Interview with dev79 (March 10th 2003)
This interview with Philadelphia local and Zenapolae artist
Gair Marking aka dev79
was published
in
Grooves
10.
AR – Alex Reynolds
GM – Gair Marking
AR – Thanks for doing this interview. Could you give
us a little background on what got you started doing making and performing what
you're doing right
now...
GM – Not a problem. Four or five years ago, previously I was in some band
stuff, still electronic based; industrial and earlier stuff. Stopped doing that,
took a little break for awhile from music, and when I started getting back into
it and doing solo stuff as dev79, I was making beats and trying to find a direction
and I started listening to a lot of different stuff coming out of England, a
lot of experimental stuff like Mick Harris and what not. Hiphop beats like that,
but real sparse, experimental way. Then I started getting more and more influenced
by the hiphop and illbient scene in NY and what not. Somewhere along the line
it all fused and made my style what it is now.
AR – What other artists have
influenced you?
GM – I change daily, I get weird about influences. Like I like people
and then don't like people. I like certain eras of DJ Spooky, but don't like
him
as a whole any more. Like a lot of hiphop, years and years ago Kool Keith was
somewhat of an influence because he was doing weird stuff in hiphop. Currently
I listen to a wide range of underground hiphop, and raga, drum and bass, breakcore
from Europe. Especially now that I DJ fairly regularly, I have to keep on top
of things and listen to a lot of music so that I can play music out to people.
AR – In what way is hiphop conventional to you?
GM – In general, hiphop isn't necessarily conventional. It started out
as being very unconventional, because it broke away from other things. As it
is now, I would say now that hiphop is the most prominent forms of music in America,
at least – probably all over the world. It's one of the bigger forms
of pop music as well. It's definitely very formulaic at this point. People
get caught
up in doing chorus-verse-chorus-verse music. The music and the beats and the
approaches that people do have become systematic and specific. Certain elements
of the rawness of the early days are lost. I wouldn't necessarily say a lot
of hiphop is conventional per se, but it's like a lot of people don't stray
from
the formula that they know works and what is quote-unquote hiphop or what is
quote-unquote some specific subset of hiphop.
AR – Is there a lyrical quality of broken beats,
breaking across rhythmic boundaries?
GM – Even stuff that I like, underground hiphop and what not, stuff that's
leftfield. Still a lot of the times the music isn't leftfield, the lyrics might
be abstract and thought-provoking, still the music is more standardized. The
way that I do things, I do not make nor desire to make standardized beats.
I take the approach of where if I'm going to make something experimental or
leftfield,
it's really going to be leftfield: all elements are broken, mashed and twisted.
When I do stuff with the lyrics, I take the opposite approach: I'd rather have
the lyrics more on point, more in time and specific and rhythmic, and then
keep the music more fucked up and broken.
AR – Seems like an inversion almost...
GM – Yeah, somewhat like that.
AR – How do you as artist maintain focus, how easy
or difficult to make, to keep track of rhythms...
GM – I think its pretty easy for me, even though I make a conscious decision
to make music, and a conscious decision to make the music that I make, it still
comes naturally to me. It is hard for me to try to make a steady, commercial
techno song. It was very difficult... I've tried in the past to see what happens
and its like it's a chore for me. I don't naturally think in regular time rhythms,
I think slightly askew. When I hear something that I make, it just sounds right
and I just roll with it, not just so much consciously trying to break the beat
at a weird point and then consciously keep doing it. It's kinda like it just
rolls out when I'm making something and then I just keep going with it. You
know?
AR – As listener, there seems a little difficulty
maintaining the flow, but you as musician aren't affected by that -– it's
interesting...
GM – I think it's a personal thing. Some people have told me before that
they don't so much enjoy or want to listen to my music as an active listening
experience, but they like to have it on in the background as something cool
and interesting. Sometimes they'll hear some weird little nuance and peak their
interest
or whatever. For whatever reason it appeals to them, they don't so much desire
to actively listen to the music. Some people can use it as a backdrop sort
of music and other people you know want to concentrate on it more or feel the
need
to because its broken or whatever. I think it's like more of an individual
thing.
AR – Any more tracks with MC lyricist work?
GM – I'm big on collaborations, I'm big on working with MCs. I have my
12-inch which is going to drop in probably April on Zenapolae
Records with two
songs on it that have vocals on it, one prominently and the other with some seasoned
throughout. One is a track that I actually did the MCing on years ago – I
don't really mess with vocals anymore, but I did early on. And the other one
is this kid Random from this hiphop group The Silichromes, and the song is called "Plasticity" and
I like the song, came out well. I recorded two other songs with him so far
and I plan to do something with that, and a bunch of other tracks I've recorded
with
a number of other MCs. I have tentative plans, I want to put out what's called
a producer EP, it's like basically something in hiphop where a producer will
make a bunch of beats, it'll be his album but every song has a different guest
MC and guest DJs doing scratches and stuff. I want to put an EP like that,
six tracks or so, all with different MCs guest starring.
AR – Thanks for doing this interview!
last
updated
June 14, 2003
