{"id":20180,"date":"2015-06-23T14:08:06","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T12:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/?p=20180"},"modified":"2015-06-24T16:04:47","modified_gmt":"2015-06-24T14:04:47","slug":"interview-citizenn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/interview-citizenn\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Citizenn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Awarded the title of DJ Mag\u2019s \u2018Breakthrough DJ\u2019 in 2013,<\/strong>\u00a0Citizenn has made quite a name for himself in a short space of time, but far from succumbing to his own hype, he’s maintaining a cool head and steely gaze on the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dreadlocked wonder exploded onto the music scene with a slew of releases via Kerri Chandler’s Madtech<\/strong> label, Waze & Odyssey’s Street Tracks<\/strong> and London-based party people Love Fever Records<\/strong>. Support for his music has come from far and wide, with Radio 1’s Pete Tong<\/strong> throwing his weight behind him as well as many of his peers and, of course, the godfather Mr. Chandler.<\/p>\n

See also: Interview + Contest: Kerri Chandler<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A film director in a former life, his affinity with working with technology led him to this first album, inspired by the direction it was taking humanity ‘Human Interface,<\/strong>‘ which builds\u00a0on the retro-futurist foundations he’s already laid down. The whole record is visual, creating a vivid landscape that only an artist familiar with the details of more than one creative medium could deliver, with themes and textures that use both digital and analogue synthesis, and human oral and physical input.<\/p>\n

‘Human Interface’ is available on Crosstown Rebels on 29 June and can be purchases – here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

“The moment we create something more intelligent than ourselves or even AS intelligent as ourselves but not tainted or instructed by the human condition we will essentially be gods birthing a new species.”<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

You have recently added an extra \u201cn\u201d to your artist name. What was the philosophy behind this?
\n<\/span><\/strong>It wasn’t a philosophy as such… more of a necessity and understanding of my embracing the project fully. Giving it a new moniker where it would stand alone, something truly unique and not used by any other artist or company. <\/span><\/p>\n

As you have been a film director, how has the approach to the visual aided in your music production?<\/strong>
\nI would say more on a subconscious level. They say a picture paints a thousand words, utilising our mind to think up vast compositions and scenarios can bring us out of a creative slump and influence ideas that have almost nothing to do with the original context. It isn’t a constant point of reference for me but it definitely helps me in some way. I’m sure of it.<\/p>\n

Speaking of music videos, what elements make for a standout example?\u00a0 Do you have a particular music video (whether you created or not) that\u00a0 is a definitive example of a successful electronic music video?<\/strong>
\nMusic videos to me work just like their aural counterparts. They stamp a moment in time utilising all the contextual tropes and technology of the time into this artistic mass of history. I feel they should canonise a moment in cultural history, something that you can return to in 15 years and be like “so that’s what they were thinking and feeling back then…”, this is high art and commerce coexisting.<\/p>\n

My favourite music video always had my film peers in stitches (Layo and Bushwacka –\u00a0Love story vs finally).\u00a0It’s a video that means so much to me personally but on the surface just appears to be a simplistic farce. It’s just a woman dancing in morphing lights and lasers (a genre trope that would be repeated time and time again). But as I mentioned earlier, music videos canonise a moment in time, the feelings and atmosphere of the artistic and technological landscape. Therefore I can only state that there are no definitively successful electronic music videos or music videos period. It’s an entirely subjective topic that takes into consideration everything.<\/p>\n

How would you compare the workflow of audio production and video production?<\/strong>
\nI would say that they are very fluid in their similarities. There is no one work flow that works for everybody and that would suit every situation. It’s amazing we have all these amazing tools to work with, to tailor a workspace to our own work flow only that one operates in a visual capacity and the other in an aural capacity. At times in fact the lines are blurred with a lot of programs and work flows now utilising both video and audio into the mix. The most common way creatives put their work together is in a fixed linear grid system that works forward from point A to B. There are exceptions of course, people that try to break the mould and eschew any idea of linear narratives and work flows. Take Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction for example.<\/p>\n

