Nova sezona ‘fonetike’ uz gostovanje iz Berlina – Willis Anne [+dijelimo upade]

UES: Živiš u Berlinu već neko vrijeme… Kako bi opisao utjecaj koji je grad sa svojim stanovnicima imao na tebe?

WA: Došao sam u Berlin kako bih imao priliku razviti svoju glazbu. Ljudi ovdje žive na puno opušteniji i alternativniji način. Na kraju se dogodi to da se družiš sa puno glazbenika, umjetnika i ljudi koji iniciraju stvari koje zaista žele raditi. Grad ti nudi priliku da se koncentriraš na svoju umjetnost pošto je život dosta jeftin. Velika je prednost što ne osjećam težinu koju današnje društvo propisuje sa hrpom pritisaka i očekivanja. Ponekad sam zabrinut sa svjetskim stanjem, ali sam sebi kažem da moram nastaviti. Ovdje se nalazi bogata scena sa puno zanimljivih likova i stvari, što je zaista ohrabrujuće.

UES: Koliko dugo već radiš glazbu? Što se tokom godina promijenilo u tvojem pristupu?

WA: Naučio sam svirati bubnjeve dok sam bio jako mlad. Oko svoje 10te godine, bubnjao sam po školi i doma po kaučevima i stolcima. Kasnije kao tinejdžer, svirao sam iz zabave sa prijateljima, po bendovima itd.. U jednom trenutku sam počeo raditi glazbu na kompjutoru. Moji prvi radovu su zapravo kolaži koje sam radio u “Windows Sound Editoru” – tu i tamo neki sempl, rezanjemm, copy/paste… Jako picajzlast posao! Prve prave radove sam napravio na Fruity Loops 4. Koristio sam ga godinama za beatove, eksperimente, usput  se polagano prebacujući sa semplova na kompoziciju. U nekom trenutku sam prešao na Ableton, na kratko vrijeme, i nakon toga sam se našao u mašinama!

UES: Tvoja glazba je rađena putem hardwarea. Kako se razlikuje od tvojih digitalnih iskustava? Što si dobio, a što izgubio nakon što si se prebacio na hardware?

WA: Najveći mi je problem bio software latency. Jako volim sam udarati ritam na ritam mašini. U to vrijeme, to nije baš funkcioniralo. Bio je taj mali odmak – sigurno nisam imao ni najbolji laptop. Ali svejedno, u jednom trenutku ionako preferiram spontanost postavki, testova, pripreme. Bio sam zaveden pravim tipkama u većoj mjeri nego što sam bio mišem ili čak midi tipkovnicom. Volim upaliti mašine, eksperimentirati, snimati i potom prepravljati. Jako sam fokusiran na live izvedbu i ne vjerujem laptopu u klubu. No, ipak se ponekad volim vratiti softveru, i složiti nešto nabrzaka. Ponekad može proći previše vremena dok se spoji sav hardver, ako već nije spojen! A što se tiče samog zvuka, to što je hardver ne znači da zvuči bolje. Dobre stvari se mogu napraviti i digitalno, dok je meni proces najvažniji. Svoju glazbu možeš provući kroz svašta da dobiješ zvuk koji želiš.

UES: Čuli smo da ne puštaš glazbu, što je u kontrastu sa velikim brojem producenata koji balansiraju između produkcije i puštanja. Postoji li razlog za to ili samo nisi zainteresiran?

WA: Volio bih puštati, jednostavno nemam vremena ni budžeta. Zato poštujem DJ-e, a pogotovo one koji vrte vinyl. Osjećam bliskost sa njihovom praksom pošto isto oduzima puno vremena te je skupo, baš kao i hardware! U ovom trenutku sam jako zauzet sa produkcijom i live izvedbom, no unatoč tome, veliki sam slušatelj. Uvijek sam za otkrivanje nove glazbe i djeljenje iste sa ljudima. Svejedno – vinyl, digitalno, tehnički vješto ili ne, volim slušati mikseve, a i sam mogu pustiti ponešto, hehe.

UES: Kakvu opremu furaš sa sobom u Zagreb? Što možemo očekivati na floru, imaš li naznaka za nas?

WA: Imam svoji mali setup koji volim. Lak za nositi i fleksibilan. Neću nabrajati modele, samo ću otkriti da imam ritam mašinu, sintić, delay efekt, looper, bas mašinu i fini mikser. Sam nikad ne znam što ću svirati, osim da će bit stvari koje volim i s kojima sam već eksperimentirao u liveu. Radi se o kombinaciji live eksperimenta i užitka. Pokušavam se ne bojati riskirati dok sam gore, sve je to dio livea.

