In a new thing for Stripewaves, i’ll be tracking down some of the most interesting underground electronic music producers around the world and getting them into some brand of chat client for a talk about their music, how they do things and how they view music in general. First up is Inofaith from Holland. His interesting brand of electronica wanders from Dubstep to DnB via IDM and Hip Hop and he has been known to experiment with some glitchy goodness as well.
SF: Hey Inofaith, thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
Inofaith: You got my full attention.
SF: So, for people who may not be too aware of you or your history, do you mind giving a brief run through of your production history?
Inofaith: I come from playing the piano, was inspired by hiphop and started making things on a computer at 14, techno and hiphop beats, later drum and bass and triphop. In the process I got in touch with scratching and beatboxing as well.
The last years I’ve been learning a lot productionwise, and my sampling has grown more into field and foley recording and sound design.
SF: You do seem to be a very “hands on” producer, i have seen a video of you using a Korg KP3 as well as anyone i have ever seen. Do you think this is a remnant of starting out with the piano and the later progression to the decks?
Inofaith: Well yeah the piano and scratching are certainly ways of expressing yourself using your hands. But I also feel that having used a computer to produce music has aided into thinking about sound and patterns in a visual way. When scratching, or shuffling beats on the kaoss pad you sort of see the patterns before you do them.
SF: Do you have a general framework for production involving the various means you have to produce sounds, from sound design to field recording etc, or is it simply a matter of starting with whatever element grabs you at the time?
Inofaith: I used to just impulsively start working after I got a new sound from somewhere, but most of the time you start hitting a wall and discover you don’t have all the elements you need at hand. It’s like starting to cook a meal while you havent prepared any ingredients. This doesn’t have to be a major problem sometimes. But if you are in this inspired zone where you want to just create, you don’t want anything getting in your way of putting down your mood or ideas, so I’m getting more structured in the sense of organising ingredients and having commonly used elements set to my preferences.
SF: Do you even set out at the start of a track to write a track of a specific genre, or is that just something that occurs naturally in the early stages?….or not, as the case may be, a lot of your work could easily be labeled as several different genres, with all the cross appeal that usually implies.
Inofaith: In my early dnb and triphop work I did have my bpm counter fixed most of the time. But nowadays I usually hum a melody or beatbox a pattern and write that down or save it in a memo recorder if I’m not near the computer. Based on that, I start out by tapping the tempo in and go from there. I feel that staying true to that initial idea that gets you grooving is often the best way.
SF : You really seem to believe strongly in that first moment of inspiration and we have talked before about the importance of different avenues of inspiration for artists, what can set you off and get you thinking about a beat, or humming a melody?
Inofaith: Well, the funny thing is that these ideas mostly arise when I’m in a place nowhere near any means of recording, like in the shower, toilet or when riding my bike. I often find myself rushing trying to get back to my computer to save my idea haha.
For me being in a calm place or moment can work. I think its just having no impulses from outside that allows you to really listen to your own ideas or mood. But I can easily get inspired by having watched a movie or reading an interesting article, also traveling to new places gets the mind going. As far as melody or beat goes, that really depends on the mood I’m in,obviously an energetic mood will yield faster beats etc.
SF: I know you are a big fan of sountracks, and have used quotes from films such as Event Horizon and Lost in Translation in some of your tracks, this all adds to your music having a very strong visual drive behind it, it’s easy to close the eyes and just see images when listening to your work…do you think this is a happy result of your own efforts married with your inspirations or is it something you strive to acheive?
Inofaith: I think its something I do both unconsciously and intentionally. When I create music I want the track to take me somewhere. Most structural things are done on just feeling and anticipation. But I’m also busy with trying to find combinations of sound and image. I tried VJ-ing and video sampling, I even worked with video artist Eboman for a while. But I discovered that literally showing a sound and where it came from takes away the mystery and perhaps “abstractness” of what music can evoke in people. So I got back to shaping sounds so they fit a certain mood or image much like film scores guide the things that happen on screen. It’s often debated that the soundtrack of movies actually make up more than 50% of the whole thing. I find this very interesting.
SF: You made a video for Fix Yourself, which was you on a very nice looking couch with your KP3, any more plans to have video’s for more of your tracks in the future?
Inofaith: Yes, I’m always thinking about that. But as a one man project it’s very time consuming to write good music plus creating worthy visual content as well. That’s why I’m focussing on music first. A nice video clip with a bad song isn’t going to work. A good song can stand on it’s own (and that’s where the more-more-than-50% phenomenon comes in). On the technical side I have some equipment I want to upgrade before I feel confident to set off on this visual journey.
SF: I’m looking forward to the day it happens I have to say. There seems to be a lot of very talented people over in Holland and the scene seems to be very strong over there. What’s it like from an inside perspective and who do you think is worth watching out for?
Inofaith: Yes, I’m quite proud to be from Holland I must say. There seems to be a tendency towards innovation. Maybe that has to do with the Dutch being very open minded but critical as well. Holland is relatively small in terms of population, we have a tight scene around here and most people know each other.
People I think you should really look out for would be TMSV: who makes deep mala-esque tracks with great percussion, Myrkur: who’s a genius in ambient and melodic things, HALP: very promising synth-crazy works. Beer has got new live things in store and The Illuminated boys are starting to shake up things in the south of Holland. In terms of events Subway is doing big events. And allthough he’s from Germany, I really love Adam Kroll’s work. At the moment I’m also doing crazy mashup DJ sets b2b with Erwtenpeller which is a lot of fun.
SF: Finally, as well as the music and the video experimentation, you are also an avid photographer. Do you consider them all to be different paths, or is it all just different arms of the same creative monster?
Inofaith: They are different formats, and both sides have their benefits and limitations. But for me they have a lot, and I mean a lot of overlapping aspects. Both technically and conceptually. Working on photos/video and music back and forth has got me theorizing about audiovisual relations. There is still a lot of things to discover in this field and I feel the tools for working with them are still at a very immature stage. Taking photos is also I just enjoy, be it going to a party with friends or taking a walk somewhere. Just like listening goes for recording or sampling: It lets you focus on the details of everyday things, which makes you see differently.
SF: So is it reasonable to assume that one of your long term goals is to put something into the public domain that combines audio and visual aspects and does both mediums justice…that is definitely something worth looking forward to.
Inofaith: Yes, like you said, it’s a long term goal. I’m learning things all the time as I go along. And I don’t want to rush anything. There is lots of possibilities as to what form concepts like these can be shaped in.
SF: Well here at Stripewaves we will most certainly be keeping an eye on your creative content in all media, thanks very much for taking the time to talk to us.
Inofaith: 
thank you, my pleasure.
Don’t forget to check out Inofaith’s own Soundcloud page, and if you are really digging his work as i am be sure to become a fan on Facebook.
Dawn is Late
Dawn is LatebyInofaith
Girls go to Bed Early
Girls go to Bed EarlybyInofaith
Fix Yourself
Fix Yourself (*live: see music video)byInofaith
