song: mojave
lusine icl
by bill clinton
what is your maiden name?
Will always be Jeff McIlwain
what is your age in weeks?
Around 1,380
what is the cubed root of 4,421?
I think something like 8.15417689527
what day is it?
Monday Oct. 15th.
where is your geographic location at this moment?
NoHo, CA
where am i?
cyberspace
what do you think about this?
Well, I think that for those that like extacy, I'm sure a laboratory is not where they would want to be doing it.
what best describes your zone? short but steady concentration amidst oblivion and then the final outcome of a tangible work of sonic art, steady persistence over long periods of time (days) until you are pleased with what you are hearing, or your eyes roll back into your head and u lick on the devil's pecker until some sound comes out? please choose only one of the following answers because if you do not, we know that you are lying to make yourself look better for this interview.
None of the above.
where would you rather have your ass kicked on stage by homosexual bikers while playing a live set, Miami or Chicago?
Probably Chicago because it's the less likely place for the scene to end up in a techno mag.
what was the name of the death metal band that you were in during high school?
I can't tell you how much I despised metal in High School. But, my first record ever was Quiet Riot.
where is Noah's Ark more likely to be located, as fiction in historical literature, or frozen high up in the Caucasus Mountains?
fiction
have you ever owned an Amiga500 or an AtariST?
No
what is the worst piece of music software ever written?
Unity DS-1
what other names have u used to put out music (if any) and how long have you been making electronic music?
Nothing else. I used to send demos out as Arpeod. I've been doing it since about 95'
what books by Kurt Vonnegut are you partial to, or have influenced you?
I can only remember reading Cat's Cradle and Galapagos
who is your computer music idol? what CD got u to first start making computer music? what was the first thing that you used to record with? tell us a story.
Computer music idol? That's very difficult, but right now I'd say Mark Van Hoen and Susumu Yokota are my favorites. Young American Primitive s/t on Zoe Majik started me going. I started recording sequences on my Korg x3 back in 94', but I didn't start recording tracks until I got my first PC in 95'. It was all pretty bad until about 3 years later though. A friend and I collaborated on my first introduction to making techno. We made a couple of really melodramatic breakbeat songs.
sample or synth?
Synth, then sample.
math or instinct?
Instinct.
counting or guesswork?
Guesswork.
composition or free jam?
Composition.
dice or decision?
Decision.
what is the place of politics in modern electronic music?
I hate politics.
do you agree with the Bush plan to speed through a tax cut and a federal aid package for the ailing economy?
I came very close to failing economics, so I have no idea. I do know that if shit hits the fan, I'm moving to Germany.
what do you think of Alan Greenspan's performance in the past few months. is he just old and has he done too many drugs? would you consider working with him on a remix project or 2 when and if he retires?
As long as he keeps my personal economy rolling.
how many pins are there on a SCSI-3 internal cable?
50.
what is the place of the internet in your music and what do you think about the future of computer music based on what you see happening in communication now?
The internet is real good for music.
what do you eat for breakfast?
Nothing.
after you wake up in the morning you
a) go jogging
b) smoke a joint
c) take a piss
d) return to bed
e) b,c & d
c and d.
does taking too much acid while young make a person go bald prematurely?
NO.
what do you believe is the likelihood of a coup de ta of the current military government in Pakistan by militant muslim extremists, and the eventual use of it's nuclear arsenal against the United States? what do you think of the rumored nuclear capabilities of the Al-Qaeda?
I think al-quaeda would have nuked us already. I'm nervous, though.
do you believe her when she says that size doesn't matter?
She never says that to me.
do you think that Monica is hot? because... she was at your last gig and she said u made her all sweaty.
Monica? Is she a new Brittany or something? Or Lewinsky? NO.
what is more important the day of the big show, pot, booze, or being left alone so u can tweak the little last bit of your set?
Drinking is pretty important I'd say. Because after that, everybody likes me.
how live is live for you? is it more of a DJ like set, or a constant battle with the elements with no set pattern?
No set pattern is what I do when I'm trying to come up with one, so I would never consider playing that crap for an audience. But, DJ's make too much money.
what is more important when playing to you... sounding good for the crowd, or improvisation for the few in the crowd who would appreciate that sort of thing?
Sounding good.
what will eventually win over the computer musician, WindowsXP, DOS, MacOS or Linux?
Whatever's cheapest, because musicians are pretty dirt poor. Right now, Windows is winning that battle.
what is the place of hardware nowadays?
Anything with a lot of knobs is nice for creativity's sake. Hardware is good, but inconvenient for live.
what improvements in the technology, particularly for live applications, would you like to see in the coming year?
More real time samplers besides lisa, stable random offsets, good sounding real time phase vocoding plugins, and real time quantizable granular processing plugins.
how big of a hard drive do you need? are you strapped for space or are you comfortable with plenty of room?
I am strapped for space, but I keep it that way so that I back up often.
do you think that all of this technology is helping to bring about the death of the popular musician as we know it? is computer music just the new folk music? what is your take on the whole thing?
The technology is making things a lot easier for the musician, but there's so much output that it's hard to find the good stuff. There is always going to be mainstream music, for those that don't want to look too hard, but have a lot of money to spend. Computer music is the opposite of folk music for the most part, but the crowds that listen to it are similar.There's a lot of really good folk music still being made. Computer music I think is more like the new New Wave. But it's less concentrated.
steak or tofu?
