INTERVIEW : Chrissy
Chrissy’s encyclopedic love of dance music can be felt in every note of his releases, the relentless New Atlantis, is not different. The 5-track EP plays like an hallucinated mixtape, or maybe an ideal DJ set - minus the transitions. Informed by different flavors of electronic and sample-based music, it oozes with groove. While the thumping opener In Paradise can feel like a lost classic uncovered at last, subsequent tracks decline a modern take on lo-fi house and garage with an idiosyncratic charm. The title track has a cadence that evokes acid techno, but its pulsating synths and glassy flute tones playfully avoid clichés of the genre. Same goes for New Instruments and Composition for Sampler, Flexatone, & Vibraslap, which both repurpose unassuming keyboard tones and build up to fully fleshed-out bangers. We had a chat with Chrissy to discuss the release of this new album, as well as utopian literature, virtual instruments and right-wing crazies.
What’s your process when you start composing a new record like New Atlantis?
My DJing really guides my production work, so when I'm writing new music I'm mostly asking myself "What kind of music am I playing a lot of these days, and what kinds of sounds do I wish I had more of in my crate?" And usually I'll have some sort of idea about the scene or topic in dance music culture that I want to discuss, and that can also kind of inspire the specific tracks I write for a release.
The title of your album refers to a Sir Francis Bacon novel. Did it influence aspects of your sound (or your creative process)? In what ways did it transpire on the EP?
The novel New Atlantis kind of imagines a utopian society where science and fact and knowledge are the principles that rule society--a concept that seems really appealing right now with all the anti-science, anti-fact, anti-knowledge right-wing crazies gaining traction in many parts of the world (including yours and mine, sadly). Plus there's this whole passage in the book where he weirdly predicts a lot of music tech (like synthesizers and reverb and time-stretching), but way back in the 1600s. So reading that, plus the rich history of futuristic utopian/dystopian sci-fi dance music like Drexciya and Cybotron, inspired me to make the tracks on the EP.
You really managed to capture a timeless feel with New Atlantis. I was curious to know which instruments and production tools you used?
I do almost everything in Ableton and with VST plugins--the only actual gear I own these days is a Behringer vocoder, a couple of MIDI controllers, and a few FX pedals.
Hardware doesn't really fit my creative style, which tends to be more like "get an idea and write it down real quick before I forget it" instead of "sit in front of gear and jam until ideas develop organically". I do tend to use a lot of software emulators of classic synths that I'm comfortable with, like the Roland Juno 106, Minimoog, Korg M1, Novation BassStation, etc.
The album features a remix by Loods. How did this collaboration come about? What made you decide to include it as part of the album’s sequence?
I wish I had a more interesting answer to this question, but the fact is that the label had been in touch with him, so they said to me "hey do you want Loods to do a remix of one of the tracks?" and I said "YES that's a great idea!" And the remix turned out great, and fit in with the other tracks well, and so we put it on with the rest of the EP.
You are often referred to as a dance music historian. How has this knowledge influenced your work as a music producer? Is it a gift or a curse?
You make it sound a lot more impressive than it really is! I just really love a lot of different types of music and am always trying to learn new things. I think it's made me a better DJ, but I don't know if it's helped my production at all. I think I'm probably just as prone to musical clichés as the next producer...
You are known for opening doors for the younger generation. What do you look for in a younger artist? Are there any advice you would give them?
Work as hard as you can, don't listen to overly negative or discouraging people, be nice to everybody, but only make art or work with people that you really love and believe in and feel good about. Dance music is probably never going to make you rich, so it's not worth selling your soul over.
Who are some newer artists that inspire you at the moment?
Way too many to name! But right now Denham Audio, Baronhawk, Maruwa, Donald's House, and VONDA7 come to mind
What can we expect from Chrissy in 2020?
A couple more EPs, a ton of remixes, maybe even a new album, and hopefully more DJ gigs!
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