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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Alec Empire
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 18 November 2009
The driving force behind the creation of Digital Hardcore Recordings and founder member of the band Atari Teenage Riot, Alec Empire is somewhat of a veteran, having released his first records while still at school. After disbanding ATR in 2000, Empire established himself as a solo artist, DJ and producer, and has now been involved in well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles. Influenced by a range of different music styles, he counts the likes of Dave Grohl and Trent Reznor among his fans. Alec’s new single ‘1000 Eyes’ is set for release on 7 Dec, and he begins a UK tour on 19 Nov. We spoke to Alec to ask the Same Six Questions.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I had my first radio appearance in Berlin when I was eight years old, playing ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles, which seems quite strange now. I started my first band when I was twelve or thirteen, after I won an award as Berlin’s best breakdancer. Because we were so young, the music scene back then fell in love with us and we ended up playing with many famous bands. When acid house started around 1988/89, I was really blown away by its power and excitement and started to release my first records. I was still at school back then, but then shortly after became a very active part in the techno scene. Then at the age of nineteen I started Atari Teenage Riot.
Q2 What inspired your latest single?
A personal episode really – it made me write the song. It is about a failed but very passionate relationship. Many critics have compared my undistorted, clean voice to early Lou Reed and Velvet Underground. No surprise, as I am very influenced by them. I use metaphors like Japanese filmmakers use them – “snow” stands for “death” for example, and not for “cocaine”, like many think.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
This really depends on the piece of music itself. I avoid routines when I write and also when I record. On ‘1000 Eyes’ we set up our gear in an old and empty warehouse space in Berlin, and recorded it in one take. I was playing electric guitar and [producer and former ATR bandmate] Nic Endo the synths. It was a very dark atmosphere. I loved the natural reverb of the space. This technique is very unusual for me, though, as I do a lot of electronic productions where I create a more artificial atmosphere in the studio. This has led this track to standing out from the rest, I think.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
I think I’m far too deep into it now to day, after having been involved in over 100 releases, and having published over 400 songs. It’s hard to track, as I constantly listen to a lot of different styles of music. Main influences have been Lee Perry, the way he used the mixing desk as an instrument, John Coltrane keeps reminding me to be as honest as I can when I perform, The Clash for widening punk as a genre – I could name at least 40 more.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Music is a language, I speak it in a different way. It is like when one travels to a strange country, one might pick up pieces that one understands – this is exciting. If you are looking for the same thing you already know, my music might be the wrong thing for you, as it doesn’t fit genre definitions. Try to just understand it emotionally. That’s the best start, the rest comes later.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
Pop music and its subgenres have become so fragmented I don’t even pay attention to its trends, which are mostly paid for and very short. I focus on writing and recording authentic stuff. During the making of my new album I read a lot about old German religion, Viking gods, and listened to a lot of Wagner, while at the same time I was getting more into modular synths, which were used in the 70s and black science fiction. This is how I operate: I connect dots that need to be connected. The past dies in the process.
MORE>> www.alec-empire.com
