As you loyal readers should know, I do some work for many organizations in the DnB spectrum: DOA amd Horizons Music, as well as some bio work for guys like Perpetuum and Saburuko, plus some other things I will not speak on right now. I say that to say this: I'm doing a lot of writing, and sometimes these pieces sit on my HD collecting cyberdust. This interview is one of those pieces. It's a proactive interview I conducted with master of DnB & Downtempo stylings, Finland's own Fanu. At the time, his label, Lightless, was just a rumor, and I figured it'd be dope to snag him before his venture took off. He's been a producer that has received love for his keen ear for beats, his usage of atmosphere in his tracks, and just the fact that he can flip from the "drumfunk" to the "broken beat" seamlessly. In any case, the powers that be at DOA thought an interview with Fanu would be a great idea as well, so the stage was set. For reasons unbeknownst to anyone, this interview fell by the wayside, and it was not until last month when I remembered this one had been around. Alas, DOA had conducted a new, superb piece on Fanu (shouts to Mary Morris), and mine was left, unpublished. I now bring you this gem, in all of its uneditied glory. Fanu speaks on what moves him inside and outside of "the scene", how he works, and just what makes him tick. Keep in mind, this is from about May of '06, for DOA. I apologize to Fanu for having this interview sitting idle for so long, but it was beyond my control. Here's an early Xmas gift to DnB fans big and small...
khal: There are many heads on and off DOA who are infatuated with your style of production. Can you give us an idea of what inspires you to create? Do you look at making music as a full-time job or as a hobby?
Fanu: Anything can inspire me, basically. Usually it starts with creating/finding/sampling some good sound: getting an interesting sample from a synth, a movie, a record, or whatever. Being after good sounds is almost a lifestyle thing, really. You try out synths, buy/rent movies/records, mic things…go through everything and record everything…keep your ears open. I have developed a big sample library for myself, and the best thing is to randomly try out different sounds and see what goes with what: by doing that, I’m never repeating what I’ve done before. When I find something interesting, I just start building things around that. It’s like building a house on a stone base and then getting creative from there, letting it evolve. For example, I’ve just finished writing an ambient tune that becomes a house-y tune; it started with me just playing with sounds…first it was very cinematic, then I realized I can make it transform into a house tune. I’m very interested in progression music at the moment. I don’t think music will ever be my job, and that’s how I want to keep it. I mean, of course I get paid a little for signing music to labels, for record sales, and DJing at the moment, but that’s just very little, and I’m more than happy with that. I love music and I put a lot of time into it, but I want a job that doesn’t have to do with music: I don’t want music to be the job that pays my bills because I want to keep my artistic integrity and my freedom of creativity because they are the last things I want to compromise. I will graduate from the university of Helsinki and become an English teacher in a year.
khal: What makes you “Fanu”? In asking that I mean, what drives you to create the deeply funky, atmospheric tracks that you make and not some dance floor ready nastiness?
Fanu: Well, everything I do comes from what’s inside of me and what I hence want/need to create; that, of course, has to do with my roots. I never let go of the mid-nineties aesthetics because that was such a huge influence to me. I mean, I’m not trying pathetically to repeat any “good old days”, but my love for atmospheres and breaks comes from the old GLR and Metalheadz times and I acknowledge that. It is also true that my music isn’t about the latest mainstream dancefloor trends, and I say that with a great pride.
khal: Why do you think there is such a big conflict/distinction between what many have called “choppage” or “drumfunk” and the rest of the DnB you hear spun? Do you think there might be a time when there is no distinction between those styles?
Fanu: Well, the reason why there is such a distinction is possibly that at some point, breakbeats and syncopation lost their meaning in DnB to a great extent, so I suppose that nowadays some people feel that there’s the need to emphasize the fact that somebody’s using breaks instead of a more straightforward and rigid drum pattern – the latter being the predominant choice. Personally, I’ve never been into categorizing things too much – if it’s good DnB (or any music), it’s good. However, as long as there are people doing things that differ remarkably, there’s gonna be different names for all those things as well: it’s inevitable. Now that they’ve come up with all those names, I don’t think there will be a time when everything’s just “DnB” for everybody, but I guess there was a time when DnB really was just DnB.
khal: Where do you see DnB [as a scene/music] going in the future?