Steak.
who is your favorite porn star?
I don't know their names ;)
what is better for music, coffee or pot?
I don't know. Coffee for me.
what is your girlfriend's name?
You're depressing me now.
where does she live?
NA
what is her address?
NA
what is her phone number?
NA
how many pairs of shoes do you own?
2
have you ever huffed paint, and if so, what was it like?
No
do you think that i have ever huffed paint?
No, you majored in economics or liberal arts or something.
minidisk or mp3 walkman?
mp3 walkman.
shoes or sandals?
shoes.
what do you think of all the punk asses that hang on Efnet and pilfer your music as mp3's?
mixed feelings.
does life for you just plain stink?
sometimes.
what is your relationship with Jesus Christ? are you saved?
I'm agnostic.
what is more likely to be the general case for an excellent musician:
a) generally a smart person that uses talents towards the sound art
b) a person who is in a lot of pain and has to let it out as art, and would otherwise kill a lot of people in a suicide shoot out if they couldn't make trax
c) it's just plain dumb luck, some are born with it and some are not
d) good musicians are only made through practice and experience, anyone spending 10 or more years can become great
e) there is no such thing as a excellent musician, they all suck.
please choose only one and explain your choice.
I have no clue, and maybe I would have to say D, but that practice and experience isn't necessarily a literal thing, but that you can experience music and improvise in your head without ever having any instrument.
what if i told you that i am the ghost of Beethoven and this interview determines whether or not you end up with a seat in heaven when you die?
I would have to say that you were lying.
what if i told you that everyone goes to heaven, but only for 30 minutes?
Where do they go after that?
what would be your perfect studio setup if you could have anything you wanted?
I would like a serge modular with some sort of CV converter that let me control every knob. I would also like a radio station's worth of records to sample from.
what do you think of me and this interview?
It's a very long interview and I would have to say you have a lot of time on your hands.
what if i told you that nobody here gives a flying fuck about you, what do you think now?
That's okay.
how many fingers am i holding up?
I don't know, 1?
were you picked on in high school or were you a bully?
I was a big bully. I beat people up all the time.
what kind of deodorant do you wear (if any)?
The cheapest possible.
coke or pepsi?
Pepsi.
what do you think about your odds with death from cancer as an American... i believe they are around 8 in 10 for your generation, given that... does it affect your music to reflect on things like that?
No, I never knew that.
do you think that the Microsoft Corporation should be broken up, and if so, will you move to Canada along with Billy if it happens?
Why would that make me want to move to Canada?
u have been given a 303, saw or square?
saw
why do fat chicks suck dick so much better than skinny ones???
Do you get your dick sucked by fat chicks a lot or something?
what do you think about people who use LOL and :) but don't really mean it at all?
I don't like LOL, but I think that :) is okay :)
how much money would it take you to play a live set in downtown kabul?
I would never be that stupid
what do you think about the environmental catastrophe that is American food and farming practices?
You're making me hungry for a Big Mac.
do you think the Yankees will win the world series again this year?
I don't care.
how many fingers am i holding up?
1
do you observe the rules of western tonality when applicable, or are you just another self taught hack that couldn't give 2 flying fucks?
I'm self taught, but atonal music bores the hell out of me.
big fat rave.... house or jungle? (it's not cool enough for IDM let's suppose)
House.
would you be scared if i told you that there is a doctor that claims that the federal government is lying about AIDS and its statistics in order to prevent widespread panic, that it is transferable through having blood on the skin, lives as long as 6 hours ouside of the body even in dried blood and has been shown in cases to survive up to 24 hours, that at best condoms are only 50% effective and that it was designed by the CDC to take out the black and hispanic population in America and arround the world? what if i told you that there is actually a vaccine but it's l33t?
I would say, what does l33t mean?
who is in charge of this government? George Bush & crew or Satan?
Let's hope George Bush has a brain for our sakes.
trackball or mouse?
Mouse
flipper or lassie?
Flipper
what kind of anti-depressants do you take? do you take Prozac 4 hours after you roll to prevent brain damage?
I don't roll.
what do you think about the increase in heroin prices now that America is bombing one of the principal poppy plant farmlands and has increased border security?
Probably a good thing.
what do you think of your position as an IDM hero from a land that breeds kids that could name more brands of beer than they could senators, or even state capitols for that matter?
intelligence is relative.
what is the meaning of life? what does it mean to be a human being?
The meaning is whatever makes you happy. Human beings probably worry about these things too much rather than just living it.
what angers you more, waiting in line at the DMV, or shitty interviews by smart-ass ex-presidents?
Waiting in line at the DMV
what can you tell us about future releases?
10" on Delikatessen called Sustain. A new full length tentatively called Iron City. Not sure what label yet. Compilation tracks and remixes on Darla, ON, u-cover, MaS, Hymen, tigerbeat6, simball recordings.
what can you tell us about future live dates?
Dresden on the 9th of Nov, Berlin on the 10th, Hamburg on the 11th. More live shows in LA, possibly more abroad in the Spring.
anything else that you would like to add?
Thank god it's over.
lusine icl website