An Interview with __ _ _ _ _ / _|_ __ __ _ _ __ ___(_)___| | ____ _ | | __ _ _ __ | |_ ____ | |_| '__/ _` | '_ \|_ / / __| |/ / _` | | |/ _` | '_ \| __|_ / | _| | | (_| | | | |/ /| \__ \ < (_| | | | (_| | | | | |_ / / |_| |_| \__,_|_| |_/___|_|___/_|\_\__,_| |_|\__,_|_| |_|\__/___| F O R M I N G T R O P I C A L C Y C L O N E S "Echo equals infinite space, its spiralling away picking up speed and volume exponentially, like a big fuck off wave that you want to surf, you have to throw yourself in there before you can ride the thing and come out on top of it." ____________ _________ ________________ ___/ \____ o o ______________ /___ \________ __________ __ \_____ __\ . ________ \\___/ \______________/ @ ______ \___)__ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ____ // \ @@ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \___/ ___ @ \ \ \ \ \ \ @ \ \ ___ . . @ @ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \_____ \ \ \_\_ __ ,___ _______ \___ \ @@ //// \ _/ \ _ /_ \ / \___\ @ /\/_ \ \ \\\\ \ \ \ ____ . / \ | | | / \ \ \ \ \___/ \ \ ___/\___/ \_____/_______|___|___|_______/______/\/\/\__ -- - \___ Shadow Wolf investigates the mysterious Swiss/English artist Franziska Lantz who has released a handfull of LPs on her own Global Warming Records. Those who are in the know where inmediatelly captivated by her weather-themed raw uncompromised projects. If you are not familiar take a listen to the 2017's ARID ZONES album which is a MUST LISTEN for any fans of Bunker, L.I.E.S, Psychic Liberation, BANK records et all. We send her a few questions to let the cat out of the bag... https://globalwarmingrecords.bandcamp.com/album/expanding-arid-zones Where are you from? Where did it all began??? I am from Switzerland, I grew up in a village in the hills surrounding Basel. It was a typical slow countryside life, a great place to grow up as a kid, spending lots of time outdoors and in nature, I had a beautiful time. but as a youth it started to feel quite insular and confining, there seemed to be all these invisible rules and expectations, it used to drive me off the wall and eventually away. in 1998 I came to London to study art, after Swiss bliss I embraced the chaos and roughness of the big city a lot, I was so ready for some exposure and turmoil. it felt liberating to dive into the mess and multitude of things and people here, it inspired me, fueled my creativity. When and how I started to make music is one long and bendy road! Music has been a great friend and magic companion of mine since I can remember. It has always played an essential part in my life as some sort of emotional conductor or equalizer or absorber or pusher. At home my mum played a lot of music, mostly classical, but also stuff like french chanson, gospel, jazz, rock'n'roll, we did a lot of dancing and singing, it was fun. Music was this exciting mood maker and allowed you to let go of a lot of energy. I played all the various recorders as a kid, I still love wind instruments, sometimes I use them over some hardcore electronic beats. In my early teens I picked up the drums. I was blown away by an African drummer performing at my school and started begging my parents for a drum kit. it felt immensely liberating making all that noise, its also very physical, tires you out, perfect for frustrated teenagers! Though as a teenager I became more of a consumer of music and passionate dancer at the local disco and i recorded lots of tapes for myself and my friends. I first started recording tapes when I won a beautiful blue Phillipps walkman at some competition, I was about 9, it also had a radio and record function, so I spent my time zapping through radio stations, capturing stuff I liked.. Meanwhile my uncles introduced me to their old blues records, the Beatles and sixties/ seventies stuff, which really awakened my hunger for more music, finding led zeppelin and black sabbath in their record collection was so thrilling, opening up whole new horizons. One night my godfather brought me along to an L7 gig at Frison in Fribourg where he worked as a promoter. I was about 12, I wore my favorite turquoise jumper, everyone else was dressed in black leather, I felt a fool but forgot about it as soon as they plugged in their guitar. After that I was totally infected. I got into alternative rock, punk, hip hop, grunge, at some point came Nirvana, for whom I still have big love... and only in 98 when i came to London was I hit by electronic music! By then I only experienced the shit side of really depressing Eurotrash euphoric trance bullshit raves in Switzerland, I was quite horrified and put off by the music and people alike. In art college in London I met a few great people and one of them was my friend tony who introduced me to electronic music and all that has been going on since the early 90ies that I managed to totally miss. THAT WAS A BLAST! He had loads of records and kept them coming, every week a few new ones, it was like a wonderland! He had lots of Rephlex releases, I couldn't believe all these crazy sounds, it was really so inspiring, empowering and enchanting to find out about all this music, like everything Aphex, Bogdan Raczynski, DMX krew, Squarepusher, two lone swordsmen, and so on.. then a lot of Bunker and Clone releases, it was a whole new world opening up, the mood and attitude of these labels and releases felt so refreshing, serious and dark yet humorous and playful. I guess it was much in tune with where I arrived creatively or how I felt in relation to the world. there was also a lot of secrecy and myth that came with a new record, often I didn't know which artist I was playing, I picked records by the label and cover and it usually worked.. at this point if you allow a little hommage to you Danny, you elated so many of our nights :-) as Legowelt and other aliases which I didn't know were you until later, like Gladio, Slave of rome or Squadra blanco, Night of the Illuminati, two massive favourites of mine, have listened to these records so many times, literally played them to death! Huge was also the discovery of Drexciya. the music and all politics