VOLTAGE Podcast 20 - Temudo
Tracklist
- Sleeparchive - Ronan Point
- Museum - 1500 Years
- Staffan Linzatti - 08 Seconds
- Cratan - Crestfall (Franz Jäger Remix)
- Mathys Lenne - I.F.Z
- Alarico - Pizzicato
- NO! - Cold Hands
- Ctrls303 - Get Go!
- Obstructor - Cosmopolitan
- Troy - Chainsaw
- The Advent - Sketch 3 (Temudo EDIT)
- Head Front Panel - Tonedance
- Jacobworld - Folt
- Jeroen Search - H:P
- Mathys Lenne - Zone X
- Vinicius Honorio - Hammerdin v9
- Marcal - off_world_relocation
- Nørbak - And Then What
- Cari Lekebusch, Jesper Dahlback - Detained Success
- Slobodan - Dark
- Modern Doom - Inside Our Brains
- Quelza - A Lonely Moment
- Max Watts - Funktionslust 2
- Will & Ink -First Wilson
- D.Dan - D.Core
- Will & Ink - Third Mersenne
- Black Lotus - Layers of Acid (Remix)
- Temudo - Always Does Until It Doesn't
- Jeroen Search - Cheap Trick
- Sleeparchive - ACD - Voice
For our 20th edition we were able to bring you an artist who’s really been making huge moves in the scene both on his own and with the incredible HAYES Collective from Portugal. Temudo actually started out in drum n bass which explains certain choices of aesthetic in his techno.
Having studied music and being a mixing and mastering engineer himself, Temudo blends the musical and technical approaches in order to control powerful sound designs often through controlled saturation. Sequenced textures give a lot of groove to his pacey tracks and it’s for this reason he’s been able to score a lot of very interesting record deals with some of the scene’s most sought-after labels. Klockworks, Soma, and MORD have all had the chance to work with him and that’s only this year.
His selections equally speak for themselves - funky, bent tracks make for an excellent club night when you see him live. He’s been increasingly moving around to play gigs, with one of his latest having been at our very own Fuse in Brussels for a label night with his collaborators Cravo and Vil.
Interview
Being from Portugal, which is now taking the international scene by storm, what was it like growing up there and how has the scene within the country evolved into what it is now?
Well, first I have to say that I started to follow the Techno movement in Portugal only in 2013 / 2014, so it’s hard for me to compare things with a more distant past. Portugal had a really strong Techno movement in the 90’s, that eventually faded away in the mid 2000’s. I was introduced to electronic music / rave culture in 2007 when I moved to Caldas da Rainha to study Sound. By that time I was introduced to Electronic Music and all its sub genres, but I focused more into Drum and Bass production and Djing. Eventually a couple of years later I began to feel attracted to Techno’s minimalistic and hypnotic approach, and here I am (ahah).
It was truly important to me to hang out with Nuno (VIL), Pedro Cravo and Vasco Guerreiro (-2) and later with Artur (Nørbak) and Marcos (Enkō). We all listened to the different things inside electronic music, so we always had all these different influences and sound approaches we could share with each other (from dubstep, to House to IDM to Electro House, DnB etc…). I think this fact shaped our music and our way of thinking. I really learned a lot with these guys.
I have to mention that Festival Forte had a real impact on me and on the Portuguese Techno community. Despite all the controversy of the Festival, I learned a lot and witnessed some amazing moments inside that Castle. I also feel that places like Gare, Ministerium, Lux or festivals like Lisboa Electronica and Neopop had a great impact on the young generations.
I’m thrilled that Portugal now has so many artists with something interesting to say. Here, I feel that the artists are supportive with each other, and people like to discuss ideas and share knowledge in a genuine way. I think this is something truly positive that can help artists to evolve.
Each artist in HAYES Collective is distinctive yet provides balance to the project that is artistically very complete. How did you guys come up with the concept?
