3.09.2012
3.07.2012
Artist Insights: Prof.Logik
To celebrate the release of Universus Vol. IV, we are publishing a series of interviews with the artists featured on the compilation. These interviews will focus on some part of the actual album, be it their track, creative process, or career advice. For this one we get up close with Gregory Grant, a South Carolinian making big moves in the beat scene. We've been following (along with hordes of devotees) his progression on Soundcloud, and were thrilled at the opportunity to release his collabo with Nigel One on Vol. IV of the Universus series. For this mini interview we ask the professor to give us the scoop on some of the elements in the track and let us know what the real life payoff is in having such a loyal online audience.
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Panther God: Your collbo with Nigel One, "Spliff Brovaz" has some tasty drums on it. Can you tell us how you craft your percussion?
Panther God: Your collbo with Nigel One, "Spliff Brovaz" has some tasty drums on it. Can you tell us how you craft your percussion?
Prof.Logik: Yeah…the drum pattern was created on the SP-303. I chopped the the drums really short and precise so that there wasn't any extra drum sounds or hits, added a little vinyl simulation to the pattern, then bounced it to live 8 to layer all the drums sounds with softer drum sounds beneath it that match the drums i chopped up from a "break." That's where all my drums come from- "breaks" for those that wanted to know…and just a little eq'ing to the lower end of the drum samples.
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| Prof.Logik's new record out now on Cascade! |
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PG: You've got a seriously devout Soundcloud following. Can u describe how you've built it up?
P.L: Well you can say that…Lol! It's tough question to answer because I've been on Soundcloud for almost 2 years, I think, and I slowly started to notice that my followers kept on going up at a fast rate….but I do think it has a lot to do with reaching out to fellow artists, interacting with listeners, collaborating, and the most important key: remaining humble. That sums up how my Soundcloud following got to where it is today.
P.L: I think it helps out a lot because without SC, people would not know who Prof.Logik is. Before then I was on all the other major social networks but wasn't really receiving any attention at all. To answer your question, yeah, I have been receiving a lot of requests from random labels, net labels, and artists strictly through SC. Are your SC fans supporting the releases too? Well I would have to say maybe so, maybe not. I say that because when I release a free album, it does well (in terms of downloads and attention) and then once a price is involved for the releases people seem not to be interested. Its kinda discouraging in a way because I always give away a lot of music to my listeners and fans on a regular basis, and for me to just ask for a couple of dollars should not be too much to ask.
PG: One more question. The lead synth line on this track is so haunting. I find myself repeating it in my head over and over. What is that synth and how'd you come up with it?
P.L: That sound was provided to me by Nigel one…..i wasn't to sure what that synth sound was but i took that sound file and recorded it to cassette tape then bounced it into live 8 to add some efx to it to give it that haunting,sluggish type of sound i applied a panned filter effect to and a little delay to the synth sound then I created a a sequence out of it on a midi controller keyboard.
PG: How do u think being a Soundcloud giant translates to real world opportunities? Obviously you have a lot of releases coming out. Are labels finding you through SC?
P.L: I think it helps out a lot because without SC, people would not know who Prof.Logik is. Before then I was on all the other major social networks but wasn't really receiving any attention at all. To answer your question, yeah, I have been receiving a lot of requests from random labels, net labels, and artists strictly through SC. Are your SC fans supporting the releases too? Well I would have to say maybe so, maybe not. I say that because when I release a free album, it does well (in terms of downloads and attention) and then once a price is involved for the releases people seem not to be interested. Its kinda discouraging in a way because I always give away a lot of music to my listeners and fans on a regular basis, and for me to just ask for a couple of dollars should not be too much to ask.
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| Universus Vol. IV feat. Prof.Logik w/ Nigel One! |
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PG: One more question. The lead synth line on this track is so haunting. I find myself repeating it in my head over and over. What is that synth and how'd you come up with it?
P.L: That sound was provided to me by Nigel one…..i wasn't to sure what that synth sound was but i took that sound file and recorded it to cassette tape then bounced it into live 8 to add some efx to it to give it that haunting,sluggish type of sound i applied a panned filter effect to and a little delay to the synth sound then I created a a sequence out of it on a midi controller keyboard.
PG: Big ups to the Professor for taking the time to share with us! Hit up his Facebook page and click the like button to support and while you're at it...cop his new album!
2.21.2012
Kentsoundz - Artist Insights
To celebrate the release of Universus Vol. IV, we are publishing a series of interviews with the artists featured on the compilation. These interviews will focus on some part of the actual album, be it their track, or in this case, the album art. For this one we get up close with Kent Hernandez, Art Director for Circuitree Records. He has designed pretty much every single logo, cover and layout for the label since its official launch in 2006, while launching his own career as a fully fledged and successful designer and Illustrator. He's done work for everyone from The Smithsonian to Ford, and is one of the busiest dudes we've ever worked with. If you want to study a man of action, look no further.
For this interview we ask Kent to dissect his approach to the Universus series.
Panther God: So give us some background on how the original Universus cover first came to be. Go back to the prototype which I fell in love with. It was intended for some friends of ours eh?
