Fast Talk with Cassegrain

Interview

Editor Thomas Papachristou

Thu 13 Oct 2016

Can u tell us a few things about your background in electronic music, prior to forming Cassegrain?

Huseyin:
89- acid house
90s- drum'n'bass
97- first PC with Roland rap-10 audio interface.
2000- electronic music studios at my university, pro tools, IRCAM stuff and listening lots of IDM
03 to 06- breakcore, glitch, IDM
05 to 07- techno/minimal techno

Alex:
After listening to loads of stuff from a young age, I got "Music" on the Playstation. I quit all other games (bye bye Teken) and got stuck on that.. This led to Fruity Loops, Reason, Ableton and a load of hardware eventually. I have no formal training, just an ok set of ears + taste. Before Cassegrain i had a few solo releases under my own name in the minimal scene at the time (06 - 09).

Can you name a few artists that have affected your attitude towards music and possibly affected your sound?

H: Bach, Autechre, Morton Feldman, Ravel, Jimi Hendrix, Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Regis, Miles Davis, etc.

A: My cousin in Wales sending me The Prodigy's Music For the Jilted Generation when i was 8 years old, is pretty much responsible for everything.

What made you realize that you were a good fit for a collaborative project, such as Cassegrain?

H: just felt right and fun.

A: Yeah, had some musical and more importantly, personal chemistry and it worked.

How would you describe your style to somebody that hasn’t come across your work yet?

H: techno

A: slightly weird sounding techno based music

What was a pivotal point for you, in the sense that you could see things were really working?

A: I would say when Tom Bonaty (Prologue owner) showed full faith in us releasing the 2x12" EP, Tiamat. Then my move to Berlin and our first time playing at Berghain in 2013.

What is the most memorable gig you have had in the last couple of years , good or bad?

H: Aphotic party in NYC. We couldn't stop playing for 9 hours.

A: Difficult to narrow down, but yeah - definitely Aphotic in NY, Bassiani in Tbilsi, Berghain, Vurt in Seoul...

You have a collaboration with Tin Man, both as music production partners and occasionally for live performances. Are you planning to work with other people too?

H: not at the moment, unless it's Thom Yorke or Lana del Rey :)

A: LOL. In any case, someone completely outside the techno world would be interesting to work with.

What is the piece of kit in your studio that you have used most?

H: ring modulator
A: recently - Sherman Filterbank II

What is a record that you are really proud to have produced?
H: never been proud of the records, but there are a few tracks that I can stand fully behind, like "skull gun" or "distil".

A: I agree with those 2 tracks specifically. But definitely proud to have released a triple vinyl album, as well as other records, despite seeing faults in them afterwards.

What are your plans with your own record label?

A: Arcing Seas gives us the opportunity to release our own music how and when we choose. Also more varied stuff, which you can hear on the first record. Ideally, we want it to be special, memorable techno. We’re still trying to find a balance between listening material as well as club-effective. For the first 3 releases, it will be our own music, from then on we'll see..

Do u have solo projects too?
H: yes! It is called "Magna Pia". First record came out last month on Counterchange. I have another solo project coming up soon too.

A: "Rhyw" is my new solo project. The first record came out last week on Rotterdam's Tar Hallow. I've also finished an album in a completely different direction under another name. This will be out next year - can't really mention more at the moment.

Is there a message you would like to pass to the people in Thessaloniki? I believe it is the first time for a Cassegrain live gig in Thessaloniki?
H: my father's family background is from Thessaloniki. Kind of a special place for me. And I've been there as tourist once for a week like 4 years ago. So really happy to be back.

A: Thessaloniki is my home town, I never had the equivalent in the U.K. So, Im really excited to be back for a Cassegrain show finally and see the many many people here i love. It's great to see parties of this kind happening here since a while now, after many years of "not much". xxx