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Interview with Tchok/Tom - 1/9/2005

Rick: How and when did you get started making music?

Tchok: When I was 8 by playing percussion instruments in a folklore group of musicians. I was also dancing with this group, till the age of 16. Then I started breakdancing with a hip-hop collective, listening to the likes of Grandmaster Flash, etc. We would participate in shows and also organise tours around French Guiana and Brazil.

Do you still dance? Does it inform your music?

Tchok: No I don't dance hip-hop anymore - well not often ;-) - and I listen to other stuff now. Afro beat for example.

Tom: I got started making music when I was 8 by playing the drums. I was attracted to this instrument because a guy came to our school and demonstrated a few musical instruments. The one that really impressed me the most was the electric tom, as it produced the purest sound I had ever heard.

Electric tom? Hardware (pickup through amp) or software (tom to midi to synth)?

Tom: Well, I never heard anything pure come out of an amp before! (Just kidding ...) It was one of those simple round electric toms that comes from a kit. The demonstration wasn't even comprehensive of the possibilities synthesized sound has to offer. I think what impressed me was the powerful percussive sounds that could be generated with such apparent ease. The guy didn't need to whack it hard to make the whole room go boom!

Have you ever tried the famed (and expensive) Roland or Korg sample hand drums?

Tom: I briefly played with the Roland one, and I was very impressed at how good I could make intricate and coherent rolls using the tabla kit. The sound quality was very good, and it was fun to play. If I had the money I think I would get one, but it is not a top priority. I recently acquired a very nice udu, which has fulfilled my "hands-on" percussive needs for now.

Tom: From then on I learned to play the drums, and composed songs with a toy-like keyboard/sequencer/synth thingy. After a few years I came across an Amiga computer at a friend's house. He happened to have Pro-Tracker lying around (amongst a whole bunch of games), and it thrilled me to be able to make music with just a computer and to be able to use sampled sounds in my tracks. I was also discovering the electronic dance scene, with minimal, repetitive sounds sending me into a rhythmical trance on many a night. These sensations helped me focus on what I wanted: to make incessant grooves.

"Incessant" meaning a single groove that goes on forever? To what end: trance, dance, listening pleasure ... ?

Tom: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes ... Incessant, in the sense that you can't bring yourself to press Stop. All those ends sound good to me, except the "end" part. :p Seriously though: Making music is a kind of meditation for me, and sometimes the act of repeating a certain pattern, or gesture, will send me into a blissful state of consciousness, where even the simplest of ideas shines through, causing undeniable elation (the hairs on my arms stick up). I try and capture these moments, hoping to share them with others, as others have shared with me (no, not the software :p).

How and when did you make the transition to doing music seriously?

Tchok: Since I was 8. (hehe) Seriously though, my career in music started when I moved to Paris at 19. I started by playing the drums and the bass guitar for studio sessions. I also played in a few groups with a Caribbean repertoire. I then studied audio engineering for 2 years, after which I promptly found jobs in studios, first as an assistant, then as a professional engineer. I discovered electronic music via drum and bass. The discovery came after reading an article in a music magazine talking about a hybrid music with strong hip-hop influences. This instantly caught my attention, coming from a hip-hop background. The article talked about Photek and 4 Hero, so I bought some of their records. It was a revelation for me, and I knew that this was the direction I would take for my own compositions.

I've listened to a fair amount of hip-hop and I'm often very impressed with the excellence of the electronics in it. The songs usually sound crisp, punchy, exciting, and innovative. Do you agree?

Tchok: Yes.

Tom: It happened when I was 18. I was in first year of art college, and I realised art gave me less goosebumps than music, so I quickly dropped out to pursue my interest in audio related subjects.

I had a similar experience in my first year of college ... But my alternative was science: math, chemistry, physics, etc.

Tom: Ah, no wonder you build such great Reaktor ensembles ;-)

Thanks. :-) I am *somewhat* interested in Reaktor's technology/programming. I am *very* interested in Reaktor's potential for musical innovation.