Kent Hernandez: Correct. The original concept was developed (and subsequently rejected) for Phoenecia's (Schematic Records) album, "Echelon Mall" and was based on classic Sci-Fi film imagery. We ended up going in an altogether different direction, but I thought the concept would work for the Universus series, given that it features predominately experimental electronic music that could very serve as film score material. Very apropos, really.
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PG: In the first two volumes there's a heavy emphasis on those 3-D geometric shapes that u made with illustrator. Tell us about the process used to create them.
KH: At that time, I'd begun exploring Adobe Illustrator; I'd relied heavily on Photoshop prior to Universus, and I wanted to get more "comfers cozers" with importing/exporting between the two programs. All of the "raw" graphics were created on Illustrator and were effected with the "3D/Extrude & Bevel" feature to give them some dimensional depth. Everything was then brought into Photoshop (as separate layers) and given texture, color and a bit of distress. Voila!
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PG: The text / logo for the series is unique. What is your process for altering / creating interesting text? Do you start with a font and go from there?
KH: As with a great many designers, I'm endlessly fascinated by the possibilities of the grid. The Universus "logo" was created in this manner. The idea was to make the title teeter between visual appeal and legibility. The human brain tends to give importance to visuals that require time to decipher. Perhaps its all about the rewarding "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh" factor that happens once you figure it out.
KH: I picked up an old optical illusion coloring book at a musky used bookstore last summer, and instantly fell in love with the simplicity of the shape manipulations and color palettes. Universus Vols. III and IV were a perfect opportunity to apply these stylistic ideas on my end. The feature at the core of the "echo process" you mention is "Offset Path " which, like "Blend" allows you to copy and move vector shapes a specific distance. If your illustration dimensions are in tune with the grid, you can create some interesting things in very little time. Thanks, computers!
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Kent has a collabo with the wonderful Miranda Rae on Universus Vol. IV which is out Feb. 24th! Stay tuned for the upcoming Kentsoundz releases (which will of course feature new KH art):
1. Reconstructions Vol II
(free download, featuring remixes of Panda Bear, Peter Gabriel, and more!) - March 2012
2. Ladies' Night - Summer 2012
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| Photo by: Neox Image |
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For this interview we ask Kent to dissect his approach to the Universus series.
Panther God: So give us some background on how the original Universus cover first came to be. Go back to the prototype which I fell in love with. It was intended for some friends of ours eh?
Kent Hernandez: Correct. The original concept was developed (and subsequently rejected) for Phoenecia's (Schematic Records) album, "Echelon Mall" and was based on classic Sci-Fi film imagery. We ended up going in an altogether different direction, but I thought the concept would work for the Universus series, given that it features predominately experimental electronic music that could very serve as film score material. Very apropos, really.
_________________________________________________________PG: In the first two volumes there's a heavy emphasis on those 3-D geometric shapes that u made with illustrator. Tell us about the process used to create them.
KH: At that time, I'd begun exploring Adobe Illustrator; I'd relied heavily on Photoshop prior to Universus, and I wanted to get more "comfers cozers" with importing/exporting between the two programs. All of the "raw" graphics were created on Illustrator and were effected with the "3D/Extrude & Bevel" feature to give them some dimensional depth. Everything was then brought into Photoshop (as separate layers) and given texture, color and a bit of distress. Voila!
_________________________________________________________ PG: The text / logo for the series is unique. What is your process for altering / creating interesting text? Do you start with a font and go from there?
KH: As with a great many designers, I'm endlessly fascinated by the possibilities of the grid. The Universus "logo" was created in this manner. The idea was to make the title teeter between visual appeal and legibility. The human brain tends to give importance to visuals that require time to decipher. Perhaps its all about the rewarding "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh" factor that happens once you figure it out.
_________________________________________________________
PG: Ok so then Vol. III and IV are a departure from the original in that u make the design completely flat and reference op art consciously or not. There's this sort of "echo" effect going on where the text is outlined by expanding outlines. Is that some sort of blend effect? Illustrator or Photoshop?
PG: Ok so then Vol. III and IV are a departure from the original in that u make the design completely flat and reference op art consciously or not. There's this sort of "echo" effect going on where the text is outlined by expanding outlines. Is that some sort of blend effect? Illustrator or Photoshop?
KH: I picked up an old optical illusion coloring book at a musky used bookstore last summer, and instantly fell in love with the simplicity of the shape manipulations and color palettes. Universus Vols. III and IV were a perfect opportunity to apply these stylistic ideas on my end. The feature at the core of the "echo process" you mention is "Offset Path " which, like "Blend" allows you to copy and move vector shapes a specific distance. If your illustration dimensions are in tune with the grid, you can create some interesting things in very little time. Thanks, computers!
Kent has a collabo with the wonderful Miranda Rae on Universus Vol. IV which is out Feb. 24th! Stay tuned for the upcoming Kentsoundz releases (which will of course feature new KH art):
1. Reconstructions Vol II
(free download, featuring remixes of Panda Bear, Peter Gabriel, and more!) - March 2012
2. Ladies' Night - Summer 2012
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