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  Lotek Interview
interview 0351 added 22.11.05 words: K-Per
technical:
QED
In a world of high definition, digital technology and next level gadgets,
it’s comforting to know some things are still kept on the low end of things. Lotek Hi Fi are a prime example of this, with their new album, Mixed Blessings, out now on Big Dada, Ninja Tune’s hip hop minded sister label. Lotek are producer, MC and mastermind, Wayne Lotek (who you may well remember from Roots Manuva’s last 2 albums), singer and MC Wayne Paul (not to be confused with the other Wayne) and Aurelius (aka Dazzla) the third MC who completes the circle.
After releasing a mini album back in late 2003, early 2004 (which featured the monster riddims of Ram Dancehall) the guys were not really heard of until Mixed Blessings dropped earlier on this year, showing that the mini album was more than just a one off shot, and that the quality on display then is still much alive.
"...Everyone else is always going on about the amazing looking sites [on the internet], but I never find the fuckers. All I find is porn and penis enhancers!..."
With appearances from mister Manuva himself, Big Dada lady of the moment Sandra Melody and former member Earl J, Mixed Blessings was for me one of the best UK albums of the year, yet it has had a very mixed reception from other hip hop related media. Still we don’t care, we think they’re dope and so after a few weeks of back and forthing with the lovely people at Ninja, Kper managed to get Wayne Lotek’s number and arrange for a mid week, afternoon chat. Cue talks of the album’s cultural and musical heritage, the production, the music industry, making albums abroad, what urban music really is, tractor drive-bys, forgotten classical music elements, the pleasure of Freeview and ABC1, penis enlargers, making movies and of course music. So sit back and read on for all the info you could possibly need about Lotek Hi Fi and some seriously interesting insights into music and production. And then get off from your chair and go buy the album!
Ok then, well best place to start would be by introducing yourself to the readers. Who is Lotek?
 Lotek: Err… Well my mom calls me Wayne! I dunno what to say. I’ve been doing music for as long as I can remember, which is a long time… I’ve been doing mainly engineering and studio work for most of it. And then when I was working on the second Roots Manuva album, I got involved more with the front side of things, if you see what I mean, stepping out from behind the desk and the studio to see what happens outside of it, and I basically caught the bug. Thing was I didn’t want to rush into being an artist and making music on my own, so I got a team together and took it from there. I thought it would be better to do it this way then rush in quickly…
How did you choose the people you were going to work with then?
L: Well there were people floating around, people I’d met through working with Roots, people that wanted to do things, and so I started clicking with some of them, and those who I did click with but didn’t follow fell to the side… you know some people are crap and so they end up disappearing and some are good and they stay and stick with what they said, then you gel with some and not with others, and you end up with who you’re going to work with. The people who gelled together, stuck together and they are pretty much those who make Lotek Hi Fi now.
So what have you been up to since the LP dropped?
L: Blimey! The thing is the release date didn’t really have much significance for us, so we started getting busy on other things straight after handing it in to the label, which was back in February. Basically a lot of this album was done around the same time we dropped the mini LP, which was about 18 months ago. So when it was time to hand in the full album, we’d already moved on and learnt new tricks, new ways to do things, make stuff sound better so we did go back and change some things, revisit some tracks, but not too much.
"...I’ve been doing music for as long as I can remember, which is a long time..."
And then we handed that in, and the label had to take some time to prepare it, get the press sorted, so we then just went on to do different things all on our own. Aurelius has gone to France to work with this French crew, and he’s learnt to rhyme in French as well. Which is dope because now we can do shows over there and have him host the whole thing in French. Wayne went to Switzerland to work with some rappers and artists over there, that’s going well, and I went to Australia for a while to work with some Aussie artists for an album, which is going to be released there next year. I’ve got to go back and finish it in the new year.
Right, how did the Australian thing happen then? That’s quite interesting.
L: It was a total fluke, like most things in life! I basically met this Australian DJ at Schlomo’s birthday party, you know the guy who did the beatbox on our LP? Basically he booked a bus to go down to London and pick up all his favourite rappers and artists and drive back to Leeds for a massive free party. So on the way there this Australian girl is talking to Aurelius and turns out she loved our work and was a massive fan. So then she realised who I was as well and we had a chat that night, where she explained how she wanted to bring us over there because she’s a massive fan of UK artists. She works for a label out there and comes over here regularly to buy records and get in touch with people. So she went back, took a loan out so she could buy me a plane ticket and then with that in hand went and found me loads of bookings. No one would pay for the ticket, but with that out of the way she managed to get me loads of gigs. Thing is some places didn’t pay much so she’d be like ‘oh just go in and do like 10 minutes’ and other places put on a hotel and some food so she was like ‘oh I guess you better do an hour there then’! And basically it was a really nice trip and it was the perfect occasion for me to scout Australia out too so that we can come back with the whole Lotek crew and do it proper. The album itself I was working on it all the while I was there touring. I’ve got to go back and finish it all off basically, which should be early next year.
