STEWART WALKER
CONCENTRIC PERSONA

Bursting onto the global techno scene in 1999 with his seminal “Stabiles” album for Tresor, Stewart Walker has been toiling in the studio and working his live sets on the minimal circuit ever since. Following notable collaborations with Geoff White (“Discord”) and a full-length downtempo album in 2005 (“Grounded In Existence”), Walker’s latest LP/CD on his own Persona imprint is perhaps some of the most richly textured and subtly nuanced work released in the newly-fashionable minimal genre this past year. Intertwining magical sound design, inventive arrangements and evocative melodies, “Concentricity” conjures a truly coherent artistic vision. Stewart was able to take time out of his busy touring and production schedule to take part in this candid interview for Pitch Adjust…

PA: How long have you been making music? What got you started playing with bands? And what made you veer into electronic production?

I usually consider 1993 as the year in which I began making music. Before then I had bits and pieces of studio gear but it took me a long time to accrue the mixer, synthesizer, drum machine and DAT recorder before I could actually record my experiments of that era. And I still identified as a guitar player at this time, so I was still buying distortion pedals. But I was never actually in a band. One of the reasons I chose Athens, GA for college was because of its history as a music town, and I was very optimistic to find a group of like-minded musicians to start a band. But I learned at that time that I was happier just sitting around in my apartment, writing songs and chord progressions, than going out to shows and joining the rock scene. Also my tastes were transitioning into dance music because of some of the British pop bands incorporating drum machines, or the then-ubiquitous “Funky Drummer” loop. I started thinking of samplers as the coolest instrument you could buy, and I'd drive to Atlanta just to gawk at an Akai S-1100. I veered into electronic production probably because I already had this history of being a studio dabbler, and the technologies at that time had become inexpensive enough that I could have a home studio if I could carry two jobs. Once I started recording to DAT, I was so amazed at the audio quality compared with what I had been getting from cassette-based 4-tracks, it seemed that electronic music was my music.

What have been some of your most notable musical inspirations and influences over the years?

The ancient history: After I finished high school, I went to London for the summer and fell in love with the really ravey UK hardcore being played on pirate radio. I In the early 90's I was buying 12s from mail-order shops and Let the Music Play in Atlanta, but it was really the first 3 or 4 “Artificial Intelligence” CDs on Warp Records including Polygon Window, Black Dog, and Fuse, combined with Model 500 on R&S that moved me entirely into electronic music. And I had one friend who was crazy for ambient music, so he'd make mix-tapes of Global Communications, Fax Records, and Harold Budd.

Middle History: This set the tone for the next 5 years in which I was continuing to buy Aphex Twin and Autechre from England, and then Carl Craig, Rob Hood, and Dan Bell from Detroit until Jeff Mills' “Live at the Liquid Room” led me into Surgeon, Downwards, and Tresor.

Moving to Berlin really opened my eyes to all the other scenes which had been bubbling here while I had been busy playing at Tresor. So I found a lot of other great clubs, music and DJ's to love.

In 2003, you left the States for Berlin. How has Berlin influenced your work? And how did the U.S. influence your work before that?

It's difficult to separate my work from my work environment. To put it simply, I was suffering as a musician trying to make a living in the United States. Particularly running a label. There was tremendous fan support from San Francisco, to Seattle, to Columbus, Ohio and Detroit. But I still wasn't making enough money to pay my rent. So I was facing the final solution of either getting a real job or moving to Europe to try and succeed there.

Even though some people say “everybody's moving to Berlin!” with a nod and a wink as if it's some kind of hackneyed or sheep-like thing to do, it really was the best thing I could have done in terms of meeting people who are excited about electronic music and ready to do something interesting. I think back to my final months in America and I remember one famous performer telling me “Stop running your label. It's never going to work!” and another NYC DJ talking about my show in internet chat rooms saying “His live show's fake! He didn't have any audio cables coming out of his MPC!” I just think, goddamn I'm glad to be out of that poisonous morass. Ha ha, and I haven't even mentioned the cabaret laws, the Amber Alert bill, or the National Guard dropping out of helicopters and pointing M-16s at bewildered Drum & Bass fans in Utah!