Fanu: DnB as music: I don’t know where it’s going, and that’s the best part! You can pour anything into DnB and that’s what makes it so great: every once in a while, there’s someone with really original ideas – like Amit at the moment, for example – who just blows everyone away. Naturally, there’s always going to be this less creative dimension of DnB, but there’s always this interesting, creative movement as well that’s being kept alive by producers who – for the love of it – are really bustin’ their balls to keep things alive and fresh. DnB as a scene: I’ve never been into any scene-related matters, to be honest. There’s good DnB coming from everywhere and people are brocking to it around the world. It’s a worldwide phenomenon.
khal: As a producer, are you ever fed up to the point of quitting over some of the problems you
face as an artist within the scene?
Fanu: Never. I have the absolute freedom to do whatever I want; I mean, I don’t have to try to follow any trends or try to make music that would sell or get signed by labels. I’ve never put myself so deep or seriously into the game that I would have to follow its rules for any reason. To be honest, if the day came that no label wanted to sign my music, I’d still be proud because I’d still be doing my own thing. The only problems I have had have been with labels, but that shit’s got to do with people who don’t know how to handle their business (I think DnB as a genre holds the world record of the most number of extremely inefficient label managers) – not with any scene-related issues.
khal: Which one of your tracks do you consider your best work, and why? Which would you say is your least favorite, and why?
Fanu: Everybody would say "Siren Song", but I’m trying to forget about it, or maybe make people move on a bit at least. Not because I wouldn’t like it – I still love it! – but because there is so much other music and so many other tracks that I’ve made and there is life and music after "Siren Song", haha…I wish more people checked out all the audio on my website at FanuSamurai.com because that displays me a bit more as an artist, not just a dnb producer. Two of my possibly most technical DnB tracks, "Toshiro" and "Ninja Chicks", are coming out in the summer (hopefully in June) on Darkestral, and they’re something I still listen to and think I did an awesome job. There’s my old Photek influences right there and I’m proud of that. Especially "Toshiro" is a tribute to the nineties Rupert. As for the least favorite tracks: I don’t have any. My quality control is ultra-tight, so every track I finish is something that I’m happy with.
khal: Are there any DnB producers or tracks that people might be surprised to hear that you enjoy?
Fanu: I’ve never put myself in any mould production-wise, DJing-wise, or music-digging-wise, so there won’t be any surprises – if a tune is good, it is good, and I will like it!
khal: I know you have some album work on the horizon, as well as a new label you are working on. Can you tell us a little bit about how this came to be, and what you plan on doing with it in the future?
Fanu: There’s this downtempo album called Focused Mind coming out on Pauze Recordings – it’s from my FanuSamurai moniker, and it’s coming out in the summer (in July, according to the latest news from the label). We’ve been waiting to get that out for so long, but there’s been a massive load of samples to clear, which has delayed things, but the label’s done a great job, for which I’m grateful, and soon we’re ready to put it out. If you ask me, it’s pretty much the best thing I’ve done, and every second on that album is something I’m extremely happy with. As for the label: I’m starting a record label called Lightless Recordings. It’ll be mainly for music of my own at first: DnB and non-DnB (downtempo and anything fat in general), but there will be mutual remix works coming, for example. The label will be representing the DnB I’m trying to push: the mid-nineties aesthetics shaping the DnB of today. Expect a lot of good breaks and deep atmospheres.
khal: Is there any track out there that you wished you had produced?
Fanu: Maybe a million!
If we’re talking about DnB, here’s a few:
Photek – Seven Samurai
Fanu: Anything can inspire me, basically. Usually it starts with creating/finding/sampling some good sound: getting an interesting sample from a synth, a movie, a record, or whatever. Being after good sounds is almost a lifestyle thing, really. You try out synths, buy/rent movies/records, mic things…go through everything and record everything…keep your ears open. I have developed a big sample library for myself, and the best thing is to randomly try out different sounds and see what goes with what: by doing that, I’m never repeating what I’ve done before. When I find something interesting, I just start building things around that. It’s like building a house on a stone base and then getting creative from there, letting it evolve. For example, I’ve just finished writing an ambient tune that becomes a house-y tune; it started with me just playing with sounds…first it was very cinematic, then I realized I can make it transform into a house tune. I’m very interested in progression music at the moment. I don’t think music will ever be my job, and that’s how I want to keep it. I mean, of course I get paid a little for signing music to labels, for record sales, and DJing at the moment, but that’s just very little, and I’m more than happy with that. I love music and I put a lot of time into it, but I want a job that doesn’t have to do with music: I don’t want music to be the job that pays my bills because I want to keep my artistic integrity and my freedom of creativity because they are the last things I want to compromise. I will graduate from the university of Helsinki and become an English teacher in a year.
khal: What makes you “Fanu”? In asking that I mean, what drives you to create the deeply funky, atmospheric tracks that you make and not some dance floor ready nastiness?Fanu: Well, everything I do comes from what’s inside of me and what I hence want/need to create; that, of course, has to do with my roots. I never let go of the mid-nineties aesthetics because that was such a huge influence to me. I mean, I’m not trying pathetically to repeat any “good old days”, but my love for atmospheres and breaks comes from the old GLR and Metalheadz times and I acknowledge that. It is also true that my music isn’t about the latest mainstream dancefloor trends, and I say that with a great pride.
khal: Why do you think there is such a big conflict/distinction between what many have called “choppage” or “drumfunk” and the rest of the DnB you hear spun? Do you think there might be a time when there is no distinction between those styles?
