Acidrum from the Los Angeles- based drum machine virtuoso, scratch magistrate, and synthesizer guru, Baseck, is the last preview track from THE ENTERTAINMENT before the full release on December 3, 2014. It brings a heavy palette of sounds with a funky and bouncing rhythm that translates directly to physical motion in the listener. You’ll also want to be sure to catch Baseck performing live along with 8cylinder, Mysterious House, Speak Onion, Peter Seligman, Decrepit Jaw, and David Morneau on December 6 at Coco66 in Brooklyn for our THE ENTERTAINMENT release show.
We asked Baseck for some additional info about the track, music-making procedures, and approach to sound. We’ll be having mini-interviews like this with each of the contributors to THE ENTERTAINMENT.
1) Tell us a bit about your contribution to The Entertainment. Is it typical of your music? Are there any sounds/processes/elements in it that you haven’t included before? Were you trying to go for any specific listener reaction?
the track “acidrum” that i contributed to the comp was made while shuffling my feet and banging my head in my home studio. its a simple combination of some of my favorite things in music. acid bass lines, and drums! it was created in one day and performed entirely on the tempest (dave smith instruments & roger linn) drum machine/synthesizer while standing up. i wanted to get the raw feeling out as quick as possible and the energy just flowed. when i work on a track it’s usually better for me to be in that specific zone to capture that particular feeling. when i make upbeat bang your head music i’m usually writing standing up and jumping around. when i make ambient, i like to lay in bed, etc.. maybe those feelings will transfer to the listener, who knows.. when making music i don’t necessarily think about how it’s going to be perceived by other people. i’m in the moment and just dive deep into what is making me feel good. i want to be able to throw a track of mine on whenever i want and have it bring me back to that special place where i was when it was created. it’s a time capsule. i make music because i love experimenting and arranging sound frequencies. it’s a major part in what moves me in life. there’s certain combinations that just hit me in the right place and vibrate my whole being. it’s like creating my own drug and then trying it out on myself! deliciouuuuuuuuus.
2) Are you better off in your music than you are walking around in life?
the music barely stops! drum percussion/arrangements, and melodies are constantly running through my head wherever i am. i’m thankful for that. there’s some cool songs up there that only i’ll ever hear hahah. but yes, i do miss the studio when i’m away from it for a while. all the machines bring me such joy. i like a big drum machine/synth buffet to choose which way to work. learning new machines is always fun to shock your workflow and keep you on your feet. dealing with certain limitations that particular machines have is a fun challenge. i don’t make music on a computer because it doesn’t flow for me, and there’s too many options. maybe it’s something i’ll get into in the future.. 20 years ago i started djing and got really into scratching and intricate turntablism. after that was writing music on the bootleg gameboy tracker LSDJ. i was amazed how i could fit the gameboy in my pocket and create such huge sound with only 4 channels of sound. then i got into modular synths and drum machines. being hands on, patching cables, and banging on pads is something that excites me.
3) What is noise? What role does “noise” have in your work?
noise plays a huge part in my work. white noise and pink noise are very essential to the creation of my percussion.
4) Did you intentionally want to make something the listener could only speculate about, rather than be certain of?
i just freak like a freak freaks, and maybe the other freaks will freak with me.
5) What’s next for Baseck? Anything you want to tell people about?
more music releases! creation isn’t hard for me, it’s pressing record which is the hard part. i’ve been lucky enough to play shows all over the USA, Europe/UK, Japan, Mexico and beyond with only a very small amount of music out there. i’m trying to get myself in the habit of releasing now. most of my machines are maxed out with songs, then those files get backed up to the computer and forgotten about. this is something i’m trying to change.
joy through noise and i have a project called TWIN BRAIDS. look out for releases in the future. we also have a night in los angeles called CELEBRATE EVERYTHING which is dedicated to pushing experimental electronic music live sets of internationally known artists, as well as under the radar artists who we think are mega fresh and deserve some shine.
oh yeah, connect to my instagram. www.instagram.com/baseck i put loads of snippets up from stuff i’m working on in the studio.
ALL OF US ARE ONE PEOPLE
rock on rebel warriors,
baseck
Derek Tibs (CEO, Immigrant Breast Nest)