So, I guess that doesn't really answer the question of creativity, but in a way, it completely does.

Berlin is increasingly being lauded as the world capital of minimal and techno music. Would you agree? And if so, do you think that’s a positive thing?

I think there is no question that Berlin is the capital of techno music right now, but my viewpoint can't really be trusted because I am so keyed into what happens in Berlin that I know I am missing what happens in Paris or London, much less in America. Having so many producers around has definitely been a positive thing because I often get to meet young artists who have moved here who are supremely talented, who inspire me to work harder and polish my skills. If there is a negative side to this, it's that electronic music, which was once so rare and valuable for me in America, is present in every situation, and appears to be less valuable because of this over-exposure.

Can you talk about some of the benefits and difficulties of being based in Europe as an American artist?

Most of the time, my nationality doesn't matter. I have friends from seemingly every region of the planet, and we're linked by our interests and by the fact that we all chose to leave home to find a better situation. Sometimes people I meet at parties will find out I'm American and want to talk about America with a smirk as if they're dying to educate me about world politics, but I don't tolerate it. A nightclub is not the right place to solve the world's problems.

One thing that strikes me about ‘Concentricity’ is that despite the continuity in terms of mood, groove and general style, you seem to be constantly introducing new and unique sounds to the mix. What software and/or hardware do you use to produce your sounds and tracks?

All of the tracks were made in Logic and then tested for mixability in Live. It took me a lot of extra time to make sure the intros and outros were smooth while simultaneously maintaining their interest. More specifically, I use the hell out of NI's Absynth and the suite of effects by OhmForce. On the hardware side, I still love the Microwave XT.

Can you tell us about your production process? Do you have a usual starting point for your tracks? How long do you spend working on them? Can you describe the steps involved?

I start each track from a blank sequencing page, and then I sequence the most basic kick drum and hi-hat pattern, then a bassline. From there, I start recording lots of little bits of synths, until I have some sounds which work well together. Once I have those first tonal sounds, everything becomes much more difficult because every new sound I introduce must work with the original motifs both melodically and rhythmically. The blips and bleeps then organize either organically or accidentally into phrases of 4, or 8, or 16 bars.

I can't really say how long it takes to complete a track except to say forevvvvver. I seem to be cursed with both laziness and perfectionism in equal degree.

What’s the most important tool in your studio?

There's no question that my most important tool is my Logic Audio on my Mac. There are days when I curse it, but I still don't believe that my music would sound like me if I switched to another sequencing program though I'm getting more comfortable with Ableton Live, and once you adopt their paradigm of doing everything on the fly, without stopping the music, other sequencing programs feel old-fashioned.

Dense yet spacious, heavily rhythmic yet deeply harmonic, your musical background and understanding of music theory shine through on ‘Concentricity’. In an industry full of haphazard production techniques and DJs-turned-producers, is it an asset to have a musical background, or do you find the implied rules of musical theory to be a hindrance?

First of all, let me state that my productions gain their density and harmony because I am easily bored in the studio, and when I listen to a track 100 times as I'm writing it, I find many dull spots that need something special. The benefit is that if I listen to a track so much as I'm making it, I think that means a music buyer can listen as many times and hopefully always hear new elements. My favorite albums are most often those which I don't get until the 10th listen, at which point I feel like I've cracked a secret code. Generally though, I prefer to see myself as a hack who tries really hard to make something special.

Music theory is a vast field, and very few people are aware of the developments made over the last 100 years (including myself). I don't believe a beginning producer with Ableton Live, or Fruity Loops is going to create something which confounds a “conventional” composer of 20th Century music. No matter how much acid or ketamine you eat. If you crack a musical textbook and investigate different melody modes, or even investigate different time signatures besides 4/4, it reads more like science or math than music. And you can easily see how modern pop music doesn't even scratch the surface of all that's gone before.

Electronic music has become quite primitive actually, though I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. 10 years ago Autechre and Aphex Twin pushed the boundaries of synthesis and rhythm programming, and somehow these esoteric investigations turned out to be a creative cul de sac. Each year, they got more intense and more tricky, until there was nowhere left to go. Nowadays, it's almost as if that music never existed except for those who embraced it at the time and wonder where all the “intelligent dance music” went.

