Interview with
INTERVIEW WITH
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We are thrilled to share with you this summer issue with special guest. Summer is a spcial season where you can meet new people and discover new things. That’s wwhy wee want ours readers to discover Midnight Runners especially for the french readers, and also for others readers from all over the world. Midnight Runners has accepted to answer some of our questions. Let’s take our imaginary plane and meet them in Indonesia. Bon Voyage & Enjoy !
Hi Midnight Runners could you both introduce yourself to ours readers and tell us how you guys met and started to do music ? Hiiii, I’m intergalatic modern funkster far out from space boogie galaxy to spread groovy musique on Earth,,,, seriously, I’m Munir, half part of MIDNIGHT RUNNERS. We are musician & music selector based in Bandung, Indonesia, often describe us, as modern funk artists. First we met on local nu-media art & music communities called ‘OPENLABS’ in Bandung about 2008. Then around 2009, we were basically made experimental avant-grade electronic sound with our communities & share each others to how’s-made-nu-electronic-music sound. In 2011, our communities were break up, but we still continue to made something what we got in our brains, MUSIC. While i was looking for some information about you, the only stuff i found were about dexys midnight runners, why did you choose this name? Is there any store behind it ? oh yes, we didn’t notice so many bands/groups names that similar with our names, we just noticed it after released our first EP, *lol Because we were often spent our time to made music at Midnight time. Like nocturnal creatures who active due the night, Running ideas in our brains to made music around the night. made us to think called «MIDNIGHT RUNNERS» were pretty cool names Music has no citizenship but you guys are from Indonesia and we are a little bit curious could you tell us how is the Indonesian music scene ? YES, I AGREE WITH U. Indonesia music scene as far we know, only in big cities here were had a lot electronic musicians like us. We thought only big cities were aware about technology. Internet, Technology & Economy were still had involved in electronic music or modern music. Beside of that, our scene were less of festival music & hard to survive to be musician. Only few peoples who’s bought/ shop records. So, only we alongside loyal friends of mine in here making good modern music industries scenes to grow cultured locally & globally in here.
It’s a pretty common question in all interview maybe sometimes annoying but could you tell what are your previous and current inspiration ? i’m asking this question because when we listen to Midnight Runners music the funk seems to have a strong impact, how did fall for this genre? Well, as you know. we involved in new media art & music communities. so many sounds that i loves from Ragtime music to John Cage’s «Silent» avant grade music but basically previous influences were by local radio station in here. Grew as a teenager listened to radio station that played so many locals 80’s musicians & famous 90’s-00’s hip-hop music era then i bought their cassette records to listened and collected it, Then today, Current inspiration are all good music out there «Good Music never gets OLD» “Funk music can make you happy but, in an instant, leave you with borderline sadness,” shouts to Dam-Funk who said that. Sense of propulsive rhythmic «feel» or sense of «swing» created by the interaction of the music played it to funk music made us feel happy to make music. That’s what just our leaps to create electronic funk music or modern funk.
We found links between your origins and your music are you promoting Indonesian music by doing your remix ? Yes, because so many good obscure local music in here around (70’s-90’s) needs to promote, we’ll felt as same Musician who admit took path to made similar music like Indonesia’s musician work did in here needs to promote, so, our peoples in scene here known that not only us were great made good music, people need to know what’s good music in Indonesia & probably good for globally scene too, need to appreciate it because good music never dies.
How would you characterize your music, and the sound that you produce ? Analog & Digital, we use both of it to characterize our music. We use Digital Audio Workstation to compose music because were really easy & helpful. Then to add analog touch, we use drum machine, analog & digital synth. Recorded it & Combined it for composing into Digital Audio Workstation process, voilà! that’s our music is ready to serve *ting!
How did you get scouted by Darker Than Wax ? First, We got reviewed by well-known Indonesian’s webblog music review based in Jakarta goodnws.com. And then, Co-founder Darker Than Wax, Dean Chew spotted on our music in that blog, so by that we released our first EP called «OVERDIVE» but I mean by that experience, we know that our music scene in Indonesia must be promote by that, so many good music in here but worst to promote it globally!
Odyssey is the name your new EP, are you proud of it? What is your favorite track and why? Yes, proud of it, our second EP called ODYSSEY, a long wandering journey to made it because we did that in one year production. Our Favorite Track is «Sunset Rising», because that song made us stuck in the loop in 8 month with no progession but made it out of loop, such a blessed brain & because that song we were feel confident & happy to make more music. We will upload our EP mixtape soon. CHEERS!
Beside Midnight Runners do you do something else, like solo project ? Definitely! As Half Part of Midnight Runners. I will solo project, something like»retro new age pop music» *lol but seriously, is like experimental 80’s space ambient music with singing pop lyrically or rap something. I want to spent my entire life with music creation.
Are you more into old school or new school ? Everything is old, is new for me. I will choose both. It’s just simply good if combine old & new are looks fresh for me Are there any track you can’t stop listening at the moment ? In 1983, a man named Lewis recorded album named L’Amour, which was released on the unknown label R.A.W.. There was a track called «I Thought The World of You». Just simply good, smooth synthesizers, feather-light piano, ethereal, occasionally inaudible vocal but Lewis remains a ghost, a total mystery. he is whereabouts unknown today. What’s up for following months and years? did you plan to come to Europe anytime ?» End of this August month, we will release our ODYSSEY EP on orange cassette tape bundle with merchandise package. Release by our own local label called FUNKBOX Records were that so many errors problem with cassettes but we will release with good qualities, upload «ODYSSEY» EP mixtape to our soundcloud & promote it, End of this years probably, we will release something special in the end 2014, reissue our indonesian’s Jazz, Soul & Funk music selection from 70’s-90’s years. Absolutely, I’m just out from my daily full time job and now, I’m looking forward to plan perform & stay in Europe, i will see it, if i’ll keep release more good music & look for a tour to around the world.
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