Technicolour and Komatic, who emerged several years ago, joined forces as the duo Technimatic, signed an exclusive contract with Shogun Audio, and wrote the album Desire Paths, with which they intend to amaze us. We think it is time to talk about it…
The last time we caught up with you, you were probably very busy. Can you describe what it was like leading up to your first album?
For us, it was a broad range of events and emotions. When we were signed to Shogun about a year and a half ago to write an album, we already had some initial ideas.
But as time passed, we quickly realised that the best way to achieve our goal was to let things happen naturally and allow all the material to emerge during the process.
So, throughout the first year, we simply wrote tracks as we always had. Things developed, and gradually we gained an understanding of what the album should look like and what feelings it should convey: its mood, energy, and a way of expressing something much more personal than simply a collection of tracks.
This feeling took hold of us so strongly that the album began to lead us, rather than the other way around. By the end of the process, when we were at the stage of refining and fiddling with things, it was tense and exhausting; we had a crazy week in Andy’s studio, where we were losing our minds at various stages of the work. But we did it. And we are extremely proud of it.
How did the name Desire Paths come about?
Desire Paths was one of the track titles. I think Intersection was the album title at one stage of the process. We also had several other clichéd titles, but as the album had already taken shape and its mood had become clear, Desire Paths began to stand out and bring everything together.
A desire path is a trail created by footfall that you see in parks and the green belts of a city. It usually represents the shortest or easiest route between a starting point and a destination.
It seemed like a good metaphor for the journey we have taken as artists who lead another, normal, everyday life, with full-time jobs, mortgages and all the rest, but who want to create a new path for ourselves, taking us far away from all that and into a more creatively fulfilling world.
How would you describe the album’s style overall?
We think it is a very personal album. We think you will understand who we are and what is important to us within drum and bass.
We tried to express ourselves as much as possible and present our vision of the album as freely as we could. There may be a certain twist that listeners do not necessarily associate with us, but we think it all fits together quite well.
Can you say what inspires you apart from music?
Well, apart from everything else in drum and bass, we try to incorporate things that genuinely capture our imagination. Of course, these include elements of jazz, soul and funk; they really nourish us. But our surroundings and the atmosphere of cinema also make a strong impression on us. All of this permeates the music that exists beyond the act of making music.
What is your favourite track from the album, and why?
The track with Lucy Kitchen, “Looking For Diversion”, is one of the tracks where everything came together very naturally and simply, and the result sounds great. A backing track with accompaniment is fairly unusual for us, since we usually try to develop and fill out the melody of the track as much as possible.
And Lucy’s voice, which sets the tone and is not usually associated with drum and bass, works incredibly well. She is extremely talented, and we are already working on new material with her.
Original interview: Knowledge Magazine. Translated from the Russian translation published by the Shogun Audio VKontakte community.
