Look out!!
Craziness is about to be had this Saturday in the VIP room of First Ave and chances are that you will get there before it sells out! This weekend get ready for Loud and Clear to present two amazing DJs who get down with these interviews (by: Aaron Bliss and Lil Aaron) and special Jackcasts. And also will be getting down this Saturday from 10pm – 2am(ish) up in the VIP room of First Avenue Nightclub, Minneapolis, MN.
Hyperactive
Hyper, you started your career in Chicago in the early 90’s and at that time there was so much amazing house and techno coming from the city. What was it like to be apart of that time period?
Hyperactive: My career started in the mid 80s, and at that time the music coming out of Chicago was House. We didn’t have nearly as many sub genres then, but they came quick as music quickly diversified. No other time in my history was music as intoxicating for me as the 80s. When you hear that phrase suck in the 80s, it has a different meaning for me. Not only was this a time where Chicago House music was igniting but real Hip Hop and B Boy culture was taking root as well.
What artists influenced you the most? How do you think this experience added to your career?
I think about this question often, and I really have to say as whole the original jack masters, Farley, Hurley, etc.. Although this goes back some time, I always circle back to my roots as a listener and dj.
Speaking about influences… What was it like being mentioned on Daft Punk’s “Teachers”?
It’s certainly flattering. I met Thomas Bangalter through my booking agent back then, Fab G, and had the chance to get in the studio for a day when I was in Paris for a gig at the Rex Club. All this was prior to their album and this song. I took it as more of a shout out, but obviously it meant something much more.
A number of people feel that some of your best work was released on a label called ‘Contact’. What was your relationship to this label?
Contact was my label and was a P&D deal with the geezers who owned the Hip House record shop at that time. They also started up UC and from association with the store it lead to the label and having some funding to get some music out. Under the P&D deal it freed me up to not have to worry about anything other than A&R and my own writing. Reptilian Tank, Jazzcore, Chicago, were tracks from that era on Contact.
You took a short break from the game and recently seem to really be back in full swing. Why the hiatus, what made you want to come back?
No matter what I tried to do when I was taking a break, sorting out personal matters and soul searching, I couldn’t escape the calls for gigs, for remixes, demos, etc. Coupled with all that I simply missed my life as an artist and dj and chose to re-devote my time and energy to something I dreamt and chased as a kid.
Tell me about your label 4 Track Music, Who’s on it and what do you have coming up for us to look forward to?
4 Track is myself, Audioinjection, Kaufman and Ferdinand, Bip Soup, Contact classic re-releases, and some remixes of new and previously released tracks on Contact. There’s a lull in he storm as I’ve been plotting out the next 5 years of what I want to do with the label and some new artists, and naturally some new product of my own. I’m also setting my sights for getting me and a crew on tour in the US and overseas.
Like a number of people still making music you came from 909’s and Juno’s, now everything is digital in the studio. How hard/easy has it been making the switch? (Tell us a little bit about your current set up compared to your days on Contact)
There was a time when I first started to switch over to sw based producing less than a year after I dumped a few grand into some new hardware gear and it was so frustrating picking the right sw and getting my head around it. Although I used a ton of analog gear from the very start I always used a Mac for sequencing. That was probably my saving grace in transitioning over to sw based sequencing which I do now. I spent the early years in proper recording studios with a core group of friends who were musicians and engineers which helped me later on in my career. At the beginning I really didn’t know crap about midi, h/w, s/w, it was actually kind of comical.
We are all looking forward to having you back out on December 19th, 2009.
What should we expect to hear from you this time around? Are there any new artists we should keep our ear out for?
It will be an emotional roller coaster. A lot of new material. There’s so much new music coming out, it’s hard to pin down any one artist being there’s so many contributors.
What was your inspiration for this mix?
This is the first mix since April. The best way to put it is that it’s like a painter who’s been in a creative drought and returned from wandering and is inspired, and creative again. Amongst many of the creative arts, it’s hard to imagine a world without music.
Interview by: Aaron Bliss and Lil Aaron
Matt Rissi
Matt, you seem to visit Minneapolis quite a bit. What is it about Minneapolis that you think stands out?
The people are what stand out for me… Cultured & Knowledgeable individuals in a small metropolis environment that lack a big city attitude. Everyone’s so humble & I love it here.
Over the course of the last decade Minneapolis has sort of become a home away from home. Our friends up your way make it a great destination for me & I always look forward to awesome experiences when we come up. It’s nice to be surrounded by like minded people that I’ve come to know pretty well while playing music or getting dirty on the dance floor.
How did you become such a part of the local scene here? (Tell us a story!)
I started coming up to the cities around 1997 for Mile High & Intellephunk parties. We’re all techno people down here & the line ups that Woody & crew were putting together were pretty hot in those days. We ended up including both Woody & the I*Funk folks in some smaller shows that were going on in Iowa & we eventually all sort of grew our relationships & connections from there.
