:: BB INTERVIEWS ::

:: MESMER ::

Mesmer - Hypnotised By The Beat by Karen Sprey Mesmer, aka Andrei Voica, is a rising star in the breakbeat arena and one of the industry’s most prolific and industrious talents, cranking out tunes at a rate of knots in his home studio in Romania. His distinctive blend of funk, electro and psychedelic sounds is attracting interest and praise from DJs, producers and breaks fans around the world. Sound of Habib label owner Jariten has two Mesmer tunes on release, ‘Rowlacoaster’ and ‘Vibrations’: “I picked up ‘Rowla’ because it was a break from what Mesmer is usually doing, and I'm into my vocal breaks. That's basically the reason for signing ‘Vibrations’ off him as well. Two great stand out cuts from a wicked and diverse producer.” Mexican producer Neztic is equally impressed: “Mesmer has a very interesting and unique sound, complemented to perfection with tight production and an excellent sense for catchy melodies. I hope we can hear more of his tunes released in the near future.” Mesmer caught the electronic music bug at 16. It was 1996 and very few record stores in Bucharest stocked it; even fewer clubs were playing it. He and his friends relied on people bringing or sending CDs and tapes from abroad (usually Germany or the UK) to keep up with what was going on outside of Romania, and DJ demos were highly sought after. Winning first prize in a new talent festival two years later earned him an Akai sampler and brought the realisation that he should continue developing and promoting his musical talents. From his studio work producing local pop groups and commercials to his first love, breakbeat (his own tunes, as well as collaborations and remixes), Mesmer is finally starting to earn the recognition he deserves. Buna ziua, Andrei. What are you up to today? Hello, “buna ziua” everyone. I am home, enjoying the sun and the melting heat in Bucharest. The summer is slowly making its way in, I guess. Let’s start at the beginning. What was your first exposure to breaks? Do you remember the first tune you heard that turned you on to the breakbeat sound? In Romania back in the 90s there were no laws that would forbid entrance in clubs until a certain age, like it’s be done abroad. So me and my friends used to go to Studio Martin, which was the biggest venue in Bucharest at the time, and basically that’s where I first got contact with breakbeat. There was a lot of techno and house going on, which was pretty fine by the way, but then a bunch of breakbeat tunes were blended in the mix and I remember THAT was the sound that turned me on the most! I remember a few of the first tunes I heard back then were Josh Wink – Higher State of Consciousness, The Crystal Method – Busy Child, FSOL – We Have Explosive. These were quite hip in clubs back then, teenagers would go crazy, and now they are classics, I guess! In 1998 you won first prize in the Electronic Music Division of the New Talent Festival, a national music competition. What was the prize for and did it have an influence on your musical journey? I was 18 then. Me and a friend were having a project called ‘Industria’. I was doing the tunes production, he was doing some vocals. I think some company was trying to find fresh new musical talent around here so they came up with this idea of organizing a contest. So there was some kind of jury that would first listen to our demo tapes and then assist us all playing live in front of a real crowd in clubs. After they took a final decision my project came in first, we won first prize, which consisted of an Akai sampler and appearance on an electronic music compilation abroad. But unfortunately the compilation never came out. Nevertheless, that got me thinking “Ok, so this is happening” and motivated me further. I was also happy with my new sampler and the exposure we have got around here. We were kids, really. And it was a lot of fun indeed! What inspired you to move into production and who – or what - were your first influences? I have this music thingy in my blood since day one! I used to make a few tunes and play sets to clubs and parties every now and then, but I took it more seriously after 2004, really. That’s when I started building up my own little home studio, adding more hardware to it. So basically I don’t see myself doing anything else. I just love electronic music too much to give it up just like that, that’s all. I was led into this by the sound of artists such as Leftfield, Fluke, Orbital, Lunatic Calm, Dust Brothers (Chemical Brothers), Environmental Science, Hybrid, The Crystal Method, etc a long time ago. I like breakbeat the most but I listen and was influenced by other stuff too; for instance I consider another strong influence the psychedelic wave from the likes of Infected Mushroom, XDream and so