I'm an electronic musician and these are some texts about me and my music. It might seem a bit self-centered to have a whole book about "yourself", but in the last years I had written quite some texts about the thoughts and concepts behind my music, so it seemed a good idea to put them up in a collection.
Some texts are about music theory. Some are background information about my tracks or releases. Some texts are about politics. And some personal stories. If this is interesting to you, enjoy the read.
Find more info about my actual music at:
https://lowentropy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.discogs.com/artist/22777-Low-Entropy
https://www.facebook.com/lowentropycore/
Monday, January 20, 2020
My Progression In Music
When I started doing music in 1997, I was interested in Experimental Hardcore, as it was done on labels such as Fischkopf, Praxis, or some releases on Digital Hardcore Recordings (especially Ec8or). I was also interested in two styles that just began to emerge: Speedcore and Breakcore. So the first tracks I produced were in these styles. A very early track by me - Adrenaline Junkie - was an 800 BPM Speedcore track that was later the first track by me that which released on vinyl (on the Biophilia Allstars LP in 1998, when tracks with such speed were still very rare). So this was my first phase of doing music, and tracks from that era for example ended up on my Blut EP or the Widerstand LP.
My conception of music thoroughly changed when Somatic Responses send me a copy of one of their demo cassettes in late 1998. That kind of music just blew me away. What I noted was that there was not only a focus on noise and distortion, but also on intricate melodies. So I decided to leave the pure "bang bang" Speedcore and noise-centered Breakcore behind, and create music with attention to melodies and atmosphere too. I called this type of music "Soundscape" - the idea that there is music that makes you imagine a futuristic, alien or dystopic landscape in your mind while you were listening to the ambience and mood of the tracks. This was my main focus for a while, and results of this can be listened to on my Praxis EP or the "c8.com demo CD-R" that has been re-released digitally a while ago.
I had left Speedcore behind for a few years, partly because I didn't like the direction the German Speedcore scene had taken. But somewhen after the year 2000 I noticed that things had changed again. People were embracing the noisy, french label (Anticore, Sans Pitie...) inspired Speedcore I was loving (and producing) 5 years ago. So I decided to go on the Speedcore road was once more and produced a lot of tracks in that vein again. This also led to me being booked for a lot of parties in Germany, and a lot of tracks were produced with a live-setting in mind. Because I was more focused on playing gigs than getting my tracks released on a label, stuff from that period was at first not released, but I did so later digitally (on my bandcamp) and some tracks actually found their way to vinyl around 10 years later (Acid 8, Kick... check discogs for them). Around the same time that I started getting back to Speedcore, I also began to become very interested in Techno, Acid and Oldschool sounds - a style I had rejected during my "Experimental Hardcore" years, as I saw it as music "of the past" - but it was now becoming the future again. This led to the creation of tracks like Urban Uprising or Back To The Oldschool, released on the Acid Massacre EP. I was also becoming more and more interested in Doomcore and Doomtechno (a style that, unlike Oldschool etc, I had loved the years before too), especially the stuff that was done on labels like PCP and Things To Come. My own productions in a Doomcore style were first released on the Emerald Planet EP in 2005. There was a slight detour in 2004, when I did a "Soundscape Breakcore" album for Praxis that was planned to be released on Vinyl and CD, but, due to some complicated releases (on my part), was first released in 2018, digitally (the "Malfunction" album).
Then came my long break from the Hardcore scene (and producing music) which lasted until 2008. When I got back, I was very interested in Techno once more, especially Detroit type Techno, but also generally Acid, Techno and House sounds from the late 80s to the early 90s. Also my interest in Doomcore was growing once more. So from now on I mostly produced Doomcore with a focus on a Techno "groove" or theme. The results of this phase of doing music was released on many netlabels around the world. At the same time I was also doing Speedcore now and then, usually with an "Oldschool Speedcore" flavor.
My Techno love didn't wane, but I was also becoming very much infatuated with New Wave sounds, Post-Punk, Goth, Indie Rock... I was especially loving the focus on melody these genres have, with very special, emotional, bittersweet melodies and harmonies (music with focus on "melody" was, after all, a heavy influence during my "Soundscape" era already).
My production then shifted once more to melody and mood as the central theme of my tracks; the Techno influence didn't go away but it now had to play together with the melodic aspects of the track. These tracks, again, were released on a lot of netlabels.
