Alongside his brilliant mix, Kike Pravda sat with Paradox and answered our questions. Many interesting facts about his career, his label Senoid, projects and the techno scene in Spain. Enjoy the read !
- Hi Kike, we are very pleased to host you in our project. What have been up to lately?
It’s a pleasure for me too. Working on new tracks for future releases and new eps finished for this year on another spanish label. Also a shared release with 2 new tracks, all in 12″.
- Your biography mentions the influence of your father in your introduction to the electronic world, especially him being a sound engineer and bringing home some of the currently used analog machine in techno producing. Are you still producing your music with those same gears?
Yes, I have a lot of those gears like TR 909, 808 or TB 303 and a few analog vintage synths. I bought them with the passing of the years. I use them in another way, more processed and some sampled to have a good analog sound library and develop from there new sounds. I use both analog and digital, hardware and software.
- How would you describe your techno style?
Well, I think my productions are deep, rounded and clear with a mix of emotions and various influences. I like fatness in tracks and also transparent sounds.
- In 2012 you founded your own imprint called Senoid. This is also the name of your release on M_Rec in 2011. Is there a particular meaning to that name and the label logo?
Yes you are right! The release on M_Rec was in fact the beginning of all because I liked the name I gave to that track. I wanted to call the label with a waveform name and in spanish “Senoidal” means “Sinewave” so I’ve just liked the name SENOID 🙂 That’s why the logo is a sinewave form.
- How did the idea of creating your own label start? What are the pros and cons of running his own label?
After releasing in labels like Warm Up Recordings and many more I decided it was the moment. All started when Ben Sims did a remix of one of my unreleased tracks called Scared and I decided to release it in vinyl and start with my own label.
Pros: you release what you want when you can or want. You don’t waste time sending demos and waiting for reply.
Cons: I don’t see any cons really. Only the time to wait for pressings etc…
- For now Senoid has only hosted your work. Do you plan releasing other artists stuff in the future?
Well, all releases have a remix except Density EP, because I wanted to try a full EP alone and I had a lot of stuff to release. Of course I hope I can release other artists in the future.
- The Spanish techno scene is for sure one of the most prolific ones. Can you give us an overview of its evolution in the past 20 years?
When I started to play records as a DJ, the club was the common place to hear electronic music: only good sound and good resident DJ, not so much more…but enough to attract people to the club every weekends with not so much big names or guest DJs.
Now it’s very different, you have to make a great event if you want to have 300 persons in the dancefloor … And musically the scene growed a lot with the past of the years.
- Are there solid connections between local artists?
Yes there are, and it is good I think.
- Digging through your discography we’ve noticed that you’ve never followed the trends and always stayed true to your sound from the beginning. Was it hard sometimes to produce and play Techno before it became popular again?
Yes, I had to hear things like…”Does techno still exist?” or “130 bpms? that’s crazy!” And now they are playing “techno” at 132 bpm like a trend or business for them.
- On your early works you’ve been collaborating with another good Spanish artist, Victor Martinez. Do you plan a future collaboration with him again?
I have good memories about those years so yeah, it would be nice.
- What are your connexions with the French Techno scene?
At the moment, my connexions are mainly in the production side. I’ve made a remix recently on Marla Singer’s Label for Audiolux, a producer from Barcelona. But I didn’t have any gig at the moment there. Otherwise, I have a lot of vinyls from French labels and artists… hehe
- How did you build this mix for Paradox?
Using a XDJ 1000 and a Soundbite XL.
- What kind of non electronic music do you listen to usually?
I prefer to make other things than listening to music when I’m not working. That way, I can think, relax or plan… and rest my ears, body and mind.
- Is there anything that you find paradoxical in the techno world?
Yes, some events says “Techno” but the line-up is not techno xD
- What can we expect from you and Senoid in the near future?
I just finished 004 with a remix by Exium and 005 with another great remix too. Both will be released within this year.