I
talked with Chlorophil Djinn an ambient DJ, producer and founder of
Sychronos Records about his musical background, his studio setup, the
impact of festivals on the environment and along the way discovered
something I didn’t know about DF Tram
1)
Firstly thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to talk to
us. Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into
producing music?
Ya
I was heavily into doing coloring comics at one point met some good
friends in life drawing class at the community college and we met up
occasionally to work on comic book art. I Couldn’t draw the best
but I realized I had a talent for coloring. One day my friend had
FLstudio going and I was like wow that is cool, he showed me how to
use it and we started making some beats in between the art sessions.
That’s where it started.
Also
in college they had an electronic music class and I took that and
started doing production with Reason and Logic at the schools
computers. I remember helping other fellow students with the music
projects and a portion of the finals were somewhat my production. The
last quarter of community college I started an electronic music club.
I realized I should have done this my first quarter there. 2001 was
the year when I first started DJ'ing and producing at the same time
and that year for Christmas I had my first album which I gave out to
some friends.
2)
Who were your early musical influences and are they still relevant
today?
Early
musical influences I have to say when I was in elementary school I
listened to whatever my brother had and also my neighborhood friends,
it varied with my brother and his best friend liking the alternative
rock 80’s classics like Depeche Mode and Duran Duran, the Cure
etc., and I personally listened to rock n roll like Def Leopard,
Motley Crew, Anthrax, Guns n Roses, Led Zeppelin, Poison etc. these
were all tape dubs back then some I actually bought. Also watched a
ton of MTV in my childhood as well.
Before
that when I was a toddler my father had a huge collection of audio
tapes and records of light rock and I remember recording my favorites
on the radio like the Beach Boys, the Monkees, Lionel Richie,
Phil Collins, all sorts and making my own tape dubs. When middle
school happened I remember listening to Faith No More and rock n roll
stuff still. Then high school hit and Dr. Dre, The Chronic hit and I
started listening to hip hop, in classes we trade tapes to check out,
I remember the first Cypress Hill tape I listened to from some kids
talking about it in class and Ice Cube predator, a lot of reality rap
around that time and stuff on MTV All throughout high school I
collected rap & hip-hop and remember some classics like Lethal
Injection, MC eiht, and Snoop's first album Doggystyle.
There
was also BMG Music Club and Columbia House Music subscription where
you get like 12 CD's for a cent and took advantage of that listening
to the commercial hip hop stations in San Fran and won the
compilation West Coast Bad Boyd (WCBB) on air and remember walking
home everyday from school listening to that and I thought the
production on that was done very well and it was bay area artists and
that was like the bible for bay area underground rap. Each song the
artist had their own album and the production for the time was done
better than anything I heard which was way ahead of the time and
still better than stuff today. I was a senior in high school I
remembered and was when 2 Pac died shortly and after that rap hip hop
turned for the worst.
I
worked at a record store at one point after high school and at one
point becoming store manager of the warehouse which specialized in
music and movie rentals. There I discovered trip hop like Bjork,
Portishead, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, Radiohead, Tricky, Mono, and even
Goldie’s Timeless and that put me into another direction of
listening. Also running the store tons of music promos came in from
all kinds of record labels. By time college hit I accumulated over
1,000 rap CDs. Some of the music coming out after working at the
record store wasn’t as good and the electronic music was speaking
to me more and trip hop, one day I was in the back seat of my friends
car and he worked at the Blockbuster Music where they had the
listening stations and we were listening to King Crimson and I look
over and see the Thievery Corporation and Kruder & Dorfmeister
albums were chilling there.
So
at one point I remember checking out Thievery Corporation for the
first time Mirror Conspiracy and it was raining, was such a magical
moment in the back seat of my friends car smoking blunts. After that
I started getting into more instrumental music like that, and started
spinning records my friend had turntables and I remember I started
getting records and checking them out at their house. I was finding
records that were not available on CD like a lot of the singles with
the different versions and I got heavily into collecting records.