Fanu: Well, the reason why there is such a distinction is possibly that at some point, breakbeats and syncopation lost their meaning in DnB to a great extent, so I suppose that nowadays some people feel that there’s the need to emphasize the fact that somebody’s using breaks instead of a more straightforward and rigid drum pattern – the latter being the predominant choice. Personally, I’ve never been into categorizing things too much – if it’s good DnB (or any music), it’s good. However, as long as there are people doing things that differ remarkably, there’s gonna be different names for all those things as well: it’s inevitable. Now that they’ve come up with all those names, I don’t think there will be a time when everything’s just “DnB” for everybody, but I guess there was a time when DnB really was just DnB.
khal: Where do you see DnB [as a scene/music] going in the future?
Fanu: DnB as music: I don’t know where it’s going, and that’s the best part! You can pour anything into DnB and that’s what makes it so great: every once in a while, there’s someone with really original ideas – like Amit at the moment, for example – who just blows everyone away. Naturally, there’s always going to be this less creative dimension of DnB, but there’s always this interesting, creative movement as well that’s being kept alive by producers who – for the love of it – are really bustin’ their balls to keep things alive and fresh. DnB as a scene: I’ve never been into any scene-related matters, to be honest. There’s good DnB coming from everywhere and people are brocking to it around the world. It’s a worldwide phenomenon.
khal: As a producer, are you ever fed up to the point of quitting over some of the problems you
face as an artist within the scene?Fanu: Never. I have the absolute freedom to do whatever I want; I mean, I don’t have to try to follow any trends or try to make music that would sell or get signed by labels. I’ve never put myself so deep or seriously into the game that I would have to follow its rules for any reason. To be honest, if the day came that no label wanted to sign my music, I’d still be proud because I’d still be doing my own thing. The only problems I have had have been with labels, but that shit’s got to do with people who don’t know how to handle their business (I think DnB as a genre holds the world record of the most number of extremely inefficient label managers) – not with any scene-related issues.
khal: Which one of your tracks do you consider your best work, and why? Which would you say is your least favorite, and why?
Fanu: Everybody would say "Siren Song", but I’m trying to forget about it, or maybe make people move on a bit at least. Not because I wouldn’t like it – I still love it! – but because there is so much other music and so many other tracks that I’ve made and there is life and music after "Siren Song", haha…I wish more people checked out all the audio on my website at FanuSamurai.com because that displays me a bit more as an artist, not just a dnb producer. Two of my possibly most technical DnB tracks, "Toshiro" and "Ninja Chicks", are coming out in the summer (hopefully in June) on Darkestral, and they’re something I still listen to and think I did an awesome job. There’s my old Photek influences right there and I’m proud of that. Especially "Toshiro" is a tribute to the nineties Rupert. As for the least favorite tracks: I don’t have any. My quality control is ultra-tight, so every track I finish is something that I’m happy with.
khal: Are there any DnB producers or tracks that people might be surprised to hear that you enjoy?Fanu: I’ve never put myself in any mould production-wise, DJing-wise, or music-digging-wise, so there won’t be any surprises – if a tune is good, it is good, and I will like it!
khal: I know you have some album work on the horizon, as well as a new label you are working on. Can you tell us a little bit about how this came to be, and what you plan on doing with it in the future?
Fanu: There’s this downtempo album called Focused Mind coming out on Pauze Recordings – it’s from my FanuSamurai moniker, and it’s coming out in the summer (in July, according to the latest news from the label). We’ve been waiting to get that out for so long, but there’s been a massive load of samples to clear, which has delayed things, but the label’s done a great job, for which I’m grateful, and soon we’re ready to put it out. If you ask me, it’s pretty much the best thing I’ve done, and every second on that album is something I’m extremely happy with. As for the label: I’m starting a record label called Lightless Recordings. It’ll be mainly for music of my own at first: DnB and non-DnB (downtempo and anything fat in general), but there will be mutual remix works coming, for example. The label will be representing the DnB I’m trying to push: the mid-nineties aesthetics shaping the DnB of today. Expect a lot of good breaks and deep atmospheres.
khal: Is there any track out there that you wished you had produced?
