CM>>>The first thing I’ve noticed when it came to the release of your last album “Flexing Habitual“ was the short film on your website. It shows the harbour near Chicago (I guess??), and a lonesome microphone together with a breakout box and in the next scene you stand behind the mixing desk. The music in the background is the wonderful track “Birthday Colour“. A really quiet and peaceful scene, then the music turns into breakcore sounds and hectic graphic elements....
I watched this short movie again and again because of its beauty and antagonism. Then I come to the conclusion that this short film is kind of a visit-card or better it tells more than any biography about you. Every track you made owns these beautiful elements, I mean these warm synth, guitar or formant sounds and on the other side your tracks also own these disturbing and scary elements. What do you think about my strange theories... ?
Benn>>> I think you’re probably right. The video was actually a more scenic recreation of how the song was made (by playing a softsynth on a beach that was modulated by the waves through a little stereo microphone).
CM>>> If my first question failed, forget the next one. But can it be that the thing I noticed in your music and in your short film describes a part of your personality?
Benn>> Definitely. Without attempting to accomplish the effect, my creative output is always an exaggeration of my personality. I’m diagnosed bi-polar, but I’m starting to learn how to use it a little bit more wisely in my music. I’ve been trying to set out certain tasks in composing and recording scheduled around where my mind is in a particular day. Hopefully the result will be albums that are just as diverse in melody and sound, but the theme will be less vacant.
CM>>> It’s no secret that me English ability is really weird, when I translated “Flexing Habitual“ or better say tried to translate it. I understand that the title means something like someone’s bends or deforms things because he’s addicted to do it. Now you may laugh about me. Can you explain the title’s meaning to me?
Benn>>> Your definition probably made more sense of the name than an American person could make of it. The album, to me, is just embracing the genre of music that I’ve made over the last decade. It’s part masturbation and part addiction. Honestly I’ve haven’t been excited about Amen breaks and spastic DSP for years. It was starting to become more of a contest than a collection of creative compositions. That is Flexing Habitual. A mistake where I went too far, but the output is still something that I find accomplished enough to enjoy listening to.
CM>>>When I finally received your album “Flexing Habitual“ and put it in my CD player was the fact that the message “IDM DIES NOW“ appeared when you listened to all ten songs. What’s behind this message? A joke or a statement..
Benn>>> It’s a tongue in cheek statement. Most of Flexing Habitual was written over 2 years ago. In the beginning of 2005 I stopped using computers and started working on Reunion and new acid stuff, and I haven’t gone back to “IDM” since. I think IDM was a great journey that’ll lead to bigger, better, and more successful musical endeavours, perhaps a transition to the future of how we hear things. Last year’s billboard charts were filled with songs that would be considered IDM or experimental 5 years ago had they been instrumental. So I guess what I’m saying is, IDM isn’t as much of a genre as it is a definition for the way a producer uses his tools.
CM>>>You use a lot of classic synth sounds as a bearing element. From where comes this bias to these sounds? You might laugh but these sounds give me a “save“ feeling in music...
Benn>>> I suppose sometimes things get a little bit too bizarre sounding and I need some form of cliché to satisfy myself with. It’s also just simply quality for me. I rarely find a sharper or more effective snare sample than one I can make on a TR-808 or even newer synthesisers. A lot of those cliché machines still stand on top of my arsenal for creating a sound that I find desirable.
CM>>>I talked last night to a friend of mine who also is a musician, after our conversation I had an uncertain feeling about the process of creating music. May I be allowed to ask you a personal question? I would really like to know what kind of feeling you have when you finish a complete album. Do you feel kind of satisfied or unsure? After all, what would you call the moment when you feel “paid for your efforts“? An email where someone writes you that he loves your music? A good review? A crazy moshpit when you perform live? Or the creative process in itself?
Benn>>> I always go through the same scenario when I finish an album. I’ll be very satisfied with it until about a week after it starts being promoted and pressed. Then a half year later I’ll listen to it and appreciate it again. It’s hard to say what pays off though since…while it is hard work; it’s what I’d be doing as a hobby if I wasn’t making a living off of it. I suppose being able to make a living off of what I do happily and naturally is all the success I could ever desire.
CM>>>In my opinion “Flexing Habitual“ comprises in my opinion “winking“ moments paired with kind of melancholic melodies totally different to the classical moments of “Kirlian Sections“. What influences your music mostly? Things you absorb from the outside like the news etc., or your feelings from inside of you... or is it a mixture of both?
Benn>>> I’d say that the only element that has noticeably affected the way I write music is the weather. It’s usually nothing that I can point out. Until recently I’ve never written a song about a girl, a death, or something specific. I think what keeps me going creatively is my inability to express myself in a way that could be therapeutic.