It’s only going to be released in Australia though, I don’t really want to try and make it bigger than that because then it’s more money and more hustle. The people in Australia will be able to cop it and those who want it but don’t live there can always get it over the net, so it works well and we don’t have to spend money and time getting in different continents.
"...Thing was I didn’t want to rush into being an artist and making music on my own, so I got a team together and took it from there..."
I really like the idea of going to different countries and making an album only for that country, with people from there and then use the net to let other people get a hold of it if they want to. I’ve got something similar happening in France as well, that should probably be done after the oz thing. I’m working with singers, MCs and musicians over there, all of them pretty much from North African origin too. It’s a very exciting project, all the musicians play their own folk music, and I’ve found that in a way North African rhythms, and even some of the sounds, are quite similar to Jamaican and Caribbean ones. So that should be happening next year too and it’s going to be dope, trust me. I basically just want to go around and join the dots musically you know?
 And the thing is it was like that with the LP as well, but a lot of people seem to have missed the point. Saying we are trying too hard to be too many things, too many styles, too many influences, on one album. Personally though I read these things, or hear them, and think to myself ‘ok but I thought this was what hip hop was about all along? Making something new, injecting your own influences into it and making it your own’. Some dude reviewed us for Hip Hop Connection and said the album sounded too much like reggae, like we had too much of a reggae influence on there… Well excuse me for being half Jamaican mate! You know what I mean?
Totally…
L: We’ve just finished putting the next single together, which is gonna be ‘Move Ya Ting’, and we’ve got like 3 remixes for it. And we were in the studio putting the finishing the touches to everything and Aurelius said something I totally agree with and which really shows what I’m saying about the music we’ve made, the influences etc… He said that they’re not remixes, they’re de-mixes, because we’ve got like a funk one, a reggae one… If you’ve heard the original, it’s got bits from disco, reggae, funk, hip hop, and so with the remixes we’ve actually gone in reverse and delivered each element of the original as a full version of the track, you know? So we’ve de-mixed the track and in a way it’s good but the thing is when you think about it, it might mean more people actually pay attention to it, and to us, because it’s easier to understand, you know? It’s like instead of being this crazy mash up of styles it’s reggae or funk, which people might be more comfortable with because let’s face it, music today is made to be easily digested, to be easily put into boxes people can recognise.
"...We did go back and change some things, revisit some tracks, but not too much..."
Like I wonder what’s happened to being varied in your music, to doing what you think is right even if it’s never been done, to stepping to the left without being seen as odd, or being given a new name you can be recognised with!? I know, I know! We’ll just call it urban! (bursts out laughing).
Ha ha ha, yeah that sounds about right. If it’s trendy, it’s urban.
 L: And the best part about it is that most urban music is actually made by people who live in the suburbs, not in urban areas. So it shouldn’t even be called that, let’s face it the amount of actual urban areas in England and the amount of music being made under that term don’t match. Like in London everybody claims to live in London even when they live in Essex, with an Essex postcode in zone 6! Give it up! Even Brixton isn’t really London town, it’s a suburb but people don’t wanna admit it there, ‘no man I live in London you know?’ And when I was in Paris I really realised this because over there, when someone lives in the suburbs they don’t claim to live in Paris. They say I live in wherever they are, not Paris. If it takes you 30 minutes to get into town you don’t live in town, you live in the suburbs! Anyways I’m getting carried away, but I just think it’s funny this whole thing about urban music. Like at the MOBOs they had Joss Stone, and she’s from Devon! I mean I don’t wanna slate them or anything, but I don’t think Devon is a very urban area is it? I mean they don’t get that many drive-bys… or maybe they do, on tractors and shit… can you imagine that? A tractor drive-by?
Yeah, you’d better get who you’re shooting though, otherwise they can run after you quite easily! (laughs)
L: For sure. Anyways I’m just hitting at stereotypes now, but the point is still there. So my mission is to explore all the elements of music and make my music based on that, and then in three years’ time bring it all back together when people can actually understand what I’m doing.
"...Aurelius has gone to France to work with a French crew, Wayne Paul has gone to work in Switzerland and I went to Australia to work on an LP
..."
