Legohead (Tribeadelic)

Interview by Australiens.net

1.What were you interested in before psytrance? Were you in any bands?
I have been playing guitar in various bands over the years, some of them which had a large electronic element. I've always enjoyed being involved in live music and the music scene itself. I used to listen to old goa cds long before discovering the psy-trance scene and was fascinated by their exotic melodies and imaginative sounds.

2.What sparked your interest in electronic music?
I remember instantly finding it interesting. Most other styles of music are based on using sounds and instruments that the listener is familiar with while a sound in an electronic piece is its own entity. I found that it opened a door(not a real one) to new concepts in listening to and composing music. Sound-design now takes an important place along side melody and arrangement as one of the fundamental characteristics of many styles of music today, after all music is just an interpretation of an arrangement of noise itself.

3. You have been producing psytrance for 4 years now.. what have you found it is that never fails to get a psy-trance crowd dancing?
Fat bass, mad sounds, mad basslines and lots of it. Maintaining momentum throughout a set and within the tracks is important to keep the energy on the dancefloor flowing. Psy trance I think, is pretty much funk music- creating and sustaining energy through the use of a groove. You have the "one", which is the first beat of the bar, and its all about what goes in between these thats important.

4. What makes a track a good one.. instead of just an ok one?
There are essential elements for a track to be "good" but because it is a subjective quality, music taste differs from person to person. I'm instantly attracted to tracks with interesting basslines whether they be simple, quirky, dark or if its just the bass sound itself. There must of course, be plenty of psychedelic sounds to keep you on your toes and the structure of the track must make sense to carry you through to the end successfully. I enjoy all styles of psy trance and I think there is a time and a place for everything. At the moment i particularly like producing the harder bouncier style :)

5. What psytrance artists do you really get into? Do you find you are influenced by these artists ?
I think because there is such a fast rate of high quality trance being produced around the world i find it hard to get hung up to long on any particular artist. Every time I hear a track I like I suppose I am influenced to some degree. Lately I've been enjoying the music of Sesto Sento, Dynamic, Scorb, hmm too many to mention. I would say I am also influenced by experiences and other styles of music in terms of concepts for my own.

6. I see you are making music with Steve Barr under the project name 'The Far Side'. Whats it like to work with someone on music rather than doing it alone?
I find that working with other people tends to keep ideas fresh and the rate of work seems to be faster. Sometimes if I'm listening to something for too long then I become desensitised to the track or the impact of the music on fresh ears. The energy of three enthusiastic people who love psy-trance(Steve, Brian, myself) in a studio makes for some great tracks. Steve has had a lot of experience in the scene so his input is invaluable. I also have another project called "My dads an Astronaut" with two old band members(the band being old) in which we are writing a mixture of live/electronic music.

7. What is the most memorable gig you have played at ?
That would have to be "Bugbangers" in 2000 which was one of my first live gigs.. A small outdoor party where the theme was to come dressed as a bug. I think that having parties outdoors provides not only a unique sound but a humbling atmosphere. It suits the nature of psychedelic music because it provides a lot more stimulation for the mind than a club. The concept of a "bug" dress theme outdoors was quite surreal and very entertaining.

8. What does the future hold for you ? Do you have any releases in the pipelines? Any plans to play overseas?
I have an album coming out on Tribedelic records in about four months and various overseas compilations in the works. I'm going to the UK for a while this year and looking forward to exploring the scene out of Melbourne. The future? ..... well it doesn't exist so I can't answer that but I'm anticipating that with so many cutting edge artists in the scene that the music will evolve quite quickly and I hope to be a part of that.