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After over 10 years of dropping some of the best beat music on the planet, our homie Take is getting some much deserved global attention! Having dropped 2 stellar remixes for Flying Lotus last August on the behemoth Warp Records, his days of paying dues are over. His new record, Only Mountain has just recently dropped on Alpha Pup and is getting great reviews across the board. His blend of lush melodies, avant garde electronics, heavy bass and masterful production is reminiscent of a psychedelic onion, waiting for listeners to peel back the layers and literally step into his world. We've been raving about this guy for years, ever since he sent us his ambient masterpiece, "Under Her Skirt," for our first compilation, Silicon Graffiti.
We get up close and personal with the man himself to talk about the new record, relationships, and his creative process.
Panther God: So congrats on the signing to Alpha Pup for your next LP. Can u tell us a bit about how that came about and maybe a little info on the album?
Take: Thanks man. Well, as for how it came about, I want to say it was just a Low End theory connection. You know after years of being around each other after a while we all get to know one another and connections are made. Daddy Kev suggested we do a record, and the rest is history. As for the album it self, I feel like this is my most mature and cohesive work to date. I really wanted to make an album that played like an album and not a beat tape or a bunch of random beats. I feel like this whole "Beat Scene" " Wonky" whatever people try to call it is getting pretty stale. Its starting to sound so formulaic to me and i really wanted to start moving away from it the best I could. For me that meant really focusing on my song writing and making sure I created a deep vibe and emotion in the music.
PG: In a recently shot short tour of your studio, you mention having switched sequencer platforms, now using Ableton Live. What prompted you to make the switch?
T: After I started performing using Live, i just saw how well it was designed and thought that i could really benefit from using it to produce my music as well. Its been a really interesting transition, but I think it was for the best. There is just so many tools at your finger tips with Ableton and its really user friendly, plus it has really spead up my work flow.
PG: Tell us about your first experiences making music.
T: Well, my very first experience was as a 3 year old banging away on my great Grandmother's piano. Funny, she told my folks I would be a musician. Later on when i was about 12 years old i started playing Guitar and Bass and took lessons for a few years. Soon enough i was playing in little high school bands and jamming all the time with friends. When i got to college i met this guy who was a dj and that just really blew me away. Back then dj's were sooooooooo cool. They were much more rare than nowadays. You know, pre cd dj, pre Serato. This was just wax and turntables. Anyways, to make a long story short, i became obsessed with djing and would go to this guys' house almost every day asking if i could mess around with his turntables. Soon I had my own and I was fully emerged, starting my own club nights and parties. Next came production. It was the logical progression to want to make the music I was so in love with playing.
PG: What would your dream gig be?
T: Well, if we are talking about dreams and a non reality state.. i would have to say playing underwater, with a very high ratio of beautiful women as the audience. Oh yeah and they would be nude. lol.
PG: You music at times has a lot of space between the beats, in which you lay these beautiful melodic passages. It's a very unique, pregnant pause that in a way helps define your own style. Can you comment on this?
T: Thank you! I think that is my style. i dont know, its hard to comment on it. Its just the way it comes out you know? I am very much a melody person. The songs I make always have melody and movement. Sometimes it drives me crazy. I will set out and tell my self " Ok, this one, Im going to make a super banger, no melody, just heavy bass and drums" but somehow it never ends up that way..lol .. Cant fight who and what you are i suppose.
PG: How do you handle having a loved one, girlfriend, wife and having time and space to make music? Are there difficulties?
T: Its tough at times. Luckily, right now we are both very busy with our careers and so its a bit of the opposite. Rather than needing to find time and space to make music, we both need to find time and space to spend time together. Its quite hard because at times it become a challenge to be connected when both people are off in their own worlds and don't see each other for long periods at a time. I try to remain positive and confident that we can make it work as long as we try. Its a work in progress. Relationships are a very big learning experience. I think you are constantly learning new things about your partner as well as yourself.
PG: Do you work in long stretches, or have a pre-planned routine for every day.
T: I work when I can find the inspiration. When its there, i can work for very long stretches. When its not, I can get really frustrated after about 1 hour and just have to walk away. Music is a strange beast like that. Sometimes things just flow like water and you link with this connection to the creative force. Other times, you can beat your head for hours and come up with nothing special.
PG: Would you consider yourself a disciplined person?
T: Yes.
PG: What is the one question you wish that interviewers would ask you? Feel free to answer it.
T: Whats your favorite thing to do other than makemusic? That would be to cook amazing meals and watch good friends eat, drink and be merry.
Cheers!
PG: Thanks man!
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You can download Take's "Neon Beams" track from the Only Mountain LP here, and find out more about the man on the Alpha Pup website. Also be sure to check for his upcoming release on the next Circuitree Records compilation, Universus, dropping this Fall.
