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 Founder of the free party movement across France and then the rest Europe with his collective Spiral Tribe, London based live set artist Simon Carter, better known as Crystal Distortion is no stranger to the underground free party movement. He takes a moment to share is past, present and future prior to his Hong Kong debut performance at Edge.
Nilly: Tell us a little about yourself.
CD: My name is Simon Carter, a.k.a Crystal Distortion. I come from London, but I’m not sure what planet I’m from. Nilly: Are you enjoying being in Asia? What have you been up to since you arrived?
CD: Very much so- mind blowing, isn’t it? We took a boat to Shenzhen, a plane to Kunming, walked around and said “Wow!” a lot, ate roasted grasshopper, played at “The Shelter” club to some very happy young Chinese ravers – the foreigners were the first to dance though! In Kunming, we stayed in a military issue hotel, nice room but hard bed! We then jetted off to Beijing where we experienced big city traffic on a scale I have never seen before! I played at the Yu Gong Yi Shan club with Sue Ellen and Cyberskum. We stayed at the old quarter, which was amazing. We saw the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, ate far too much food, spent a whole day getting a train ticket to Hong Kong and now, here I am! Nilly: What got you into the dance/ rave scene and how did you get into making music?
CD: Major influences were M25 warehouse parties, acid house. Then, around 1988 or 1989 I was listening to “Ozone Breakdown” by Renegade Soundwave and I heard myself going “I can do that! I wanna have a go at that!”
Then I started bumping into all the right people who had some studio gear. I collaborated on Moving Shadow Record’s first release. Then, I met Spiral Tribe! I chose their studio gear and embarked on a mission across Europe doing ‘free parties’, showing some of the crew how to use the machines! Nilly: Why did you choose the name “Crystal Distortion”?
CD: Crystal Distortion…OK, think rocks, crystals, stones…they all vibrate…right? Some Shamanic types use them to heal people by harnessing and channeling their energy. Modern technology has microprocessors at their core-compressed silicon, rocks sand, that also vibrate! You put energy in, you get energy out… transformed or distorted by the silicon crystal matrix it’s sent through. Dancing feels good, right? It’s healing somehow. We use technology to make people feel better through music and dance. This equals Crystal Distortion. It’s a process, nothing more! Nilly: You are well known for your live sets. This is a concept rarely heard or seen in Hong Kong. Can you tell us what you use and how do you make your music?
CD: Its live based loop improvisation and other sound mangling tricks, a bit like having twenty odd turntables each playing a single element. There are reference safety points, patterns, that I can jump to when its getting too messy but very little material is prepared in advance- the arrangement for example. I used this principle for years on many different set ups.
But currently, I use Ableton Live, Native instrument’s Reaktor 5 and some 2-bit Yamaha contraption…I forget the name- and all of this goes into a Korg Kaoss pad! Nilly: In 2000 you had your debut appearance at music festivals in France, since then there has been no looking back. Would it be correct to say that you are better known musically in France over the UK? If so, how did you establish yourself in France?
CD: Definitely! How? People wanted it there! I had help from a lot of good people and I lived there, so it just unfolded as soon as I stopped living in a truck and got a telephone! Nilly: You are closely associated with the ‘free party’ movement across France. What are your views on the ‘free party movement’ and what is the future?
CD: I’m sorry, but the legal Teknival is as, if not more commercial than most festivals now! It’s only a matter of time before they start charging money to go in. So, it will just change like something else I guess. Most of the free parties were less than one thousand people anyway. I think its time to be honest, do something spectacular but cheap enough to break even and entertain people with more than just loud music and a video screen- more like an alternative circus. Why not, eh? www.basslinecircus.org Nilly: With greater commercial recognition of your music do you question going mainstream at any point?
CD: I’d settle for worldwide distribution; that’s good enough for me! Nilly: What sort of arena do you feel does most justice for people listening to your music? (outdoors or in a club environment)
CD: OUTDOORS, SUMMER DAYBREAK, whole crowd together on the same buzz ROCKIN’ to it! It’s the only way to fly!!
Nilly: Virginie or Sue Ellen Tribe is both your partner and a co-artist on your label. How did you meet? Have you ever performed together?
CD: On the dance floor! We play out together every now and then. She isn’t producing music (yet). Apart from that she handle’s EVERYTHING! Nilly: Do you split your time between France and the UK?
CD: Not so much any more. My studio is in East London. We live in South East London and I’m visiting more new exciting countries ever year. Nilly: Do you ever DJ? If so when was your last DJ gig?
CD: Last DJ gig? Oh a barbeque at Audiotrix’s house in the south of France. Sometimes I mix mp3’s using a midi keyboard and traktor but its not working right now. Nilly: How has your music style changed or evolved since you first started making music?
CD: I get older, it gets slower and groovier! It’s been like that so far. I definitely wanna get an electro punk studio band together though! Nilly: Who were your early musical influences? Which present day artists do you recognize as innovative or cutting edge at this present day?
CD: Sonic Youth!! Hoolum Priest, Japan, Deplete Mode, Einsturezende Neubauten, MC Shan and Marley Mahl, Roxanne Shante, The Beastie Boys, Big Apple Productions, Current 93, Brian Eno, talking Heads, Visage, Duran Duran, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Test Dept.! Ok those were my influences. To day I’m into Cursor Miner, Cassette Boy, J3h5t, Wevie Stonder, Tipper, Si Begg, T-Power, Radio Active Man, Chris carter, Dan Hekate, Dead Silence Syndicate Band…and everything in Sue Ellen Tribe’s record bag!! Nilly: Tell us a little about your labels. How is Labrat Audio Chemicals different from Expressillon? Why did you choose those names? Tell us about the artists on the labels? Where are the artists mainly from?
CD: I’m doing stuff for Expressillon, Labrat is our pet project but it’s kinda distributed via Expressillon so…its complicated to get into…. I chose Labrat cos I am one, of many test subjects, I guess! It’s experimental, innit! Most experimental stuff is about serious faced eggheads wearing their sunglasses indoors looking impassive, listening to and looking at incomprehensible rubbish! We choose to alleviate this stereotypical image…little fluffy white rats are the perfect humorous antidote to the “experimental” scene, and we don’t mean it either. It’s just about being happy and having your mind blown to smithereens! OK! Nilly: Tell us about your latest release “Rattable Selecta”. What is it all about? How long did it take to put together?
CD: Well, it’s the best collection of tracks by all our mates in it. Took about…six months for all of us artists to sort our lives out and write some good tunes. About an hour to arrange them into the correct order and another three months of all the boring stuff to get it released! Nilly: What are your forthcoming plans? Tell us about your planned gigs, tours, new releases.
CD: OUT NOW! Breakbusters sample CD (www.samplemagic.com). That’s something I worked on, you like the music, go make some!
Now what am I doing with things….? Just keep coming to the CRYSTAL DISTORTION page on MYSPACE to find out (http://www.myspace.com/58287980) Nilly: Tell us a bit about what we can expect at your party at “The Edge” on the 25th of November.
CD: Maybe a bit full on at first, but you’ll get used to it. You’ll see! Interview: Nilly Chaudhuri
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