| Artist of the Week - 2008-07-23 - K-Drive and Ginman |
K-Drive and Ginman Read the full interview here
Track: K-Drive and Ginman - Funkimal Interview: FOEM/Julien: This time we have a duo from the Netherlands, K-drive & Ginman are in the headquarters of our FOEM office! The Dutch formation introduces us a spicy mix between the different genres of dance floor orientated music. But every story has its start and this fact brings me to my first question: how did this collaboration start? K-Drive and Ginman: We go back a while. As we grew up in the same region, we have been friends for some time now. Together we shared a passion for techno music and decided to do some studio work together. One thing led to another and before we knew it we were producing almost weekly together. FOEM/Julien: Though the music had to be promoted somehow, how did you guys come in touch with FOEM? K-Drive and Ginman: Krijn is one of the guys behind the LiveSets.com community. As the bond between LiveSets and FOEM has always been tight, we often had contact with Flo from FOEM. FOEM/Julien: That’s very true, it’s based on the “set/act” – “track/song” concept. We profit of each other. Both a set and a track need a program to work with. What were your tools to start the music productions? K-Drive and Ginman: We both started experimenting with freeware trackers like protracker and impulse tracker. The real eye-opener came when we discovered Reason. Reason gave us access to easy-to-use tools which made sound design and production very intuitive. Today we use Cubase as our main sequencer and combine software with hardware to create our sounds and loops. Reason however still plays a vital part in our productions. FOEM/Julien: Reason still hasn’t filled the gap of VSTi support. So Cubase is in my eyes a wise decision. Perhaps Reason will think of some support in the future. What’s the future of electronic music in your vision? K-Drive and Ginman: It is clear that the crossover between styles becomes more apparent. House, minimal, electro and techno are all flowing seamlessly into one another. We truly think electronic music has a very bright future and without a doubt cool new genres will evolve over time. FOEM/Julien: I’m curious what that might be! Perhaps the media will play a role in that, what do you think? K-Drive and Ginman: The media often contributes to the popularity of a genre. The past has proven that this can lead to the downfall of a particular scene. This however doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. New styles always emerge from the ashes of an old one. Like nature, music has its own evolution. FOEM/Julien: We’ve already seen that the “new genres” you were talking about has indeed risen from their ashes. Minimal itself was in the past a very unusual style, but it certainly existed. How do you see your own music personally evolving? K-Drive and Ginman: Our productions are pretty diverse. We try not to stick to one particular sound, so we constantly experiment with new things, usually depending on our state of mind. We’ve just finished four tracks in which we tried to approach a somewhat analogue Detroit sound. We also just started a new project with more heavy bass line minimal stuff. We will just keep on producing a wide variety of styles, with no clear path towards a certain future sound. FOEM/Julien: Surely tracks and new genres will evolve continuously, but is it possible that the presentation of songs will change? Live-acts will be any different? K-Drive and Ginman: Since the introduction of Ableton a few years ago, the concept of a live-act has become much broader. It has become easier for artists to share their fresh new beats with the audience. We do think that the near future won’t bring any new scene shocking developments. FOEM/Julien: So no revolution yet, perhaps the world is working at the moment at the new formula. We’ve talked a lot about the future, but what about the things that have influenced your music and your vision up till now? K-Drive and Ginman: We both grew up as teenagers in a hardcore infested country. Therefore our roots lie in the somewhat harder music scene. Nowadays we think this influence can still be found in the fact that all our tracks are mainly for the dance floor. Crowd pleasers with a good feel for climax. FOEM/Julien: The past is always important for the future I suppose. Is there something you want to achieve badly in the music you make? K-Drive and Ginman: We recently started working on a live-act. Later this month we have our first showcase. We are really looking forward to this performance. It enables us to show what our musical spectrum is all about and let people hear stuff we haven’t been able to fit into finished tracks. FOEM/Julien: You think you can achieve that? K-Drive and Ginman: Yes, definitely. We’re working really hard to get things perfect for the first show, and we’re pretty sure it’s going to be a blast for both us and the audience. FOEM/Julien: That’s something I don’t want to miss for sure! To complete break the red line of the interview, how would your life look like without music? K-Drive and Ginman: Pretty boring we think. Everything we do in life is connected to music in one way or another. Life without music is like a body without a soul. FOEM/Julien: And to think that certain diseases make people live their lives with the sound off… anyways, what do you think about FOEM and in what form will it evolve? K-Drive and Ginman: FOEM is a great platform for beginners and also for professional producers. You guys are really on a roll lately with a massive amount of contests and we can only hope you will be able to keep innovate the things you do so well right now. FOEM/Julien: We sure do. Like this interview, we think a lot about the future. Last question but not the least, what do you think of music as phenomenon in our society. Do you think it will play a more important role than it does now? What’s your vision on that? K-Drive and Ginman: Music has played a vital role in society since the dawn of men. In our society, music in large manner defines who you are and to what social group you belong. It is a form of expression in its purest form. We don’t think this will change in the future as music has always been an intrinsic part of society. FOEM/Julien: Thank you for this interview and FOEM wishes you all the best! K-Drive and Ginman: Thank you! |
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