Born exactly nine months after Frank Aquilera set the world Frisbee distance record (168m) in Las Vegas and Bruce McCandless made the 1st untethered space walk, Vodge Diper knew he was destined for things larger than himself.
Even from a young age this prestigious producer knew that writing a bio in the third person was his calling in life. He realized quickly that one of the best ways to start such a bio would be to make up a bunch of stuff about how his parents spent years touring the world with great acts like Mozart, Feed Me, and Depeche Mode, when the truth was that he secretly listened to Tubular bells and Thriller on vinyl when his parents were out. After this period of his life it wasn’t long before talk of his early influences gave way to lists of top shelf DJs and slightly shorter sentences.
Having listened to songs played by such world renowned artists as Cold Blank, Deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner, he gained the confidence that was needed to bring his own brand of winning to the International stage. He is a keen follower of cutting edge music technology and consequently decided to take a leap of faith and create a Facebook fan page. This went down a storm, with everyone from his best friends to his family joining within days. It was at this point he realized that he could finally fulfill his calling in life.
His Soundcloud page on the other hand reads like a corset of sonnets dealing with the tragic difficulty of being both an introverted superstar and a simple 3rd person bio writer at heart. However knowing that if he could sum up his life in a 500 word bio he would die of sheer embarrassment, all he asks is that you experience the hype for yourself. But remember, one day he might decide to destroy you all.
SUM: Hi Vodge, glad to have you here with us. Let’s begin with your age and where are you from?
I’m 28 and while I’m from the UK, I’ve spent the last 5 years living in South Korea.
SUM: How is the support towards your music from your country, and how is the support from your country to Electro and Dubstep in general?
To be honest I have no idea about the UK but here in South Korea it’s kind of a mixed bag. There’s been a ton of support for my music which is obviously really nice but as for the scene as a whole, it seems to be largely dominated by Dutch style house and progressive – neither of which are that interesting for me. There’s a night up in Seoul called Bass Attack which play all kinds of rough and ready Dnb, Dubstep, andd bass music of all kinds but they really are at the head of the pack with regards to that kind of music.
SUM: Tell us how “Vodge Diper” came to be? How would you define your style and who/what are your musical influences?
‘Vodge Diper’ was basically started as an outlet for my more noisier ambitions. The name was a joke between Cold Blank and I which stuck and the project itself is more of a side project for me. I have a number of other projects which I love but sometimes, sometimes you just gotta make a whole bunch of noise ya know.
SUM: How many hours a day do you see yourself doing your magic in your studio?
I’d say on average, I spend around an hour a day on music at the moment. I’ve been making music for almost ten years now and sometimes this is the least I’ve ever spent per day making music. It’s actually quite refreshing and my time is much more productively spent. I used to spend hours slaving over kick drums or tweaking mixes but after so long that stuff becomes intuitive, you just know what tools to reach for a create the desired result, and consequently your time can be spent on the many other pleasures of life.
SUM: Currently you have a single that’s it’s been played like crazy around the world, charting at Beatport.com and getting faved at social networks!. Do you want to tell us about the track? Also, Please describe shortly the creative process of that single , what inspires you and what tools you use Software/Hardware that helped you to make this original production a reality.
The track started out life as a demo from UNIX. He sent me this idea for a track which was never intended to be a collaboration but it had these chords which I loved so much that I just had to muscle my way into things. Many years ago, I would just make whatever music could, but these days I feel confident that I could make pretty much anything so I really have to feel inspired before I start on a track. This is nothing like how I used to do things; I’d open my favorite synth, start playing around and this would slowly develop into and idea. These days I have things going round in my head and then I bring them into being. Some kind of alchemy shit right there – the whole creativity thing still confuses me…
As far as hardware/software is concerned, I usually stick to my trusty UAD/Waves combo at home although I do like to at very least listen to eveything in the studio. Producing at home for me is just so much more direct, so much more real. When you’re in a big studio, for me at least, it’s hard not to get caught up in or at very least slowed down by presence of not only a huge amount of gear, but also other people. I work much more efficiently if I’m alone.
SUM: Tell about Unix, how did you meet? how did you agree to collaborate on “Down Line Spock”, how did you find common ground to create such a master piece?
I actually have no idea how we met but I know our common love of jazz and all things harmonic was a factor in us staying in contact. Our abilities seem to compliment each other too so it always just seems to work.
SUM: If you had the opportunity to collaborate with one artist, who would it be and why?
It’d have to be either Skillex, Feed Me, or Noisia. Basically anyone who communes with the Bass Gods on a regular basis.
SUM: What is coming next?
As far as my Vodge Diper project is concerned, I’ve really started to improve my skills over the past year working as a mix engineer so I’m kind of excited to apply that to my new material. I’m still trying to work out the kinks but I’m trying to mix Rock and Metal with bass music to create something a little fresh. It certainly won’t be for everyone but at least it will be different so we’ll see how that goes. And of course there’s my other projects, both musical and otherwise which always need to be attended to.
SUM: What is your biggest passion apart from music, tell us a bit more about you as a person.
I basically spend all my free time reading, working out, meditating, and eating. A lot.
4 Random Questions
SUM: If you were lucky enough to win the lottery, what would you do?
All the music. I would do all the music.
SUM: Name an expensive thing that you bought and now regret buying.
No regrets man! Also it helps that I don’t really buy expensive things…
SUM: Ben Affleck as the next Batman, thoughts?
Good for him I guess but I’m not interested in that kind of thing.
SUM: Message for your fans?
Work hard and be nice to people.
