Reg.: Jan 2007
Location: circles of hell
Posts: 6081

Interview with a dnb / hardcore demigod DJ Hidden

> 1. The current crop of heavy duty Drum & Bass artists seemingly focus on drum dynamics over cinematic styling and atmospheres do you feel like the last dark drum & bass artist that is incorporating these elements?

- Although my music is different from most of these producers, I do like to listen to what is going on and what direction people are taking their particular sound. It can be a very educational process to simply listen to other people's tracks and figure out how they did a specific thing. So while I do not necessarily feel like following a trend, I do like to incorporate what I hear and combine it with elements that are part of my own particular style.

> 2. Hardcore, Breakcore, IDM aspects are often fused into your tracks, do you think the walls have broken down enough and punters are starting to accept multifaceted tracks?

- While purism will never be a thing of the past completely, I do believe a certain segment of people interested in electronic music has become more accepting of the idea. The genres you mention have also matured and I think that especially those producers interested in moving forward are increasingly noticing the advantages of mixing them up. I personally find it very motivating and, as mentioned, educational. For instance, certain production techniques I've learned while making drum n bass, such as proper compression, are very convenient to use when mixing down hardcore tracks. On the other hand, I think a lot of drum n bass producers have been able to pick up a thing or two from the ways hardcore producers use distortion.

> 3. Times Like These - the definitive DJ Hidden tune?

- I usually feel that the track I'm currently working on is the definitive DJ Hidden tune. - With Times Like These, I honestly had no idea how much impact the track would have. I essentially had written a drum n bass tune but it needed something "extra".
When I added the first kickdrum, it felt right and I decided to rework the entire track into what it is now. It's amazing how many requests from different labels I've had to write a track for them similar to Times Like These - and although I do not feel like repeating myself entirely, I still have the desire to explore this concept more. Upcoming releases on Sustained Records, Mentally Disturbed, Nekrolog1k and of course our new label Genosha One Seven Five are examples of this - and I hope these tracks will get an equally positive reception.

> 4. Were the issues we had with our previous distributor regarding pressing KSHEEPV007 Past The Flesh the most bizarre and horrible story of vinyl woes you have experienced?

- Sadly, this is one of many situations where things did not go exactly as planned. I usually prefer to focus on the future and try to ignore the many fuck ups that have plagued releases.
The human brain works in interesting ways though as I sometimes have a hard time remembering my own track titles while bad cuts, shipments of bend records, lost shipments, switched artwork, badly printed artwork, badly pressed records and labels not paying their artists tend to stick.

> 5. The first DJ Hidden track I heard was in Mark N's apartment 2002; it was Empty Streets, when I contacted you regarding licensing it for a CD compilation I was pretty sure you would tell me to bog off which brings me to your apparent affinity for the smaller fish labels - do you empathise with the lads in their bedrooms struggling to pump out the music that they are passionate about?

- Since I've been producing out of my bedroom for a large part of my musical career myself, I can definitely empathise.
In this day and age, it's not necessary to have an enormous studio filled with hardware anymore to produce decent music. It's completely up to the individual to figure out what works best for them. Although I would always recommend investing in a good set of monitor speakers and I have to admit it is nice to have a particular space dedicated to my work as a musician, the only real requirement you need as a producer is this passion.

The experience you gain from doing what you love will then gradually make you look for ways to improve anyway. In these online times where people think they are sticking it to the man by downloading entire catalogs of these smaller fish labels, they fail to realize they are killing what is essentially the more innovative side of the music industry.
I'm not saying you should just blindly buy everything (small) labels have to offer. By supporting them though, apart from helping the label survive, you're also motivating an artist to show more of his or her creativity.
I fully realize this artist can also just put all this music online for free - but after the initial joy of an x number of downloads (yay), I'm suspecting most will move on to bigger and better things (bigger yay).

> 6. At midnight Australian time I often email you with really stupid ideas regarding releases such as when I thought we could make one side a 33 speed record and the other 44.... do you often ponder my amusing ramblings with head scratching good humour?

- Some of the most innovative ideas have come from people working in the porn industry, so I have to take every idea you come up with very serious.

> 7. Tell us about your forth coming album (format, styles, availability)

- At the moment, I'm still in the middle of writing tracks for this second album. I've just finished the title track and what I can say about this song and everything else I've written so far, is that it does sound quite different from The Later After (the first album).
I've been trying to create more continuation in an attempt to write a "soundtrack drum n bass album" of sorts. I've been told my sound often reminds people of movies - this time around though, I'm trying to consciously transform the project into one large cinematic experience.
Apart from that, this release will have even more back masking and other ways to convey hidden messages than before.
Then again, I wonder if people will actually find any of these - as I have yet to receive an e-mail of someone who found the 20+ secrets in The Later After.
The album will once again be released on Ad Noiseam and this time we are planning a full-length CD and double 12" vinyl version featuring dj-friendlier versions of those tracks that work well on dance floors.
Actually, I'm working on two albums at the moment. The other project will be released as "Semiomime" and will actually sound even closer to an actual film score. However, this CD will be released after the DJ Hidden one - so that's still quite some time away.

> 8. You have a new label in the works, give us a run down about it and what should punters expect to hear from it?

- Ever since Eye-D and myself (as The Outside Agency and individually) started spinning, we have been mixing up genres in our dj-sets. With 18 succesful 12" releases on our experimental hardcore label Genosha Recordings, we figured it was time for a sub label in order to explore what some people now call "Drum & Core".
"Genosha One Seven Five" or "One Seven Five" for short will be an output for every track we would consider playing at both a drum n bass and a hardcore event. So it doesn't mean that we're just going to put out numerous knockoffs of Times Like These or Hell's Basement. Instead the tracks we are planning to release will be explorations in combining techniques and atmospheres.