So this was (is) my progression in music. I'm not sure where the journey will lead to next. Lately I've become more interested in Experimental sounds once more... so things become a bit like a circle, maybe? We will see where the road leads to.
My conception of music thoroughly changed when Somatic Responses send me a copy of one of their demo cassettes in late 1998. That kind of music just blew me away. What I noted was that there was not only a focus on noise and distortion, but also on intricate melodies. So I decided to leave the pure "bang bang" Speedcore and noise-centered Breakcore behind, and create music with attention to melodies and atmosphere too. I called this type of music "Soundscape" - the idea that there is music that makes you imagine a futuristic, alien or dystopic landscape in your mind while you were listening to the ambience and mood of the tracks. This was my main focus for a while, and results of this can be listened to on my Praxis EP or the "c8.com demo CD-R" that has been re-released digitally a while ago.
I had left Speedcore behind for a few years, partly because I didn't like the direction the German Speedcore scene had taken. But somewhen after the year 2000 I noticed that things had changed again. People were embracing the noisy, french label (Anticore, Sans Pitie...) inspired Speedcore I was loving (and producing) 5 years ago. So I decided to go on the Speedcore road was once more and produced a lot of tracks in that vein again. This also led to me being booked for a lot of parties in Germany, and a lot of tracks were produced with a live-setting in mind. Because I was more focused on playing gigs than getting my tracks released on a label, stuff from that period was at first not released, but I did so later digitally (on my bandcamp) and some tracks actually found their way to vinyl around 10 years later (Acid 8, Kick... check discogs for them). Around the same time that I started getting back to Speedcore, I also began to become very interested in Techno, Acid and Oldschool sounds - a style I had rejected during my "Experimental Hardcore" years, as I saw it as music "of the past" - but it was now becoming the future again. This led to the creation of tracks like Urban Uprising or Back To The Oldschool, released on the Acid Massacre EP. I was also becoming more and more interested in Doomcore and Doomtechno (a style that, unlike Oldschool etc, I had loved the years before too), especially the stuff that was done on labels like PCP and Things To Come. My own productions in a Doomcore style were first released on the Emerald Planet EP in 2005. There was a slight detour in 2004, when I did a "Soundscape Breakcore" album for Praxis that was planned to be released on Vinyl and CD, but, due to some complicated releases (on my part), was first released in 2018, digitally (the "Malfunction" album).
Then came my long break from the Hardcore scene (and producing music) which lasted until 2008. When I got back, I was very interested in Techno once more, especially Detroit type Techno, but also generally Acid, Techno and House sounds from the late 80s to the early 90s. Also my interest in Doomcore was growing once more. So from now on I mostly produced Doomcore with a focus on a Techno "groove" or theme. The results of this phase of doing music was released on many netlabels around the world. At the same time I was also doing Speedcore now and then, usually with an "Oldschool Speedcore" flavor.
My Techno love didn't wane, but I was also becoming very much infatuated with New Wave sounds, Post-Punk, Goth, Indie Rock... I was especially loving the focus on melody these genres have, with very special, emotional, bittersweet melodies and harmonies (music with focus on "melody" was, after all, a heavy influence during my "Soundscape" era already).
My production then shifted once more to melody and mood as the central theme of my tracks; the Techno influence didn't go away but it now had to play together with the melodic aspects of the track. These tracks, again, were released on a lot of netlabels.
So this was (is) my progression in music. I'm not sure where the journey will lead to next. Lately I've become more interested in Experimental sounds once more... so things become a bit like a circle, maybe? We will see where the road leads to.
Five Phases Of Doing Music
There are / were 5 phases of doing music for me. When I started, I tried to make "Experimental Hardcore", i.e. using Speedcore, Breakcore stuff with avant-garde ideas and art in general. That stuff ended up on my Blut and Widerstand 12"s.
The second part was when I was influenced by the likes of Somatic Responses, Senical, The Joker... what I aimed at was basically trying to do a movie-score like sound with a big focus on ambiance and feelings... while still using Hardcore beats and methods. Turned out non-4/4 beats felt best for this approach. These tracks ended up on my Praxis 12" and the digital album in 2018. The third phase was me getting addicted to Techno, Rave, Oldschool sounds and I tried music for the dancefloor with a rhythmic groove and sounds, but still "Hardcore". That music ended up on my Black Monolith 12"s. After a 4 year break in producing I picked up right there and got even more into Techno and forward-pushing, hypnotic music, and this influenced my own tracks even more. This stuff ended up on Zuur and many other labels.
