INNERVIEWS
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1. Can you share a few words about John, the person behind the artist we know? What are you currently doing and what are your other hobbies?
At the moment I am super busy at my job so that is taking up a lot of my time just now but I am lucky to have a strong family unit that helps keep me on track with everything being a father really helps to reset you and look beyond the work commitments. Outside of music my main interests are sports (football, running) and gaming its a great escape from reality - I have also being getting into astronomy which is really fascinating and sits well I feel with the sounds I enjoy hopefully the Scottish skies can be less cloudy sometime soon!
2. Where do you find inspiration in everyday life to create music, and how do you manage to balance the spiritual factor you need with your daily routine?
It seems to really depend on my mood more often than not if I have been hill walking in a remote location it gives me a different mindset and energy to sit down and create something. I also listen to a lot of music constantly and find myself being inspired by the atmospheres artists create. The daily routine can remove the desire to sit yet again in front of a computer so it’s a moment when I feel like making something that I try to grasp. The inspiration does not really seem to come from a single place or thing it seems to be a mixture of elements in any given day.
3. If you could change something in the music industry at this time, what would it be, and what would you keep the same?
I do think there is a massive disparity in talent vs who is playing to crowds around the world I know some absolutely amazing minds that will never get the chance to do that whilst the default ‘celebrity’ ‘artists’ get the limelight. This is not to sound bitter but it is sad to me that the industry pushes an image rather than who is making wonderful music at that given moment it seems at times the world is missing out on a lot because of this.
For keeping the same absolutely I would say the deep techno scene and its associated community. I have met so many just brilliant people through this music and continue to do so almost always they are positive engagements it really seems to come with the territory of this sound.
4. How do you usually start a productive day of experimentation, and where does it usually end?
I do at times struggle with experimenting its quite time consuming to me and time as I have got older seems to go faster than ever. Usually I start a new project and really my mood seems to guide what is created so maybe I am in fact experimenting every time I start a song!
At the moment I am super busy at my job so that is taking up a lot of my time just now but I am lucky to have a strong family unit that helps keep me on track with everything being a father really helps to reset you and look beyond the work commitments. Outside of music my main interests are sports (football, running) and gaming its a great escape from reality - I have also being getting into astronomy which is really fascinating and sits well I feel with the sounds I enjoy hopefully the Scottish skies can be less cloudy sometime soon!
2. Where do you find inspiration in everyday life to create music, and how do you manage to balance the spiritual factor you need with your daily routine?
It seems to really depend on my mood more often than not if I have been hill walking in a remote location it gives me a different mindset and energy to sit down and create something. I also listen to a lot of music constantly and find myself being inspired by the atmospheres artists create. The daily routine can remove the desire to sit yet again in front of a computer so it’s a moment when I feel like making something that I try to grasp. The inspiration does not really seem to come from a single place or thing it seems to be a mixture of elements in any given day.
3. If you could change something in the music industry at this time, what would it be, and what would you keep the same?
I do think there is a massive disparity in talent vs who is playing to crowds around the world I know some absolutely amazing minds that will never get the chance to do that whilst the default ‘celebrity’ ‘artists’ get the limelight. This is not to sound bitter but it is sad to me that the industry pushes an image rather than who is making wonderful music at that given moment it seems at times the world is missing out on a lot because of this.
For keeping the same absolutely I would say the deep techno scene and its associated community. I have met so many just brilliant people through this music and continue to do so almost always they are positive engagements it really seems to come with the territory of this sound.
4. How do you usually start a productive day of experimentation, and where does it usually end?
I do at times struggle with experimenting its quite time consuming to me and time as I have got older seems to go faster than ever. Usually I start a new project and really my mood seems to guide what is created so maybe I am in fact experimenting every time I start a song!
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5. What are your 3 favorite software and 3 favorite hardware that you always use in your productions, and why?
I am aligned to Ableton for sure its really the heart of all that I do I have a core group of VST’s that I revisit time and again mainly from Native Instruments I also really love Maschine I think the sounds are super clean and really open and non restrictive. Kontakt and its associated suites are immense highlights being Ashlight and Ethereal Earth.
On the hardware front I sold most items I used to have like the ACCESS Virus and Behringer Model D whilst I did enjoy the hands on elements and raw sounds I just lost interest mainly because of the setup time and feeling I could get a lot more easily through software synths.
6. We would like you to tell us a funny and a bad incident that happened during one of your shows.
I played at an event sometime ago in Amsterdam where my headphones stopped working and so I had to try and mix using the LED’s on the mixer (this was pre CDJ days!) until I could get someones attention to help me borrow some. This same event when it finished we walked out to a massive snow storm and it was hell to get back to the hotel and my flight was cancelled the next day so all in a pretty painful experience!
7. Lately, we have noticed many artists leaving their agencies for different reasons. What's the point of an agency managing an artist's gigs instead of the artist? What do you think about this as Fernie, and how do you manage your bookings?
I know quite a few that now manage themselves and they seem to have a better experience I suppose it depends on how busy your schedule is if you are in demand then that may be a challenge with the negotiating/contracts and making sure everything is in order for transport etc so I can see pros and cons on both sides. For me I do not receive many requests on that front so it is easy to manage myself if someone enquires :D
8. From time to time, we hear about the high amounts that artists ask to perform at some parties, which can be financially challenging for organizers who aren't professionals but have passion and love for what they do. Do you think reasonable prices from established or upcoming artists would help keep the scene alive?
