Como Las Grecas welcome Lauri aka «Saine» to the site for todays artist interview. An artist who needs little introduction for those in the know, with releases on some incredible underground imprints. We sat down to find out more about him, his new LP «Ceramics» and whats next…

Q: Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from / how did you get into music?

I’m from Finland and my music making path started sometime around 1995 or 1996. A gaming magazine came with a CD that had Quake demo on it and the CD also contained a music tracker, FastTracker II – it was love at first sight. I had played the piano and the trumpet for a few years before this, but now, I was able to make my own tracks. I got interested in the demoscene and eventually stumbled upon the netlabel Tokyo Dawn Records who I did some of my first releases with. That was in 2001 and some time after I got my first track pressed on vinyl. Great times. I then started studying music production for a few years, continued releasing stuff and never got bored with it.

Q: Who have been your main inspirations (both musical and in «life»)? And how have they affected your sound?

There are so, so many. Miles Davis has always represented one of the ‘definitive artists’ for me in the way he kept on creating these unbelievably fresh things decade after decade, always keeping it cool. From his music I’ve learned a lot about a less is more -attitude; gimmicks aren’t needed to create something powerful, you can just -hint- at something to create a strong effect. In a musical context, some things are better left «unsaid» so to speak.

Q: How would you define the sound of your new «Ceramics» LP?

I largely went with my gut feeling on it. I didn’t want to plan too much or obsess about surrounding trends – they change quicker than the time it takes to produce a record anyway, so that’s a battle you can’t win. But I thought a lot about how it should sound and feel – creamy and multi-dimensional, perhaps – and how it should keep flowing from one vibe to another. I wanted it to have quite an «up to date» sound but with something of a classic LP feel to it as a whole, if that makes any sense. When I listen to records in the living room – if I’m listening to a complete LP I’m quite often reaching for the older stuff. Perhaps they feel less planned and progress more naturally. Don’t get me wrong, I love modern music and modern DAWs (there’s a huge dawless trend happening but the reality is, DAWs are pretty dang useful tools for creating music) but it’s true that they can make you lose perspective and over produce things. In that sense, I do get where the dawless hype is coming from I guess. So while I do love working in a..Dawful..environment, I’ve been paying attention to not overdo the mixing and fine tuning stage, to preserve some life in there.

Q: How has your sound evolved so far? Do you see yourself as part of one style of music?

I’d like to do different things and be able to change periodically, not just stick to one genre year after year. So many things are inspiring. What I play throughout the day might start from experimental electronics, then into jazz and end up with Willie Nelson. Still, everyone’s got their own sound signature, usually instantly recognizable, and I think that’s all right; I’m not the type to try and break the mold every time I start working on something – on the contrary actually – I like to aim for a balance between working inside a safe zone and outside of it, as I think trying for either one of those extremes usually just doesn’t give the best results. Things can end up too comfy – or too serious and forced. Riding that balance is an important part of finding a kind of flow.

Q: What can you tell us about your last release? What inspired you? What do you want to convey?

I guess it’s not any one single thing. Nature inspired me a lot these last years, but cityscapes as well. I’m very much into photography. Over the past years I have become increasingly frustrated about how we humans approach working and consuming. It’s like an itching feeling that we could and should be focusing on better things. I guess it sounds naive but my music is perhaps a way to try and bring something -else- to the table, like, a completely different energy. I don’t want things to feel too rushed or too hyperactive in a way. Of course, the album doesn’t have a message or anything like that, these are more like subconscious things that may or may not end up as part of the actual soundwaves, and at the end of the day I’m just looking to do music that someone out there would enjoy listening to.

Q: What projects are you working on right now?

I’m working on an ambient record with just an old upright piano and an analogue synthesizer. No tempo, no beats. I’m very excited about that, as it’s allowed me to get into different working methods and also get a bit more into recording things «traditionally» once again, which is something I’d like to do a bit more. Anyway, I’ve also got plans for some more beat stuff, but more on all that later..

https://saine.bandcamp.com/album/ceramics