You mention that your album is inspired by the direction technology is taking humanity.\u00a0Can you elaborate on this concept?<\/strong>
\nLess about where technology is taking humanity and more about our interaction with it at this stage.\u00a0I guess I’m talking about the age we are in now, I suppose you could call it the pre-singularity age. Where we toy with incredibly advanced systems that don’t posses any form of intelligence outside of their programming parameters. This period where we are marvelling at our own technological advancement, growing at an exponential rate.<\/p>\n

Humans have always used tools and technology to express themselves creatively and emotionally. From the cave paintings of the neanderthal man to the head mounted go pro camera of some thrill-seeking sort jumping off cliff faces for carbonated drinks brands.\u00a0 It’s an incredibly exciting period to be in and I wanted to celebrate that. It does come with a warning though. The moment we create something more intelligent than ourselves or even AS intelligent as ourselves but not tainted or instructed by the human condition we will essentially be gods birthing a new species. I don’t think we could handle it.<\/p>\n

[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”false” desc=”false” img_in_row=”3″ animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”false” album_id=”70″]<\/p>\n

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As technology plays so prominently in the construct of the album, as\u00a0 well as your own interests, what are some pieces of production gear you\u00a0utilised\u00a0on the album?
\n<\/span><\/strong>What is a piece of gear you can\u2019t live without when on the road? I’ve always been really into the Korg M1 and have used it in most of my productions to this day. Admittedly mostly just the presets though. On this record I really took time out to try and master the editing process of this incredibly deep machine and use it in ways I haven’t before and it was all pretty exciting.\u00a0My mates think I’m crazy for using it still! I can’t help it I’m in love. The one piece of gear I can’t live without on the road would have to be my laptop of course. I spend most of my time using it anyway I’d be lost without it, I take it everywhere with me. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Human Interface\u2019 is released under Crosstown Rebels.\u00a0How does the\u00a0 label coincide with your own vision as a musician and artist?
\n<\/span><\/strong>Crosstown has always been a favourite label of mine. Damian is a visionary and always likes to keep people guessing but takes incredible care of the label image. I think it’s a very personal label that you really have to buy into mind, body and soul because all if the artists care so much about what they are doing. It isn’t just a bunch of tech-house bangers being pushed out every week\u00a0(not that there is anything wrong with that of course!)\u00a0 I feel there is an adventurous spirit within the label so far that resonates with me. Doing the unexpected and pushing the boat out a bit further.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

What did you find to be the most difficult aspect of getting the album\u00a0 completed?\u00a0Was there any aspect of its production you had anticipated\u00a0 as being difficult yet turned out to not be?<\/strong>
\nThe whole thing was a trip really. I’ve never done any one thing for a such a long period of time. I really feel that I’m borderline ADD most of the time. This Lp forced me to focus and the idea of patience being a virtue. It certainly was no walk in the park but I feel the lessons it’s taught me I will keep forever. I have met some incredible people along the way also and worked with people I’m really fond of creatively. The hardest thing about the process I think was knowing when it was over and working on things outside of the project. I feel now it’s done that a big chapter has just ended. I can hardly listen to it without wanting to go back in and play around a bit more. It’s under lock and key.<\/p>\n

Who are some of your musical influences? Who are some of your non- musical influences?<\/strong>
\nMusical influences in no particular order: Sa-Ra, John Coltrane, Kerri Chandler, Maynard James Keenan, \u00a0Max B.<\/p>\n

Non musical influences: My friends and family, Asimov, Nietzsche, Charlamagne the God<\/p>\n

Are you optimistic about the future of technology?<\/strong>
\nMost definitely! So many exciting things to come. I hope to see a lot more invested in the development of the species as well as the care of the planet not just for profit.<\/p>\n

Soundcloud <\/a><\/span> Artist Page <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Awarded the title of DJ Mag\u2019s \u2018Breakthrough DJ\u2019 in 2013,\u00a0Citizenn has made quite a name for himself in a short space of time, but far from succumbing to his own hype, he’s maintaining a cool head and steely gaze on the future. The dreadlocked wonder exploded onto the music scene with a slew of releases […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":20184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3971],"tags":[6119,5048,6123,6120,6122,4086,750,6121],"class_list":["post-20180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","category-interviews-london","tag-citizenn","tag-crosstown-rebels-london","tag-dj-mag","tag-human-interface","tag-love-fever-records","tag-madtech","tag-pete-tong","tag-street-tracks","post_format-post-format-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}