Micah to Producers: "Stop producing and take some music lessons ... "

I discovered Micah back in 2005 with his exceptional remix of Bent's "As You Fall"--a veritable masterpiece for all intents and purposes-- and have since been increasingly impressed with his uniquely melodic sound and consistently forward-thinking productions. Micah recently sat down with ClubPlanet where he made quite a few candid remarks about the scene. Here are a couple of interesting quotes:

"There are no standards left, as any person with a computer and an internet connection can download the software to write music and there will be a net label waiting to put their song up on Beatport, the problem is (and this is a guess), 98% of these people are not musicians ... Producers: Stop producing and take some music lessons, if you find them to hard or too boring, chances are your music will not have a very original feel to it and this will be a mediocre career decision."

Although I largely defend the idea of anyone having the opportunity to produce regardless of musical training, I think we can all admit that there is a disconnect in quality somewhere.

"I'm hoping more people will take Trentemoller's unsung advice and go the live band route, it would give the music more credibility in the world scene and would really make shows more exciting (plus weed out a lot of garbage producers)."

Another excellent point. The experience of hearing your favorite artist play all of their best songs live is one that is largely missing in the electronic music scene. When you go see your favorite electronic music artist or DJ perform live, chances are they're going to be playing a large amount of music by other people that you've never heard. This isn't necessarily good or bad, but it's certainly a bit of a risk, especially for new fans trying to wrap their head around a scene that is increasingly obsessed with being upfront.

Read the full interview here.

16 Bit Lolitas Interview

inthemix provides another excellent interview, this time with the Dutch duo, 16 Bit Lolitas. The guys mentioned several upcoming releases they've got scheduled. Here's the summary:

• 16 Bit Lolitas 'Break/Difficult' [CR2]
• 16 Bit Lolitas 'Non-Verbal Language/Back 2' [Hope]
• 16 Bit Lolitas 'Beauty Hides In The Deep' [Armada]
• 16 Bit Lolitas 'Neptune' [Renaissance]
  

The duo also mentioned that their track "Goodbye Pluto 2" will appear on Hernan Cattaneo's next compilation, and like 2006, they'll be providing a multitude of remixes. Read the full interview here.

Tom Middleton Audio Interview

Another interview; this time it's an audio interview with one of my personal favorites, Tom Middleton (courtesy of inthemix). Tom discussed his Amba project and his plans for 2007 including the release of several EPs, remixes, and an album (finally!) which he plans to tour through the end of the year. You can listen to two of his Amba tracks on his MySpace, including "Shinkansen," which was used in Danny Howell's Essential Mix this weekend.

Tom also talked about his classical music background, his relationship with Mark Pritchard of Global Communication, his Goth/New Romantic phase, his thoughts about current trends, as well as his multiple aliases.

Listen to the whole thing HERE.

BT - This Binary Universe is the first since Ima to have a "consistent emotional through line."

TranZfusion sat down with BT recently to discuss his latest album and all the audiophile geekery that went into making it.

On comparing This Binary Universe to his previous work:

“I think This Binary Universe really is its own thing now. It’s not…mine. I like the idea of sitting down and listening to a record where it has a consistent emotional through-line. This is the first record since Ima that has that. It’s very diverse and it expands, but it has an emotional through-line.”

On creating music:

“I talk to kids at speaking engagements and they’re always like ‘Oh, what keyboard should I get?’ and ‘what audio interface?’ and so on…I’m always like ‘First, go and study Jazz or Classical before you pick up a copy of Reason,’ that’s a good start."

“Go to fucking Target and pick up a nine-dollar keyboard. Get a soldering iron and wires and just go tear it up. That’s how you’re gonna find a new music vocabulary. It’s not from the pre-packaged commercial things.”

Read the entire interview here.

Desyn Masiello: SOS Mix CD in the next 6 Months

Desyn Masiello sat down with inthemix and discussed his Good Vibrations tour in Australia along with his plans for 2007. Interesting quote:

"I’m working with the expanding SOS collective – Demi and Omid currently – but more members on the horizon soon. We’ve just set up a new studio in London and the focus the next few years will be that. We are working on a number of mix CDs now too, they’ll be out in the next 6 months."

An SOS compilation was originally scheduled to come out in '06, though that obviously didn't come to pass. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Read the entire interview here.

EQ Magazine interviews John Digweed

Key quotes:

“I’m not reinventing the wheel here,” says John Digweed, almost making it sound like a confession. He’s talking about his new album, the second volume of the Transitions mix series, in which he does something a lot of DJs don’t do when they’re making albums: he remembers that good music is essential. In a world where trying to break new ground is often lauded over listenability, it must take balls to put good tunes first when you’re a DJ with Mr Digweed’s reputation for innovation. Kudos to him then for compiling an album that doesn’t require repeat listenings before you ‘get it’.

...

“So far the reaction to Transitions has been great,” he says. “People seem to like the idea of me releasing an album every six months or so. These days music moves so fast, people are buying music every week, if not every day, on digital, so I think there’s a demand for this adjusted approach – the reaction we’ve had to date speaks for itself.”

EQ Magazine: Full Interview