First off, just want to thank you for participating in this edition of Infidel Interviews. Could you start off by giving a little information about you to the audience? Whatever you feel comfortable with, but name, age, and where you live would be pretty standard?
Thanks for this opportunity. My name is Linas and I reside in the capital of Lithuania (Europe). My main professional focus is on information technologies in financial sector. Unit 7 is a spare time and a side project.
How do you enjoy where you live? Is there a vibrant music community where you are? Would you say you find that your local scene influences your attitude and/or creativity?
The music life is quite dynamic here, however very limited in terms of synthpop / darkwave / industrial - more oriented to traditional music. Local scene has no impact to the sound of Unit 7.
What does Unit 7 mean to you in 2017? And how does that compare to what the project meant to you guys when it was formed?
In general, 2017 was initial and the year of establishment. Unit 7 is a very novice project. A year of new musical and technical experiences for me.
What do you see in the near, and far, future for your creative output?
I will continue creating music and aiming to gain more musical and technical experience. Also, shape the style a bit towards synthpop and less industrial.
Do you consider yourself to be part of a particular sound or scene? What is your thoughts on the nature of genres and styles, and do you have any particular ones which you find to your enjoyment more, listening and/or production-wise?
I would like to see Unit 7 as part of synthpop / industrial / alternative sound scene. Myself, I'm a melomaniac and interested in a wide spectrum of genres. Due to that I have hard time fitting into regular genres when producing. Some tracks sound as a mixture of everything. Also, I have created some tracks that resulted as plain Pop or metal or IDM. I find Industrial as a very unique sounding genre, hence I try to add some atmosphere in every track.
What would you say are your biggest influences when it comes to art and music? Are there any bands that you would say struck you with the chord that inspired you to peruse your current path of musical aspirations?
Could mention loads of bands and artists. The core would be Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Curve, Front Line Assembly, De/Vision, Gary Numan.
Are you musically self taught? Or have you had mentors along the way to help you develop?
I obtained no formal training. My journey started from buying a bass guitar and self studying it. On several occasions I had chances to jam with drums. In the beginning of production phase I read 2 essential books - (1) Music Theory and (2) Sound Engineering.
Would you say that your choice to pursue music has changed your life since you started? Would you say that creativity has evolved you spiritually, emotionally, or logically?
It definitely changed by taking myself away from my family, which is not a great thing. On the other hand creative process brings some outstanding moments and satisfaction. My creativity comes more from structured and logical perspective. Of course, cannot deny I use emotion to judge the sound and composition when working on a track. I should say it's more technical process with limited emotions.
What would you say are your favorite themes and topics that inspire you to compose? What draws you to those themes?
It's hard do talk about theme/topics when most of tracks contain no vocal / lyrics. The musical part to me sounds angry, aggressive, neurotic and depressive, but probably it's a matter of perception.
What sort of processes do you go through when making music? Do you have a formula(s) that you follow, or do you feel it out as you go along? Or is it more of a mixture of the two?
Still developing it. For now I work in 2 ways:
A.
1. Jam with guitar and bass, create melodies for verse and chorus.
2. Move melodies to MIDI (DAW) and design the sounds (synths/sampler).
3. Program drums.
4. Work on arrangement.
5. Add accents / effects / arps
6. Mix.
B.
1. Jam and program drums.
2. Jam and program bass.
3. Jam and program/play melodies.
4. Add accents / effects /arps
5. Work on arrangement.
6. Mix.
Do you spend a lot of time crafting your own sounds? Or do you value song crafting and effects tweaking more? Or do you find it's a balance between the two? What's your relationships with presets? When you make music are you primarily a hardware or software oriented musician? Or do you do a fusion of both? Are there any particular instruments, programs, or effects that you would say are vital to you making music?
I spend some time for sound design, but mostly starts from a preset and then adjust it. Most of synth lines are sent to guitar distortion or some other hard effects. Even if I adore synthesizers, I enjoy sampling techniques - creating weird sounds from recorded material. Only software synths and samplers are used for production.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have had to overcome in your musical career?
Several, actually. Initially I was struggling with the production process in the beginning. It was hard to admit of myself that music creation is not so easy. Mixing and mastering is also a challenge which still limits the quality of tracks. Definitely, lack of time and also constant disappearance of creativity.
Do you have any other musical projects that you are involved with, or do you have any other musicians or artists that you collaborate with in some capacity? If you could collaborate with any musician or artist, dead or alive, who would it be? And what in particular draws you to want to collaborate with them?
Unit 7 is the only musical project I am involved in. Collaboration would be great experience. In the near future I have high interest in working with songwriter / singer, also remixer / sound engineer.
In terms of collaboration with any musician / producer, I would name Alan Wilder, Trent Reznor and Flood.
Outside of music, what are some of your favorite past times and emotional engagements?
Photography and psychology. Still is.
Thank you so much for participating in this episode of Infidel Interview. Any parting words for your fans, or my audience?
Thank you for this opportunity. High appreciation for everyone having interest in Unit 7 music. Any feedback is very welcome.
Best luck for Infidel Netwerk and related acts.
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