Q. You have released on Masters Of Hardcore and performed at large Hardcore festivals. What was it like for you in those relatively commercial venues? How has your awareness changed as a result of being in those places?

I was really excited about playing at those festivals, especially the first times, and looking back, that was the only way to reach a larger crowd.

However, working with Most Wanted was a disappointing experience.

ID&T owns most of the festivals and agencies: this opens the door to a conflict of interests that should not be allowed in the first place. Your agency should separated from being the promoter and the label and as an artist, you are the only one who is going to pay the consequences.

Q. What is your current music production method? What is the most enjoyable part of music production?

I just finished an album by starting the tracks in FL Studio and finishing them off in Bitwig. I use Serum to synthesize 90% of my sounds and I use almost exclusively its internal FX especially when it comes to Kicks. In my studio, I have Adam A7X speakers, an RME Fireface UC soundcard, Beyerdynamic DT-990 headphones, and some synthesizers (Nord Lead 4, Access Virus TI 2, JP-8080) and a few FX processors like the Sherman Filterbank 2. However, most of what I do can be generated entirely with plugins nowadays.

To me music it's therapy: I don't do this for money, I just have this itch I need to scratch, and releasing these ideas makes me feel like getting things out of my system. It feels good, I seriously have no other motivation, I do it for myself and if you like what I do is great but it's purely a side-effect.

Q. When you are in a slump in your music production, how do you get out of it?

It happened before starting my previous album, this is why I learned FL Studio.

The DAW doesn't allow me to do anything I wouldn't be able to do in Bitwig, but having to re-learn a pattern forced me to let go of those automated mechanisms that could've forced me to repeat myself.

Q. I find your music cynical and rebellious. They make your music original. Are these factors deliberate?

My life changed a lot and the music I make nowadays is not the same thing I used to make.

While I totally recognize what you say in my previous works, the new stuff is going to be different because I'm a different man and I have evolved beyond my old self.

I don't really believe in crafting music to be something on purpose. I mean music should be the expression of who you are and how you feel in that particular moment in life.

I think originality should come from the fact that each one of us has a unique view, history, and influences that make us who we are.

Q. Which of your own songs do you like best?

At the time of the release of this interview, this answer will not make much sense, but my favorite track is "To Be Loved" (it's currently unreleased and will be my album opener).

It showcases the complexity I'm capable of in terms of sound design, harmony, arrangement, and narrative. It spaces between moods and genres and it took forever to produce it but I'm really proud.

Q. What was the best club night/festival you have ever experienced?

I would say Thunderdome in 2012, it was supposed to be the last edition and everyone was literally out of their mind LOL. I also like some earlier MOH editions when the industrial area was still a thing

Q. What do you think of the current Hardcore industry/community?

I think Hardcore has reached rock bottom. It's extremely rare to come across something I like and Uptempo has spread like a terminal cancer. This is why many Hardcore deejays are migrating towards Techno and in this latest album, I am partially doing that too in a certain way.

As I mentioned before, on the business side there is a monopoly by ID&T which has substantially robbed listeners of the opportunity to choose festivals in a healthy market where there's fair competition between major players and artists to make professional choices that will not heavily backfire on them if they don't go along with a consolidated elite who decides everything.

Q. I hear you have plans to release a new album. What will it be?

My new album will be a collection of 9 tracks that are on the slower side of Industrial while also spacing through different genres like Glitch, Trance, and Hardcore. "To be loved & to let go" is the story of what I've been through in the last 2 years where I experienced an incredibly wide spectrum of emotions and things which inspired me to put these tracks together.

It will be available for free on my www.lowroller.wtf website as well as on all streaming platforms.

Q. Please give a final message to our readers.

I am extremely close to the music production community because I think there are so many talented artists who have not been discovered yet and who will be able to shape the future of music as we know it. I would like to take this occasion to let you know that I have left the Fragment Audio / We Tweak project because my vision is no longer compatible with one of its board members. I still believe that music producers are my crowd and I will find a different way to contribute to this community in a way that doesn't turn out to be some wanna-be corporate monstrosity.

2024.07

MDC Interview#62 " Lowroller "