Finally, while simple music is popular right now, I don't doubt that it will move into a different form in the next five years. In the 70's there was progressive rock and then there was the fabled punk backlash, but then post-punk came right after and reintroduced freakiness and experimentation. I can see artists and fans see-sawing between these extremes forever.

‘Concentricity’ is an interesting term. Can you explain its meaning and the idea behind it?

One of my favorite attributes of my own music is that it gives me the impression of concentric circles of rhythm and melody. The easiest explanation is that I see the steady 4/4 kick drum as a center, with bigger phrases built off of that at 2/4, 4/4, and then 2,4, and 8 bars. If I can pan all the different elements in the stereo field, then I start to imagine this almost-planetary rotation of beats and tones that allow my brain to be the center. Later I started enjoying the other potential implication of how my style developed as I was learning to be a producer: From synthesis, to beat-programming, to mixing, and how all of these different disciplines have reinforced each other to enable me to become the musician I am now.

You’ve released many tracks in EP and single format over the years. What made you decide to collect the tracks on ‘Concentricity’ and release them as a full-length? Can you talk about the process involved in putting an album together, as opposed to short-format releases?

I love making albums. I love big artistic statements even though I often fight these urges and let the music speak for itself. I did an interview recently where I was talking about how I regretted being so arty when I was first starting out. Because I saw artistic concepts as somehow being mere advertising campaigns. But as I look at it now, I really like tying real world thoughts or experiences into my releases.

A 12” is more fun for just trying out ideas. I typically try to have some nicely imagistic track titles, rather than a big concept.

The CD version of ‘Concentricity’ is mixed continuously, like a DJ set. Can you talk about the reasoning behind that? Would you say it reflects your live performances?

I don't think Concentricity represents my live shows at all, for better or for worse. Because it's so smooth and my live shows can be pretty loose sometimes. In the studio I'm really interested in precision, and making everything sound professional. But as a performer I am much looser, and let things distort, just because it feels good.

But I mixed Concentricity because I wanted it to be a continuous listening experience from start to finish. I wouldn't say I want to “take you on a journey” but I like it when albums work as albums, and an easy way to accomplish that is to deny silence. Deny pauses.

Your career as a live artist has taken you around the globe. Can you tell us about some of your more interesting experiences?

I don't know if I have too many crazy stories to share (and I'm not drinking right now) so I'll just say what I like about touring is meeting people in different towns and already being on such a similar wavelength that you get the feeling, “this person could be my good friend if we lived in the same city.” It's really true to say that the music ties us together.

In addition to your prolific studio output, you also run the esteemed Persona label. How do you balance the business of running your label with your identity as an artist and your time for production and touring?

The easy statement would be to say “terribly, ha ha.” If I'm really going to be successful, then I have to work consistently at all these tasks simultaneously. That means, updating my live show every week, and trying to finish at least one track every week, and partying enough but not too much on the weekends, so that I can think clearly on Monday morning.

But I feel better about these aspects now than I ever have in the past because I've assembled a really good team for the first time ever. We're still pretty new at working together, but there's tremendous optimism about the year ahead, as we introduce a few new artists and a lot of jaw-dropping music, and catching every single one of our release dates.

Touring is actually pretty easy. I eat better food on tour than I do at home: Meatpies in Sydney, Entrecote and frites in Belgium, or fried chicken gizzards and homemade tofu in Tokyo. I like riding on airplanes, and feeling just a little bit braindead reading a Robert Ludlum spy novel, or getting drunk and teary-eyed watching a silly movie.

You’ve put out some excellent music by artists like Touane and Reynold through Persona. How did you meet or find them?

Marco (Touane) found me just by sending a lot of demos which were good, and then sending me some demos which were great. I met him shortly after I moved to Berlin, and then he later moved here and became a close friend.

Reynold and I met in Paris when I performed at his (and Phill Stumpf's) party at Nouveau Casino and I loved the way he was a Frenchman who talked like a straight-up Chicagoan. I was really impressed with him because he was so active with running a club night, and producing, and the fact that he was a gifted guitarist and composer with his Canvas project. His “My Favorite Films” album was written for me and for Persona specifically, and I think it really represents our aims for the label well, by being a mix of acoustic and synthetic, and repetitive patterns combined with more musical passages.

