Magnafide: Carter, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast! Is this your first interview?
Carter: Welcome Cris. I had a short interview before with V when I had my first release on Liquid V.
M: You've been putting it down for a few years now with a steady stream of releases, but people don't know too much about you, yet. Can you give us a little background info?
C: Born in 1981 in western Germany. Lived in Berlin for a few years and moved back to the west at the age of 10. 2000 I moved to Vienna/Austria and started my way into music production. Hip Hop, Lounge & Downtempo Music. Finally, the real journey started in 2012 in the "Jazzsticks Recordings" HQ. My first Release on "Jazzsticks" was in October 2012. The Ep "Living The Moment" together with Pulsaar. Followed by a release on "Goodlooking" together with Paul SG (The Falling Leaves).
M: What got you interested in music production?
C: Needed a way to express my deepest emotions, my feelings, and my pain. Music was the only constant thing in my life that helped me through and gave me the energy to resist. Music helped me to free my mind and heal my soul.
M: How did you get into drum and bass, and more specifically the jazzy, let's call it "liquid" side?
C: I visited my first " TRIFE LIFE " DNB event at FLEX. I felt the power & the freedom and just fell in love with the vibes. It was the right trigger to release the pressure. The Jazzy influence because I simply love Jazz music since
M: How did you link up with Pulsaar, Paul SG, and the Jazzsticks crew?
C: I visited a lot of good Drum&Bass Events in and around Austria. That Brought me to some local Crews. One Of These local artist introduced me to the owner of "Blu Saphir". That moment I played some of my Jazzy tunes, he told me that he would like to introduce me to Paul SG the owner of "Jazzsticks Recordings" So we picked out one of my tracks for my first EP on "Jazzsticks Recordings together with Pulsaar. That's how it all began.
For me, Paul is a true genius & one of the most important producers in the game of Jazzy & Soulful Drum & Bass. We had a couple of releases together on "Goodlooking Records", Liquid V, and of course Jazzsticks Recordings.
M: Do you play any instruments?
C: A little percussion & keyboard. But not professional.
M: Is your family musical?
C: My family was not musical. just my mother used to listen to old soul and jazz classics.
M: How did you learn about production? And what kind of setup do you have?
C: All I know about music production, came/ comes from learning by doing. Experimenting with sounds in different musical directions. A few years ago I passed the SAE Audio institute and got a degree in audio engineering & studio production. At the moment I just use Ableton, Logic, and a few nice software synths & sampler.
M: Excellent! How long did you study for the SAE audio degree?
C: I studied for 2 yrs for my degree.
M: I'm a huge Logic fan myself. You got any quick tips you'd like to share for either Logic or Ableton? Or even production in general?
C: Quick Tip is: I do not use that much compression or limiting fx on my tracks to keep as much from the original sound of my samples as possible. And I try to use clean samples.
M: What are some of your favorite synths/fx/plug-ins, and why?
C: I like the "Moog" software synths and also the soft synth collection of "Rob Papen" ( Blue, Predator & SubBoomBass ) & "Spectrasonics Trillian" the output of these plugs is just great and the plugs are user-friendly. For the fx section, I prefer the Waves plug-in bundles. But I would recommend careful handling with this pro fx. Less is more!
M: I'm with you on the compression and fx points. Never been one on much compression either. The samples being clean is another huge element. This brings me to another area in which things must be impeccably clean, I've heard that you're a chef. Is that true?
C: Yes I enjoy cooking. I like it, to fill an empty plate with a nice picture of fresh food.
M: Is that your profession? If not, what is?
C: Actually, no. The idea is to quit my regular job one day and just go on with music production and Dj'ing.
M: Where have you deejayed so far? Any interesting stories to share? Memorable experience playing a show?
C: I just played "Jazzsticks" & "Blu Saphir" label nights so far. The last show was together with Bryan G, Paul SG, Tuff Gee & Fry. All of the shows are memorable for me.
M: That's great to hear! What do you do for fun besides music and cooking?
C: There is not so much besides cooking and music... love to go out in the woods here and there. And I have a passion for the Arts.
M: Now some really fun questions.. iPhone or Android?
C: I phone!
M: Chicken or beef?
C: Chicken filled with beef.
M: Mario or Sonic?
C: I like both but Sonic was the shit on my Sega Game Gear.
M: Stevie Wonder or Smokey Robinson?
C: Both are Legends!
M: 1980s or 1990s?
C: 1970s
M: Break dancing or graffiti?
C: Break dancing & Graffiti
M: Ed Rush & Optical.. or Bad Company UK?
C: Bad Company UK
M: Final Fantasy or Call of Duty?
C: Call of Duty
M: What is something surprising that most people don't know about you?
C: Something surprising about me is that I've released 15 EPs in about 2 Years and not many people know about it.
M: What artists are you inspired by? Artists you look up to?
C: I am inspired by, Paul SG & All Jazzsticks Artists, Bukem, Scott Allen, Makoto & A Sides, Break, just to name a few..!
M: Which is your favorite song that you've produced so far?
C: My Favorite song I've produced so far is not released yet.
M: What are you currently working on, musically?
C: Currently I work on a few collabos.. one project with Dave Owen, Jay Rome & Salem ( Blu Saphir ) An upcoming EP together with Paul SG, and about 4 EPs just Carter. A new Track with Roy Green is also in the making. And on top, I just started working on an EP with Soul Connection.
M: How about inspirations outside of DNB?
C: Inspirations outside DNB. Hip Hop, Soul & Jazz.
M: What are some pet peeves of yours, in music and in general?
C: The closing time in most of the clubs in Europe. And when I see some known labels, making money with their artists, don't pay them or make any promo and get them out to play shows. In general: The unacceptable situation with the refugees from around the globe. And how the industrialists and politicians act over the last few years.
M: And lastly, any last remarks, plugs, shoutouts?
C: Massive shouts out to my wisely selected DNB fam. from around the globe. Special thanks & shouts to Paul SG & all Jazzsticks Artists, Dave Owen & Anita Magenta, Calculus, Stunna, Saxxon, Bryan G, Bukem, Triple Vision Fam., Scott Allen, Dbase, and the whole Soul Deep Crew. Mike & Adrienne, Jaybee, Sy, PhatPlayers, Kasper, Jay Rome, Steve M, Madcap, Conspire & The Futuresoundsradio Fam. The DNB massive. Outta brazil, Level2, L - Side, Andrezz, Chap, Soul Connection, Ashley M, Salem, Roy Green, Tuff G, Luke B., the lovely Bogota Connection, Vienna Crew, and a m.m.m.!
M: Man. It was a real pleasure to chat with you. Thank you, bro! Where can people find you online? FB, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, etc?
C: Thank you, Cris. Big up!
No comments:
Post a Comment