Written Interview with Tenebre for FWD 2018

Listen to the mix here: http://www.fwd.dj/mix/fwd95-tenebre/

I know you live in 3 different continents. Do you also then make music in all 3 locations? Do you have a portable studio or a fixed room setup in all 3 places? Does the equipment overlap in the 3 locations or do you have different gear in the different spots? Essentially just interested in learning more about how you juggle production and travel in relation to the practicalities of making intricate and loud electronic music.

I’ve been living between Korea and California for a few years. I’m now back in France for a little while and I moved to Paris a couple of months ago… So this constant on-the-move situation has pretty much dictated my production setup and the studio equipment: the very minimum. Collecting hardware was definitely not an option and the most essential factor was to find the adequate room to spend my days in. I then have a duplicate set up in Seoul.

I’ve really appreciated how you produce mostly techno but have increasingly been playing with the lines outside of strict genres. Your mix for FWD is the same way. I find it refreshing. What are your thoughts on genre smashing and what would you advise other producers looking to expand their sonic palette?

I think that Techno came later in my musical background, as a kid I first enjoyed Jungle and breaks, I’ve been exposed to rave and early hardcore stuff before discovering metal and all its subgenres in my teen age. So I guess this plays an important role in my selection, I like my productions and my sets to be diverse, to bring contrasts and nuances using a wide range of tempos, rhythmic patterns or time signatures while retaining a certain consistency. The latter being what’s most challenging in my opinion.

Your music is dense and intense. What does that say to you about your mind set? Is intense music simply more interesting or there a cathartic component for you?

Kind of a tricky question. After many years of production, I finally start not to think about a piece of music in term of musical elements but rather in term of frequencies range. At the moment, achieving a full spectrum sound, results in this dense feeling you're mentioning, I guess only time and practice will help me refine my sound and I believe less elements could serve the same purpose.

I understand you like to study city environments and the intrinsic limitations of human civilization for inspiration. Is this still your main source? How has your perspective changed over time as it relates to your production?

Well, let’s say I’m deeply uncomfortable with the idea of human density. Wherever I go. As we know it, we as species will gather more and more in the metropolitan areas of our planet. Thus, making the global urban sprawl phenomena the subject for my work is a defense mechanism that stimulate both my imagination and my creativity while reducing a sense of alienation. I hope those two ambivalent feelings reflects in my music: there is struggle but also escapism.

Some of your techno tracks, specifically “Grid Expansion” have a huge boomy kick. It’s reminiscent of the some of the kick work that Dense and Pika put out. Can you describe your technical process for that kick? Is it just a treated sample or is their more in depth production going on?

The last past years, I’ve been involved in the making of several sample packs for specialized companies. What you hear in Ténèbre’s tracks is the results of thousands of sounds and loops I’ve selected from my own material; re-manipulated and processed. Usually I use a combination of sample layering, (attack, body and tail for a kick for instance) with a touch of synthesis using max4live devices mostly for the attack transients and noise.

You seem to be a real connoisseur of distortion. Both Agaric and Tejada referenced their appreciation for analog distortion over digital – is it the same for you and what are some of the units you recommend?

I only use digital so I don’t really know the difference. However I’m a longtime vintage tube amp user for guitar so I guess they are right, but the most recent digital technology for guitar alone is quite incredible, so whatever happens, it will be more handy to use its digital version when the unit is available. In another field, digital emulations of non linear channel strips or tape machines are really amazing and it has been a game changer in my practice so, if it already surpasses their analog equivalent not just only in term of usage, it’s only going to get better and better.

What are you using in your studio right now? Give us a bit of a tour!

As mentioned earlier, it’s very minimal, I work on Ableton Live using a pair of Genelec 1031s and a RME sound interface. I’ve successfully incorporated Push in my workflow about a year ago, probably the most useful piece of gear I’ve ever had. I’ve got a TI desktop unit I sometimes use for pads and textures and for live performances I’ve added a Elektron Digitakt into which I can load all of my samples and quickly program sequences while I DJ.

What do you do when you are not producing music?

There’s not much time left but cooking is definitely a very important and relaxing moment in my day.

Can you tell us a bit about the mix you recorded for FWD? Where and how did you make it?

I wanted to showcase some of my work and approach for the American audience. By experience our conception and references in electronic music are quite different, so I’ve selected some of my stuff across different releases and some unreleased material I’ve been involved with, new music from my WNCL label mates, and everything else that I find to be relevant at the moment.

What’s coming up in 2018 for you that our listeners should be aware of?

A couple of remixes are in the pipeline, one due on WNCL this year, another one with JoeFarr, there is also this crazy polyrhythmic EP I’ve made waiting to be released. It’s also going to be my UK debuts in february with the whole label crew and I’ve been asked by mate TremensS to collaborate on his live-electronics project called 665.99 It’s gonna be a spatialized and fully digital real-time performance we will present february 15th @ the Château Ephémère. Excited already!

Tags: Ableton, Max Live, Max MSP