How do you view your role and responsibilities as a label owner in light of your role as an artist? Is one more important or relevant than the other?

I started Persona to primarily be my label, but I also recognize that not all the best ideas come from me. So it's nice to assist others who have beautiful sounds to share. But I still identify more as an artist than a label owner. Completing a track makes me happy like nothing else, and I'd still be sequencing music even if I didn't release anything.

With the advent of digital distribution and digital DJ technologies, where do you see the future of the electronic music industry headed?

I don't think I have anything new to say to this: Vinyl will die a little more, but never really die. More and more people will buy MP3s, and I like to think about releasing 12”s as sample construction kits so that people can use the component sounds in their own Live shows. That would be a really cool twist. To have a choice between downloading a record either as a full composition, or as royalty-free solo loops.

With so many new production and performance technologies becoming available, where do you see the future of minimal and techno heading in a musical sense? Do you have any predictions for what we might hear down the road? Is there anything you'd personally like to see for the future of techno? Anything lacking these days that you’d like to see addressed?

I'd like it if more non-DJ's bought the music. There was a really promising renaissance in electronic music in the mid-90's but for the last 5 years, rock music has just smashed electronic music in the public's consciousness. I know it's freakish to wish techno to be less underground, but I'm about ready to hear some new sub-genres. People say “Acid's coming back!” or “Deep House...!” I just want more growth, more development, and a little bit more orchestration.

Currently, who are some of your favorite artists outside the consistently impressive Persona roster?

Matthew Dear, Mathew Jonson, Samim, Robag Wruhme/Wighnomy Brothers, Jeff Samuel, Alex Smoke, and Roman Flügel.

Would you care to describe an average day in the life of Stewart Walker?

Sleep until 11AM, office until 8 PM, dinner and a movie, and then fiddling with music until 3 or 4AM.

Do you have any words of advice for aspiring producers of digital music?

Yeah, I think the best advice is “know what you want.” With the plethora of vinyl and digital labels available, it should be easy for unknown artists to find a place to release their music. But after the first couple of releases, the thrill of being published diminishes, and then one must ask “Why am I releasing? What do I hope to accomplish?” The Onion used to have these excellent short interviews with bands with facetious questions like “Is your music going to help people?” And I have to answer similar questions when I choose tracks for release. Questions like “Is it new?” “Is it interesting?” “Is it essential?”

My other advice would be to learn synthesis including additive, subtractive, percussive, and FM. Anybody can make a hit dance 12” using preset sounds on hard- or software synthesizers, but the more you can design your own sounds, the better chance you have to present a unique vision.

Can you tell us about any of your upcoming projects, collaborations or tours?

I hesitate these days to talk about my own future projects or releases because I have a history of telling interviewers about upcoming albums when they're in their infancy, and then by the time they're completed they take on a completely different form, so that the original title doesn't even apply anymore. I so wish I could plan an album and stick to a schedule and creative path. But my artistry is unreliable. The positive spin on this is that each release comes out differently, so I hope that my flakiness at least yields creative and interesting results.

Collaborations: I've been hanging out in the studio lately with Alex Krueger, aka Dub Taylor, aka Tigerskin - ghost producer to the stars. I'm simultaneously freaked out and intrigued by how many successful DJ's work with a producer who presses all the buttons, and I was curious to see what would happen if I tried the same process. But the truth is, my mouse finger is too itchy, and I jump on and start editing the samples and sequences when he goes to get more beers from the fridge. I don't know if anything big will come of it, but I'm just enjoying being in the studio with somebody so talented, and who has an almost parallel music history as I. We can talk about modern productions or Isao Tomita vs Jean-Michel Jarre, CV sequencing, obscure Roland Dimension-D choruses, and so forth. I think it's called “geeking out” and I don't have nearly as many opportunities to do this as I expected before I moved to Berlin.

Any closing thoughts to share?

Nope, I've talked too much anyway! Thanks for the opportunity to explain myself.

For more info, visit Persona Records

Written by Noah Pred for Pitch Adjust