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Artist: Hallucinogen


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Artist: Hallucinogen

Date: 02-06-01

By: Children

 

Q: How and when did you start to make Goa (and ambient with Raja Ram) ?

A: I started making trance in about 1992... before this i was in a psychedelic dub/ambient band called Purple Om ... we started doing a few gigs at raves/acid parties , and hearing the tune 'the age of love' by jam n spoon on a savage acid punch made me want to make dance music. I met raja at butterfly studios when we were both working on separate projects... we got on well together and decided to do some music together... so i worked on some of the T.I.P stuff, but we also wanted to something different, maybe not a dance record, so we did vapour rumours... but i was doing ambient stuff before trance...

 

Q: Do you project to release a new Hallucinogen album after "Live" ? A sequel to "The Lone Deranger" ? When would it be released ?

A: Well i don't know when the live album will be released, as all the live recordings are crap... so if i can get a good recording we will put it out. i am also trying to clean them up a bit at home. As for new stuff, i have been busy with the shpongle, but i started some new hallucinogen stuff last week, actually (Jan 2001) so hopefully by the end of the year i should have enough new tracks for an album.

 

Q: Could you describe us the new Shpongle album with Raja Ram ?

A: It is a lot more world music than the last album... there is a 'psychedelic latino' track - is that a new category? i don't know if it is more commercial than the last album, but i think it is more accessible at any rate. We used a lot of live musicians.... a couple of singers, a cello player and a gtr player. The album is a much more ecelctic mix than the last one, spanning cultures and genres.

 

Q: Which of your own psytrance and ambient tracks do you like the best ?

A: Well i have a soft spot for 'LSD', as it was the first trance piece i was happy with... 'Snarling Black Mabel' i also like... i would be happy to hear music like that on a dancefloor... but my favourite trance track is probably Deranger... i find it psychedelic and squidgy, and musical. To be honest tho', i hardly ever listen to my trance stuff once i have done it, (unless i am DJing it). As for ambient stuff, i think the best piece i have done ever, including any of the trance stuff, is '..And the Day turned to Night'. Normally whenever i finish a track, i immediately see all its flaws, and want to start another tune straight away, thinking "I can do MUCH better than that!!", but once i had the 'day turned to night' on DAT, i was unfeasibly chuffed! it was the first tune i have done that satisfied my artistic urge to create, for more than a week... it wore off eventually tho', hence the new album...

 

Q: Your favourite psychedelic Groups & Albums ?

A: Pink Floyd- Wish you were here,the wall, dark side of the moon, Ozric Tentacles- Erpland ,Pungent Effulgent, Jimi Hendrix- are u experienced? i suppose those albums have lasted the longest for me... from childhood, thru my teenage years, and even now i listen to them sometimes. As for trance stuff, my taste changes everyday... i have always loved X-Dream, sometimes Juno Reactor, Dado....um... some of the Infected Mushroom stuff is really great, sometimes GMS... and of course the stuff we release on twisted - Tristan, Dado...i really look forward to Benji's album (prometheus).

 

Q: Where does your inspiration come from when building a Track ?

A: I always find this a weird question....i guess my life experiences and people around me inspire me...

 

Q: Tell us your recipe to make a good Hallucinogen Track ?

A: Well, always try to use the freshest ingredients... Start with a nice juicy Kik Drum (stay away from all that Organic crap.... i prefer mine Genetically Modified to the Max, and hopefully Chemically Enhanced). Meanwhile start the bassline cooking on a high heat...Beat together and whisk the crowd into a frenzy. Mix in all the Fresh Herb you can find. Sprinkle a touch of Flour Power, and Snare Roll into a 4D shape. Hopefully your Filter sweeps will rise nicely. Baste in Love, and add lots of Sauce!!

 

Q: What kind of equipment do you use to make your Tracks ?

A: Apple mac G3 233Mhz not enough RAM

Logic Audio Platinum

Mackie 32 8 bus mixing desk

Kurweil K2000 keyboard

Akai S3200 sampler

Akai DR16 hard disk recorder

Alesis Quadraverb

Ensoniq DP4 FX

roland sh101

korg ms 20 and 50

Eventide DSP4000

 

Q: Future projects ?

A: Possibly a Younger Brother album.... a new hallucinogen album... who knows? more of the same, but different...

 

Q: Is there another artist you'd like to work with ?

A: Someone who can play the Kora well, or the celtic harp....um.... a good female singer, like Bjork.

 

Q: I've read somewhere that you prefer to make Ambient Tracks . what do you like more on ambient than psytrance ?

A: I like the freedom of being able to create any kind of tune without the restriction of a tempo or four-on-the-floor kik drum. There are certain rules you have to follow to make a trance track (ie. between 125 - 160 bpm) otherwise it won't be 'trance'. But 'Ambient' in my mind covers such a wide range that you can do pretty much anything you like. It doesn't have to be a dance track.

 

Q: When & where was your best party ? And your worst one ?

A: Well i have been to some spectacular locations.... mountains, desert, coast, rainforset .... but i suppose the 'best' depends upon what you actually experience, which can get fairly deranged when certain chemicals are involved.... so i think my 'best' and my 'worst' were probably the exact same party... it was in the english countryside somewhere in oxfordshire... i had been spiked with a ridiculous acid punch, made by some psychopath on day release... and ended up escaping to a poppy field, stampeded by hallucinated wilderbeest, while the party is burned to the ground and the police are rounding everyone up with nets........ and this was just during a breakdown in one of the tunes! When the kik drum came back in i was blown like a leaf back onto the dancefloor, only to be washed ashore 6 hours later........

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