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Hypnotic Jerk: Infidel Interview #4


First I just want to thank you for participating in this edition of Infidel Interviews. With this interview let's just start with a bit about yourself. Where are you from, how old are you, and how long have you been making music for?

Thanks for having me! I am from Pennsylvania in the US and I’m currently 24 years of age and about to turn 25 on the 28th of February. I’ve always had a creative connection to making noise so to speak since as early as I can remember.

What connected you to the path of music making? Would you say that your choice to pursue music has changed your life since you started?

I remember I received a toy drum set when I was around 5-6 years old and I’d just make rhythms and whatnot. I’ve always found myself to be very unconventional with how I work. Even so, being 3 to 4 years old, pretending to connect wires with tape from an old mini box TV and imagining it being able to do different things. Imagination has always been key my whole life. I really owe it to an old neighbor of mine. He was nice enough to let me try some old DAW software and go wild with it (Sound Forge ACID, SONAR XL, Plugins, loop packs, etc.). He’s a musician himself, so he primarily used Cakewalk SONAR.

I’d say making music has provided a fantastic creative outlet of my imagination.

Did you have any musical experience prior to starting electronic music production? What bands inspired you to pick up doing electronic music, instead of what some might consider more conventional instrument oriented music?

I actually don’t, although how typical that sounds. I wound up banging on tables and walls, making rhythms and different noises for different surfaces. I remember I was that type of kid that had a pots and pans set I would go crazy at and at a few occasions being told to quiet down while living in a town house at the time. I was inspired by, spiritually through and directly, a band named Skinny Puppy. First time I heard the soundtrack for this game titled: Descent, and particularly the PlayStation 1 version, which had the CD quality audio on it. I fell in love with the electronic sound since and I owe it to that game.

Are there any particular instruments, programs, or effects that you would say are vital to you making music? If so, is there a reason in particular that draws you to said creative outlet?

Anything that can be unconventionally used to make another sound. I really want to make something sound like it involved a lot of processing but would involve very little, especially for my budget at the moment. Like they say: It’s not the tool you have. It’s how you use it.

Have you been involved in any projects prior to using your Hypnotic Jerk alias?

Actually, I haven’t. Originally, making music was a hobby of creative expression. Still is in a way. Being a musician is difficult doing just that alone. Electronic, acoustic, whatever… There still needs to be supplemental income until you blow up.

Before joining in collaboration with myself, and The Infidel Netwerk, have you had any prior experiences in collaboration? Would you say overall that collaboration has changed the way you approach or think about music?

I haven’t. It has a tad though. I usually expect when someone works around another’s ideas, it should be smooth sailing. Creatively, there’s always inspirations and mentoring on either end all the time.

What genres of music would you consider yourself to be the most active in, or influenced by? Are there any bands in those genres that you would consider to be prime influences?

Definitely electronic. With song structures, sounds, melodies, just about every genre I can get my hands on is an influence. Rock, Metal, Electronica, Hip-Hop, the list goes on. Just too much to name haha

Since you started doing music, how would you roughly describe your artistic development? Throughout your musical career you have had a lot of musical diversity. Do you find you have moved across multiple genres fluidly, or has it been more of a chaotic experience testing and trying anything?

You know, it’s kind of like a painter with a canvas. Sometimes you have an initial idea of where you want to go with a project and sometimes you don’t and you keep painting and see where it ends up. Sometimes you notice that this part of the song or a sound(s) can connect well with this, that and the other etc... In anyway regardless, if you work hard enough on something, anything is a masterpiece. It might not be to one, but it’ll be one to another.

Is doing live music something that you envision for yourself in the future? If so what are some of the images, themes, or ideas you might have for said future live set?

Sometimes people make it and sometimes people don’t. Always have a backup plan in life in case the first thing doesn’t work out, and make sure it’s something you love as well. With that being said, if the success prevails in the music sector of things, it’d be a really kickass and surreal performance. Very Unconventional with some pretty awesome imagery. I don’t want to give out too much just in case ;) .

Are there any specific themes or motifs that you find reoccur through your music? If so, is there a particular reason for said fascinations?

It never seems to fit with another style in the same song, but does at the same time. I usually hate keeping a typical and conventional style in a track like “this is how it is supposed to sound for trance or house or dubstep” type approach if you know what I mean. Taking risks is how new genres and styles get invented either accidently or intentionally. Just go at a sound you have in your head, and just go with it!

Do you have any interests outside of making music artistically, creatively, or even leisurely that you would consider important to you?

Graphic Design and Technology mainly. Just around that would be: Movie making, photography etc... A lot of multimedia stuff

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