Then came the phase when I got really into New Wave, Gothic, Post-Punk and other music that focuses heavily on melodies and dark harmonies. I tried to make melody-centered music then and these sounds are on the releases I made in the last years. And right now I'm in my fifth phase, where I don't really have any such "beacons" to navigate by and just focus on the sound and the ideas, while trying to combine ideas from the previous phases into something new. This sound is for example on my Doomcore Initiative and Blackened Hardware releases.
The second part was when I was influenced by the likes of Somatic Responses, Senical, The Joker... what I aimed at was basically trying to do a movie-score like sound with a big focus on ambiance and feelings... while still using Hardcore beats and methods. Turned out non-4/4 beats felt best for this approach. These tracks ended up on my Praxis 12" and the digital album in 2018. The third phase was me getting addicted to Techno, Rave, Oldschool sounds and I tried music for the dancefloor with a rhythmic groove and sounds, but still "Hardcore". That music ended up on my Black Monolith 12"s. After a 4 year break in producing I picked up right there and got even more into Techno and forward-pushing, hypnotic music, and this influenced my own tracks even more. This stuff ended up on Zuur and many other labels.
Then came the phase when I got really into New Wave, Gothic, Post-Punk and other music that focuses heavily on melodies and dark harmonies. I tried to make melody-centered music then and these sounds are on the releases I made in the last years. And right now I'm in my fifth phase, where I don't really have any such "beacons" to navigate by and just focus on the sound and the ideas, while trying to combine ideas from the previous phases into something new. This sound is for example on my Doomcore Initiative and Blackened Hardware releases.
Producing Durations
How long does it take me to work on a track?
Well, when doing tracks, there are two phases for me. First, the planning phase. Before working on a track, I make a detailed and often complete blueprint for the track in my head. The general idea and concept of the track, what synths to use, what kind of drums, samples, down to the percussion and the structure and patterns of that track. This often builds on an idea for a track i have suddenly, for example while taking a walk or cooking or watching a movie or anything else. I usually have the "complete" track in my head within seconds. In other cases, I have an idea for a track (usually a more "general" idea) and keep it, and only add more detailed layers to it later.
This then can span a long amount of time, I often add on ideas of tracks I had 1, 2, 5, or 20 years ago. Sometimes I have a track in my head for a decade before putting it down to actual creation. As I got older I got to diving faster into the past, and have made tracks that built on ideas I had in my early childhood for example.
So, there is a lot of work and especially a lot of time involved in creating tracks for me.
I have the track planned in my head. What now? Actually creating it. What happens then is between two extremes. Sometimes I create the track just as it is in my head - even though it of course sounds different when actually doing the melodies and patterns and structures, which sometimes has interesting results. But most often, when producing the track I get new ideas, and change the track then according to them. It's a matter of "going with the flow". I arrived at the point where I don't follow any notion of how the track "has to be" anymore - it can sound any way it can while producing it. Sometimes the end result is the complete opposite of how I intended the track to be (for example planning a Speedcore track and ending up with producing a Slowcore track). This "producing" part is usually very quick and fast and if I have planned the tracks thoroughly in my head already, I for example can produce a lot of tracks in just one weekend or even one night.
That the tracks change while producing doesn't mean I "discard" the ideas and planning then. It's more a marriage of sonic idea and actual production. A dualism that is complex and can be hard to navigate but it's what I focus on by now.
Well, when doing tracks, there are two phases for me. First, the planning phase. Before working on a track, I make a detailed and often complete blueprint for the track in my head. The general idea and concept of the track, what synths to use, what kind of drums, samples, down to the percussion and the structure and patterns of that track. This often builds on an idea for a track i have suddenly, for example while taking a walk or cooking or watching a movie or anything else. I usually have the "complete" track in my head within seconds. In other cases, I have an idea for a track (usually a more "general" idea) and keep it, and only add more detailed layers to it later.
This then can span a long amount of time, I often add on ideas of tracks I had 1, 2, 5, or 20 years ago. Sometimes I have a track in my head for a decade before putting it down to actual creation. As I got older I got to diving faster into the past, and have made tracks that built on ideas I had in my early childhood for example.
So, there is a lot of work and especially a lot of time involved in creating tracks for me.