It’s like people who cling onto visions of hip hop as it once was. Like to go back to the HHC example, nothing against them, but it seems like in a lot of their reviews, they cling onto some sort of concept of hip hop which is steeped in their version of the ‘golden era’ and nothing else can really get a chance to shine unless it’s a throwback to those times. And they’re not the only ones to do this. I understand what reggae is and that’s why my music sounds the way it does… I could do a full reggae album if I wanted, without any samplers or anything like that, straight up take on the original sounds and riddims. Thing is there was a time, in the mid to late 90s, when people who made hip hop started making hip hop with influences from other music, other genres, that they maybe didn’t really know or understand properly. So it helped to create a state where things needed to be even more defined for people to understand.
It’s true that as time goes on there seems to be more and more of a push to put things into boxes when it comes to music and frown upon stuff that takes a chance or really goes to the left of a ‘genre’. Hip hop was always about being anything it can be.
 L: That’s it. And like for example you can also look at classical music. I’ve used classical music a lot in my work, because it teaches you about notes, structures and melodies… the western way of course, but still it’s a good thing to know about because it’ll help you in whatever you do musically. So don’t frown on something, just learn about it and then use it for your own ends.
Wicked, wicked. And going back to the LP, was there a reason why it took so long to be released?
L: Mainly geography and the fact that we’re all involved in other stuff. I relocated from London to Birmingham a while back, so that meant we all had to make it here to work together. Wayne has a family so that takes a lot of his time and Aurelius has a job, because let’s face it, none of us can really afford to live off this music thing, not in this country anyway. So we took our time because of those things, and also like I said earlier it meant we ended up revisiting quite a few things before handing in the finished copy. We ended up making some stuff better too, which was good.
"...It was the perfect occasion for me to scout Australia out too so that we can come back with the whole Lotek crew and do it proper..."
Would you say revisiting the tracks was a mostly positive thing then?
L: Sometimes… sometimes it makes it better, and sometimes it ruins it totally to be honest. We messed up quite a few tracks which we’ve hidden away after we revisited them, because in a way there are things you capture on the day you make the original version which you can’t re-capture or make better afterwards. But they’re not hidden forever, they’ll be on a disk somewhere, and I’m sure I’ll pull them out in a few years when there’s a demand for it or something… I’ll do a Paul Mc Cartney on everyone!
Always good for the greatest hits album…
L: Yeah that’s it! Ten years of Lotek or some shit… (laughs)
Well seeing as we’ve talked about the influences and origins of the music on the album, I wanted to ask you about how you guys’ heritage comes through the music… because even before talking with you, when listening to the LP it’s quite apparent and was wondering if it was a conscious choice you guys made or something that happened naturally?
L: Well it was forced on us in a way… but forced isn’t the right word because it implies negativity.
‘Forced’ between quotes then?
L: Yeah. ‘Forced’ in the sense that it was forced upon us by the people involved in making the album. Because of who we all are, this was inevitable, so ‘forced’ in a way. Basically another way to look at it is by comparing it to football tactics. Do you follow football?
"...I really like the idea of going to different countries and making an album only for that country..."
Used to, go on…
 L: Basically in football tactics you can have a situation where you’re forced to use a team where you won’t have an attacking player for example, so you can’t really aim to score loads because the majority of your team are good defenders say. So this is forced upon you, but you can still make it work and win the game. It’s about recognising the strengths of the people you work with and make those work for you. Thinking about this, you could say that US rap at the moment is like club football, where it’s all about the coach playing to his own tactics and buying players according to this. Labels play to their own tactics and buy/sign artists according to that. Whereas Lotek Hi Fi, and a lot of people in this country and elsewhere, we’re more like international football, where you can’t fit the team to your tactics because you can’t buy players, so you work to your own strengths and use those to win games. You explore the strengths of the people you work with, get the best out of them.
In a way it’s the same as when people say that limitations bring the best out of a situation. When you’re limited in who you can work with you can end up with some great stuff because you dig deeper. This is especially true for me because when I first started working on music my equipment was much more limited and I’ve found that it meant I would actually be more creative because of the limitations of my equipment at the time.
So we looked to our strengths and built on that. The Jamaican and Caribbean influences and roots, Aurelius and Wayne’s voices, their different timbres, the way they work together and on their own. Like one has more of a haunting voice where as the other has more of a toasting timbre, so then you work the music around that or vice versa.
"...I’ve found that in a way North African rhythms, and even some of the sounds, are quite similar to Jamaican and Caribbean ones..."
For me it was in a way the ability to write lyrics that are funny, I guess… maybe people will think I’m a cock for saying that! (laughs) But really my strength is being good at bringing the best out of people, organising, overseeing stuff… like a true producer should be able to do, people forget that producing is about more then just sitting in a studio making music. So limitations do bring out the best in people and in the music. And again that’s why we’re doing this de-mixing thing with the new single, and possibly with more stuff from the album in the future. Because by de-mixing the track in a way we’re going back to each member’s strength, their best points.
