Thursday 1 July 2010

Fresh Blood > Persona La Ave


Name:
Persona La Ave
Origin: Florence, South Carolina, US
Genre: Chillwave, Down-tempo

::MP3::
by Persona La Ave (self-released, 2010)
by Persona La Ave (self-released, 2010)
by Persona La Ave (self-released, 2010)
[free download from the artist's bandcamp]

[Exclusive Q&A with the artist after the jump]

::Q&A::

1. How would you describe your sound in a few words?
My sound ranges from chilled out, downtempo, guitar heavy jams...to sample based, electronic heavy songs. However, I don't use my computer much when recording, like a lot of other electronic musicians today.
The only thing I use my computer for is mixing pretty much. Everything else I record with analog instruments and samplers. So that has a lot to do with my sound...being able to mic different amps to get the tones I want is very important. I like it when it sounds raw and crisp.

2. Name 3 bands without whom you wouldn't exist.
Well....that's a hard one.
I'd have to put Daft Punk on that list...I sort of grew up listening to them. They used to play their videos on cartoon network when I was really young. Right when the discovery album came out and they made that anime for it. So just that style of music plays a big role in my life.

Then on a more literal sense...Curtis Mayfield.
I started listening to him right as one of my best friends died...and I don't know but there is just something about his voice and all the melodies and rhythms that soothe me. His music got me through a lot of hard times.
Anddd...Django Reinhardt.
Just whenever I listen to him...and think that he is playing that guitar...with only two fingers on his fret hand....that really inspires me. Knowing that a man can do that makes me push myself a lot musically.

3. If you'd have the chance to work with any film director, who would that be?
Aaahhhhhh definitely Stanley Kubrick. That's probably a bit cliche...but he left such an amazing legacy in film. Sometimes I wonder what his movies would be like today if he were still alive. That's like saying I wonder what Jimi Hendrix would be doing today you know...
But Kubricks imagery...is a huge influence on my music. Sometimes I like to have a certain image in mind while I'm making a song. I like to think some of my music is very visual. Even the music selection in Kubricks films...are so amazing. If I could have created just one song for one short scene in a film of his...I woulda been a very happy fella.

4. Tell us a bit about the making of these songs.
I usually start with a drum beat first, unless I already have a melody in mind. But it's usually very spontaneous. Most the time what you hear in the final version is usually the first take. I like to capture that sort of "live" feel of songs. Sometimes I like to leave lots of mistakes in a songs to make the parts that are right sound better haha.
I love collaborating with friends: sending off your song through an email...waiting a few hours and getting it back and listening to it.
I get so many ideas from just little vocal parts or some random part in a song my friends help me with.

5. Do you still buy CDs/vinyl/ tape?
Yeah, my town doesn't have a cool record store or anything like that. So I just buy cds when I go out to our crappy mall. Other than that I just stick to digital stuff.
And I will buy my friends tapes whenever they come out; tapes are usually pretty cheap...but I just hate waiting to get them in the mail haha.

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