1.26.2009

6 questions for Auralism's Jason Short




What are some of the moments in the last year that would define where you are heading as an artist? And also where are you headed musically?

This past year I had a lost of releases...I think somewhere around 20 tracks hit Beatport. The biggest success on getting me onto the international scene was the Karloff release. I also have had releases on Fade, Lobotomy, Nightlight Music, Siteholder, Boz Boz, Def' Child . The first Auralism release COTK's "Too Many Machines" made quite a buzz as well...The music has been quite varied...You'd have to give the catalog on Beatport a listed to get the big picture. Check Discogs for my different collaborations and psuedonyms.

Musically, I plan on making some big techno tracks in the coming year, focusing on strong melody and personality, with the same intense energy and psychedelic sentiments. I also really want to start working on some more album material, which will not be techno, but more ambient/idm soundscapes. Movie music...I also have been working on some dub, dub-step, and downtempo/hip-hop stuff that i'mn very excited about.

Who are some of contemporaries that you draw influence from currently?
Recently my influenced been hard to pin down. I really enjoy Koze's recent releases, as well as the more funky sounds coming out everywhere. But i'm shying away from following the ever-changing trends. My sound this year will probably be more influenced by musicians and artists from across the musical spectrum. Bjork, Apparat, old dub and detroit techno. The interesting new Detroit/DF techhouse fusion i've been hearing is very nice.

If you were to describe your music to a dance music fan who hadn't heard your music yet how would you do that?
I would tell them that its a bit of everything, but always dirty and funky. It has elements of house, techno, minimal, industrial, idm....It can get very emotional and deep or very banging and anywhere in between. I also play downtempo and ambient and love to make people's minds float. There something "grabbing" about the music that i love to play and make. It has to have personality. I try to avoid playing tracks that sound like something else or that prescribe to standard forms. And if it does, it must have a new take or flavor added. I'm bored of the same ol thing, and stray away from it at all costs.

Tell me a little bit about your monthlies and how DJ'ing play a role in your development as an artist. Where have you've been best received? What are some recent highlights in your DJ career?
Lil Brthr is a monthly party that has been @ 222 Hyde, a small basement club perfect for techno, and it started almost a year and half ago. I guess we'll be changing venues soon though. Originally it was supposed to be an outlet for the Auralism residents to play, but it quickly turned into us booking our favorite local djs, with some very nice special guests like Alex Smoke, Touane, 3 Channels, Stewart Walker, Thomas Melchior and more i can't think of now. Aural Therapy is our bigger monthly that has been at Paradise Lounge. It originally was the name of our series of undergrounds we threw starting back almost 2 1/2 years here in San Francisco. It has been a monthly for the past three months, and might go back to being one-offs again soon. Our guests in the past for Aural Therapy has included Pier Bucci, Elon, Justin Maxwell, Argenis Brito, Billy Dalessandro, Dave Aju, Touane, Mikael Stavostrand, Appendics Shuffle, and on...

Djing has been a very important development in my artistic career. I started really getting serious about music production around the same time as i started djing, around 1998 in San Freancisco. I really wasn't very good in the beginning..bad actually. But i learned and got better over the years. I loved to make tracks that i could dj for my audience, though i think i'm only now starting to make really good dancefloor movers. I always tried to play instruments before that, but it was djing that made me want to record and finish songs to release. Djing has also informed by musical taste and direction a lot. Being so obessesed about buying records for so long really guided my taste as a producer, and led me to find new sounds and styles, and to try and do them better somehow. Now i've pretty much gone the gammit as a dj from hard acid trance and techno, goa, progressive trance and house, to minimal and tech house in chcago to the newer still undefined techno and house of the past few years.

What for sure big releases do you have coming up, big gigs, news, announcement, etc?
The Nightlight [Music] release and the Vellum release are my only upcoming releases. I'll be playing in South America again this spring, and am planning a trip to the EU this summer (no gigs yet, but i'm working on it). I'll be working on some more ambitious ambient material and i have an album brewing hopefully to be finished this year.

Please feel free to add anything else fit that I didn't already touch upon....
I think that about covers it. I think just be sure to mention that i'll be travelling a lot this year, and am looking to do something new and exciting musically this year. I'm out to shock everyone with my new music this year. I can't just keep doing the same thing over again, now i need to show development as an artist, and some maturity. I have some solid ideas, and i really think that this is going to be the year that i really break out.

http://auralismrecords.com
http://myspace.com/jasonshortmusic
http://myspace.com/coalitionofthekilling

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