I have liked Ilkae's music long before I knew I would get a
chance to interview one of the members. My girlfriend and I
have spent countless nights listening to Pistachio Island
and have started many fun days with Bring Extra Dragons, so
you can imagine my surprise when I ran into Aaron, the
Canadian half of Ilkae in an online chatroom. After
flattering him some (ehhehe, I just couldn't help myself) we
chatted and have kept in contact online every now and then,
and have also agreed on some future cooperation between
Ilkae and Postunder Records. Early in the wee morning hours
of July 8th, 2004, I grabbed Aaron online to talk to him
about himself and the Ilkae project. Following is the
complete interview.
Postunder : I know there is virtually no info about you
around the internet. Please tell us, who is Ilkae? Where are
you from, how did you start out, what projects have you been
involved in?
Ilkae : Ilkae is Krystian Lubiszewski from Poland, and
myself. We started passing modules back and forth on tracker
irc channels around 1998-9. We were both in the first half
of our teen years at the time, and harbored no grand
ambitions about releasing music for a good long time.
Somewhere along the way we fell into the Merck Records
crowd, and after not finishing any tracks for 3 years the
decision to compile a cd of loops was made. End result:
Pistachio Island.
PU : Where have you released music, and where is it
available?
IL : Merck Records, most significantly. It gets decent
enough distro that I've had the pleasure of sighting my own
music in shops.
PU : Does the name Ilkae have a meaning? Where does it come
from?
IL : Ask the mediaevel Scots.
PU : What live gigs have you played if any?
IL : Safety in Numbers festival 2000 in New York City!
Crazily enough I've seen mp3s of (part of) the set floating
around on soulseek. I realize that playing live is the best
way to expose and profit from one's music, but until I'm
involved in a more 'performance based' musical outfit i
don't see it happening again anytime soon.
PU : Pistachio Island is personally one of my favorite
bedtime listens. I like the repeating themes and the
"storyline" behind the music. What is the album about for
you? What do these tracks sing to us about?
IL : It's about renting 45 travel videos from the library
instead of going on vacation.
PU : Was the concept of Pistachio Island, i.e. short sound
clips with returning themes, something you planned initialy
or did the concept take shape alongside the creation of the
tracks themselvs?
IL : I'm amazed that so many people see the disc as cohesive
or homogeneous. We're talking about a disc with forty-five
pieces either written collaboratively or individually
between Krystian and me over a period of 2-3 years.
PU : Do you have a favorite among Pistachio Island's 45
tracks?
IL : #42, Cadiz
PU : Let's move on to Bring Extra Dragons. This album starts
and ends with fun, upbeat, and uplifting themes. All in all
Bring Extra Dragons is a "happier" release than Pistachio
Island in the atmosphere it conveys. Do these tracks reflect
your feelings at the time you were working on them? While
the personality from Pistacho Islands remains, it seems like
everything was flowing at a faster pace for you guys at the
time you did Bring Extra Dragons.
IL : Yeah, I think part of it was pressure from releasing a
'debut' album of really short and fractured pieces. The 12"
was finished in less than a year after the release of
Pistachio Island, and rested in limbo for a good two years
before its eventual release in June of 2004. The general
upbeat tone probably has something to do with the fact that
we were mostly trying to create something that was fun to
listen to.
PU : Tell us a little bit about your most recent release
(available for purchase at www.ilkae.com), Stained Glass
Pinata, what moods and sounds does Ilkae bring into this
dragon?
IL : This album is strikingly different from previous Ilkae
releases in the fact that it contains only my work. Krystian
and I still plan to collaborate in the future, and I'd keep
a keen eye out for an album featuring only Krystian's work
in the coming year or so. On the whole, it is a bit darker.
PU : Any tracks that are really special to you from this
release that we should look out for?
IL : Track 11 which features Temp Sound Solutions on drums
and guitar is an overblown polyrhythmic snes-math-rock
hybrid. I still get a little bit excited when that piece
comes up on the album.
PU : I understand the cover to Stained Glass Pinata is
somewhat special. Would you tell us a little about it, the
concept behind it, and how it's made? (note: since the
interview was conducted the cover was changed).
IL : The covers are made of multicoloured foam, and
assembled by hand by my wonderful friend Anna. Some of them
are painted, others cut up and sewn back together. Each one
is different and the manner in which it's assembled largely
depends on how she's feeling on any given day.
PU : After releaseing it, do you have anything new brewing?
IL : Yeah, some exciting collaborations are in their
formative phases. I won't say who or when though.
PU : How do you go about technically? What gear and software
do you use, who does what, etc?
IL : Trackers. Q01 and J58 are my friends.
PU : What kind of music influences you?
IL : I can get into anything if there's solid musicianship
apparent behind it. Mouse on Mars is probably the only group
I can see as having had a notable influence over the sound
of Ilkae. Their warm organic textures and boundless energy
have served as a constant reminder to me on how good fun
music can actually be. More recently, the music of Deerhoof
has had a similar effect on me.
PU : Who is the most interesting music producer you had a
chance to meet or work with?
IL : Craig from tempsoundsolutions is an entertaining
madman. His set at sinfest2000 was most memorable.
PU : Do you think experimental electronics beyond Aphex and
[]pusher will ever break into the mainstream?
IL : I remain ambivalent. It'd probably be in my better
interests if it happened though.
PU : Heheh, ok, quick answer time, answer with the first
word that comes to mind, ready?
IL : steady.
PU : nintendo
IL : broken
PU : football
IL : shopping
PU : sex
IL : welcome
PU : computers
IL : handy
PU : Harry Potter
IL : bookish
PU : Drugs
IL : enjoyed (responsibly)
PU : Justin Timberlake
IL : dolphin?!
PU : Aphex Twin
IL : tank
PU : Fruity Loops
IL : amateur
PU : Politics
IL : gambling
PU : Music
IL : required
PU : Ilkae
IL : carnival
PU : Yay! I say you pass. What do you do in life other than
music?
IL : I'm a student at Concordia University in Montreal. I
read books and splice tape.
PU : Do you think music will ever become your sole source of
income?
IL : With a few years and some help from my friends, let's
hope.
PU : Internet and Music. I tend to ask this in every
interview. Where do you see the future of these two worlds?
Will the mp3 industry totally corrupt music as we know it or
will both the fans and artists ultimatly BOTH benefit from
the net?
IL : People are cheap, mp3s are forever.
PU : Being a signed artist, have your experiances in the
music industry so far been positive ones?
IL : Not really. It's not a fun game, and it doesn't take
too long to realize that in most cases, everyone but the
listener comes up broke.
PU : What is the biggest compliment you have recieved on
your music? What is the most insulting comment?
IL : Meeting people who have heard of my music before I met
them is always a big trip. I leave a copy of Pistachio
Island around my apartment just for kicks, and one time
while hosting a party some random guy congratulated me for
"owning such an awesome cd." I've never really had to face
any harsh criticism. Yet.
PU : Have you ever written a track just to impress a girl?
IL : I generally have a policy of not showing my music to
people in the flesh. So no.
PU : Ok. Last question, this one for a million $$$.... What
is the capital and largest city of Eritrea?
IL : A... As.... Asparagus?
PU : Any last thoughts?
IL : This Debussy cello sonata is pretty.
PU : Thanks for the chat, gooooood day and gooood luck :D
IL : Have a nice one! |
