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Artax Interview (Glowing Flame, Sweden)

Article posted by TweeKUniT on 7th Apr 2006

Artax Interview (Glowing Flame, Sweden)

Hey Lars, how you going bruthaman? How’s the cold of home treating you after the Summer in Australia? You and Christina are well?

"- Hey, bro, yeah we're well.. It's fuckin' cold here, but I'm back behind the knobs in the studio anyway.. Nothing else to do on the dark side of the planet... But, otherwise, it's okay. Had sooo much shit to do since I came back, though..."

Ok…where do we start- you are one of those artists who managed to make your way onto nearly every summer festival in Australia this year- you must have got a pretty good snapshot of the Aussie scene… What have you got to say about the Aussie people’s vibe and the scene in general?

"- Oh, man, I really loved it! Your uniqe nature is awesome, and doofing out there is truely amazing both visually and emotionally. And the vibe from you Aussie's is totally incredible. Everyone is happy 24-7, it seems.. I met soooo many wonderful people over there, and it was a bit hard to leave you people to go back to Sweden.. Hopefully, I'll be back soon.."

You played Tribeadelic New Years, Rainbow Serpent, Earth Freq in NNSW- the list goes on… Could you pick out a favourite gig? Why?

"- Hmm.. A bit difficult, all the gigs were cool in different ways. RSF was really massive but the Earth Freq location was one of the coolest one I've seen. But, if we see it performance-wise, I think I did the best set at RSF. Also, the vibe during my set was amazing.. I think the set suited the schedule, I got a good set time."

Yer I was there, it was wicked… you were one of the most psychedelic acts of the festiaval…What other sorts of stuff did you get up to while you were here? What other aspects of the Aussie life did you experience?

"- Tooheys New? No, I don't know.. We took a roadtrip from Byron Bay to Rainbow Serpent with Dennis Ganshka, and we had some crocodile-pie on the way… But, I don't know how genuinelly Aussie that is? I switched from ciggies to rollies during my time in Oz!"

Haha! We made an impact! That’s a bit switch! Haha! Your music was very experimental in style I think- the crowds loved it here, tell me a bit about the musical direction with your new album… Something like 8-bit Nintendo comes to mind! It will be released on Glowing Flame right?

"- Yep, the new album is in production, well it's been for the last 15 months or something... It's not going to be released on Glowing Flame, though, but I have some good labels who are interested. The theme for the album is going to be as you mentioned, 8-bit videogame-style.. I truly have had a soft spot for that kind sounds, probably because it reminds me of my childhood.. NES-system must have been my first step in the Hi-tech interest.. Back then, "Ice Climber", nowadays, "Audio System Setup"! Hehe.. Well, as the first album, it's going to be a bit experimental, but mostly up-beat track and the 8-bit-shit isn't all over every track. You'll hear it here and there.. Also, I'm just completing a track inspired by an incident at Rainbow Serpent, where a man totally demolished a stairfoam cool-box ("esky"), accidentally he claims, still extremely un-gracious.."

HAHA! New Zealanders call them Chillie-bins, its even weirderman! Any other projects, releases or things on the horizon musically after the album? Where can you see your direction going?

"- I actually don't know at all... Not a clue.. Scares me a bit.. Nah, I have some plans doing some different kind of music, some collaborations of course, but nothing is more than planned right now.."

Tell me a bit about your influence musically… there is trance in your blood, your family has heritage, yo! (For those who don’t know Lars brother is Logic Bomb!) How did your path into production start, and who where some major influences on your sound…

"- Yes, he’s apart of Logic Bomb, and of course, it's been a big inspiration. My brother actually taught me the basics of computer-based production, back in the beginning.. The Logic Bomb music is also the reason I started producing psy-trance, kinda opened my eyes to it *BOOM!... Nowadays, I don't see Johan or Tranan that much, but of course I meet my brother some times. They all have their own separate setups, since they don’t live in the same city any more. Their live set is also fuckin killer still! About other musical inspiration.. Well, I listened a lot to Kraftwerk a couple of years back, still do rather, and I've always been inspired by their pioneer electronic grooves and melodies.. Within the scene, I think KoxBox and HuxFlux, besides Logic Bomb, have been the most inspiring music."

Tell me a bit about your studio setup- do you use much hardware in your productions? Or are you mainly VST based like most producers these days? What part of your studio other than your computer is most integral?

"- I've been going from a lot of hardware, years back, over to only using software. But now I'm turning back to hardware… Well, for the last 2 years I've stashed up with some fat machines and effects.. Hardware analogue compressors, if you have someway classy ones, makes a big difference to the sound also. I still think that you get the fattest sound if you have some quality analogue components somewhere in you setup. You can also tell it from hearing a track mixed analog or partly analogue, it's a different kind of headroom. Currently, I'm using a PC with a Motu 2408mk3 soundcard running Cakewalk Sonar as the sequencer.. 8 analogue outputs going as 4 stereo-busses out to a Tascam mixing desk, just for the analogue touch. Focusrite Compounder, killer compressor for kick and bass, and a TC Electronics FireWorx for some weird effects… When it comes to synths, I use mostly hardware... Not only because it sounds better, I havent ever seen any software that can compare to the possibilities of some of the synths I use… My favourite ones are, incidently, all Swedish made. Two of them are from a minor synth- manufactur, Elektron DSI, in Gothenburg, west Sweden. They're MonoMachine and Machinedrum UW. Both very odd groovebox-isch at first sight, but endless in possibilities! I love those machines, there fuckin nuts! The third Swedish synth I have in my setup is the Nord Modular G2, which truely is a wet dream for everyone who loves to patch and tweek you ass of.. When it comes to software, I really like Native Instruments. I've used the Kontakt-sampler for years, and nowadays I use a lot of Reakor aswell."

What about these days- which do you think are the most innovative artists? Who do you listen to at home? Did you hear any Aussie acts you thought made great music while you were on tour?

"- I heard a lot of good music in Australia, fuck yeah! Some really promising new-comers sounds, as well. What I listen to mostly today, is Z-Man (Jonas, my brother), Rastaliens I like a lot, and I listen some old Hux Flux and Logic Bomb still... But I listen too much to my own music also."

So do you tour much like you just did around Australia? Where are you off to next? What’s on the horizon gig wise?

"- There's some gigs planned, some domestic and some international... But, no tours planned at the moment, I need to make some new tracks first and of course finish the album."

Now your back home- what do you get up to apart from make music? I imagine it has something to do with beer…

"- Yeah, well I found the 7-week-Toohey-diet rather effective! So, I've decided to keep it up! :-) Also, I finally had some all-nighter-with-a-bottle-of-JD-in-the-studio-moments! One of my absolute favourites.."

Any last words, thank yous or people you want to mention, before we wrap this thing up bro? Anything to say to the people of Australia?

"- TAKE ME BACK TO AUSTRALIA!! It's fuckin cold here, and there's neither beaches or hippies…Nah, but big hugs to all you freaks down there.. Truly miss you all!!"

Peace bro, take it easy and hopefully we’ll see you down in Australia again someday! Australia loves Artax!

"- Yeah, thanks, bro! Keep up the great work. Hope to see ya soon again! Boom!!"

Interview with Larz (Artax) by Jesse Kuch