What is music?

Music is a rich, hyper-dimensional language allowing for high bandwidth communication of highly abstract concepts and images. Music is the name for the interaction of the vibrations in the physical world with the metaphysical emotional center of the human soul. Music is an expression of consciousness, a path, a doorway.

Hypothetical situation: You're playing in a large club and your music turns the venue and house sound system into a giant psycho-acoustic resonator, permanently raising the intelligence level of everyone in earshot by 100+ IQ points. The result: a local dominionist group reports you to the Feds as a mind-controlling terrorist. You're captured and sentenced to a nine year period of zero contact with computers or electronic music-making gear. Being a rogue technologist, how would you respond to your sentence? How would you make music for the duration?

I would issue a public statement regarding my sentence that would be dismissed as the incoherent ramblings of a madman but would actually be a simple coded message that the illuminated would understand. They would then have the information they need to log into a repository of sounds and devices required to perpetuate Logickal recordings via mashup and remix. Meanwhile, I would record my magnum opus using two stereo cassette decks, an immense work for ukelele, kalimba, mouth harp and tupperware bowl.

Where do you see music technology going in the next nine years? The next thirty-six?

Smaller, faster, cheaper. Surround sound is in every room, and "stereos" are a thing of the past. Breakthroughs in focused sound technology eliminate the need for speakers, as multi-channel sound is beamed directly into our ears. After that, there will be a grand resurgence in primitive music when our Alien Overlords grant us the ability to divorce our minds completely from our bodies.

We're a very noisy planet. All of our culture's radio and television transmissions are radiating into space, every moment of every day. After traveling thousands of light-years, an alien civilization intercepts and translates some of your broadcast music into their own audible frequencies. Can you describe the effect your music will have upon them?

In a rush of excitement, they will attempt to discover the underlying information holographically encoded in the stray transmission. Finding none, they will laugh at the child-like simplicity of it, and wonder why there is no formal musical training offered on our insignificant little world. Likely, they will judge that it proves that there is no significant hyperspatially-aware culture in the Va7423/L subspace region, a fact long suspected by their scientists.

What's your working process? How does a track by Logickal come into existence?

Mostly with improvisation. Usually I start in Live (or sometimes Logic) with one sound, idea or device. I mainly just tweak, rattle and stir until I'm inspired to add another element. As soon as the inspiration strikes me, I begin to add parts - layer upon layer, eventually ending up with a Live session recording lasting an hour or so. Then, I'll come back to these jam sessions and begin to edit them down - discarding the chaff, tweaking effects, building structure. I'll often take the resulting piece and again improvise with those elements, a process that can result in either a more-or-less finished, structured performance or an entirely new piece. Sometimes fragments of my live performances are unique enough to be lifted out almost whole - those are the really good ones.

You have an opportunity to travel 900 years into the future on an electronic musician spatio-temporal cultural exchange program. What would you take with you?

An open mind. Probably also a guitar.

Krushjob is your latest as Logickal, released as both a CD and an expanded digital version on dPulse. Do you think the RIAA will adapt to downloads or will downloads kill it off?

The RIAA is a prime example of an organization unwilling or unable to adjust to changing times - the blind thrashing of an anachronism in denial. This is a hard question to answer, because it is possible for them to adjust - but are they willing? Downloading music is simply another transmission mechanism, but one the RIAA has been unable to establish any kind of control over. So, in short form - my answer is yes.

What projects are on the Logickal horizon?

I have at least enough material in the rough stages of production for 2 new Logickal discs. I'm looking towards releasing another disc of my more experimental/"microsound" material, as well as one of the more energetic Logickal noises. Work has already begun on a new 3kStatic release. A collaborative project between myself and some of my friends at Nophi Recordings is also high on my priority list... Plus some remix work and the like. More and better performances in new and bigger cities?

How do you use the Daevl.Plugs?

My current favorite trick is to put a few (oh, let's say... four) different Daevl.Plugs into an Ableton Live 6 Rack and set up the Chain Select Zones to crossfade between them. Map the Chain Selector to an encoder and drop this rack into a return track. Send and Twist away into Oblivion. (For extra scary 'mogrification, map the Random buttons to your controller as well, and press them by accident!) I also find them quite nice with a touch of garlic, basil and olive oil, then into the pan for a quick sear before being served over fresh greens. Yummy!