What did you pursue: audio engineering? Do you have a degree in it? Do you work as a professional engineer?

Tom: I have no degree. I learnt through experience, starting at the bottom, making coffee and taking out the trash. My interest in audio helped me learn the trade quickly, and I started working as a professional engineer faster than an audio visual student would have, hehe. I still haven't reached the level of top dog, where I mix platinum albums, but I've worked on a few interesting projects and acquired many skills.

Tchok: I worked to buy some gear and a Mac and devoted my time to arranging sounds. I then managed to get an assistant's job in a recording studio, which helped me fine-tune my technical skills. I've been working as an engineer since, applying my technical know-how to my own music.

What kind of music do you make?

Tchok: I make all kinds of music.

You can hear that from your Reaktions.com pieces. :-)

Tom: Gruuve ;)

Yeah baybey! Where do you stand on the "groove fascism" debate? I.e., the idea that there is an unwritten *law* these days (hence, fascism) that says electronic musicians must create 4/4 dance/groove music, and that everything else (with the exception, perhaps, of ambient) is irrelevant.

Tom: I don't like politics. I enjoy music. If it has electronics or not. If it has a beat or not. I didn't even know this debate existed, hehe.

Perhaps only in my mind ... ;-) Who are your main musical influences, "heroes," etc.?

Tchok: Murcof, 4 Hero, Photek, Ed Rush + Optical, Marcus Miller for the bass, Billy Cobham, etc.

Tom: Too many to mention, but just to give you an idea: Photek, Ed Rush + Optical, Murcof, James Brown, Massive Attack, and the list goes on, and on, and on ...

How much do your "heroes" influence you? Do you try to imitate ... Or do you try to break new ground?

Tchok: They all influence me, and inspire me to cover new ground.

Tom: Of course I try to imitate! As for breaking new ground, that's easy... The hard part is convincing journalists.

Talk a bit about your relationship: Tchok/Tom, Tom/Tchok. Do you exist as separate entities ... Or are you one creational unit? ;-)

Tchok and Tom: Tchok/Tom is just a couple of music-making engineering computer literate geeks who get together now and then to have a fun time. Our idea of fun is making music. We are a single creational unit in the sense that we bounce ideas off each other in order to make one final product. Separate entities we are, but our goal is the same: to make music :-)

Do you each have "solo" careers ... Or careers with other groups? Or do you always play together?

Tchok and Tom: We both have "solo" careers, and careers with other people, as our collaborations are not yet fruitful enough for us to do just that.

Could you talk a bit about what excites you about your collaboration?

Tchok: He's just a lazy bastard hiiiiiiiiiii ahhhhhhhhh, nah just kidding :) I like the way he works with effects, he always has new ideas, and his crazy methods of making "weird" beats. This guy is a genius.

Tom: What really excites me about our sessions is that we are both open to new ideas and encourage each other to try and reach that place where you might not dare to by yourself. I find it helps objectivity in a project to have an "external" opinion to what one of us is currently concentrated on making. Sometimes I may find myself concentrated on playing a sound, and kind of losing focus, thinking "Blimey, this is a load of ****!" whereas Tchok will be sitting back listening to the track as a whole and understanding the relevance of what I am doing to the direction the track is heading in. When I ask him what he thinks, he will either encourage me, or tell me to stop what I am doing straight away! The same also applies when Tchok is playing and I am sitting back listening. Sometimes we both jam together, which is fun also, one doing fx, whilst the other plays a bassline, or something. This is a good fun way to make a simple idea evolve into a more finished piece, or at least some kind of basic structure. You can also dance around and look silly for that extra bit of fun! I think what excites me the most is that we both want to have fun whilst making music, in order to alleviate some of the pain that creativity incurs.


You can find Tchok/Tom's pieces, web site URLs, and email addresses on their Reaktions.com home page.