Yves De Mey’s musical path consists of many different roads. During the second half of the 90’s, his releases were clearly rooted in breakbeats and UK drum’n’bass. Soon after that, through working for theater and dance performances and doing large scale sound installations, his interest in experimental sound design found its way into his music. De Mey worked with a wide roster of artists for the performing arts.
Together with his good friend Peter Van Hoesen (from Sendai), he also runs Archives Intérieures, a label for challenging and sophisticated electronic music, with releases by a.o. Peder Mannerfelt and Imaginary Softwoods.
FACTS:
1: If you’re sure it’s a fact, check it again.
2: It doesn’t rain as often in Belgium as people tend to think.
3: Global warming, global train wreck, inequality, hate.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
The sounds around me, other music, my inner energy and what i get from friends.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I bought my first synthesizer at the age of 12 after falling in love with the sounds of early Depeche Mode and Simple Minds.
3. What are 5 of your favorite albums of all time?
Difficult one: Definitely “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine, “Vakio” by (back then still) Panasonic, the entire Autechre catalogue, “A Love Supreme” by John Coltrane. The 5th one i’ll leave open so i can change it all the time.
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Friends, cocktails, Schneidersladen, European history, hours of walking.
5. What’s your favorite place in your town?
My favourite place is actually something that happens; when i’m working on something and i get into it so much you actually totally forget about your surroundings, that’s my favourite place to be.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Invent it.
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
I think “Strand ” by Bellows, on Shelter Press
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Perfectly happy with the people i can work with right now. Thinking of a collaboration with an instrument designer of sorts seems tempting though…
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
Another difficult one… i think seeing Einstürzende Neubauten for the first time (when i was 17 or something) was pretty intense. First Pan Sonic gig as well. I have fond memories of concerts by My Bloody Valentine and Autechre, of course. Really too many to pick one.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Very important, but at the same time, it’s something i simply use as an extension of what i have in mind. For more details, i recently did an interview with Native Instruments about that: blog.native-instruments.com/yves-de-mey-beating-the-block/
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
My twin brother is into it, or at least interested. My other brothers and sister appreciate i’m doing it, but are not very involved.
Yves De Mey’s ’Neuroclaps’ LP as Grey Branches on AnD & Tom Dicicco’s Inner Surface Music, out July 17th.
soundcloud.com/innersurfacemusic/grey-branches-split-limb-1
