Artist: Indidginus

[Insejn]

Artist: Indidginus

Date: 08-14-01

By: Anoebis

Q: Hello Indidginus, and thanks for doing the interview! You're still unknown in the goa-scene, so tell us, how would you describe your music?

A: Hello Joske Indeed ,as you say, I am a relative unknown to the goa scene. I am, however, notorious on the Ngorongoro Crater drum and bass circuit. And Colin has been around as "OOOD" since 1996. Josh is a renowned musician in South Africa (and hopefully soon here, Europe, the world!), and Paul is a member of the North London massive. It's a bit strange answering these questions on my own as the aforementioned Indidginus contributors are not present. However, I will take it upon myself to answer for them. I'm sure they won't mind Our music could be described as: A mongrel cross-breed of organic, melodic (occasionally veering towards hard and psychedelic - depending on what kind of day we've had) trance, fusing electronic voodoo with live didgeridoo, percussion and bass guitar. Or, in a word, ropey. Colin: "Michael is absolutely right". Paul: "Couldn't agree more". Josh: "As always, Michael took the words right out of my mouth".

 

Q: How, why and when did you start to make music ?

A: I've been playing didg for about 5 years or so now, and been improvising with DJ's/live PA's for about 3 of those. I've only recently started to make tracks from scratch myself (I didn't have enough money to buy my own equipment previously!). I wanted to play didg since I was 18. I was travelling around Australia at that time and saw an Aboriginal busker playing in Sydney harbour. He blew me away. I had never heard another instrument like it. At that time (1990) it was not nearly as commonplace as it is now in Europe. Nowadays it seems that everyone and his/her dog has either a didg or a djembe in tow! As for how (nothing like answering your questions backwards), my setup is a small one. I have an Akai S2000 sampler, a Behringer Eurorack mixing desk, a Virus Indigo keyboard, a Delta 66 soundcard, a Midiman 2 * 2 USB midi box and a good PC (running at 900 Mhz, 640Mb RAM with 2 hard drives (20Gb and 4Gb), a decent but inexpensive Sony amp, and some dodgy monitor speakers that I've borrowed off Paul (I think he actually did get them off the back of a lorry). I also have a couple of didgs lying about (obviously) - one is made out of draingage pipe, another is a Eucalyptus beauty, and I have one that was made using a lathe (although it's held together with gaffer tape now!). The slide didg was given to me as a gift (I couldn't have been given a better present!) and I use that one for playing live as it makes it easier to key in to other instruments/music.

 

Q: Why did you decide to make Psy-Trance ?

A: My mum told me to. And because I enjoy the freedom that this style of music brings to those who produce it. I also felt that I could make a positive contribution through that medium, even if it only lasted for the duration of a set!

 

Q: What music and artists do you like the most? And did any of them inspire you to make music ?

A: I have many and varied tastes. I started out life as a bit of a rocker liking bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Henry Rollins (to name a few). I was (and still am) also keen on funk music with the likes of James Brown and Parliament gracing my CD collection. But as I became older and wiser I found solitude in acid techno (I found the Liberators particularly inspiring in this genre), and from there I branched out into hard house for a while (which helped my culinary skills immensely), and into trance where people like GMS, Delta and Infected Mushroom have given me something to aim for. A couple of years ago I had a chance encounter with "Impact" (the drum and bass live PA I also play for) in a recording studio, and they gave me an education in the delights of that style. And not forgetting my friend Graham Wiggins (aka Dr Didg). I met Graham a few years ago through him doing a gig for me to help raise money for a charity project I was involved with in East Africa. He is a top bloke and an amazing didg player who has given me no end of motivation to improve my own playing.

 

Q: Which is your favourite Psy-Trance artist & song, and what is your favourite song of yourself ?

A: I am Mary, Mary quite contrary, so my favourite artist and song change every few weeks (months if they are really good). At present my favourite artist is "Juno Reactor". A friend lent me a copy of "Shango" - his new album featuring the Xhosa dance troupe Amapondo. When I played at the Lizard Eclipse Festival a couple of years ago, they played too and unleashed a superb set fusing live instrumentation, computer generated sounds and a fantastic stage show. All elements that I wholeheartedly approve of (nice one Mr Reactor). My favourite track from that album is "Pistolero" which makes use of Flamenco guitar and is, in my opinion, highly innovative. Also, Colin and Steve ("OOOD") have produced some storming tracks that I very much enjoy listening to, and would recommend to everyone They are presently in the process of compiling tracks for a new album. There, plug over. My own favourite track is the one that I am busy finishing off now - it's called "Flux" and also has an African slant to it. Josh and I thought it would be appropriate to write a track that reflects our affinity (Josh is South African, and I lived in Africa for around 9 years) with that area of the world. Or rather, I thought it would be a good idea - I'm putting words into Josh's mouth as he's not here! I've submitted "Cosmic Caroline" (written by Colin and myself) and "Cosmic Caroline" to your competition and hope to be doing the same with "Flux" when it's done

 

Q: What do you think of the future of Psy-Trance? And how will the music change ?

A: The future is orange. Hopefully the music will feature more live instrumentation (I'm big on that, you might be able to tell), as I believe that this adds an atmosphere to a set that can otherwise be lacking.

 

Q: Where does you inspiration come from (except music) ?

A: My inspiration comes from the great outdoors. I would much rather play a free party than a club. Some of my most defining moments have come whilst on walkabout by myself in the middle of nowhere in places like Tanzania and New Mexico. Certain people have definitely been very influential for me too.

 

Q: Are there any groups you will work with together in the future ?

A: I am currently working with an ambient live PA called "Squeeker" - they produce really good stuff and are nice people to boot! It looks like I will be working with Gilles ("Toi Doi") in the near future when he returns from a tour of Canada, and Marcus ("Tara Putra") when he gets back from travelling around India. I have also been speaking to Jonaz from "Logic Bomb" with a view to fitting some didg onto a track or two of their forthcoming album. I'm always open to offers

 

Q: Are there any plans of releasing tracks/an album ?

A: Benny from 140bpm has said that he would like to include "Cosmic Caroline" on a compilation CD that he plans to release later this year. Simon Posford has also hinted that he would like to offer us a 10 album deal (just kidding. Although, have a think about it Si, you know it makes sense!). My focus at the moment is to get an album worth of good material and then to punt that around to some labels. At present, I've only got a couple of finished tracks! With luck, someone out there will like them enough to release them!

 

Q: What do you do when you're not making Trance ?

A: Um, sleep! After I've finished with my job (at the moment, I masquerade as a software developer by day. But as I seem to change jobs with remarkable regularity, who knows what I'll be doing in the future!), practicing my didg and messing about in the studio, I don't have much time for anything else! I do occasionally take time out to get tattooed though… And the drum and bass also keeps me busy.