Artist of the Week - 2008-05-27 - Yogimeister |
Yogimeister read the full interview here Yogev Wallach a.k.a Yogimeister brought FOEM/Eclectic Youth 16 a spicy, mellow track with a superb groove, and outstanding vocals. A track that will get my head nodding every time I hear it. Who is this man of mystery who poses naked on his own covers? Find out!
Interview: FOEM/Kevin: Yogimeister, hi. For starters, please tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get in touch with music, and more important: How did you find FOEM? Yogev: Hello, I have been drawn to music and “producing” ever since I was a little child. Whether it was banging around on a toy drum kit or enjoying the little harmonic ditties on my grandmother's old piano at a very young age. I have been fascinated with the musical palette, both from the creative side and the receptive side. I think that music and “sound” have a very central part in my life experiences. I stumbled upon FOEM a few years ago when I was looking to reach out and feel the erupting music scene of young talented people, who are no longer constrained to working under the wings of commercial record labels, and see if I can find some interesting collaborations and insight regarding the promotion of such a do-it-yourself music scene. The first thing that caught my eye regarding FOEM was the remix competitions - which IMHO are a great way to interact musically and develop new outlooks, ideas and sounds. FOEM/Kevin: I couldn’t agree with you more. It is indeed a great way to interact with both labels AND other artists! FOEM/Kevin: What about your name, Yogimeister? Any story behind it? Yogev: First of all it doesn't have much to do with Yoga even though I do have an affinity to the subject :) Well, my real name is Yogev - but from an early age, my friends and family nicknamed me “Yogi”. On a drunk Songkran day in Thailand (which is like the Thai New Year or the Indian Holli - where people get crazy and throw water, flour and colored powders at each other) I decided to name my water gun “Yogimeister” - mainly based on the huge amounts of Jaegermeister shots I’d previously had. Later on, I thought the name was a good artist handle (even before I heard of Dorfmeister) - and so my artist name was born (I still get mixed comments about the name - but as far as I am concerned, I hope there will be many projects in different genres - and with different aliases to match) FOEM/Kevin: I concur on Yogimeister being a good name; it really made me wonder what the hell was up with that name. When first seeing your artist name, the thing that popped into my mind was Yogi the Bear. Yogev: Well, that’s why I didn’t use my original nickname “Yogi” (It also turns out that in Sweden it’s a popular milky drink :) ). FOEM/Kevin: I saw you are active on Amie Street - an independent web store that sells music for reasonable prices. Why did you choose to release your music trough them, rather trough any of the Quadra zillion labels out there? Yogev: Well, I joined Amie Street when they first started operating - because I really appreciated their business model. I used to (and still do) host some tracks on different sites which are free to download - so I can share them with friends and get musical exposure (It started way back in the happy days of free mp3.com). I didn't want to up my music to some paid site and then hound my friends to pay and download the tracks - I basically wanted it to be all about the music. Amie Street's business model is interesting because it allows free exposure to your song – and then slowly shifts to paid downloads. This seems to me like the best trade-off of exposure vs. revenue for young and especially independent artists. FOEM/Kevin: I have the habit of asking this all the artists I interview what do you use? Software? Hardware? Plug-ins? Enlighten us in the way you work! Yogev: I currently run on a purely “soft” platform. Using Cubase and a wide assortment of plugins as instruments, effects and of course mastering. I won’t go into too many details, but let me just praise ReFX and Native instruments in the field of VSTis, and WAVES & DB audioware in the realms of FX. FOEM/Kevin: Okey, nice J I used Cubase for several months myself, but then switched to Sonar, because it’s much nicer to handle. Love native instruments’ products! FOEM/Kevin: All artists get inspired in different ways. Some get inspiration out of colours, others out of music. Yogev: I have many things that inspire me (like life, nature, philosophy - and other arts). Also I think that all arts (similar to philosophy) are about changing your perception or state of mind/consciousness. Some more active music/media strives to put some new ideas in your head and make you contemplate them (like good old Rap/Spoken word). I can find similar lines between the above and changing consciousness/perception using different drugs. While I am for experimenting and I respect the many psychonauts out there - I don't think you can categorize my music as pro-drugs or anti-drugs. I do think that the current war on drugs is doing more harm than good, but I will leave each person to make his own mind up. Some of my opinions on the subject can be heard as voiced by Todd McCormick on the track “Brainwashed”. Check it out . ;) FOEM/Kevin: What inspired you to make Spicy Brown? (Which is a rather strange, suggestive