I was inspired by the way that these people made techno happen. From the sound systems that were set up to the talent that was booked to the concept that all of these elements formed to push. We have a similar vision of this music & our friendships are what lead to the bridges that have been built between Iowa & MPLS.
We now invite each other back and forth to play all of the time & it’s great. The Iowa crowd loves the way the MPLS people bring it & I think that the feeling is reciprocated when we’re up in your neck of the woods. Throw a trip to Detroit in there every year for the festival & we’ve got memories in the works somethin’ serious.
What/Who is Solar Cathedral?
Solar Cathedral Recordings is a digital imprint that I own along with my buddy Mustafa Avdic. In 2007 we started the label as an outlet to release our own music as well as the music of others & have since put out 16 EP’s & one LP. We have an eclectic line up of producers old and new on our roster & have enjoyed sharing our music with the world.
You’re also a local promoter, what is it like promoting and DJ’ing in Iowa?
It’s challenging. Aside from two or three special events every year we only have about 2 to 300 people that continuously come out to see us play in the city that I live in. As of late a small group of bar owners have taken a liking to what we do & have presented us with the opportunity to play in their clubs more frequently.
The past two years have been crazy busy for me & I’ve been playing out an average of about 3 weekends out of the month. This is great for me because I love to play music but it’s tough on the crowd & we burn people out pretty quickly. Of course we’ve got our solid core of ‘heads’ supporting us but we’re constantly trying to get new people involved in our music to fill the holes left by those that don’t come out as often as they used to.
Are you currently working on any new projects? (New releases on SC?)
We’ve always got SOMETHING in the pipeline… Our next release actually features Minneapolis duo Recon 22. These guys are a bit outside of the norm in regards to the sound and feel of previous SC releases. We plan on exploring different approaches to techno and this EP is a great example of that.
Mustafa has a couple of EP’s ready to go too and I think that people are going to be taking a liking to these tunes in a MAJOR way. Dare I say his best work to date!??? Hmmmmm??? We’ve got some remix work by Habersham as well as a couple of Iowa producers that we want to highlight in the upcoming months.
I personally have been so busy DJ’ing that I’ve yet to get back into the studio myself. I haven’t released a solo EP & that’s my next goal. I hope to have something together in the next year or so.
Tell us a little about your pod cast mix… What inspired this mix?
Well… Is it just me or is it REALLY tough to put together a studio mix that one can be completely proud of? My live recordings always turn out great but for some reason I’ve not been able to get excited behind the decks at home. I beat myself up all week trying to get something recorded that was well thought out or planned but I kept ending up with sets that contained no heart or soul.
I trashed a few mixes & decided to stop taking myself so seriously… I put myself in ‘vacation mode’ on Sunday (you know how it is when you’re on vacation right?) and recorded this Jackcast in one shot. I’m pretty happy with it. I played a bunch of music that I felt was right for the moment without thinking about which tracks were the ‘realest’ or ‘newest’ or ‘whatchu know about this shit right here?’ type of tunes & ended up blazing through an eclectic stack of old & new techno that I’ve been playing lately.
I know, I know – so taboo but fact is… people like to know. What is your current DJ and music production set up? (What kinds of software/hardware combos are you digging?)
Ugh… Don’t laugh at me but… I’m actually DJ’ing with Serato. Being as busy as I am with my day job & my weekend gigs I’ve been telling myself that I don’t have the time to finally make the switch to Traktor. Becoming familiar with the program, mapping all of my tracks, being able to troubleshoot the software live should I have any problems, etc…
I think I’ll finally make the switch when the NI X1 controller comes out in Feb. I am in full understanding of the capabilities that I will have when I finally go 100% digital I’ve just yet to man up and fucking do it. I think about it all the time… I’m constantly coming up with scenarios in my head that I’ll be able to create when empowered with Traktor & I’m really excited to dive into it I just haven’t jumped ship yet.
Lately I’ve been using CDJ1000’s or Technic1200’s… Whatever is a better fit for the show. I really like Allen & Heath mixers & after owning a xone 92 for about 5 years I just bought a xone 62 and absolutely LOVE it. I also lug around an old school Pioneer EFX 500 to run timed delay through my aux send/return. I can’t wait to get rid of the decks & efx box though… Soon enough!
In regards to producing… The tracks that I’ve released were all made with Propellerhead’s Reason. I’m actually pretty amateur in the studio & wouldn’t have any material out on release if it weren’t for Mustafa. He’s played an important role in teaching me how to produce music & without him wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m starting to work with FL Studio & plan on getting to know that program a bit better during the upcoming months.
Interview by: Aaron Bliss
Word em up! Come down to check out this craziness. SRSLY!/NO_LIE!! This is going to be a greatly insane night with what has lately been all sold out shows. Click on the flyer below to see it bigger and read up on the madness-ness.
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