ViLLAGE is showcasing his production prowess through these sweet synth melodies and dancefloor-ready vibes. It was time that we had a little chat with him! Read our interview below.
>> Also, make sure to check our review for ViLLAGE’s Nex2Me.
Describe your sound in three words please!
Electronic, warm, chill
Would it be safe to assume that the initial idea for Lights Out was this cool chord progression? Tell us a few things about your creative process!
The initial sketch, if you will, came up about a year ago in October but I just sat on it because I didn’t have any ideas on how to go past the initial 8 bar loop. It sounded very similar to what now is the first drop when the chords open fully at 0:50. My creative process revolves around an 8-16 bar loop that makes up the main part of the track or ‘drop’, if you will. After I’m happy with how that sounds I’ll be then working my way to backwards engineering the track with pre-drop, middle parts and outro. Sometimes this process goes smooth as butter and I can finish a track in a day but other times I get stuck and some ideas take years to finish.
What would be the most representative Future House track in your opinion? Do you agree with the idea that the lines between the numerous genres are blurred and some of them are used for the hype?
I love Tchami’s Adieu. Lines are indeed blurry and it’s probably just another marketing strategy, ‘cause I’m having a hard time identifying Future House from Bass House and some Uk House tracks.
Your artwork is interesting and it seems that you are not bound to a specific style but you use different references. We’d love to know more about how you choose them and any artists involved, if any?
I like having different artworks, since my songs are so different from each other. For the most part, I’ve been my own creative director regarding artworks but I’ve also had help with some of the more recent stuff from my girlfriend, Mara (who’s studying her BA in design at Cambridge), as well as from my good friend, Robert aka Eurosadboy.
You have already been featured in Spotify editorial playlists. Is Spotify the music industry’s new Gatekeepers?
They certainly have a sort of manipulative power over which genres make it and which don’t. I’m also not entirely sure it’s just them that are part of the problem as we, the producers clearly feed this system, they’re just providing the platform. Their editorial playlists can, in some cases, generate millions of plays to those added in there, and I see music being made just to serve that purpose. The immediate effect is that we’re listening to music made for algorithms and not for us.
You are currently based in Romania. Can you describe the music scene there and how do you relate to it?
We have Manele, we have Techno and everything in between but as far as this chill synth music goes there are only a handful of people making it. There isn’t much hope for becoming a fully independent electronic music producer unless you get absorbed into either making music for the mainstream or other sources.
Do you have plans for an EP or an album in the foreseeable future? Do people still listen to full albums?
I do plan on putting together a full length album but since people don’t really tend to listen to full albums as before I’d have to release most of the tracks individually over a period of time to keep the audience engaged.
What is one thing about yourself that not many people know about?
Before making music, I was making Counter Strike videos. I’ve also been working for the past ten years in e-Sports as a video editor and motion graphics artist as part of my dayjob. I’ve only discovered making music a few years after starting work as a video editor. As these workflows were pretty similar in terms of software used I gave music a try since I was always fascinated by it.
Thanks ViLLAGE!
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