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#9: METOME →
Hello everybody. I hope you are all well. Today is Tuesday and it's interview day. It's been a while, but finally the LAZY interview series is back on track. It's lazy because it's the same questions every time. But don't let the name fool you. It's just a name, after all. It aims to just scratch beneath the surface of the artists who answer it, look behind the music without straying too far from the music. This time around, we learn a little more about
Spazzkid.
Since stumbling across the lovely music of this musician (firstly just in the form of his quite beautiful song, 'Getting To Know You') I am quite eager to hear anything he does - however tenuous the link. So there was his live performance on net-venue SPF420 (which he clearly loved, I recommend watching it), after which I wrote about his rather extensive remix album - I mean, remixes of the songs on his album Desire (願う). Which just shows his good taste in selecting well-crafted, respectful remixes of his own lovingly-made tracks - as well as his taste in music in general.
He's also a part of the internet-dwelling New Generation collective, loosely headed by fellow music-maker Saint Pepsi. Through this, the opportunity for collaborations (which he mentions in the interview) is rife, but also so is his place in the music world cemented and strengthened further by belonging to such a support network of like-minded artists. Perhaps this will act well in helping Spazzkid move on and on, fuelled too - like any decent creative type - by large doses of ambition.
So, anyway... here is what he had to say.
Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do?
I'm Mark from Los Angeles and I make electronic music as Spazzkid.
Why did you decide to start creating music?
I've always made music since I was a kid. My dad, being a music hobbyist himself, always had instruments lying around the house which I played. So it was kind of a natural progression for me to go from tinkering with instruments to actually creating music of my own.
How would you describe your sound? What makes you and your style stand out?
That's always a tough question to answer but I often hear adjectives like chill, warm and organic being thrown around with my sound. What makes my style stand out? I really don't know. I'm just doing what feels good and natural to me.
Is there a perfect time and place for listening to your music?
I'd like to believe it's anytime of the day, but multiple people have told me that they like listening to my music while driving late at night.
What inspires you most when writing a song?
Feelings and emotions.
What is your most memorable musical experience?
My recent debut show at the LA Fort last May. There was such a lovely crowd: everybody was dancing and had an awesome time!
What are your favourite three songs at the moment?
Hanae (ハナエ) - Boyz & Girlz
ALIZZZ - In Chains
Okadada - Difference
Who do you most admire in the music world?
People who have been at it for years. Moby, for example, has been making electronic music long since I can remember. I have so much respect for people who toil for years to sharpen their craft; earning the respect of their peers and their scene in the process. I'd like to be like him someday.
In your opinion, what is the future of music?
Great question! More or less the same, perhaps...?
What's the future of your music - what do you hope to do next?
Another good question. I'm always pursuing fresh sounds and collaborations with really awesome people. I'd like to do more shows around the US and hopefully travel to Asia and Europe. I'd also like to do an awesome multi-media show similar to Flying Lotus' and Daft Punk!
What, aside from music, is most important to you?
Family and friends. Relationships. Spirituality.
Organically growing into his role as musician, something he semi-inherited from his family - who are clearly quite important to him - reflects the music that he, Mark Redito, creates; it's organic. It never feels contrived or convoluted, but instead always seems to naturally move from start to finish, encountering thoughtful peaks and troughs along the way: an organic dynamic.
And this kind of thing in the electronic music world is relatively rare. Being electronic, it is in it's very nature very easy to fall into set patterns and forced constructions, blockily arranged. Spazzkid, however, avoids this, and rather than being controlled by the medium he is instead the controller of it, using it simply as platform through and on which he can express himself. One listen to pretty much any Spazzkid song, especially on his most recent body of work Desire (願う), will show you that unshaken and unshakeable expression. His taste in music is also very nice.
← #7: TOYS
#9: METOME →
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Listen to Spazzkid on Soundcloud
Hear more Spazzkid on bandcamp
Visit Spazzkid's official site
Follow Spazzkid on Twitter
Check Spazzkid on Tumblr
Watch Spazzkid on YouTube
