Pink.dot Records Introduce yourself, please. And tell us something about you. What do you think about your first musical experience (I am talking about your participation in the metal band).
Well, I guess the easiest way to describe myself is as a person of too many talents - but that would be overly modest. Seriously, I'm just a guy who likes doing interesting things. I get bored very easily, so I'm constantly trying to amuse myself. Music is a fun way to do that, and - if it's done well - allows you to get free drinks. I used to be in a number of small punk bands that went nowhere, mainly because the venues on the Gold Coast are not very friendly to original music. I was usually the member of the group who wanted to explore new sounds, which usually saw me part ways with the band. As I got more frustrated, I started to experiment with sounds on my own. I used to be classically trained, so being able to concentrate on timbres rather than pitches (notes) was somewhat liberating. The increase availability of the equipment necessary to do away with reliance on other musicians was the clincher! Once I got a TR-707 and plugged into a distortion peddle, I was hooked! It also gave me a way to waste time whenever neo-nazis were causing trouble in my neighbourhood.
What has made you to become the DJ and to like electronic music in general?
My initial exposure to electronic music was when I was a young teenager. Everybody was listening to grunge at the time and I got bored with the standard sounds. There was an underground pirate radio station on the Gold Coast which was playing obscure German techno. From there, I didn't get exposed to much more electronic music until I started university in 1999. It was there I joined a club called the Electronic Artists Society ( http://www.easworld.org ), which at the time had just started up. This put me in contact with a whole lot of innovative people in all fields of electronic art and really expanded my horizons. They have helped a lot of people in my position make the most of their talents as well.
Can you name any musical bands which influenced on your creativity?
Oh gee... where do I start? I guess I'm most influenced by groups who are willing to try new things - Primal Scream, Not From There, audio active, Bjork, the prodigy's "Fat of the Land" LP, Death in Vegas, Deep Dish, Masami bin Laden, the beastie boys. That's a pretty pathetic list because it doesn't quite give you a feel for what I like or what I actually listen to day-to-day.
You know, it is very difficult to characterize your works - from one side tracks like "Isolvaline", "Crunchy Disko" and "The 43rd Floor", from the other side - double CD "Beanbag Aesthetics". How you can define your style priorities?
I can understand the confusion... The only way to really help myself and other people out is to release the songs that are similar to each other together. To be honest, the inspiration for all the music I create is the same - I'm just trying to enjoy myself while I'm making it. I must admit, however, I do enjoy challenging people!
Certainly, "Beanbag Aesthetics" from the beginning till the end is a really conceptual thing. Can you tell more about this project?
It originally started as a one-off prank Scott Sinclair did in a little venue on the Gold Coast at the beginning of last year. We were playing a gig on Valentine's Day, and we wanted to mess with the crowd a little. The original idea for the sound came originally when we were in a shopping mall listening to all the different types of music being played by different stores at the same time. Usually it sounds terrible, but sometimes, for maybe a moment, it just sounds incredible. It's those incredible moments beanbag tries to replicate. Of course, you have to spend a lot of time drilling before you can tap the petroleum reserve! Certainly a lot of it is a reaction to being stuck in the town I grew up, and the frustration that comes with being a big fish in a small tank. There is also an element of taking popular, but bland, culture and making it more interesting. The Gold Coast is known for being particularly artificial and shallow, so I guess this is the backlash from those of us who live there but have no say in it.
Will you continue this idea in the future?
Most definitely - it's too much fun to stop now. Of course, I hope other people take up the idea. It's much more fun playing beanbag when everybody there 'gets it'.
Tell us, please, about your concerts. How adequate is people reaction on your music?
The scene in Brisbane is small, but it's quite supportive of anybody who is brave enough to play in public. As such, concerts here are attended by a small but dedicated audience with eclectic tastes. It's much better than the scene where I live, so I'm willing to put up with the travel to play at and go to shows. I think that environment can really help an artist be themselves because there's no pressure for people to conform to any one style. Many experimental artists here release a variety of different types of music ranging from reggae to glitch. It also means that I get the freedom to choose what I do and do not do at shows. I've been known to take toilet breaks during shows - you really can't take yourself too seriously as an artist, because you loose your perspective if you do. Generally, I try and get the audience involved in the performance. There's nothing worse than looking at a really bored dude on stage - Kraftwerk being an exception.