I have the track planned in my head. What now? Actually creating it. What happens then is between two extremes. Sometimes I create the track just as it is in my head - even though it of course sounds different when actually doing the melodies and patterns and structures, which sometimes has interesting results. But most often, when producing the track I get new ideas, and change the track then according to them. It's a matter of "going with the flow". I arrived at the point where I don't follow any notion of how the track "has to be" anymore - it can sound any way it can while producing it. Sometimes the end result is the complete opposite of how I intended the track to be (for example planning a Speedcore track and ending up with producing a Slowcore track). This "producing" part is usually very quick and fast and if I have planned the tracks thoroughly in my head already, I for example can produce a lot of tracks in just one weekend or even one night.
That the tracks change while producing doesn't mean I "discard" the ideas and planning then. It's more a marriage of sonic idea and actual production. A dualism that is complex and can be hard to navigate but it's what I focus on by now.
On My Music - Part 3
My intention in my music is to have a psychedelic effect. All other aspects of my music are subjugated to this. If I need to run a bassdrum straight for 8 minutes to have this effect I'll do it. If I need to make a 30 seconds only track for the effect, I'll make it. Some people feel this effect in my music, and others don't. I noticed that mostly people who use a similar psychedelic effect in their own productions "feel it" too. Of course I'm aware that psychedelics are a wide field and even those who are inclined like this might not "click" to my particular way of getting there. But I imagine to someone who is not interested in psychedelics at all, my music must sound quite dull.
On My Music - Part 2
I've sometimes been asked why I don't make (much) music in the style of my early period of music (1996-2004) anymore, like my LP on Widerstand or my digital release on Praxis for example. The reason for this is the following. My first period was fueled by vile opposition to the western world of music - from pop music to "classical" western music. I hated its ruled and codes and commands and limitations and tried to get as far away from it as possible. That's why I made Breakcore with weird sounds and otherwordly rhythms (or was it the other way round?). But in the end I realized I was fighting a losing battle. I used odd time signatures, but my tracks still had beats and drums and percussion. I used atonal scales but my tracks still had notes and "melody". So I still was close to western music, and still followed the ruled and commands and codes even if I didn't want to. The only way out for me was to banish music as a whole. My Breakcore and Industrial sounds were - still music, and for me, music has to be rejected - total. But what to do now? In a train of thought that I wrote down elsewhere, I made the choice to express ideas that can not expressed in music by using music. Techno, Doomcore and Speedcore were just the right template for this. The focus is not on the drum or the percussion, not even the melody, but the idea that is expressed by them. And the same idea could be expressed by Doomcore, or Folk Guitars, or Rapping, or Baroque Music - so the music itself, the genre, the sounds, faded into the background and only the idea keeps going on. It's like a cook who one day becomes a poet but doesn't publish them in a book, instead puts them (edible?) into the cakes at his restaurant. The music and all it's rules and mistakes and fallacies is negated to become only a tool for the communication of ideas. Now, I must admit, my hatred for music is not total. I do adore Doomcore and Techno and so on. But the important part is the idea.
Spaced Out Producing
I don't do drugs, but a variety of things can get me high; one of them is music (and one of them is pain for some odd reason). And more than that, producing music can get me high. This is how I done music in 2009-2015. I tried to create sounds that started to trip me out, then go along with the trip while building the track. I would start to space out and my fingers where moving almost automatically while producing. And I got on some really good trips and reached some really good highs that way.
This is an understatement. I reached highs of a cosmic quality this way.
Coming down after this was not always easy as I often was a bit disoriented and had trouble speaking clearly or thinking. My tracks also confused me when I listened to them "sober" again; 'did I create this?' 'and how did I create this?'
The tracks were my personal trip diaries.
Because of this, I assumed they would be of little interest to the outside world, but to the contrary, these were often the tracks I got the best feedback on. "The advent of acid" was produced this way, and "Really into this space stuff" and "Fourth Uprising" and countless of others.
Definitely an interesting experience, and probably a safer high then when doing real psychedelics.
This is an understatement. I reached highs of a cosmic quality this way.
Coming down after this was not always easy as I often was a bit disoriented and had trouble speaking clearly or thinking. My tracks also confused me when I listened to them "sober" again; 'did I create this?' 'and how did I create this?'
The tracks were my personal trip diaries.
Because of this, I assumed they would be of little interest to the outside world, but to the contrary, these were often the tracks I got the best feedback on. "The advent of acid" was produced this way, and "Really into this space stuff" and "Fourth Uprising" and countless of others.
Definitely an interesting experience, and probably a safer high then when doing real psychedelics.
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