Hd Substance creates music that works in all settings and transcends genres. His openness to a wide range of sound is what has both made him a widely loved favourite, but also someone who operates in his own parallel musical world. We had a chance to talk to him, so enjoy your reading and check out his latest releases.
Can you tell us a little about your
experience? Where are you from / how did you
get into music? Was it all internet based?
I am 50 now, so it’s a long story. Basically
I’ve been into electronic music since I was a
teenager, playing in bands as a drummer,
singer or synth player, then in the beginning
of the nineties I started the Hd Substance
solo project until today.
I was born in a very musical era, you could
hear underground music on the radio and all
the big department stores had their record
section you could search while your parents
were shopping. Obviously back then there was
no internet, not even computers in every home.
Who have been your main inspirations (both
musical and in «life»)? And how have they
affected your sound?
My life inspiration its life itself, day by
day I get a new inspiration or reason to be
alive in the middle of this huge shit
container that the world is now. Musically
speaking my main inspiration as an artist
comes from outer space and non-existent places
in my dreams.
How would you define your sound?
Electronic music with my own touch, any genre,
any vibe.
How has your sound evolved so far?
I found my own sound quite a while ago, I know
exactly what suits me and what can I extract
from my tools.
What can you tell us about your last job? What
inspired you? What do you want to convey?
I guess you mean my last musical job or
release, not the normal job I have. The album
was cooked using a particular procedure,
trying to use the methods I used in my
beginnings, when I was fresh and noninfluenced by any technical shit. No computer
was involved in the creative process and all
tracks have been recorded live in one take
using analog and digital synthesizers,
sequencers and drum machines of any kind.
What can you tell us about each song that
makes up your latest work? What is hidden
behind?
There’s nothing hidden they are just
collections of sounds, sequences and rhythms
created specially for every track.
How are you living the current situation
because of COVID? Has your work affected you a
lot? Do you think there is hope? I feel like
the underground scene will continue to
persist.
Looks like the nightmare it’s slowly going
down, but it has been a really weird period as
an artist. Our thing basically disappeared
from the face of earth. The streaming thing
didn’t captivate me as it was overloaded with
mediocre stuff. Luckily the creative imprompt
didn’t disappear so composing wise it’s been a
nice season.
What projects are you working on right now?
Same as always, working during the week and
spending time in the studio during the
weekends, also doing some hiking every day to
reconnect with mother nature.
