[blpsq003] Andrés Marcos - Lazy Fingers EP

Treat yourself to some mind massaging procrastination with this unique and engaging collection of funkatronic adventures, as we bring you our third release from the warm hands of Andrés Marcos. And lucky for you, a doctor and jockey will be along for the ride just in case any horseplay you get involved in requires medical attention.

 

38 C
Lazy Fingers
Lazy Fingers (Dr. Nojoke Remix)
Lazy Fingers (Le Jockey's Garage Wonk Out)
38 C (Le Jockey's Shuffle)

Release artwork by Jonathan Mangelinckx

Download Complete Release:
320 kbps mp3 - archive - sonicsquirrel
lossless flac - archive

Stream - archive - sonicsquirrel

To supplement this release, Andrés was kind enough to answer a few questions to give some insight to his life and musicianship...

Can you tell us about where you live?
At the moment I live in Zurich. It is a small city, but the biggest in Switzerland. It has the advantages of a large city, but you can go everywhere by bike. It has some tradition in electronic music and clubs and is multi cultural. Winters are pretty cold, but in summer you can swim in the river or the lake, therefore I tend to spend more time in the studio during winters, and look for new ideas in the warm seasons.

When did you first become interested in producing electronic music?
It was in 1995, at this time I was playing electric and upright bass with jazz ensembles, and had to make a forced pause because of a problem with the tendons of my left hand, I was very sad because I had to cancel all my summer gigs. In this period I was unable to play instruments and made my first experiments with electronic music, I have always been fascinated by electronic sounds with textures never heard before, but I had until then only very little time to try by myself. I tried to find a new language with this new instrument, and when my tendons healed it was too late to come back. Sometimes I still play basses in my tracks.

How would you describe your approach to production?
The method used to achieve a certain sound is very important to me, I mean that the technique used is a part of the story you tell. I try every time to experiment something new, or a new way to work on sound. I don’t have a dj background, I have played with bands since I was 14 and kept some of the processes in electronic music. Improvisation plays an important role in my productions, and some of the structures are inspired by jazz compositions. I like to change the function of elements in music, or to forget some on the way. A bassline can be the melody, and melody can, for example, have only a rhythmic function. Tension is also a very important point to me. The most of the time I work alone, I appreciate to be able to take all the decisions by myself, without compromise.

What are some of your inspirations and biggest influences?
Hmm, to be honest my biggest influences are not electronic. I tend to listen to every sort of jazz related music, and my influences come mainly from there. I grow up with fusion ensembles like Weather Report, I listen to lots of Latin jazz, flamenco, and find the work of, in no particular order: early Tower of Power, Maceo Parker, John Scofield, Steve Reich, John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, M-Base Collective, Squarepusher, Matthew Herbert, Autechre, [a]pendics shuffle, very inspiring, for different reasons.

Is there any kind of story behind the making of lazy fingers and 38C?
The lazy fingers in the title are actually mine, this track was a long and evolving process. Above 38°C is fever, and the track has tension and distortions that remind me of this state.

How do you coordinate your livesets?
My livesets are both hardware and software based. I never play my own productions as they are, I use a pool of (at the moment over 1200) my own samples where I travel and combine the sequences stored in my synthesizers and drum machines in no particular order. As said before improvisation is very important to me, and taking some extra risk makes it all more funny.

What was your most memorable gig?
The first one, as I don’t have a techno / dj background I had no idea if people on the dancefloor would find my set good enough. It was a big success and gave me the confirmation that I should continue my research in this direction.

What is like to be a recent father?
I can hardly find the words to describe what I feel, but it is the most extraordinary thing that happened to me. It boosts my motivation for everything.

Any plans for the rest of 2010?
This year I will play fewer gigs and invest more time in researching new sounds and structures and producing.