CM>>>Amen Iraq is one of your newer tracks.. what do you think about the executions, which took place in Iraq in the last few weeks? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? ... Or do you think that mass murders can’t be punished with an execution?
Benn>>> A paradox of corporal punishment is that under its own rules, the person sentencing someone to death should be put to death themselves. I don’t think death is justifiable in any scenario, so I don’t agree with the executions.
I think a lot of times we forget about how fragile and imperialistic our world is. Of course I think our violent presence in Iraq is wrong, and I’m almost positive that this war is the United States’ desperate effort to take control of the oil market. But on another hand, without a solution for the energy crisis our economy could eventually collapse and thousands, perhaps millions of innocent people would starve to death. It’s a delicate balance where there is no right or wrong decision.
CM>>>But what was the impulsion for you to create this track?
Benn>>> I guess the impulsion was in its title. It uses eastern melodies and the Amen breakbeat. I finished it around the time when the US started invading Iraq, and while the politics didn’t influence the song itself, they influenced the title.
CM>>>Your music is often based by kind of classic guitar melodies, which are partly played by midi guitars. Was the guitar the first instrument you’ve learned and owned?
Benn>>> My first instrument was a cheap classical guitar that my step-grandfather bought me at a state fair when I was 4 or 5. I have no idea why I wanted it so much, but I threw a tantrum until he caved in and bought it for me. The guitar is as much a part of me as my arms and legs are. I can’t even imagine not knowing how to play it. I use MIDI guitar as a controller for a lot of the sounds in my music, recorded and live.
CM>>>You also play Jazz guitar and drums, are you still active in this genre?
Benn>>> I practice a lot and occasionally perform off the map in an improvisation group or small jazz club. Jazz performance is extremely challenging and it helps me improve myself creatively.
CM>>>You’ve been raised by your grandparents in Chicago, where your grandparents kind of artists or musicians? Or who brought you in touch with music?
Benn>>> My family was very blue collar and inartistic, so music was always something I had to explore on my own. However, I was raised in a very ethnically colourful neighbourhood that was a melting pot for culture in the 70’s and 80’s. So I was exposed to everything from Latin music to jazz to Middle-Eastern music from the beginning. There were never any big trends until the 90’s because everyone I knew came from a completely different place in society.
CM>>>And when do you owned your first synthesizer?
Benn>>> In 1993 or 1994 I started saving up and buying synthesizers to accompany my guitar playing. I believe the first real electronic instruments I owned was a Roland DR-660 drum machine and a TB-303, both of which I originally bought to emulate a bassist and drummer.
CM>>>You work under the moniker Acidwolf and release Acid tracks, you work a lot with the classic Roland machines. Am I right when I say that you adore Acid music?
Benn>>> Totally, it’s in my blood. It’s the first type of electronic music that I made and I’m really happy that it’s made a comeback. Finally I don’t have to beg labels to release my acid stuff!
CM>>>Is this a result of the fact that you live in Chicago?
Benn>>> I’m sure that plays a huge role. When I was a teenager there was only one type of electronic music where I lived, and it sounded like what we call “acid house” today. There was no drum n bass or trance, if you were going to dance; it was always to an acid record.
CM>>>In nowadays I am really uncertain if I ask a musician that question, but I think I ask the right person this time: Do you use hardware instruments when you produce music?
Benn>>> For sure. I’m not against computers, of course. But naturally I think I’m more comfortable with a hands-on interface than I am with a monitor and piano roll. I won’t limit myself to one realm though. I guess the key is to make the best of what you have. I know a lot of artists who make amazing music on nothing more than an old laptop.
CM>>>Which kinds of hardware instruments do you like most?
Benn>>> People never believe me, but all of my Flashbulb albums up until “Red Extensions Of Me” were sequenced using a Roland JX-305. I’d still use computers for mastering and FX, but all of the composition was done on a 2-line colourless LCD screen. Of course I still fancy anything in the Roland x0x series and the ease of an Akai S2000 sampler. For effects I’m attached to everything from TC Fireworx processors to cheap Japanese tabletop units.
CM>>>A lot of releases been done by the Canadian Sublight label. From where do you know restless Aaron Rintoul?
Benn>>> When “Red Extensions Of Me” was delayed by a bigger label, I chose to release it regionally with different smaller labels. A friend of mine introduced me to Aaron, who was just approved for a business loan to start a record label in Winnipeg. I haphazardly signed a regional deal with him for North American sales of the album. When the album came out, Aaron immediately impressed me with his professionalism and dedication. I told Aaron Funk (Venetian Snares) that he should meet Aaron Rintoul, as he had done a great job expanding my distribution. The rest is history.
