LUSINE – FWD0109

Posted: Thursday, September 9th, 2010
In: Electronic, Podcasts, Pop, Techno, We Love
Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Source : FWD

Description

  • Title: FWD0109
  • Length: 61:47 minutes (84.85 MB)
  • Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 192Kbps (CBR)

Lusine is the futurist moniker of one Jeff McIlwain, a Texan native turned Seattle sytho-phile with an unorthodox and refreshing sound design and EDM palette. Hailing from a scholastic back ground in electronic music and film scoring,Lusine has steadily built up a following on the reputed Ghostly International, Mute, !K7, Kompakt, Asthmatic Kitty, and Shitkatapult. Fresh off the huge ground swell from his amazing “A Certain Distance”, FWD is happy to have this unique and growing talent on the team!

Completly live laptop set with hybrid tracks and loop jams.

Interview

1.Your productions have always skated the fine line between techno, ambient and breaks. Why have you chosen to take this dynamic approach to your music and would you like to see more artists out there like you?

I think it’s just easier for me to be inspired if I don’t stick to one genre or style for too long. It enables me to take ideas from one area and apply them to another. It would be nice to see artists step out of their comfort zones more often. I think that’s how music evolves. Of course there are a lot of versatile artists out there already.

2. You just finished up with some play dates out in Japan! How did those shows go and what commentary do you have on the culture of that nation? How do they interact with your music and how do they interact with the EDM scene in general?

The shows went really well, and I think the crowds were pretty sophisticated and enthusiastic. Japan is a fascinating country. I think it’s kind of hard to get a read on the culture unless you’re there for a long time. But, I know that maybe some of the cultural differences aren’t as extreme as a lot of people think, at least in the crowds that I interact with. It seems like the show at Unit was quite diverse stylistically and the crowd rolled with it pretty well. I’m not sure how popular the experimental dance scene is over there, but in my experience, the more tight knit a scene is, the better.

3.You have done two film projects in the last 3 years. Do you have any future scores lined up? How is the film music business and process different for you than the straight forward music production?

My music partner, David Wingo, and I are hoping to demo for a couple of upcoming film projects. Really looking forward to getting back to that. It’s nice to go back and forth between the two. With music production, it’s very dependent on your own personal creative ideas. With the film scores, it’s a much more collaborative effort, with the director ultimately calling the shots. So, it’s nice to have a bit of both. I’ve found that recent experience in one area can have a positive influence on the other quite often.

4. Do you feel that the grey skies in Seattle assist with your creativity, detract, or have no real impact? How much do your surroundings influence your creative flow?

They have an impact in the sense that, when it’s rainy, it’s usually a good time to stay in and work on music. It makes life a bit more introspective. Sunny days want to pull you outside, and you feel bad for staying in the studio, but the dark season can give you the drive to work on music.

5.What software/hardware/sample packs do you use and recommend?

I don’t really use sample packs for my own music. I prefer to collect samples from random places. The radio can be an interesting place to pick up samples because of all the interference and imperfections that can make sounds interesting. I do use the Halyon Symphonic Orchestra for all of my string samples. It’s a pretty dynamic and versatile library, and not too expensive. I have a couple analogs. My Arp Odyssey is my main analog, and I have a Korg Radias digital rack that I like a lot. FL Studio, Ableton, and Cubase are my main software apps for creating music.

6. Who are your top 10 favorite artists out there at the moment and what do you look for when you are considering the music you support and listen to?

Top ten, hmm.. Not sure that I really have a top ten. But, some artists that I’m currently listening to are Loscil, Mountains, The National, Dave Pezzner, Dj Koze, Apparat, Band of Horses, Fourtet, Dosh, Lukid.

I mostly just want to hear good music. I like artists that have an original sound and know how to write good hooks. I’m not really all that interested in trendy sounding music or tricky, “impressive” production, unless it’s done in a way that enhances the overall musicality.

7. Are you mostly focused on pure sound design or do you have additional spiritual/social/political efforts behind your music production?

No, I don’t like music with any sort of political or social commentary. But, there are sometimes personal events that inspire my music, especially when lyrics are involved. And I guess there can be a spiritual influence, but that’s a little bit harder to pin down.

8. Tell us about your live performance set up! Do you try to keep the crowd dancing or do you focus more on the mood? What equipment do you use and what do you think you will do to improve your performance experience?

If it’s at a dance club in between dance sets, I’ll definitely try to keep the crowd moving. If it’s for a more eclectic night, I might try to mix it up a little bit because I feel like the crowd will have more patience in that type of situation. I use Ableton Live and a midi controller. I’ve been considering getting a pad controller as well, so I can map out effects and hit those effect changes on the pads. Sometimes I’ll bring a synth along, but usually only for local shows. My setup needs to be pretty compact when I’m on the road.

9. What do you have in store for the rest of 2010? What do you want to promote?

Hoping to work on another film score in the coming months. I will be working on a new album on and off, I think that project will take a while. I have a remix of Stewart Walker coming out on a local label called Peloton Musique. Also a remix for Pezzner on Freerange along with one by Stimming for his single called “Blacklist.” The Decibel Festival takes place in September in Seattle, and I’ll be playing there, along with a pretty impressive lineup of artists, so that should be pretty fun.

10. Do you have any commentary on this exclusive FWD set? What do you want to tell the listeners?

This was a live set I did in Victoria, BC. Some upbeat reinterpretations of stuff off of my album, and some stuff that I only perform live.

Elsewhere on the web

Related posts