title, care to explain that one as well? Because my last Spicy Brown certainly wasn’t music! :)) Yogev: Well, the name “Spicy Brown” can mean many things to many people. Yes, it could be viewed as drug connotations but it is definitely not about drugs. I actually like it when listeners (and their subconscious) come up with different interpretations for my songs. ;) I guess you'll have to wait for the album + Lyrics sheet. FOEM/Kevin: Okey so it’s not drugs, well I didn’t really mean drugs, but let’s just wait for the album which will solve it all. FOEM/Kevin: So what is up with that cover of your promotion mix? Is that you being totally naked? You must work out! Yogev: Thanks, I used to be a swimmer and I guess it helped my physique. I took the picture while camping on a deserted island somewhere in the Andaman Ocean during one of my trips. I think in a way it symbolizes someone who puts on his headphones and submerges himself in the music. FOEM/Kevin: Man, so that was taken on a deserted island? That is absolutely brilliant. Love to see more pics of that island because the environment looks stunning! Yogev: I promise to include some in the album - and additional Media (like facebook). And I will also send you a sneak preview. ;) FOEM/Kevin: Currently you are working as a physics engineer; tell me about your further hopes, plans, and dreams. Yogev: Well, I have been living a very classical conflict for a long while now. In terms of what is expected from a person in a capitalistic world - making music doesn't really have “Value” as a profession (especially in a practical “Survivalistic” mode of thinking like we have here in Israel). I used my strong points and got degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineer to satisfy the “Career” requirements dictated by my society (through my subconscious mechanisms). However, I do not feel that this occupation fuels my fires and passions (especially not at these stages of my career maybe in 10 years when I am an established innovator, entrepreneur and advisor). I would much rather be doing other things like music/creative/diving/photography/innovations many things which I think I can be good and creative in - but are not the traits that have the premises of establishing financial “security” and “independence”. (How are minds are trained to get lost in thoughts and plans about “The future”) So in the meantime, I am pushing forward at full speed, advancing my “Career” and saving up money. Waiting for the chance to break out of the circle - to find a way to do all the things I am yearning to do - and hopefully do it under some sort of “Financial” or “career” structure... It doesn't seem like an easy thing for someone who didn't grow from within the music scene (I was in the scene for a while until I joined the army for 4 years at the age of 18) - but I am working on it and I hope I will be able to make some progress. This “progress” involves a bit of added self-promotion, DJ-ing (in Israel and hopefully abroad) and I am also currently working on a new album with a tighter concept - happy melodic Psy-Electro (before this album, I used to make very eclectic compilations because I like to create music in a plethora of genres). Lots of exciting things so make sure to stay tuned. ;) FOEM/Kevin: The only thing I can say to you is follow your dreams! Nowadays, I’m confronted with that sort of thing myself. At the moment I am studying commercial economics, though I’d rather be studying Electronic Music Production in Utrecht. Oh well, perhaps after I get my degree in economics. :) FOEM/Kevin: You have seen quite a lot of the world. You were a diving instructor for several years in Thailand, you lived in the States and travelled trough the Eastern parts of this world. Do you think this will help you to achieve your dreams or this is merely a slowdown? Yogev: Well, concerning my “Musical dreams” it is a bit of a slowdown. I could have been using the years to push my music forward. On the other hand, it has given me chances to discover new stimulations, music, party scenes and sensations, practice DJ-ing and meet interesting people. As far as making me a more complete artist - I think it helped. As far as helping me pass the threshold separating an amateur artist and a professional one - It slowed me down. The bottom line is I had a blast travelling and I am ready to go again! (I hope next time I will be able to make the trip give my music some added momentum - mainly exposure and DJ gigs). FOEM/Kevin: Last, but not least, I couldn’t help noticing that you have made a total of 0 posts yet on the FOEM community forums. How come? And are you planning to become more involved with the FOEM community in the future? Yogev: Well, I used to be more involved (My last posts must have been made a couple of years ago before I left for my trip). I was involved in some remix projects and discussions. I do intend to be more involved with the FOEM community - once I have some free time this is a very busy period for me. I think that FOEM offers a great foundation for young producers, with its varied forums, collection CDs - and of course - remix competitions (an activity that I am a big fan of). FOEM/Kevin: Well, I really hope to see you on the forums more often, you really seem like a nice intelligent person with a lot of interesting ideas! Thanks for this interview! |