UES: Možeš li nam reći više o svojem LAN projektu? Koja je ideja iza toga? Imaš li planova za budućnost?

WA: Uzbuđen sam oko LAN002 koji izlazi uskoro (Willisov Non-linearity ep op.a.), kao i sa stvarima koje će se desiti nakon njega. Ne znam još što će točno biti nakon – ja, drugi izvođač, V/A, digitalno ili vinil. LAN je bio zauzet drugim releasom ali će se vratiti brzo sa eventima. Noise eventima, zvučnim događanjima, nadam se i nekim video projektima te nekim novim konceptima koje imam u glavi! Vidjet ćemo!

UES: You have been living in Berlin for some time now… How would you describe the influence the city and it’s people had on your music?

WA: I came to Berlin to give me a chance to develop my music. People are living here in a more alternative and relax way. You end hanging out with a lot of musicians, artists and people initiating things they like to do. The city offers you the opportunity to focus more on your art since the life is still quiet cheap. It’s a big plus to not feel everyday the weight of today society’s screed with its load of pressures and expectations. I feel concerned by the condition of the world, but at the same time I tell myself I have to keep it up. There is a rich scene here with interesting guys and things happening, it’s encouraging.

UES: How long have you been working on music? What has changed during the years in your approach to music?

WA: I actually learned drums while young. Around my 10yo I was drumming at the school and at home on the sofas and chairs. Later in my teenage time, I played for the fun with friends, like bands stuff. At some point I started to make music myself on the computer. My first creations were collages with ‘Windows Sound Editor’.. like using samples here and there, cutting, copy/paste. A fastidious work! I actually started to properly make tracks on Fruity Loops 4. I used it years making beats, experimentation, switching slowly from samples to composition. At some point I went into Ableton, for a quiet short time, since then I got caught by the machines!

UES: Your music is made through use of hardware. How does it differ from making music digitally? What have you gained and what have you lost when you switched to hardware?

WA: My main problem was the software latency. I really love to tap beats live on my drum machine. At that time, it was not working well. You had that little delay – surely my laptop was not the best as well. But still at some point I anyway prefer spontaneity to settings, tests, preparation. I’ve been seduced by real knobs and keys to interact with than the mouse or even a midi keyboard. I like to turn on the machines, experiment, record and then edit. I’m very focused on the live performance as well and I did not trust having a laptop on stage. So my live practice brought me to produce in the same manner, without the use of a laptop. But I like sometimes to come back to software and create something quickly. Somehow you know, it can be long too to plug and connect all the machines if they aren’t yet! And concerning the topic of how it sounds, in my opinion it’s not at all only about the hardware – old school or not – it does not mean it sounds better. You can do good things with digital production, to me it’s all about processes. You can pass your music through something else and make it sound how you want.

UES: We heard you are not DJing, in contrast to many producers who walk the line between making music and playing it. Is there a reason for that or are you just not interested?

WA: I would love to DJ. But I don’t have the time and the budget. That’s why I respect DJ’s. Especially the vinyl DJ’s. I feel close with that practice in the way it’s time consuming and expensive, like the hardware! I’m at the moment more busy with producing and the live but I’m myself a big listener, of every styles. So I’m always up to discover and share music with people. Whatever digital, vinyl, technically skilled or not, I like to listen mixes and I can play stuff for you too, hehe.

UES: What equipment are you bringing with you to Zagreb? What can we expect on the dancefloor, any hints?

WA: I have my lil’ setup, that I love. Easy to carry, flexible. I won’t name the models, I’ll just tell you I have a drum machine, a synthesizer, a delay effect, a looper, a bassline machine and a nice mixer. I never know myself what I’m gonna play, I play stuff I like, that indeed I already experimented before sometimes. It’s a combination of live experimentation and pleasure. I just try to not be afraid of taking ‘risks’ directly on stage. It’s part of the live.

UES: Can you tell us more about your LAN project? What is the idea behind it? Any plans for the future?

WA: I’m excited by the ‘LAN002’ out soon. And as well by what is afterwards. I don’t know yet if it’s gonna be myself, an other artist or a V/A, digital or vinyl. It’s free, just trying to share good music. LAN was busy with that release, it will be back soon with events. Noise music events, sound happenings, hopefully new video projects and some new concepts I have in mind. We will see!