Paranerd is the Godfather of electronic music in Moncton. He has a recent release on Low Noise Productions and was kind enough to answer a few questions.
How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you before?
“Do you know Aphex Twin? Kind of like that.”
That’s the easiest way to answer it though it’s too simplistic. I like Aphex Twin, but I was never influenced by his music. I liked his approach to making music and not necessarily all of the results. Just trying a bunch of things, trying to discover new sounds, melodies, beat sequences.
Squarepusher is my biggest musical influence. If I really had to get break it down, I’m a pop artist who’s trying to make something as perfectly poppy as Super Friendz ‘Mock Up, Scale Down’ who really likes to dabble in all kinds of creative things with electronic machines.
What gear/software/techniques did you use in making this recording?
I’ve been playing almost solely with hardware for the past 3 years and this EP is a result of that.
Crassid is Elektron Monomachine, Roland TR8, Volca Bass, Volca Sample, and Roland TB3. I think. I like playing with 8 step sequences and to try to make them evolve without being boring. Plus this track always fucks me up with where the start of the beat is. I consciously know where it is, but I keep getting tripped up. That’s what I liked about it when I first finished it, but now it kind of annoys me!
Tronnel is Monomachine and TR8. There might be some Quadraverb too. The main sound is some FM synthesis sounding like it’s getting stretched and mangle with some live tweaking. The TR8 is playing an 808 clave being effected by the built-in delay which I’m tweaking live to get that sweeping feedback sound.
Yog is Monomachine, TR8, TB3, Volca Sample I think. The Monomachine is playing the rubbery FM acid line with delay while the TB8 is playing the simple 4/4 909 and 808 percs. I think the TB3 is the subtle bass line. Volca Sample are those animal-type of breaths and voices, pitched way down. They’re stock samples from the Volca Sample. There are a number of good ones!
What mood or mental state do you hope to evoke in the listener with this music?
I really don’t know honestly. I like these tracks, I think they have some interesting elements, but I didn’t have any goal or intent other than making tracks I can listen to more than handful of times.
I think the FM elements are nice and raw without being too abrasive, they’re not angry sounding. They just sound cool and different compared to the usual acid 303 techno. I think a listener would think they sound dark or isolationist on first listen, but they’re more playful and whimsy than negative to my ears.
Follow Paranerd on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranerd/
Facebook: paranerdmusic