In a way it’s like you came together to make this album, joining forces, the best of each, and you could now from that go and make 3 solo albums that show how you came together to make the Lotek Hi Fi sound?
L: That’s it! And also making 3 solo albums to start with isn’t like the best plan is it? Not with the way the music industry is in this country anyway! (laughs) It’s hardly financially viable, whereas the way we’ve done it means we can now work on our own solo projects, which will reflect different elements that make Lotek Hi Fi.
Dope. I also wanted to ask you about the production on the LP, because for me there’s one thing on there that kind of really strikes a chord every time I listen to it. It’s the way you’ve made your kicks sound… do you know what I mean? They don’t sound like any other kick I’ve ever really heard recently, and they just make me think of a certain sound, I guess your sound, when I listen to it. They’re ridiculously prominent in some tracks too.
L: Ha ha… yeah well the reason they sound like that is because I make them myself. I don’t sample in a straight forward way, if you know what I mean? Like some people still do sampling in a straight manner, where they just lift different elements from records, say the drum hits, without changing them. So if your ear is good enough you can notice that. Some people will come in the studio and while I’m going through the music, I’ll be like ‘yeah this kick is from this track and the snare is from this’ and they’ll be going red-faced and denying it or something, and it’s just funny. For me though I like to either replicate the sound using real instruments, or change the original sample to a point where you can’t recognise the source and it’s become mine. The kicks on the LP are like that. I really try more and more to do that with all the elements of my music when I can.
"...Some dude reviewed us for Hip Hop Connection and said the album sounded too much like reggae... Well excuse me for being half Jamaican mate!
..."
But I still do some straight sampling once in a while, but more as a tongue in cheek thing, like a little surprise for the true heads to find out. On the mini album for example there’s a shaker at the beginning of a track which is lifted from Justin Timberlake’s album, and it’s exactly the same as it is on there… actually maybe I shouldn’t tell you this because they might sue us… fuck it! (laughs) but yeah that was done as a joke and also a nod to the nerds out there and the fans. And also to say I like the album, but not saying it! (laughs) I loved it when people used to do that in their music, it doesn’t really happen anymore because of the way the industry works and the money involved, and it’s a shame. There are a few other things on the new album like that, I won’t say where or what but those that know will find them.
I see. And you did use quite a lot of session musicians on this LP. I take it’s because of what you’ve just said?
L: Yeah I find it tedious now to go through samples and then having to change them, things like that. So if I can I’ll get musicians in because it makes a big difference to how your music sounds. It’s like now I’m treating musicians as a record box, recreating moods and emotions I’ll find in a sample, bringing that through the music these guys play. Get them to redo a melody for example, or build on it. There were a few tracks we didn’t put on the LP which were basically straight extrapolations of famous classical pieces. This goes back to what I was saying about classical music earlier on. It’s good to look into it, I mean it might not have changed a lot in the last few centuries, but whichever way you look at it, it’s still the standard for western music systems. So with the internet, and some books and advice from people I’ve worked with, I’ve become a bit of a classical music buff and then took that into the music. Those tracks we didn’t put in had loads of crazy classical musical elements that aren’t used anymore today, like 10th and things like that which make the music sound very different. We did it on one track because it was about medieval warfare, we came up with a crazy concept where the music sounded like some proper medieval classical shit and the lyrics were way out there. But in the end we shelved it.
"...It’s like instead of [the track] being this crazy mash up of styles it’s reggae or funk, which people might be more comfortable with because let’s face it, music today is made to be easily digested..."
There was another track, which had an element of it that was inspired by something I heard on a Red Hot Chilli Peppers track. It was from their last album. I bought it for my brother for xmas, and burnt it for myself before I gave it to him… so I did buy it once! (laughs) Anyways on one track they did this harmony with their voices that sounded amazing and I was in the studio one day with this girl we worked with who’s a classically trained musician and she explained to me that it was an 8th, something which is really not used in music anymore, it comes from baroque times and so it gives the track a feeling that’s different to what you hear today, quite unique in a way. But it’s actually something that’s been around for centuries, people just don’t know about it anymore. Ultimately there’s only 12 notes in western music scales, so I find it amazing that there is that much music still being made every year, like millions of tracks, because what most people use, the western music system, scales etc… is actually quite limited.
