D/B 11+3 Interview with Sahy Uhns

Posted on | July 23, 2010 | No Comments

11+3 is designed to give you an insight into the motivations and aspirations of the best creative minds in the world.

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This time with Proximal Records artist and label co-head Sahy Uhns from L.A. Each artist is asked 11 set questions and to contribute 3 “facts” which can be any statement from them on absolutely anything: their own views on politics, religion, the environment, sport…or just something they read in the paper or saw on TV.

FACTS:

1. Nacho Libre
2. Your mistake is my detail.
3. Trying to get over my intolerant disdain for underlings.

QUESTIONS:

1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
Probably the need to focus my energy and ease my anxiety :)

2. How and when did you get into making music?
I started make music when I was around 10 years old. I started out playing guitar mainly because my Uncle was country western guitarist and I looked up to him a lot. Around that same time I was interested in DJs and Turntablism. I ended up stealing my sisters crappy belt drive turntable off of her stereo and tried to start scratching some rock records my guitar teacher gave me. It only took a few days before I busted up the table and the records but it was a start :)

3. What are your 5 favourite albums of all time?
Oh man. This is a super hard one. The only one that I’m positive of is Body Riddle By Clark. I know that is my favorite record. After that they are, in no particular order:
- The Chronic By Dr. Dre is HUGE.
- I can’t decide between Confield, EP7, or LP5 by Autechre, they have all meant so much to me.
- Call me a dork but I love Eutaw by Old Crow Medicine Show.
- And maybe Los Angeles by Flying Lotus.

But really, that question is impossible. Those are just the things that come to my head right now and I know that I’m gonna think of a million others. Ok and maybe Discovery by Daft Punk.

4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Haha. Well, It one of the top two cities that I want to live in besides L.A. – Berlin and Tokyo. I think of awesome techno of all kinds and beautiful architecture and design in general. In terms of music, the first thing that comes to mine is Raster-Noton and all its artists. One of the close friends of Proximal, David Scadron is about to study abroad in Berlin his next quarter.

5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
That one is pretty hard too. Not to be a loser but probably my room or my lady friend, Jane’s hot tub. I have wonderful, relaxing memories of those places. In terms of the city, I love downtown L.A. It is a super weird downtown compared to most cities but every time I’m there I always feel great. I also love the taco truck called Taco Zone near Sunset and Alvarado.

6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Well, if music just all of the sudden ended, I would probably do photography and graphic design. But if music never had existed I would probably would be doing something in industrial design.

7. What was the last record you bought?
The last new record I bought was “Move of Ten” by Autechre but the last old record I bought was “West Costra Nostra” By the Boo Yaa Tribe, some G-Funk west coast shit :)

8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Clark. If that can’t happen, then maybe MF Doom.

9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
The first two that come to mind are Daft Punk on their Alive tour at the L.A. Sports Arena and the other was Knobgoblin at Khalija Records’ Decay Fest II in a tiny gallery in Echo park.

In terms of things that I’ve played, I think the best are yet to come :)

10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Hugely important. I work a lot in a software called Reaktor, which is graphical programming environment. When I’m bored, I’m usually thinking about some new patch I wanna make or trying to figure out how different synthesis techniques work. Then as soon as I have the opportunity for me to sit at my computer I’ll make it. That’s how a lot of my tracks get started. Melody and harmony are definitely not the first things I think about when making music. It is almost always some sound or rhythm.

11. Do you have siblings and are they proud or jealous of you?
I have one older sister, Carrie Nelle and she is proud :) She actually helps me a lot because she is a graphic designer, so I’ll do all of the design for Proximal and then I’ll send it over to her to review and edit.

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Within the laboratory of his Los Angeles studio, Sahy Uhns (pronounced Science) has been producing hip-hop and electronic music since his early teenage years, creating concoctions that could only be attributed to a scientist who has simply gone mad. Born Carl Madison Burgin, the LA native draws inspiration from west coast hip-hop culture and channels his musical energy into generating new and unique sounds – recording everywhere he goes.

Sahy Uhns’s use of custom designed software, hardware, modified instruments and found sounds, contributes to his unique approach to composition and production. As a compulsive music-maker, Sahy Uhns’s dedication and attention to detail are evident in the production of his studio tracks. His live performances brim with focused energy as he constantly engages the audience with live electronic drumming, scratching, and improvised audio manipulation through his custom-built computer interfaces.

As a student at the California Institute of the Arts’ Music Technology department, Sahy Uhns has incorporated his studies of synthesis and musical robotics with the ideas and influences of his surroundings to formulate a fusion of music so inventive that it can only be defined by science.

http://www.myspace.com/sahyuhns