Interview: Julien Dyne
It's Friday. We've made it. And we have good news. Auckland/Berlin-based drummer, producer, visual artist and Academy ex-participant Julien Dyne is set to drop the followup to his 2009 'Pins & Digits' LP on BBE sometime early next year, and to celebrate he's got a single out entitled 'Candy Apple Grey b/w Get Closer.' And you can stream it below. The Academy caught up recently with Mr. Dyne briefly about life in New Zealand and his musical experience. Thus the story begins...
You live in Auckland. Give me the pros and cons...
Well, I've been based in Berlin for the last six months, but will be back in Auckland for the summer there. The pros of living there are the close proximity to the ocean, good Asian food, and you can still buy records there. The cons are that there are bad traffic problems, terrible public transport, and many architectural nightmares.
I heard your prime minister recently implored David Letterman to come to New Zealand by saying there were hobbits still? Is this story true? Are they're still hobbits?
Haha , that most cringe-worthy piece of television I've ever seen. Hobbits are still there, lurking in cafes around Wellington.
You're a long-time drummer, did you ever have to do "wind-ensemble" or marching band in school?
Yeah man, I was in the stage band/jazz band at school and the percussion ensemble. The percussion group was called 'Concussion', I think... Ha, such a terrible name.
I read that you were a metal head long before being a jazz head. What metal was your favorite?
Definitely bands like Slayer and Sepultura were big for me as a teenager. I was also really into indie music and hip hop at the time to so i wasn't a real proper metal head with the long hair and what not.
I definitely enjoy playing live, but staying home and making music is probably my favorite thing to do.
Which [drum]sticks are your favorite? I like the Dave Weckl's
Whoa, I never picked you for being a Weckl stick man! Are they the dark red ones? Those are real nice. I got into the Buddy Rich white ones for a while but I think that might have been an aesthetic thing to do with the paint job on them. These days I just use whatever I find in the bag. Wood ones are the best.
Your new album 'Glimpse' comes out soon on BBE. How did you hook up with them before 'Pins & Digits' was dropped?
DJ Vadim sent me a message saying he really liked my music; I was shopping my record around at the time so I asked if he could introduce me to Peter at BBE. They really dug the album and decided to put it out.
Can you give me the difference between this upcoming record and your previous one. Has the inspiration changed?
Yeah, the inspiration and the process have changed since 'Pins & Digits', for glimpse I rely now more on processed synthetic sounds and samples and less on organic live instrumentation. I still relied on some of the same palette as the first record but used things differently. I think this new record is more of a listening record than a dancing record too.
You're touring with Electric Wire Hustle right now, correct? Are you more a touring dude, or a studio dude?
I've been on tour with Ladi6 and we've done a bunch shows with Electric Wire Hustle recently. Those guys are awesome - one of my favorite bands ever! At the moment I'm doing loads of touring and it's fun. I definitely enjoy playing live, but staying home and making music is probably my favorite thing to do.
While touring, do you have any advice for the novices?
Research where the good record stores are the night before you hit a new town.
Give me one thing you always keep in your suitcase.
Clothes.
Lastly, what's in your current playlist for the week?
Too many to mention but here are some recent tracks/albums I've been playing a lot of lately...
Ebo Taylor - Twer Nyame
Paul White - City Bright Lights
Samiyam - Sam Bakers' Album
Dome City Orchestra - Quiet Village
Knxwledge - Gwapes EP
Michael White - The Blessing Song
Matthewdavid - Disk
Elvin Jones - Lungs
Radiohead - King of Limbs LP
The Upsetters - Bus a Dub
Ahmad Jamal - Manhattan Reflections
Arthur Verocai - S/T
Larry Young - Unity
Wayne Shorter - The Soothsayer
Will Bill Ricketts - New Album
Nice one! Thanks Julien.
Thank you!
Julien Dyne's "Candy Apple Grey b/w Get Closer" single is out now on BBE and can be streamed below. Fellow Academy alum, She's So Rad (aka Jeremy Toy) is featured on the track 'Get Closer.' Julien's forthcoming BBE album 'Glimpse' comes out sometime early next year.
CANDY APPLE GREY feat claire duncan by julien dyne