on. How do you feel about being a breaks pioneer in your country – do you find it exhilarating and exciting, or do you sometimes wish there were more local people to bounce ideas off and work with? Um… It’s very exciting indeed! I am working hard and I am finally getting some results. Although to be honest this was never my main goal. There are a few other talented people around here who deserve some attention as well. Too bad it’s very rare when we get to meet each other. How has the breaks scene in Romania developed and changed over the years? Things got a lot better for Romania since year 1999, maybe 2000, I think. We now have more venues around the country, we have electronic music festivals and even open air festivals all around the country that are definitely worth visiting. Hot spots right now are Bucharest, Timisoara (where the AnonimTM crew and TM Base crew are doing their job very well – cheers!), Deva (where Skunk Predatorz crew are doing The Summer Break Festival) and so on. They are bringing here more and more big names in the scene every year, who always leave Romania very pleased because we are also well known for being such friendly and “crazy” crowd! Romania is making its way in. I’ve read that you produce new material weekly. Is this true, and if so, do you always work to such a gruelling schedule or do you sometimes need to take a break and take stock of where you are? Well it’s true. But that’s part because I work very fast and part because I work in a studio where I have to produce a lot of tunes for different people and projects. Working in the studio gets you to work well and fast since there are very short deadlines and you HAVE to get things done very quickly! And yes the schedule looks pretty busy almost all the time. But I am fine with that. I am doing my own material alongside the other projects; this is my break. I love music and breaks, I don’t get out much! Hahaha no, I am kidding; I love getting out of the town with my dear ones and thank God I do this pretty often. Tell us a bit about the process of how you work in the studio and where you get your ideas and inspiration. Ideas come from everywhere. A certain loop or instrument pattern that I just like how it sounds could spark the flame, or maybe an older tune that I started ages ago and I have completely forgot about. I usually just start playing around with few loops that I create instantly or were created by myself previously. Usually I kick off with just a drum sequence or maybe just a musical instrument loop. I play my keyboards a lot so I then just add elements to the original loop, tweaking and adjusting them all together properly. The final stage is where I go creating the tune structure in itself; that’s when it all gets developed from just one looping pattern. Here is where I also cut the unnecessary parts of the track, giving each sound space to do its thing, but I never delete them. I always save them to hard disk since they could be very useful for other tunes; next week I could start playing around these loops and add elements to them and there you go, another tune! One important thing to me is that I very rarely rely on other people’s samples or sampling CDs. I like to create my own elements: drums, chords, bass, everything so I usually start each tune from scratch! What drives you; what are your ultimate goals? I just want to be able to pay the taxes and make a decent living out of music if that’s possible. I also intend to start my own label, I still have few application forms to fill and print. You have a side project with fellow Romanian producer, Adeser, under the name of Thrillaz. How does the style differ to the ‘Mesmer sound’, and when can we expect to hear something from this partnership? We got together few years ago and started jamming some tracks we made then we realized we had something that no one else was offering around here. We are very good friends now. The love for the breaks sounds brought us together. We both live in Bucharest. I have a car, he doesn’t. He has a motorbike, I don’t. He says I sound better than him. I think he sounds better than me. He is more ‘mathematic’. I am telling you – he does sound better than me! Bijoubeats have ‘Beats on Crack’, one of my tunes with Adeser Remix, scheduled sometime this year. They will also release some original Adeser tunes. As for Thrillaz, we are now working on some tunes and we hope we will get those done as soon as possible! Do you have any other collaborations coming up? Yes, I worked with London based producer, Beta, on a tune called ‘Tetris’. The final result sounds very well actually and it’s drawing the attention of a few labels; it will definitely get released soon. We are now trying to work out our second tune. I am VERY optimistic and excited about this! Beta is a