Monday, December 7, 2009

EIC'S10Q'S w/Jon Hopkins

"..take the ambient side of Nine Inch Nails (A Warm Place), a dash of Neo-Classical, mix that with the glitch of Aphex Twin or Telefon Tel Aviv, add a few harsh dub-step moments and you're on the right track..".


Jon Hopkins
Innovative Android Serialist

Jon Hopkins Bio:
Jon Hopkins is an electronic producer who meticulously constructs lush, downtempo arrangements, blending digital beats and soothing ambience. His unique, hypnotic style made him a sought after producer in the pop world, and earned him credits on albums by Coldplay, Massive Attack, Brian Eno, and Herbie Hancock in the late 2000s. Starting out as a gifted child pianist, in his teen years he became interested in synthesized sounds and started making acid house and drum'n'bass on a four-track recorder using computer software. He signed to Just Music at the ripe age of 19 in 2001, and recorded his debut album, Opalescent, while working part-time as a studio session musician in Wembley. His second album, Contact Note, was slightly more cinematic in nature, and gained the respect of Brian Eno, who recruited Hopkins to play keys on his 2005 comeback album Another Day on Earth. Through Eno, Hopkins began working on Coldplay's Viva La Vida as a co-producer before he returned to his solo career, taking three years to complete his 2009 album, Vessels.


Hello, how are you?
Hello. I am fine thanks. I am having some tea.

What are you currently listening to?
I've been listening to a few things recently, Riceboy Sleeps by Jónsi & Alex, The xx album, Totem Flare by Clark.

When it comes to writing music do you start at the piano, the computer, or..?
Tracks with piano at the centre tend to have been written at the piano, and the more electronic ones usually begin with a sound i'll be messing around with on the laptop.

I really love your latest album! Is there any “theme” or narrative behind the album?
Yeah sort of, it has a few ideas behind it but the'yre difficult to explain. On one surface level it's supposed to represent city life vs non-city life, or the idea of living surrounded by buildings and machines vs living surrounded by nature. I love elements of both, and find that periods of doing one make periods of doing the other more refreshing - so I put that across in the album by having acoustic instruments sit alongside dirty heavy bass and beats - each one making the other more effective, in theory. There's other ideas behind it but they're probably too personal and weird to explain.

Have you ever considered scoring movies?
I have actually already co-scored my first feature, it's coming out in December. It's a film called The Lovely Bones, which was directed by Peter Jackson. Brian Eno is the main composer, and I wrote a third of the score along with him and Leo Abrahams. I'm in discussions about starting a couple more too.

What is your favorite song to play live?
It changes every night but I guess Insides is always fun. It gets heavier every time I play it.

What kind of venue do you like playing at?
I do two different types of shows, one is the more classical or acoustic show, which features a grand piano, possibly strings or guitar, and works with a seated audience in a traditional concert-hall type venue. The other, which I generally enjoy more, is the late night set, at a more ravey or clubby night.

If you could collaborate with an artist in a completely different genre, whom would it be?
Jay-Z. Or Smog.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Thursday Afternoon by Brian Eno. I've been listening to it for about 10 years now and still haven't got bored.

Are you living your dream?
Yes I think so.

Thanx Jon!

Jon Hopkins just released a new EP titled "Seven Gulps Of Air", go get it...

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