and myth that came with it. the sound of Drexciya seemed so precise, consistent and otherworldly, I studied it endlessly, it surely shaped my understanding of electronic music a lot. I am evidently a great admirer of Dopplereffekt, Arpanet and everything Gerald Donald, his output is always full of love and integrity. To continue on the Drexciyan path, Another massive influence is DJ stingray, I've been following him ever since I found out about him, which was only in 2008, I went to see him at a bangface weekender and it felt like homecoming. his DJ sets are one of a kind, its truly a cyborg battlefield, he is always on the attack, focused, frontline, going for the kill, no messing about, love him. in terms of starting to make electronic music myself I felt really encouraged by Aphex's fearlessness and fuckoff take on to sound, music, experimentation, creativity. It wasn't about perfection and production but he was unleashing some proper hardcore energies that felt totally relevant and alive. The idea i could produce any worthwhile music only grew slowly by coming across certain musicians or music that made me understand it could be quite simple once you are in the right place knowing what it is that you want to let out, all you got to do is open the gates and let it go. one of them was Raymond Scott, Manhattan Research inc, I listened to this album inside out and upside down, was super inspired by all these playful tunes and felt ok I gotta make some electronic music myself. a friend of mine gave me logic and so I started on software and laptop. This felt great in the beginning, so much freedom and possibilities, I had a lot of fun creating a lot tunes, it for sure sharpened my skills and ears and ideas of what I wanted to produce, but really only in 2104 when I finally bought my first drum machine I was set free. Set free by the volca beats ;-) I was kind of intimidated by tech and gear as I wasn't familiar with any of it, I am definitely not a tech head plus these things were expensive. I've been playing and recording music with with my friend Howard around that time, we played improvised, ritualistic electro acoustic stuff as dpm357x. He taught me a lot about making music and improvisation and helped me to overcome my fear of performing. and he had these Monotribes, and was playing around with them and had great fun and produced amazing whacky sounds and I was just oh my god I need to have this, it felt like a fun toy with big sound. this is the long and winding story to my first drum machine. Can you tell me about your studio set up a little if you want my set up of machines was gradually growing from that moment on, and continuously is. I already had a line 6 pod guitar pedal that I used for effects on my voice, I connected it to the volca which gave the drums great warmth and distortion. I don't really like clean sounds straight from the box, they need to be somewhat beaten up, morphed, whacked and lived in.. Because the Volcas were so affordable and I realised it would be useful to have a synth to go with my drum machine I bought the Volca keys soon after, then the kick. I researched for a multi effects pedal that is easy to use with all effects accessible and physically available on the board, that has an extensive delay and reverb section, and I arrived at the boss me50, I had this in mind for voice and synth. while the little volca keys has its limits played alone, through the me50 it can turn into a big and wonderful dreamy synth. This was basically my setup for my first album expanding arid zones. Volca beats and kick through the line 6 guitar pod. Volca keys through the boss me50. This album is very much me learning how to work these machines and finally being able to create the sounds I wanted. I am playing the machines like instruments, I like real time playing and tweaking, improvising and jamming. I got no computer or midi controller in my setup. It is very primitive and intuitive. I record my sessions into a zoom stereo recording from my mixer output, then cut out the bits I like. that's it, not much of an after production. After expanding arid zones I was ready for some slightly more complex machines. still low budget, and still no hidden menus.. I am a rhythm person, always starting with a beat, I was looking for a drum machine that is more than the kick, snare, clap, etc setup, but lets you create your own synth voices, and I arrived at the korg Electribe ER1 rhythm synthesizer, this machine is perfect for me, it is so versatile, generous and playful, really love it. I needed a better synthesizer and it seemed very obvious to go for sister electribe EA1, which has a gentle and sensitive soul with the ability to unleash powerful basses. The two make a great couple. I was in need of 2 more effect pedals, for the ER1 I could imagine nothing more suited than the boss me50b bass to give it extra depth and base, and I added the line 6 bass pod to the family for the volca drum which became more and more my backup/ supporting subbass kick. This was more or less the setup for my second album, FORMING TROPICAL CYCLONE. volca beats/ kick through line 6 bass pod/ guitar pod electribe er1 through boss me50b bass pedal -> electribe ea1 through boss me50 guitar pedal -> voice through bossme50 guitar pedal. I keep mixing it all up as well, small changes in setup and connections can bring whole new sounds, and I am in constant search for new possibilities. Recently I have built a small modular unit in a bastl instruments workshop, modular brings a whole lot of exciting new prospects, though its also expensive and like to keep it lofi. for sure I want to improve my basic way of recording from stereo to multitrack, so I have a bit more of a chance to edit and mix my jams. looking at zoom r16 at the moment, any recommendations welcome! what is Global Warming records? in 2014 I started global warming records label to release my own music. after years of me, my laptop, a pair of headphones and no connections to the music scene I wanted to take things into my own hands and get the music out there somehow. I was planning a compilation