:: BB INTERVIEWS ::

:: SON OF THE ELECTRIC GHOST ::

Things That Go Spark In The Night by Stuart Fingerhut in association with BreaksFM How impossible is Son Of The Electric Ghost's biography. He can hardly remember what he did yesterday. We do know that he's written music since he was a young boy. Only in the last seven years has it become a commercial success. Bil Bless has come to learn that writing music is not a means to an end - it is the end. He loves doing it. Further, it’s the creative aspect of writing music that he finds so enjoyable. So if the power grid goes to pot, you can be sure he'll lose his house, and his family and friends will be forced to live in the sticks. But don't be scared... stop on by! You'll find Bil out there playing the woodblock. What first sparked your interest in EDM - the DJ or producer side of things? I loved computers when I was little, like loads of other folks. I had a TRS-80 and my buddies had Commodore 64s. It was fun to write basic programs and all that sort of thing. I also really liked playing many of the musical instruments my mom would push me in to. Combining two things that are exciting to both sides of the brain seems to be a pretty natural thing to do. To someone who has been living in a cave all their life, how would you describe your style of music? If they’ve been living in a cave all their life, how would they know English? I know you’ve seen ‘Nell’ starring Jody Foster. What live gigs do you look forward to the most? Barnyard gigs out here in Bastrop, where I make that perfect party entrance in an all white suit. Make a few false waves to peeps I don’t really know, and then straight up drop the freshest duet with my man Justin Timberlake that the world has ever known. Right after that, my boy Faticus Maximus would roll through the door, pop off a few rounds from his gold plated 9mm and pour a little out for the homies. Man I’m looking forward to that. For all those who have yet to experience it, how would you describe the Trigger parties in the UK? Typically a medium sized venue in the coldest parts of the netherworld, i.e. Birmingham,UK, with an oversize Function-1 system blaring music at such a massive load the bass will typically make you sick are your stomach. Who do you see as truly pushing the boundries in EDM these days? Is there really a boundary to be pushed? We’re stuck in this 4 beats per measure Quarter-note gets one beat mentality that the best we seem to be able to do is tweak noise a little harder, combine other styles in new ways, or simply go so far over the top with edits that it’s just deemed ‘next level’. But wait a second, I threw in a triplet. Boooyaahhh! I’m pushin boundaries. I think to actually push a boundary you’d no longer be able to categorize yourself as electronic dance music. The dance portion of that requires a framework that seems to be inescapable if you want your tune to go over. What inspired you to start Bless Recordings? Rejection. Everyone telling me "Yea it's great, just not what we’re looking for." Whateva suckas. I ain’t wanna be on yer no-variety-havin’ disco euro label anyway. Stick to releasing them preset synths run over X-Static goldmine loops and changed up every 8 bars. That’s on yo mommaz. To all you fools who rejected old boy. That’s on YO MOMMMMMAAAZZ! Give us a quick run down of your studio equipment and setup. Here's a quick one. Computer, Sequencing Software, VSTs, Hardware Synths, Mixer and strobe light. How about the software you use? I think the main ones I’m using a good amount right now are Battery, Absynth, Reaktor, Hydra, Crystal, Albino, FM7, a lot of the TC stuff, Spectrasonics, Waves stuff, Waldorf stuff, Steinberg stuff, Darkware stuff - man, there’s a ton of freeware crap I use. The vst list is a bit long. I sequence everything with SX on a PC. sometimes scratch stuff together in Ableton. What’s one piece of hardware or software you can’t live without? I’d say it would be impossible to continue doing electronic music without a computer. I’d rather have 2 bits of software - SX and Reaktor. But if only one’s allowed, it’d have to be Reaktor. At least then I could build my own sequencer and all the stuff it would need to run. Flipping to a more personal note, how do you measure your success as an independent, creative person? Independantly Creative? Impossible. That would remove any material from which a person could draw upon to create. Can you actually think of anything that isn’t the combination or subtraction of two or more things which already exist? I’d say I’m dependently re-creative. And I measure my success by the rims on my vehicle. So, do spinners make the man? I hope not. I’m sittin on 15” mis-matched hubs. At least you're not postin' in a car on block. Do you find it hard to be so involved in the music scene and not get jaded? Sure if you’re expectations are self-serving. If you do it because you love to create, whether or not people accept it won’t mean jack squat. If you do it because you want folks to bolster your ego, prepare yourself for miserable disappointment. Besides, it’s your music they like for a while. Not you. Well put. How about the lifecycle of today’s music? Seems like one week a tracks hot and then three weeks later it’s “old.” I’d say that’s probably true of the DJ friendly club-banger music that has about four or five snore-sequenced elements hammered down your throat for six minutes. That just doesn’t take long to get sick of. Tunes which require a bit more patience and are alot more creative with subtleties with what they do structure-wise, are rarely, if ever, going to be the ‘hot’ item of the week. Most of it is a bit too complicated for the club scene anyway, and wouldn’t make sense for DJ’s to drop. Just the way it goes. I know, a good bit of the stuff I end up listening to over and over for long periods of time, are bits that I initially didn’t quite ‘get’. Are you working on anything for labels other than your own? Yea, actually I’ve got quite a lot of work going on, none of which is for my label. None of which, hopefully, will even mention my name. They find out it’s me they’re working with and the whole thing will go to the toilet. Too true. I'm having second thoughts on this whole interview. Before I kick you out, any info about your project with KiloWatts? Lies, all LIES! What are your plans for Bless Recordings in the coming year? I never really have plans for Bless. If something goes down and I think it’s dope, but nobody else does, it comes out on Bless. That’s more or less how it’s always been. Lately I’ve been threatening the end of Bless to an extent. I don’t know that I’ll continue producing under the SOTEG/TDG/SST monikers anymore anyway. Then who will Bless have to release? Dave Carbon??? (Laughing) Yea right! He almost ruined the label anyway. That’s right Dave. Dave doesn't kill labels, Dave and alcohol kills labels. I read in US Weekly you recently had a son. Has fatherhood changed your outlook on the music you create? Not so much on the music I create. No. And finally, share your philosophy in life? Christianity. That is, the propositions in the Bible and their logical implications. Thanks Bil. Best wishes with everything! :: September 2006 ::

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