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INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
Gaspard from Yab Yum is giving us a special interview
revealing his new plans!
are between 147 and 150, reasonably groovy,
quite happy, not too dark but not too cheesy either! I find it essential to add a humoristic aspect
to my music, like Ajja and I do in YabYum. My
personal favorite track on the album is the first
track, “Spaced”.
PM: Over the last years we saw Dancers appreciating more the “dark side” of psychedelic. Do you see this evolving even more in the
next years?
G: I used to feel sad about the scene splitting up
into loads of sub-genres. The first parties and
festivals I went to were basically one dance-floor
and sometimes one chill-out. It was perfect, as
all the people were together in one place.
Nowadays, festivals all have several dance-floors
and there is a feeling of perpetual motion between floors, less of the oneness everyone’s so
fond of. Now I think it’s great that there are so
many sub-genres, as artists from all of these explore them to the max. There is amazing music
being made in all of the Goa sub-genres. I’m not
a big fan of very fast and dark music but I do understand what attracts people to it. As for what
will happen in the next few years, I think we’ll
have to wait and see. Or wait and hear! But I’m
sure we’re in for an aural treat!
Pleasure to see you again bro!
PM: You have been in Psychedelic Trance
scene many years! How did it start for you?
G: It all happened back in 1993. At this time I really didn’t like electronic music, or the whole
house / techno scene. I was into punk and metal,
and a few fusion bands like Ozric Tentacles, and
it was at an Ozric gig in Amsterdam that things
changed for me. Eat Static were playing after the
band and they blew me away. Here I was in the
Paradiso club dancing to repetitive beats with
like-minded people. Amazing! There is no turning back from such an experience! After that I
got some decks and started dj-ing. Everything
just slipped into place after that.
PM: And now the time came that Gaspard is
a Live Act! Tell us everything about your new
project!
G: To be honest I never thought it would happen! I never liked my tracks until quite recently.
Now I feel much more confident about my own
music. I used to spend a lot of time trying and
reproduce tracks that I liked, and artists that I
liked, and I would always be disappointed with
the result… After my break from the scene (from
2008 to 2011), I started making music again, this
time without comparing it to others’, and everything changed. I really let what’s inside of me out
into the music, and it just happens, there’s no
planning. Time spent in the studio is a true pleasure for me as its time spent on my own, traveling on the inside as it were!
PM: So should we expect a New album soon?
G: As it happens, yes, my album “Seems Legit” is coming out
in May 2014 on Sangoma records.
G: I’m really happy with it as it was made while
my wife was pregnant with my second child and
in his first 6 months of life, so its charged with
“life moments” and means a lot to me. All tracks
PM: What do you think makes your music distinctive?
G: It’s hard for me to answer that really… but
I do feel that it resembles me. I recognize myself in my music. Like I mentioned earlier, I really try not to reproduce other people’s music.
Its like trying to be like someone else…. you cant,
you’re you, everyone else is taken. Same for music. If you try and copy, its no longer you, and it
doesn’t feel quite right.
I really like an eclectic dance-floor, with smiling
faces and a good atmosphere, and I hope that
my music brings this out in people!
PM: When you are in the studio what inspires
you?
G: Inspiration comes in many different shape
and forms, from the mood I’m in, the colour of
the sunset, the sound of insects in the garden,
a movie or simply enjoying the moment. In the
creative moments I do enjoy red wine and a little THC! Quite often before I start a new track,
I watch a movie or a tv show in logic, bouncing
out samples and sounds that I like as I go along.
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In a way this gives the track a certain vibe or colour. And I’ll build on that. Then I listen to the
track continuously in my daily life taking notes,
making fine tuning, up until I’m either sick of
hearing it or I’ve reached the deadline.
PM: Whould you like to share with us your
technological preferences?
G: I’ve been using Logic and Ableton since I started making music. My only hardware synth is a
Virus Ti2, which I really love & use a lot. I enjoy
a whole bunch of different software synths, one
of my favorite being the Symplant from Sonic
Charge. I also love randomizer type softs such
as Beat Repeat, LiveCut & SupaTrigga. Practically
everything I make ends up going through one of
these!
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