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How large is electro-experimental "scene" in Australia? Can you name somebody to pay attention to?
The scene here is large enough to satisfy all tastes, but small enough to avoid the pretensions of snobbery. I think Brisbane has one of the better scenes - the crowds and the venues are very open to new ideas, and it's not yet too expensive a place to live, although unfortunately that is beginning to change. If you're looking for interesting artists from around here, you should look out for the likes of Masami Bin Laden, Scott Sinclair, Hydatid, Ponyloaf, Molliger, Team Plastique... Actually, you'd be better off just flying over here every weekend and go inside anywhere you see people who have colour-coordinated their ear plugs!
Your label is named pink.dot. Did you choose this name occasionally and if there is any connection with the "legendary" band?
Actually, it has nothing to do with the band. I liked "pink.dot" because it sounded very generic, maybe like what a start-up dot.com company would call themselves if they didn't quite know what their company would actually do. It sounded like the type of nice, friendly name a big multinational corporation would brand themselves if they were trying to sell "Hello Kitty" vibrators AND children's colouring books.
Can you tell us about already released production of the pink.dot Records. As I understood you do not release music only but are interested in other art projects. How can you explain that?
pink.dot is evil like a multinational corporation. Did you know the company that makes Vegemite also makes cigarettes? I don't think music can be entirely separated from other arts. In that way, I don't think one can restrict themselves to only one artform. As countless popstars have proven, there's more to music than just music! pink.dot was originally a way for me to get my politically-inspired digital graphic art published without risk of having my home fire-bombed. Now it's a way to release annoying music without the risk of having my home fire-bombed.
Who is Gluesniffer? And what is your personal opinion about "change of consciousness"?
gluesniffer likes trance music, thus providing proof of the damage solvent abuse can cause. Beware, kids! As for drug use - each to their own, really. If you need drugs to 'be creative' however, I think you should stop pretending to be an artist and go work as an accountant.
What do you prefer in literature, music and movies?
Actually, not much in terms of any specific preferences. I do, however, try to go out of my way to find lesser-known films and music.
Tell us about life of the modern musician in Australia? Do you work somewhere else except the label? How do you spend your free time? Are you interested in politics? What are your political views on the modern situation in the world?
I'm trained as a biochemist AND a journalist, but actually work as a pizza delivery driver while doing volunteer social work and studying to become a pharmacist. The social and political situation here makes it difficult to live as an Australian of Middle-Eastern origin - I guess that really forms my take on the world and influences my other projects. I am also the co-editor of an independent publication called 'the alien invader', which focuses on political satire from an ethnic perspective. My interest in such matters started when the nature of politics here became socially conservative, and people started spray painting swastikas on my parent's corner store. Little did they know that the swastika actually has positive connotations for people who grew up where my parents are from! The local police didn't think it was worth worrying about either... Of course, having 19 sexless virgins hijack planes and using them as missiles hasn't helped make the world a friendlier place either. Unfortunately the root causes of many of the world's problems are being ignored, often for silly reasons. For everyone who makes music in Australia, it's about love for the music, and certainly not money. I know many people who are forced into office jobs by day so they can make music at night. And lord help you if you live in the sticks!
What do you know about Russian or European music? How do you see Europe and Russia from such a long distant?
Er, other than Tatu? Actually, people here are always looking towards what's happening in Europe to compare it to what's happening here. Of course, I've not been to Europe or Russia myself, but I would love to come over and make a few ears bleed! For some strange reason, I get a lot of email from Russia. To be honest, I get more reaction to my music from Volgograd than I get where I live. I understand that it gets very cold there. Could that have something to do with it? I suppose you start to run out of activities to do indoors after a while...
And the last... Do you want to add anything from yourself?
Thank you for being interested in what someone from the other side of the planet is interested in. I'm actually wondering why you're even interested, to be completely honest. There's a beer here with your name on it, if you ever venture down this way.
Contact: http://www.pinkdot.org
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