Our members have distinct backgrounds and absorb different influences, and we aim to release music that gathers consensus among the group. This is the base of our choices. Still, we always believed in each other's input and aesthetic vision. Our concept began as we started to make music in the same direction and sharing the same artistic values. Eventually, we started to believe we could curate releases in our own way, having something to say. We always had in mind that we would not follow a trend or a certain sound; we all agreed that Techno could embrace a whole tone of influences.
You’ve been knocking down release after release on some of the most celebrated labels in our scene (Soma, Mord, Klockworks) - do you have a record of yours you’re particularly attached to? Any labels you’d like to work with?
Well, I confess I’m really attached to my Klockworks EP, as I feel that Float Here Forever and Ashamed are 2 tracks that really represent who I am artistically and what I want to express. The other 2 tracks of the EP have some crazy sonic experiments that I’m super happy that I achieved.
Analysing my music can be a tricky process: it can happen that a track takes some time so I can be aware of its potential. It happened with Cranston from my EP on Warm Up. I was not really sure to release it, and it’s one of the tracks I play most and feel its energy. A not so obvious track that I really dig is my collaboration with Nørbak, Bearing Down, it’s one of the tracks that usually gets a lovely reaction from the crowd and I really vibrate with. Again with Nørbak, our collaboration Jack & Verge have this synth texture I found so pleasant to listen to, abstract in a way that I like. In a Dancefloor oriented approach, I’m definitely proud of Bully’s Dead (Hayes) and Tough to Say (Soma).
Last but not least, Alegadamente foi Ácido (Mord), a collaboration with -2, is also a piece of music I really like to listen to. Still, this is a hard question, because sometimes a certain track works perfectly in a context, and can eventually not work that good in another location / time. I can mention for example that I thought that The Spiritual Song would be received with much more hype then it did, for example.
Being a mastering engineer and having studied music and technology in depth for some years, your knowledge of sound design and production can be clearly heard in your music. What does your workflow look like in the studio? Do you have any pieces of equipment that play a consistent and important role in the creation of your records?
Nowadays I work only with digital tools, although I have produced some tracks in the past using analogue synths. I’m super obsessive with loudness (I got this from the Drum and Bass school), and this fact also shapes the way I make music and my methodologies. Sometimes I have musical ideas that I like but in the end if the sound is not sitting well on the mix or if it is muddy, I end up rejecting it.
Sound solutions and musical ideas have to work in the context of the final sound object that I want. When I’m making music, I’m also always comparing the project that I’m currently working with references (mine and also from other artists) and this makes me aware of the final product and the overall sonic balance.
I use Ableton Live since 2007, never changed DAW, and love all the possibilities it offers: chains (midi & effects), Max 4 Live, audio processing, etc... I confess I use and abuse processing for my sounds, specially the synths. I do a lot of layering when shaping a sound. I also try some crazy processing on the master channel, that’s how I made Ashamed, mentioned above.
Also worth mentioning, in the last 3 years I have been making music with headphones most of the time.
You recently had a HAYES Collective label night at the legendary Brussels Fuse club. You mentioned that it was one of your best gigs so far and it means a lot! What was so special about that night and when will you be back in Belgium?
Yes, I think it was my best experience as a DJ so far as the people were truly committed to the music, and the crowd reacted in a lovely and dedicated way to the set. It’s hard for me to put in words :) Honestly, although I played in Belgium twice this year, I hope to be back soon.
Your productivity as of late has been really impressive, so we can imagine that you have even more projects up your sleeve. What can we expect from you in the future and what are you aiming for?
Well, my main goal is not to repeat myself sonically / aesthetically. I want to come forward with new ideas, new visions, new textures. I feel that it requires time, so I think I will release a bit less in the future. I have been working on 2 EPs, for two labels I admire and have already worked with. This is my main goal for the next few months.
Next up: Kwartz
Editorial Team: Noah Hocker and Michiel Demeulemeester
Interview: Noah Hocker