CM>>>When you finish an album or some tracks, which people are allowed to criticise your music? Or do you prefer to finish and release them without any critic?
Benn>>> I don’t mind criticism as long as it’s genuine. A lot of it comes from jealousy or biased opinions. I get criticized left and right, but only a fraction of it is actually something insightful that can be used constructively. I’m more likely to seek validation with mixing and mastering if I’m unsure of how something sounds, and I have a couple friends that I’ll ask advice from.
CM>>>Let’s talk about Dove’s “Campaign for real beauty“. How did it come to the fact that you created the soundtrack for the film?
Benn>>> It started as licensing the song Passage D through Vapor Music Group, and then we just went through a series of edits and tweaks for the film.
CM>>> Was this campaign just a job or have you been convinced did you’ve by the idea behind the campaign?
Benn>>> I was very impressed with the commercial and I do believe that there can be an art to advertising. I think it’s a great campaign that sends out a thought provoking message. I hope they influence other large corporations to learn that there is economic rewards in treating your potential customers like real human beings and challenging them to think outside of the shallow environment they’ve been submerged in.
CM>>>Your opinion, what is "real beauty"?
Benn>>> I think it’s most prevalent in imperfections. We’re all imperfect. I can’t relate to anything that is without flaw. I think flaws are perhaps the tiny cracks in something or someone that allow you to see the beautiful light inside. If a building is decayed, you can easily appreciate its history. If a joke fails to make someone laugh, you easily can appreciate the effort. If a woman’s features are flawed, you can easily appreciate her singularity.
The following pictures are stills from the website http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/
dove USA - unilever
CM>>>Isn’t it strange that people need a simple film to think about the way we all get transformed into a parallel “bling bling“ world?
Benn>>> Indeed. It’s like reverse Buddhism. A lot of people, particularly in America, never seem to challenge themselves with existentialism. When they’re not challenging their minds, they become the products.
CM>>>You also create music for Vapor Music..a company that creates music for the Canadian News. Is this kind of your main job or can you live from your music?
Benn>>> They’re an agency that handles my licensing, but I also do compose for them from time to time. So far all of the composing projects they’ve offered me are very relaxed and fun to work on, so it doesn’t seem like a job at all. Media composing has greatly increased the amount of money I make, but I still spend 90% of my time working on my own material. I actually get more done this way, since I’d have to tour more often to pay my bills without these types of composing gigs.
CM>>>You also created several videos in the last years, would it be an interesting option for you to release a DVD with your films and music or maybe create a complete movie?
Benn>>> I’ve written scripts for feature-length films, but I’m definitely not ready to dedicate myself to making one into a movie yet. I do want to make a music video, for once. It’s hard for me to believe that after all these years there’s never been an official “The Flashbulb” video.
CM>>>You have more artists names than “The Flashbulb“. Do these names have a meaning to you and have you chosen these names to create different identities to create different music?
Benn>>>It’s a good way to nullify myself from people’s expectations and introduce new ideas. Also, I imagine it would confuse my listeners if Acidwolf or Flexe came out as “The Flashbulb”.
CM>>>On which kind of project you are currently working?
Benn>>> A lot! I’m finally seeing the shape of the next “The Flashbulb” album, “Soundtrack To A Vacant Life”, which I’ve been working on since mid-2005. I’ve put more work and money into it than any other project I’ve done.
For the last couple of months I’ve also been doing a “track per day” project, where I go through my jazz/funk record collection and find something that describes my feelings…then make my own little short original mix of it. Almost like a journal or diary in audio. I doubt I’ll release it since at the end of the year it’ll be an 8 or 9 CD set.
CM>>>You grew up and live in Chicago. Do you think that this city shaped you as an artist?
Benn>>> Totally. Chicago, particularly the Southside, is a very steadfast and rugged place. There’s really not a huge element of bullshit that you get in Los Angeles or New York. People are more often judged by their character, not the way they dress or hold a fork. When friends visit me on the Southside from out of town, they almost always get some form of culture shock from the poverty and general politics. Its home to me.
CM>>>What do you need for a perfect day?
Benn>>> A warm breeze, a thunderstorm in the distance, a glass of wine, my studio, and my dog to keep me company. But remember, the beauty is in the imperfections. J
www.theflashbulb.net
Photos taken from the "Flashbulb" website
The videostill are taken from the website http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/
dove USA - unilever. They are part of the interview and not meant to violate the copyrights of Dove/Unilever USA.
Interview Michael Mück
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