> 9. Any chance of a collaboration with The DJ Producer?

- We have actually tried a collaboration in the past but due to our schedules, it didn't exactly work out. That track, which I had started, transformed into "Barker", released on B2K last year.
Luke and I are still planning on working together though - so maybe this year it will actually happen.

> 10. What have you been listening to lately?

- When I'm not working on my own tracks or checking out demos, I usually tend to listen to completely different music. My music taste ranges from Debussy to Meshuggah so it can be anything.
Lately, I've been replaying an album called "Sekunden" by Swod a lot - because it's brilliant.

To book Mr Hidden as a live musical experience email: connect@djhidden.com

__________________
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DARKBOX RECORDINGS - Management


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for booking MINOS (DubStep):
roman.steindl@gmail.com
SKYPE: DarkBoxRecordings

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Reg.: Jan 2007
Location: circles of hell
Posts: 6081

and another interview by the godfather of noise:



Can you describe your temporary departure from hardcore, how drum’n’bass was able to fill the void, and your current work with your/Eye-D’s hardcore label, Genosha?

Roughly 11 years ago, my first explorations into the world of drum ‘n’ bass were quite literal escapes from hardcore, which had been taken hostage by its glow stick variant. Concurrently, Jungle/Breakbeat was getting darker and this turned out to be very appealing.

Nowadays, I tend to simultaneously operate in both styles. Just as long as they are not associated with fluorescent flowers, contain pitched up pop choruses or feature staccato piano melodies that sound like they are being played by jesters with ADHD, I’m happy.

Working on “The Words Below” was never really a departure from hardcore as I prefer to have several projects going at a time. By allowing myself to work with multiple genres, it consequentially might make it harder to categorize my tracks. The blend of elements might not always be what listeners have come to expect. The freedom to experiment has enabled me to come a lot closer to the way I want my music to sound though. Every song I write, I consider part of a learning experience in which I am applying my previously attained knowledge and I am hoping to gain more. It is an interesting never ending process in which I strive to translate my ideas in such a way that they are perceived creative yet do not come across unnatural.

The reason we started Genosha Recordings was simply to have a higher level of creative control. Although we have a small roster of artists on the label now, it initially started off as an outlet for our own material and still fully represents the kind of hardcore we would like to hear. Once again, this music is a mixture – taking cues from drum ‘n’ bass, techno and idm.



Do you foresee mainly DJ Hidden material in your future, or is The Outside Agency due for an album?

I like to keep the releases I do as DJ Hidden and the ones we do as The Outside Agency balanced. Since not everyone is familiar with both, I think it’s the best way to keep everyone happy, including myself. Apart from the educational factor, writing music for these different projects also prevents me from having writer’s block. Currently, I have been broadening my musical horizon some more by occasionally focusing on my Semiomime project. Right now, I am writing a full length album which is the perfect output for some of the ideas that are hard to fit into tracks that often still require a certain connection to dancefloors.
The first Outside Agency album, Scenocide 101, was a collection of the tracks we had released on various Genosha 12” up till then. Its sequel, Scenocide 202, will essentially do the same thing and is scheduled for release in 2010.



Your list of allies is long. Who do you feel is doing the most valuable work in the musical realms you inhabit? What is Ad Noiseam doing right?

Naming either a specific artist or label as the key factor to any of the genres I mentioned before wouldn’t do justice to the many highly talented individuals and forward thinking labels I would have to ignore. I admire musicians who have their own identity and are capable of expressing themselves through their work. With regards to the labels I had the opportunity to work with, the ones I value most are the ones who respect their artists and support them by releasing their music. If I had to sum up the good qualities a label should have, Ad Noiseam would be listed as one of few who would fit a special “all of the above” section. It has always been a pleasure working with them and I value their honesty, individuality and overall good taste in a wide selection of different kinds of music. I consider most of their releases of very high quality and I’m proud I was given the ability to contribute to their discography. They have always given me complete creative control enabling me to release two full-length albums which turned out exactly the way I had envisioned them.



As early as “Empty Streets” I knew you were a force to be reckoned with. Is there a chance your earlier DJ Hidden tracks and remixes will be collected?

Apart from Scenocide 202, which collects all recent tracks Eye-D and I did on Genosha, there are no direct plans to release a album like this with my previous DJ Hidden material. I am however planning on making several of the older tracks available for download on various portals, remastered if necessary.

Maybe someday I will release a collection of my best tracks on CD but right now, I prefer to focus on creating new ones. As with the music on The Words Below, I often consider my songs tales and I have a lot more to tell…

__________________
BASSINTOXICATION - Management
DARKBOX RECORDINGS - Management


--> <--


for booking MINOS (DubStep):
roman.steindl@gmail.com
SKYPE: DarkBoxRecordings

<<<>>>

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Reg.: Feb 2006
Location: Salzburg
Posts: 237

quote:

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I am however planning on making several of the older tracks available for download on various portals, remastered if necessary.

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Reg.: Oct 2002
Location: http://www.karoshium.org
Posts: 182

btw.

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CHECK DIS OUT!

quote:

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"Vinyl brings quality control. Anyone can bang out a tune and upload it to an internet site, but when you decide to invest £2000 in pressing up some records, believe me, you soon start to question the quality of the music." [PJ/Shut Up And Dance]

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