Fanu: Maybe a million!
If we’re talking about DnB, here’s a few:
Photek – Seven Samurai
Kirsty Hawkshaw – Sci-clone (Droppin’ Science Remix)
Kemal – System Bleed
Hokusai – Black Rose
Source Direct – Secret Liaisons
Seba – Shapeshifter
Amit – Second Cut
Then, non-DnB wise, I’d say any track that FSOL, Underworld and DJ Shadow ever made.
khal: Many heads out there are in love with your string of mixes! I know that you have said that you are pretty new to the art of DJing, but do you have any plans on tightening up and taking your talents on tour?
Fanu: DJing isn’t all that new to me, actually: I’ve been playing for a few years, but it’s got more frequent recently. In the past year or so, I’ve played in Hungary, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, and England, for example. I was in Cracow and Rybnik a few weeks ago and this week I’ll be playing in Utrecht. I’ve never done any tours but I’m glad to go anywhere.
khal: What would you say is your current top 10?
Fanu:
khal: Many heads out there are in love with your string of mixes! I know that you have said that you are pretty new to the art of DJing, but do you have any plans on tightening up and taking your talents on tour?
Fanu: DJing isn’t all that new to me, actually: I’ve been playing for a few years, but it’s got more frequent recently. In the past year or so, I’ve played in Hungary, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, and England, for example. I was in Cracow and Rybnik a few weeks ago and this week I’ll be playing in Utrecht. I’ve never done any tours but I’m glad to go anywhere.
khal: What would you say is your current top 10?
Fanu:
DnB:
Naphta – My Bitter Sweetness
Seba – External Reality
Sileni – Cold Sweat
Dstruct – Merkaba
Seba & Paradox – It’s All Love
Stu Haxton – Miss Sunrise (Fracture & Neptune Remix)
FSOL – Papua New Guinea (Vector Burn Remix)
myself – Garmonbozia
myself – For Those Who Dream
myself – Leave The Natural World Behind
non-DnB:
Telefon Tel Aviv: At the Edge of the World You Will Still Float
Le Tigre: Deceptacon
Le Tigre: Hot Topic
FSOL: Papua New Guinea
Cyndi Lauper: Time After Time
FanuSamurai: Green Grass, Small Clouds
FanuSamurai: I.Z.A
Everything but the Girl: Future of the Future (Stay Gold)
Underworld: King of Snake
Lonnie Liston Smith: any track
non-music:
*Noodles with fried tuna, garlic, champignons, cucumber, chili and sweet ’n’ sour sauce. Serve with toast with some fresh tomato.
*Poland, Polish beer and Zubrowka vodka
*Love
*Cruising on my skateboard and feeling free
*Sauna and beer
*Realizing I’m progressing with music and evolving as an artist
*Being moderately drunk and realizing that everything rocks
*Green Chinese jasmine tea
*Getting to travel for DJ gigs and meeting all the cool people in the process
khal: Are there any producers that you would like to collaborate with?
Fanu: I’ve never been too wild about the idea of doing collabos, but I’d be honored to work with Amon Tobin, DJ Shadow, Underworld, or Tracey Thorne.
khal: What are some activities you like to get into when you are not working?
Fanu: Well, for example, I just recently started skateboarding again. I’ve been injured most of the time – haha!!! – but whenever I can, I’m on the board now. Also, the summer’s here soon, so hanging out with friends, with my lady, enjoying the sun and beer, that’s the shit!
khal: Do you have any final comments/shout outs/words of advice?
Fanu: Do it for the love.
khal: Are there any producers that you would like to collaborate with?
Fanu: I’ve never been too wild about the idea of doing collabos, but I’d be honored to work with Amon Tobin, DJ Shadow, Underworld, or Tracey Thorne.
khal: What are some activities you like to get into when you are not working?
Fanu: Well, for example, I just recently started skateboarding again. I’ve been injured most of the time – haha!!! – but whenever I can, I’m on the board now. Also, the summer’s here soon, so hanging out with friends, with my lady, enjoying the sun and beer, that’s the shit!
khal: Do you have any final comments/shout outs/words of advice?
Fanu: Do it for the love.
____
Shouts to Fanu for this interview. Take a listen to his Focused Mind album, and be on the look out for his upcoming Lightless releases. To keep up with him, check out the following websites:
2 comments:
Great interview!
Thanks for it, Fanu is my favourite rockstar! :)
I'll put the link to this interview in my weblog! (earning you another 0 views I guess :P)
Malkav
Very nice interview!
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