tchan is an artist and DJ that I have been following for quite some time, we first worked together when I debuted a guest mix from tchan on local Chicago radio station, WLUW. I have been closely following her career ever since. Her latest project is full of old school vibes that are guaranteed to make listener’s move their feet and bounce their hips.
How long did you spend crafting this latest project?
It’s been overall 3 years! fast track was the first tchan track -it made me really come to grips with what I should do in music and it made it easier; quick fast one takes with as little flare as possible. The rest of the EP developed over the course of the last year and a half but the idea behind this release is that it’s a collection of tracks that have been shrouded in a lot of self doubt and finally have been given the light they deserve.
Tell us more about this “fast one take, no flare” approach to club tracks?
So, I don’t have a gripe with modern music, I love a lot of what’s coming out but because people are given digital software with no limits anything is possible which is amazing but there’s been less love in modern day for bare bones trax. I came to footwork because it was bare bones, no glitz, no glamour -just complete drum machine brutality. A lot of the dance music I grew up with only had a couple of elements total and people really had to make it work. My idea isn’t a reaction to the big room techno or NXC glitter or high quality club trax rather it comes from a longing for a time that was much simpler. fast Track in total was 4 different elements and 12 loops total, and on top of that I did it in one take. The feeling I got from the process really made me feel a certain kind of special, it reminded of the stuff I grew up with but it was made with my hands. So, from that day I kept the process in mind and have kept tryna one up myself. I don’t mind spending a lot of time on tracks but I love the complexity of simplicity, and a lot of people have lost the idea and feel for it. Hopefully others will get my process and try it in their own unique ways.
So on that note, where did you tend to find inspiration, especially in terms of this album?
Most of the inspiration for this album was drawn from ghetto tech, ghetto house, dis-associative experiences and DOS games. A lot of the sounds I used were ripped from 90’s games. tailwhip is almost all done with “Star Wars Force Commander” samples, the track door creek I swear uses Half Life samples, I don’t remember for sure though -lol. All the rhythms used are from modern Midwest dance music fosho but the glue of all these sounds and how the tracks work out are from the dark period of my life when I was on drugs all the time and transitioning. I don’t really do drugs anymore but 2015 – 2017 I was really into research chemicals and other weird shit. It really fucked w my psyche and how I thought about stuff but it also really made everything much easier to handle. When I put on music during that time it was life saving and even silence or Lowercase felt like music to me. I’d play a video game and hear music and overall my whole idea of music and non-music was blurred for a very long time. I still have that feeling, it’s been a while since I’ve been in that place but how I interpreted reality at that time really gave me the ability to say fuck it to conventional structure and pandering to what others want to hear. That’s why this took so long, because no one makes stuff close to me. I still don’t know how I ended up with a lot of these ideas but I love where I’m going and what’s happened, even though parts of my life have been very detrimental and awful.
I’d like to know more about how video gaming has influenced your music.
I’d be down to do music for a video game, I feel like I’d be good at it -but I’m not a gamer! I wasn’t allowed to play many games when I was a kid and it always was a point of contention for me -and I’m still bitter about it, lol! But I love the abstract nature of the sounds in video games especially during the 90’s. That’s all I could ever play I had a shitty computer for years and was left w 90’s DOS box games.
What would you want your biopic to be like?
I’d like my biopic to be like “Arrested Development” but instead of everyone being a deplorable mess just have everyone act off of emotions and showing (most everyone’s) good side. Everything up to this point in my life has been a hilarious train-wreck and I’d really love to highlight the experience that no one is even close to perfect and none of us knows what’s we’re doing really. I really don’t know who’d play me not many people look like me, they’d need to b really short, lol. I’d love to get someone who does tongue-in-cheek horror to do it, like Lloyd Kaufman or even someone like Larry David to do it. The reason why is because even at the worst moments in my life there’s always a bit of humor added into it. Also miscommunication is a big part of my life, so I’d really love to highlight that. The plot would definitely be along those themes with added surreal and dis-associative horror in it, along with a general theme of never giving up no matter how heavy the punch is.
Can you make us a short 5 track playlist?
Ray Ray – Tell Em (DJ Rashad Remix)
Karen Dwyer – The Workers Are On Strike
Cue-tek – Frogger
If you need info on any of these lemmie know.
(Editors notes: these are some rare tracks, but maybe tchan would be kind enough to share the rest with you)
So Jubilee recently spun one of your tunes on BBC, how do you feel?
I’m fucking stunned I didn’t know I’d be on the BBC ever especially with that track…… If you told me 3 years ago fast track would be liked by anyone enough to be played on the BBC I seriously would think you’re fuckin whatever. God bless Jubilee though, she’s always been mega inspirational to me. Never thought I’d ever get a message back from her.
Anyway, tell the kids to eat their vegetables and make a thing a day and tell them “Lost Data” is out on usb and soon floppy.
