Posted 2010-12-22 in News   Permalink

Interview with Oriol

We grab and exclusive interview with the creator of one of the best albums released this year, Planet Mu groovemaster Oriol.

As 2010 is drawing to a close. We are being bombarded left right and centre by best of 2010 lists. Save writing one ourselves here, and partly really because these lists are so deliberating to compile, we have managed to grab an exclusive interview with Oriol, the guy responsible for definitely our favourite track and album of the year.

Although Spanish-Trinidadian and born in Barcelona, Oriol grew up in Cambridge UK. Having been a regular at the CDr nights in London alongside the likes of Floating Points and the Eglo records team, he released what we feel is 2010’s best tune Coconut Coast on (our label of this year) Planet Mu, and then quickly followed this with the astonishingly good Night & Day. Mixing sun soaked pads, hazy electrosoul synths, warm boogie basslines and Herbie Hancock talkbox stabs, Oriol created the definitive sound of the summer. Unlike the chillwave and hynagogic pop artists of the last couple of years, the nostalgic tropical soundscapes conjured on the album never feel like trend-hopping, but that this was the album he has wanted to make since his youth, and he had been honing his unique production skills over time in order to accomplice this. Furthermore, there is more than just homage to the 70s and 80s here, with Theo Parrish, Larry Heard and even drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep influences, although deeply indebted to older styles, his music sounds totally joyful and fresh. And although very much a summer album, Night & Day has lasted through autumn and is continuing to warm the dark winter nights here at Diskotopia.

We were therefore very excited to get an exclusive short interview with the guy himself.

Diskotopia: The musical styles your work most immediately calls to mind are ’80s r&b and ’70s jazz-funk. How and when did you first get into these genres?

Oriol: I guess i first got into it after hearing Michael Jackson and stuff like that on the radio and TV in the 80s. Later on I checked the credits on MJ’s albums and saw Quincy’s name - ‘the dude’ is still one of my favourite albums. I love the positivity that permeates those records - there’s a carefree feeling about them but you know they’ve been crafted with supreme talent and knowledge.

Diskotopia: What are some of the artists and albums that had a big effect/influence on you?

Oriol: Quincy jones - The Dude, Recloose - Cardiology, Coltrane, George Duke - Feel, Michael Jackson, Theo Parrish, Neptunes, Nwachukwu, Stevie Wonder…

Diskotopia: Being from the same hometown myself, I wonder whether you feel growing up in Cambridge has had any influence or effect on your music?

Oriol: I don’t think the town was a big influence on me but it’s hard to say. My friends were into music - they influenced me and I had a great saxophone teacher who gave me some wicked jazz records and taught me some stuff so that was cool.

Diskotopia: How do you put your music together? Is there a particular instrument or program that is really key to forming your sound?

Oriol: I sequence with Logic but it doesn’t matter what you use. Actually I want to spend more time writing music before I start messing with the gear - like writing the melodies and changes on manuscript or just having in them clear in my head first - it usually sounds more cohesive like that. One particular thing that I did a lot on Night and Day was doubling melodies and pads sometimes too. I felt that I couldn’t always get the sound I was looking for with just one voice/instrument.

Diskotopia: How did you hook up with Planet Mu?

Oriol: I sent a demo to them. A few months later I’d given up hope of anything coming from it but then Mike P got in touch about releasing some music.

Diskotopia: Now you are on the inside of Mu, can you enlighten outsiders into how and why what was seen as Mike Paradinis “Rephlex”, has in the last year or so become such a major player in the present day arena of electronic music?

Oriol: Yeah Planet Mu’s had a great year.

Diskotopia: What other contemporary artists do you feel a kinship or connection with?

Oriol: Don’t know about a kinship but I’m really feeling artists like Sepalcure, FaltyDL, Bibio, Flying Lotus…

Diskotopia: Are you currently working on any follow up material to Night And Day?

Oriol: There’s a tune called Solar which is out on a Planet Mu compilation soon and an there’s an ep in the works.