I
also remember Amazon had the favorite lists people liked featuring
certain albums and other albums that sounded alike which I imagine
they still have and utilized those favorite lists. Back then mp3s
were a new technology and then there was Audio Galaxy, Napster, and
AOL message boards, and so I just learned so much by listening to
these lists people made from all over the world on Amazon with this new
technology. It was amazing to hear music from the other side of the
world that I never heard on any radio station in the states other
than college stations like Stanford or Foothill college.
During
college I took a jazz appreciation class and music business class and
learned a lot of ins and outs of the music industry. When I became of
age I started checking out the shows 18+ hip hop shows and eventually
turned into electronic music shows and festivals. I learned a lot by
experiencing live shows. You get to see the professionals do it in
front of you and that is the best influence you can get!! One point I
remember checking out a big chill tribute party in SF and met my good
friend DF TRAM which is an acronym for don’t forget the real
ambient movement and with him and the Ambi-Sonic crew I learned
a lot of chill out and ambient music which is still a great influence
for me today!! Also at one point spun at a hookah lounge called Giza
Lounge and got my first sponsor with Six Degrees in partner with
another DJ, De Nada. we used to have a monthly party where we gave
out CDs from the six degrees label to help promote the label.
Nowadays
I don’t listen to much rap as a lot of its is negative and I want
to be more positive with my music, but at times I find the negative
music brings a good mood to people, also when I was a kid I used it
to balance out an argument I recently got into with my mother some of
the music which is worth a lot today and I utilize that knowledge
when I am at a store and speculate if I can sell it for more and
which I put up on my Discogs account for sale.
3)
Could you tell us a little about your set up and are there any bits
of kit or software you find compulsory?
I
find my DJ mixer is definitely the first thing I need since
I can hook up anything pretty much to it. I would recommend this to
anyone doing music production at least a 24 bit mixer but 32 if you
can find one, if you are a DJ then a DJ mixer where you can
cue the tracks in your headphones. 2nd is computer as I have multiple
software you can use within it.
The
software utilized is some editing sound wave sound design program,
they have a free one called Audacity which works good, I
utilize Sound Forge as its little bit easier to use I think
the earlier versions are better but the newer one more capable of
higher bitrate functionality but older one by Sony is way more
solid. The newer one I have to switch between the newer and older
version all the time which is weird. With the sound editing program
you can also record in DJ sets or sampling instruments and add
effects to samples and edit remix stems.
Then
you have the DAW which varies I use mostly FL Studio since its
easiest for me to compose. When composing its like that one theory of
getting to one place from another A to B is a straight line,
and for me FL Studio works that way for me. Another good
DAW that is within a good budget is Reaper which
seems to work like Logic and doesn’t hog up your memory and
utilizes VST Plugins, you don’t want a DAW that hogs up your
memory I rather go for more detail than less and having more memory
you can put more layers or details on the production. There are other
software that I would like to use but this is where I stand now for
production software wise, I will possibly check out some other
software like Renoise and Bitwig and explore more VST Plugins
which vary from free to pricey ones but I tend to start down the
ladder and work my way up according to my budget.
For
hardware I have midi controller Akai MPK25 which I use to make some
melodies and midi map effects and automation, and I have basic
instruments that I sample which can vary from time to time which
aren’t as important as having the stuff I mentioned beforehand as
those are just for sampling and you can sample anything it doesn’t
have to be a music instrument. For DJ’ing I use Serato Scratch
live with a midi controller and have two turntables for spinning
vinyl, CD’s I usually rip into computer and play in Serato.
4)
You are the founder of Synchronos records. Could you tell us more
about the ethos of the label and what's on the horizon in terms of
releases?
