INTERVIEW : COMPUTER DATA
COMPUTER DATA’s love for electronic music can be felt in every stitch of his work, whether he’s producing hazy house tracks, DJ-ing bangers or compiling eclectic tracks for his Spotify playlist. His latest release is titled Baum, which means “tree” in german. If I was going to use a cheezy tree metaphor to describe Baum, I’d say its roots are soaking in playful garage breaks and minimalist European influences, while its branches are pointing to the zeitgeist of leftfield dance music. It’s leaves are, err… Cool synth tones? idk. We reached COMPUTER DATA to talk about his new record, his creative process, and of course, the damn pandemic.
How have you been holding up during the lockdown? What are some of the things that have been keeping you sane during our dystopian times?
It’s been rough! I’ve been in self-quarantine since March 9th, and have barely had any amount of productivity since then. I’ve been playing a ridiculous amount of video games to help keep my sanity a bit, usually music would fill this gap for me but it’s been hard to squeeze out some creativity when it feels like the world is ending. It’s been over a month of being locked up, and I'm finally getting back into my routine, and working on some new tunes.
I’d like to learn more about your new album Baum? What compelled you to make this album? Were there any hurdles along the way?
All of the tracks on Baum were written/produced over a set of 6 months or so, starting around June of last year. I was making a lot of techno around that time and had bought a new drum machine earlier in the year, which opened up the doors for more creative methods of synthesized analog percussion in my sound. I was probably writing 2 or 3 tracks a day during the summer, a lot of faster, driven techno stuff during the day, and more laid back, deep, introspective stuff at night. The stuff that was written at night basically is what I put together for Baum.
I think one of the biggest hurdles I face when releasing/making music is my lack of cohesion in the production phase. My brain is constantly all over the place, so it’s really difficult for me to sit down for a week and write 6 or so cohesive tracks. I’m usually crafting a release from a huge pool of tracks, and kind of piecing together the vibe for the release from there.
Kieran from Shall Not Fade had emailed me back in November, and we put together a track-list from 16 or so demos that I had sent over, and the rest is history!
Emotional mood creation in your tracks is one of the things that really set your work apart (at least for me). Is that conscious?
Music has always come from an emotional place for me, as I began producing/writing music really as a means of escape and self-healing. As a listener, I'm always attracted to sounds that provoke some sort of emotional response, oftentimes within nostalgia. I think my productions are a reflection of this, it’s just what sounds better to my ears and brain. It’s rare that I power on my synths, sit down, and specifically aim to create something emotional, it’s usually just the result of whatever I’m feeling at the time that's translated into what I end up making.
A lot of tracks in your catalog have German names, including most tracks on Baum. What does German culture represent to you? Has it inspired your work?
My parents live in Germany, so I’m often visiting in the country and have been making frequent trips to Berlin since I was old enough to get into a club. I fell in love with the repetitive, organic, hypnotic elements of a lot of German techno/deep house at an early age, and it definitely has a huge influence in my music. Germany is a beautiful country, tons of green, amazing forests and natural environments. Just going out for a walk in the woods in my parents town provides a lot of tranquility, and I tend to reflect on those moments a lot when I’m back in the US.
You’ve been quite prolific in recent years. Do you have a method for staying creative and avoiding beat block?
I’m constantly changing up my workflow and production methods to keep things new and interesting for me. Things would get really dull and boring for me if I was still using the same methods today as I was back in 2018. I’m really into synthesizers and also find that picking up a new piece of gear introduces new learning curves to overcome and new methods of production. Being able to work with my hands and not being confined to my laptop opens up a lot of doors for exploration and creativity with my music.
What’s the relation between your work as a DJ and your work as a music producer? Are they separate entities or do they feed into each other?
Good question, I feel like this is something I find myself asking more frequently as my career as a “DJ” ramps up (although we’re not looking so good this year anymore). As I started to get booked for more shows I became increasingly driven to produce tracks that I wanted to play out, stuff that worked/sounded better in a club environment. I wouldn’t say that myself as a producer and DJ are separate entities, although some people might be surprised to see me playing faster-clubbier tracks out at a show. I like playing long sets, being able to curate a vibe in a similar fashion that I do with my music. I’ve become a lot more confident with playing my own stuff recently, mainly because I’m taking a lot more consideration on the production side of how things will sound in a club environment.
Just before you released Baum, you collaborated with Earth Trax, remixing the track I’m Not Afraid. What’s your process when you remix someone else’s work?
I turn down (or never finish) a lot of remix requests, as I often find it pretty difficult to do a remix if I can’t immediately hear that track or an element of the track that I can expand on and make it my own. I got sent I’m Not Afraid and immediately was hooked on the vocal sample, so I turned on my synths and smashed out a track pretty quickly. I still aim to incorporate my sound when I’m remixing something, and I think that's why I struggle to do a lot of these.
Like over 2k of your fans, I follow the aptly titled playlist “computer data’s organized list of songs he is currently listening to this week”, which gathers an eclectic group of tracks from different eras. What are a few of your favorite recent discoveries?
Some of my favorites from the last couple of weeks on the playlist have been:
Reptant - Transcendents from the Outer Sphere: Reptant/Lou Karsh is a master of acid, definitely one of my favorite artists that i’ve had in rotation this year. I love the spacey 303 line on this track, really puts you in a trance.
Andy Hart - Spirit Method: Another beautiful laid back track, Andy has some incredible sound design on this one that stood out to me.
Roman Flügel - Juke City: Super groovy bassline, addicting synth melody, a perfect summer track. Wish I was on a beach listening to this one right now!
LUZ1E - Ridin: I’m in love with this track, it’s got the perfect amount of groove, nice spacey pads flowing around, and a really nice little 303 line. Breaks and acid have been in my rotation a lot recently, this one is definitely one of my favorites from the year.
Who are some of your favorite up and coming producers at the moment?
Michael Neyse: Michael has a unique style to his sound, i’m really digging everything i’ve seen from him and am looking forward to some new releases. Really enjoyed his 1999 EP that we put out on my label last year.
Monolithic: My friend Jun is an incredibly talented producer, his attention to sound design has me in love with everything he produces. I can hear like 3 seconds of a track and go “oh that’s a monolithic track”, which is good. Hopefully we can put out some more stuff together this year as well!
Savile: I recently discovered Savile via their Bliss EP, fantastic stuff. Really beautiful analog, hypnotic techno and I think they’re making serious moves in the US techno scene.
Jad & The: One of my favorite artists based out of Berlin right now, really diverse discography with some exceptional breakbeat records.
Philco: The US version of Loods, fantastic disco house producer. Really excited to see his release out on Steel City Dance Discs!
I know the future is uncertain at the moment, but is there anything COMPUTER DATA-related we can look forward to in the near-to-distant future?
Yes! We’ve just finished putting together an additional 2 EP’s for Shall Not Fade, releasing this year. I’ve been writing some new tracks this week, and will be putting together releases from all the new material I've made in the last 4 months or so. Maybe I can get my shit together and put together an album, we’ll see. I was setting up to do an EU tour, but obviously that’s out of the picture this year. I’m hopeful that next year I’ll actually have a career in this/still be alive and be able to play some shows across the world.