For sure it would be nice for some more well known names to do some smaller or less budget heavy parties to really help establish events having promoted some events recently most artists within this scene do seem to be realistic about the fees and are willing to come and go to help make the event go ahead and not be a blocker with a high fee.
I am aligned to Ableton for sure its really the heart of all that I do I have a core group of VST’s that I revisit time and again mainly from Native Instruments I also really love Maschine I think the sounds are super clean and really open and non restrictive. Kontakt and its associated suites are immense highlights being Ashlight and Ethereal Earth.
On the hardware front I sold most items I used to have like the ACCESS Virus and Behringer Model D whilst I did enjoy the hands on elements and raw sounds I just lost interest mainly because of the setup time and feeling I could get a lot more easily through software synths.
6. We would like you to tell us a funny and a bad incident that happened during one of your shows.
I played at an event sometime ago in Amsterdam where my headphones stopped working and so I had to try and mix using the LED’s on the mixer (this was pre CDJ days!) until I could get someones attention to help me borrow some. This same event when it finished we walked out to a massive snow storm and it was hell to get back to the hotel and my flight was cancelled the next day so all in a pretty painful experience!
7. Lately, we have noticed many artists leaving their agencies for different reasons. What's the point of an agency managing an artist's gigs instead of the artist? What do you think about this as Fernie, and how do you manage your bookings?
I know quite a few that now manage themselves and they seem to have a better experience I suppose it depends on how busy your schedule is if you are in demand then that may be a challenge with the negotiating/contracts and making sure everything is in order for transport etc so I can see pros and cons on both sides. For me I do not receive many requests on that front so it is easy to manage myself if someone enquires :D
8. From time to time, we hear about the high amounts that artists ask to perform at some parties, which can be financially challenging for organizers who aren't professionals but have passion and love for what they do. Do you think reasonable prices from established or upcoming artists would help keep the scene alive?
For sure it would be nice for some more well known names to do some smaller or less budget heavy parties to really help establish events having promoted some events recently most artists within this scene do seem to be realistic about the fees and are willing to come and go to help make the event go ahead and not be a blocker with a high fee.
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9. If you had the power to change something in the deep hypnotic techno scene, what would it be and why?
It would be great to somehow get the scene and its sound out to a wider audience to drive engagement I think some younger groups need to be exposed to a wider variety of music to open minds and future proof the scene.
10. What's the most fun part of making music, and what's the most challenging or least enjoyable?
For sure that excitement when you get something sounding nice and everything seems to fall into place its a feeling that nothing else really quite emulates the flip of this is when you are trying to make a track but everything sounds poor and its a battle at that point I have learned to shut the laptop and come back another day.
11. Which aspect of your artistry defines you best: your productions? your DJ sets? or both and why?
I would say now most likely my productions in a previous life I was involved in the trance scene and really loved the emotional pads and melodies from around 2000 to 2005. This atmosphere still sits with me today and so in most of my music you can hear them influences and that’s what I would say my signature is. But my DJ sets follow a similar path and I really try to build a journey with live sets and podcasts for the listener.
12. What are your upcoming releases and plans for the future?
On the production front I have a new LP en route with Informa and an EP with Portal both of which I am really excited about. I have also regrouped with fellow Glaswegians Deepbass and Repart to bring back our Orbits event series and we have a date booked at a great club in Glasgow (SWG3) on 1st November so I am counting down the days for that. Right now I have started a new EP for Dosis so I’m interested to see what I can come up with for that with one track complete so far. We will also soon also celebrate Space Textures 30th release which will be the biggest so far - I also continue my work with the great Monument group and work to build a nice network of artists there to.
It would be great to somehow get the scene and its sound out to a wider audience to drive engagement I think some younger groups need to be exposed to a wider variety of music to open minds and future proof the scene.
10. What's the most fun part of making music, and what's the most challenging or least enjoyable?
For sure that excitement when you get something sounding nice and everything seems to fall into place its a feeling that nothing else really quite emulates the flip of this is when you are trying to make a track but everything sounds poor and its a battle at that point I have learned to shut the laptop and come back another day.
11. Which aspect of your artistry defines you best: your productions? your DJ sets? or both and why?
I would say now most likely my productions in a previous life I was involved in the trance scene and really loved the emotional pads and melodies from around 2000 to 2005. This atmosphere still sits with me today and so in most of my music you can hear them influences and that’s what I would say my signature is. But my DJ sets follow a similar path and I really try to build a journey with live sets and podcasts for the listener.
12. What are your upcoming releases and plans for the future?
On the production front I have a new LP en route with Informa and an EP with Portal both of which I am really excited about. I have also regrouped with fellow Glaswegians Deepbass and Repart to bring back our Orbits event series and we have a date booked at a great club in Glasgow (SWG3) on 1st November so I am counting down the days for that. Right now I have started a new EP for Dosis so I’m interested to see what I can come up with for that with one track complete so far. We will also soon also celebrate Space Textures 30th release which will be the biggest so far - I also continue my work with the great Monument group and work to build a nice network of artists there to.