Let
us start with the name and that will reveal a lot by deciphering what
the name means to me. I use the word chrono, and that is from one of
my favorite video games chrono trigger a game that was in high school
that was for me inspiration a story of time travelling to save the
world from global epidemic. With an added ‘s’ to the end we have
chronos a Greek word which is the personification of time. And
then ‘syn’ which is short for synchronicity which the analytical
psychologist Carl Jung is about meaningful coincidences and that
could be a lot to be with our solar system and the way the full moons
and planets align each year along with the eclipses. So the label
represents time synchronicity where it be checking out music at
a show or festival or meeting the love of your life or your best
friends and also within what music corresponds with the notes and
keys and the time of year with seasons and day and night.
For
releases forthcoming we have a free compilation for winter solstice a
tribute to the dragon god Ryujin in collaboration with Ю who
helps put out music through compilations himself through different
label. The release is in part me and him putting together songs that
flow together with the theme of deep east Asian
influences. Originally it had no theme but at one point they all
started sounding together with a theme so we just made it themed.
I have gathered some local talent for the compilation close to where
I am living at and people I met on my travels and new connections
through some of the labels that sponsor me already being a DJ. These
compilations are a great way for people to discover new music and at
the same time deliver some songs with some favorite producers of mine
like I mentioned earlier with the WCBB compilation I won from the
radio station when I was in high school. The new compilation features
some artists released before through my label in addition to some
newer artists. Each release put forth on my label also has visionary
artwork featured for the cover that I spotlight for each release.
This release will feature the same artist I used for the first
release Elysium.
We
also have some E.P.'s dropping in the near future too that are in the
ambient, chill out, progressive category. Most of the releases have
been dub focused but in general chill out tracks and some going into
deep bass or ambient. Early 2020 we will have some E.P.’s
dropping by Cerceaux from Mexico and Elohi from Poland and
then in spring hopefully our annual compilation which will be
released on CD, called The Balance of the Butterfly and possibly
another E.P. by me or an album.
5)
You DJ at festivals in both the States and Europe but are also admin
for a Facebook group about sustainable space. What are your
feelings on the impact festivals have on the environment and which
festivals do you feel take this onboard and deal with it the best?
I
feel some festivals effect the environment immensely with the
resources put forth like burning man for example, even though they
show forth a zero tolerance for trash or moop they call it, I see it
as impacting the environment a lot. With a cell phone tower across
the playa. Cell phones in general contribute to global warming and
have a butterfly effect to them that many people don’t realize.
Also I see chemtrails at times at festivals and not only effect our
breathing but the soil and the balance as well as it pushed the
balance somewhere else where its not needed.
I
observed what was happening at the time Burning Man hits and this
year was a hurricane. Also non sustainable community as each year
they put up and take down the camps and have no solid infrastructure
other than center camp area. Whereas you look at other festivals
like Ozora or Modem for instance and they have structures there they
don’t need to take down and put back up and they allow the rains to
happen if needed and not so heavy on trying to control it to make it
sunny for a BBQ. The trash at the end is still there but not
specifically on the playa but surrounding it and also the same
problem with Samsara this year with the trash situation with illegal
dumping and local residents complaining.
Also
at times on public reservations the wildlife and environment is
impacted somewhat like a tent on a lawn for a week it just suffocates
the terrain underneath. Rain is a good sign at a festival where as
the festival is not creating an ulterior balance for that short time.
Having a farm and garden on-site at the festivals like Ozora has
helps create a sustainable approach so people don’t have to worry
about food from other sources from afar creating some sort of carbon
footprint. I am sure the smaller festivals have smaller impact on the
environment, it’s just humanity at large has a huge impact on the
environment, we need to be more conscious of the results of these
festivals happening with the balance and even question is it worth it
due to the impact it has on the environment
6)
With the festive season fast approaching are there any events you're
appearing at?
I
am playing at an event for the solstice in Santa Cruz opening up for
it on Wed Dec 18th, other than that not doing much as I sold my
car before summer but mostly a bedroom DJ at home launching mixes
online as I feel is better impact and people all over the world can
appreciate. Definitely expect some more mixes before the end in
tribute to some of the record labels that sponsor me DJ’ing
spotlighting some of the latest releases and favorites.
Links