very talented producer, he never misses the target! You’ve done a remix of Cavemen’s (Dylan Rhymes and Ricky Stone) ‘Kidz’ on BijouBeats. How did that come about and what was it like to work on? I was VERY excited and it was a lot of fun, but that is just a cliché answer. Honestly, production wise I was happy to get the chance to take a look INSIDE their tune. I was playing the little spy inside Cavemen’s main room so I was thinking “Aha so this is how they’ve done it!” I just hope the result pleased you and hope it was a fine remix because I am pretty happy with the feedback. It was a big opportunity for me indeed, especially at the stage where I am right now, and I thank Bijoubeats for this chance! Anyway, the tune came about by tweaking the hell out of my analog Korg MS2000 and then putting that over few of the original Cavemen elements and while doing that I was thinking not to get too far from the original tune idea. Your tune ‘Rowlacoaster’ is being caned on dance floors. What sort of response have you had? That tune is used illegally STOP IT! Nah I am kidding. I do receive a lot of great feedback regarding this tune. I get emails about it weekly from DJs across the world. I also spotted it in a few charts and mixes. People are dancing to ‘Rowlacoaster’ THAT’S GREAT! I am so happy about it, really. ‘All Over You’ is also getting great feedback on your MySpace page. Is this due for release also? This tune started from studio work leftovers! Didn’t I tell you before? Never trash unused loops! I get emails about this tune very often too, people really like it. I will make sure I will give this tune a sharp shape and finish it very soon (Some friends of mine are going right now “Yeah you keeping saying this for half of a year now!” – you know who you are, Haha). I will then send it over to labels and see what happens. Or I will release it myself. No plans yet. What other releases and remixes are forthcoming? Mesmer - Rowlacoaster [Sound of Habib] Mesmer - Karate Kuts (w/ Def Inc Rmx) [Bombtraxx Rec] Mesmer - Dead Flesh [L3 Rec] Mesmer - Beatz On Crack (w/ Adeser Rmx) [Bijou Beats] It’s a very global community these days with instant messaging, breakbeat forums and sites like MySpace. What have you found is the best vehicle for getting yourself and your productions out there? The Internet is indeed a very powerful tool for promoting yourself nowadays. It’s much easier than it used to be. And it’s cheaper to send tracks via the internet than sending demo CDs like crazy. I’ve got contact with many producers, labels and such, online. I don’t really know how we all got here. But it’s definitely a good thing. After I finish a bunch of tunes, I usually pick up the one that I think sounds better and send it over to my contacts on MySpace, then wait for some feedback. Who would you like to work with, given the chance? General Midi, no doubt! I am huge admirer of his production and I wouldn’t miss this chance for the world! Also I would like to work with Kraymon, if ever I have this chance. And Dan F or Class of 83, Koma & Bones, 30Hz. And, of course, my good online buddies Neztic and Alex Virr (Youthful Implants)! I sometimes fancy a breaks tune featuring Simon LeBon the singer of Duran Duran. Hmmm… This is not really possible, is it? But not a bad idea, I think. What else do you have planned for 2007? I like to think that my own label will be set up and ready to kick this year. Well just see about this. I also have a bunch of fresh new tunes that I am willing to sign to some labels. And I would like to go visit London just for the fun of it, because I have never been there before. What are your interests other than making music? Um… I collect miniature cars. Yes I have lots of them. Scale 1/43 mini cars and trucks. I just love the details on those little things. I also like traveling a lot. Especially around here, Romania is a very beautiful country! Tell us an interesting or unusual fact about yourself. I have a beagle! I just love that little doggie. So recently I made a tune and dedicated it to my dog! Then I named it ‘Mr Beagles.’ Also, besides drums and vocals (if any) in my tunes, all other elements such as pads, most of the bass lines, sequences, etc are played (live) by myself on my keyboards and then sampled down onto my tune. I rarely use MIDI, it’s TOO exact and mathematic while I like the ‘human error’ factor; so I like that ‘live’ feeling. Tell this to any other producer using a computer out there and he will tell you you’re nuts! Thanks for the interview, Mesmer and good luck with everything you have planned this year! Thank you very much for your interest! :: June 2007 :: Additional info on Mesmer and samples of his production work can be found at myspace.com/mesmer1979.

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