of my stuff, but right at this time Howard and me recorded quite a few dpm357x sessions and this felt really urgent and alive. it was real and important and fun. Also to start the label on a collaboration was so helpful and encouraging, taking off some pressure, and so happened the first release, GREENLAND'S MELTING GLACIERS. The idea and name global warming records came about as I wanted to guide peoples attention towards something I felt was urgent and needs consideration and action. force the thought, the fact, the expression and words GLOBAL WARMING RECORDS into peoples mouths and minds. say it, think about it, be aware.. I'm not sure if that works, but it doesn't really matter, its an ethos, a focus, a context that I can use creatively, I will not let myself be limited by it, I am not Greta Thunberg rallying for this cause, its more a subverted and subtle core to my music and visual work. Striking is your use of the echo/delay effect, almost used as an instrument on some tracks - to give the rhythm extra accent and transpose it in time and perhaps even dimension - What echo box are you using and do you have any, for lack of a better word, metaphysical ideas on echo/delay? The biggest delay/ echo effects I get on the boss me50. And youre right I use it kind of like an instrument adding a whole new sphere which is uncontrolled mad and very explosive. With voice through microphone I get feedback which I like to blow up but also try to tame and use to my advantage. what is most exciting is that you never quite know what will happen, of course its possible to apply a controlled delay, but to push it into dangerzone I find exhilarating, as it turns into a violent stormwind but will slowly settle into some random crazy sounds that you can try accentuate and suddenly you have this new voice reaching out over a sea of noise, I am always trying to find this voice. Similar with the synth, delay and reverb allows me to change the mood of a song drastically, there you got a beautiful, warm synthline, you can reverb it into heavenly spheres then get a sudden eruption of a hundred synthlines shouting back at you in a powerful surge to take over everything else... In the drums/ rhythm section I generally use delays more precise and controlled, like creating variations on a theme. switching between these themes already gives me a basic structure for a track. on the volca beats I use stutter a lot, its such a generous function to play around with, opening up endless combinations of time and delay. Generally I like the drums to be reliable, a sturdy backbone to the rest of the mess I will create ;) the drums I work far more with various filter/ distortion/ eq effects, keeping the beat solid but changing the sound and tone, which can be all tight and contained, or harsh and brutal, bass driven or muffled, whatever works. Effects pedals are essential in the sound I want to create. they allow me to shape and mould sounds kind of like using clay for a sculpture. I am not sure if i'm dodging the metaphysical question here? echo equals infinite space, its spiralling away picking up speed and volume exponentially, like a big fuck off wave that you want to surf, you have to throw yourself in there before you can ride the thing and come out on top of it. Sun Ra comes to mind, what do you do when you know that you know, that you know that you're wrong, you got to face the music, you got to listen to the cosmic song... I think Sun Ra was teaching me some of the most valuable lessons in terms of approaching/ playing music, as in be free, let go, enter the zone, and go infinite space. You are also an artist with stuff in galleries? yes I am also a visual artist. I would say my physical work and music share the same approach and origin, they arrive from the same place, its almost one and the same thing to me, except one is taking on form that you can touch, and the other is taking off into spiritual spheres. The two together create a wholesome balance, while the music transports me into this infinite space, to work materials, to touch and handle things is bringing me back to the ground, its earthing me. Often they are intertwined. In every art show I bring in music, like a soundtrack to the scene, it allows me to support a mood and channel peoples attention. As for the music I like to deliver my records in handmade packaging, I stamp the labels and spray the sleeves, its a crazy amount of work but I feel the aesthetics of the handmade object underlines the spirit of the music. As a visual artist I work with found materials mostly, trash that I find. I like objects that have a history, a story to tell, broken, weatherbeaten stuff appeals to me much more than shiny new things. The shore of the Thames in london is a great place to roam for raw materials, I pick up a lot of animal bones dating back a few hundred years to times when there were markets by the thames and butchers threw their waste in the river. These bones have washed around the river for so long, each and every one is a perfect sculpture in its own right, they are very powerful objects. The beaches are scattered with anything from ancient to modern trash, finding and picking my bits feels like harvesting the crops, its very meditative, you got a few hours at low tide to roam around and bring home what you can carry. My studio is full objects I find. I like to give them a new chance, new life, new storyline, combine them into fresh formations. I always hang my works, it always seemed the most obvious thing to do, so they can freely turn and move in the wind. I often treat my sculptures like creatures or characters emerging from some sort of forgotten places. I enjoy creating fictions and storylines for an exhibition, its like outlining a playground that I can explore creatively, and is also really useful in informing aesthetic decisions, so everything can fall into place naturally. Check out Franziska's releases on her Global Warming bandcamp page She also has a radioshow called DRIFTSHIFT which you can check out here https://globalwarmingrecords.bandcamp.com/ http://driftshift.blogspot.com/