music struggle to find a visual identity? I guess it lacks a certain focus once taken out of a clubbing context.
What sounds are you excited about now? Guy Andrews, Breton, Blawan. The resurgence of British techno.
Pariah
What was the song that really got you thinking about making music? I’ve spoken at length before in interviews about Burial’s influence on me wanting to start making music so I guess it would have to be one of his tracks and, out of all of them, the track that has probably had the biggest and most lasting effect on me is Near Dark.
What do you think about the ever expanding, mutating world of electronic music in 2011? I think its a pretty exciting time to be making electronic music because I don’t feel that producers are relying on a specific genre or formula to write their music. Influences are coming from over the place and the continual shift in styles and sound that happens as a result of this is why I’m into so much of the music around at the moment.
Which DJ or producer did you used to stand by the box and gasp in admiration at? The first electronic artists that I got into when I was in my early teens were people like Boards of Canada, Global Communication, Aphex Twin and Four Tet. Before then I was mainly listening to hip hop or more instrument-based music and they showed me that there was a whole world of music out there that I hadn’t even begun to discover.
Does electronic music struggle to find a visual identity? I wouldn’t say that electronic music has as strong a visual identity as, let’s say, something like black metal which, for me, is probably the most visually striking genres of music. That being said, black metal is incredibly niche and ‘electronic music’ is an enormously broad term but even when looking at individual genres that exist within electronic music I can’t think of any off the top of my head that have a visual identity that unites all labels and artists who are working within that specific genre. Of course, like with all other kinds of music there are always labels within electronic music that have very strong individual identities that is almost always achieved by keeping some sort of continuity in the artwork for each release. This is something that has always drawn me to certain labels because no matter how much the music may differ sonically, there is still a strong visual element that links it all together.
What sounds are you excited about now? My current obsessions are droning, loop-based music and stompy, dark house music that sounds like techno.
Martyn
What was the song that really got you thinking about making music? The ones that kept presenting themselves in my own head.
What do you think about the ever expanding, mutating world of electronic music in 2011? The strange thing is that the more I’m absorbed by my own music and live sets, the less I seem to pay attention to the movements of electronic music! For inspiration I try to look beyond the boundaries of just electronic music.
Which DJ or producer did you used to stand by the box and gasp in admiration at?One of the DJs I actually learned a lot from just by watching him is Francois K – such command over the dancefloor, great technique and amazing selection. Also Craig Richards from Fabric and Ricardo Villalobos, Flying Lotus and Daedelus’ live performances too.
Does electronic music struggle to find a visual identity? Less and less I think – new producers keep finding interesting new ways of either combining visuals with their music or becoming a more ‘visual’ presence themselves while performing. I actually think electronic music has never been as colourful in appearance as it is today.
What sounds are you excited about now? The sound of broken robots declaring their love.
Kingdom
What was the song that really got you thinking about making music? I was making music at a very young age, but my first proper productions, around 2003, were inspired by songs like Are You That Somebody? by Aaliyah & Timbaland, as well asKeep the Fire Burning by House Crew.
What do you think about the ever expanding, mutating world of electronic music in 2011? I think it’s great and very interesting, but because music is now free and flying around the world at the speed of light, people have access to too much and forget the importance of building their own vocabulary.
Which DJ or producer did you used to stand by the box and gasp in admiration?When I was at the ‘stand by the box and gasp’ age I was still living in my hometown in Massachusetts without many nearby clubs, so there was a lot of bedroom raving. But the DJs that have really blown me away recently have been friends like Total Freedom, Bok Bok and Manara. The first time I heard them DJ I was completely inspired.
Does electronic music struggle to find a visual identity? In general yes, to the average person there is a facelessness to it. I think that there’s a new generation of musicians that are also intense visual artists and these artists and labels create much more of a cohesion of the audio and visual.
What sounds are you excited about now? Do you means sounds or music? In terms of sounds for production I’m doing a lot of digging through my own archive at the moment. I bring back fragments of tracks and mixes I’ve made over the years and reintegrate them into new songs. I like letting melody fragments marinate on my hard drive for a few years before properly using them. Also, I just started a label called Fade to Mind, so in terms of music, the Fade to Mind and Night Slugs universes are the soundtrack on my headphones, that and whatever Teairra Mari is putting out.
Doc Daneeka
What was the song that really got you thinking about making music? Not sure really – I’ve been making music since I was about fourteen when I nabbed my dad’s guitar.
What do you think about the ever expanding, mutating world of electronic music in 2011? I think it’s great. Really feels it could go anywhere at the moment.
Does electronic music struggle to find a visual identity? I don’t think so. I think in more recent time, design and visual identity seems to be becoming stronger in order to maintain physical sales. There’s less of that shite cartoon ‘street’ style stuff about.
What sounds are you excited about now? I’m particularly excited about some of the stuff that will be coming out on my label Ten Thousand Yen this year. A guy from Holland called Presk in particular. We are also doing an EP from Mickey Pearce AKA Shortstuff – he’s writing some of the best stuff about. Apart from that, The Anstam EP released through 50 Weapons also sounds like it’s going to be amazing.
Bok Bok
What was the song that really got you thinking about making music? A track called What by Wonder. By the time I heard it I was already obsessed with grime production but this tune really brought the point home about minimalism and geometric starkness, about how a tune can also be a work of architecture.
What do you think about the ever expanding, mutating world of electronic music in 2011? I thrive on it. I love music from many decades but I have a crazy appetite for the new. It doesn’t have to be made right now, it just needs to be new to me – I’m looking constantly for new material to gorge on. Though there are a few old staples that I can feast on time and time again.
Which DJ or producer did you used to stand by the box and gasp in admiration at? It was DJ Slimzee, no contest. Except I wasn’t standing at the DJ booth staring, I was flipping the fuck out.
Does electronic music struggle to find a visual identity?Some does, but not mine. My music looks geometric, modular and mechanised.
What sounds are you excited about now? I come from a culture of constantly striving fwds>> but lately I find myself looking ever bwds<<. And that’s fine. There are of course still many incredible producers now – my Night Slugs, affiliates, colleagues and many others. At the moment it feels like there’s no difference between music that was made today and 25 years ago. In a rave, time doesn’t have to exist.
newpowerstudio.com/newpowerstudios-soundboard
Text: Thom Murphy
Experimental Programme Developer: Kevin Howbrook