It goes back to how you put your own twist on it doesn’t it? How you appropriate it for your own ends…
L: Yeah that’s it. It’s all about the twist. And for me also it’s about acknowledging where it comes from. Especially with hip hop and sampling, it’s become quite common for a huge portion of people not to acknowledge where their samples, or whatever they might have used, comes from. It does my head in when people don’t acknowledge the original source, and at the same time aren’t hiding it well enough for some people not to know. Then you have people like Dr Dre who will do it, and props to him for that. He’s one of those who in recent years have really made an effort to acknowledge where a lot of his music, his hits, have come from. And that includes saying it and also him taking musicians he’s sampled on tour with him, getting them in the studio to redo a sample for him instead of sampling it. Which in a way is cheaper then sampling today anyway, when you look at the cost of getting them in for a one off session compared to paying the label that owns the music rights. And also it gives those musicians another breath of life into their careers and shows that we can all work together. It doesn’t have to be us against them or whatever. Most of the times these guys are also fans of the new versions of their music, so it works well. People give a nod, because people need to be more like this today, more artistic in a way, because this is what it’s about. You can’t lie about where your music comes from.
"...I just think it’s funny this whole thing about urban music. Like at the MOBOs they had Joss Stone, and she’s from Devon!..."
It’s like being more professional in a way too?
 L: Totally. And also when you think about it, rappers would never do that shit! They would never bite someone else’s lyrics. But producers can? That’s not right. You can steal a piece of music but not a rhyme. That’s non sense. And it’s funny because I had this guy in the studio recently, and while going over his stuff I realised he’d just lifted this whole bit from a DVD without changing any of it. And while it sounded good it was just plain obvious, and when I asked him he was like ‘yeah it’s ok because it sounds good man’, but then as soon as I explained that it was like stealing another MC’s rhyme, he saw where I was coming from.
And you’ve got quite a lot of featurings on the LP too. I take it the track with Roots Manuva happened quite naturally?
L: Well ‘Move Ya Ting’ was meant to be just for me originally. Roots was touring after his second album and he did a show round here, so in the morning I went and kicked him out of bed and got him in the studio. By then I’d worked with him quite a lot but never actually got a rhyme from him or anything, so I was decided to get him on something. We did it, and he really liked it, called me about it a while after and was just bugging me to give it to him for the new LP, so in the end we did another track for that, which is ‘Move Ya Loin’. So as you can see they’re quite closely linked, we ended up doing a trade off of sorts.
"...Don’t frown on something, just learn about it and then use it for your own ends
..."
And how did you get Sandra Melody on this too? She’s been on quite a few things recently, and she always seems to smack it.
L: With Sandra I met her because I was the one who recorded her vocals for the Diplo track she did for his album. And the thing was on that I did a proper producing job, like I was saying earlier on. I actually helped her choose the lyrics, record them… I even named the song! When she came to me and told me the name, I think it was ‘Goings’ or something like that, I was like ‘nah, let’s call it this instead’. So yeah renamed it, did all the vocals, which ultimately is the lost side of production, the things people today don’t realise a good producer does. It’s more then just sitting in the studio. Producing vocals is really something you don’t really see anymore. So anyway she really liked working with me, and when she was brought in for the Part 2 album later on, she said she’d do it only if I came in on it to produce her. So we got Part 2 down to my place, did the tracks and after that we worked on more stuff together, I went through her lyrics and was telling her to try this and that and some of it ended up on the LP and there’s still more stuff. Basically she hasn’t stopped calling me since and there’s probably enough stuff done now for her own LP, which I think might happen in the future because I wouldn’t mind doing it with her on some solo tip, see what happens.
Where is she from actually?
L: I think she’s from Leeds, but she now lives in West London. I’ve also been working with a guy called Sonnyjim recently, doing a lot of work with him, not just production, but more like what a label would do, advising him, telling him when something don’t sound right, when something needs changing, tweaking etc…
"...You could say that US rap at the moment is like club football, where it’s all about the coach playing to his own tactics and buying players according to this..."
I heard of him… I got his demo CD when I was at Hip Hop Kemp in the Czech Republic this summer… he was on your mixtape as well wasn’t he?
 L: Yeah same dude. He said Kemp was wicked. But yeah working with him on that front, basically being the voice of reason in a sense, instead of being like certain labels where anything the artist does is great, I’m actually taking the position of helping him make sure his album is going to be rock solid in a way. He’s gone back to Czech this week actually to press it up on vinyl and CD and we’re going to try and do it so he can sell them off to shops and distributors and make enough back to set himself up nicely and carry on doing music if he wants to. It might not be shit loads of money, but if you work this well and do it properly you can make enough to live off it and carry on your passion.
Wicked, looking forward to hearing that. And well we’ve reached the end pretty much, so what’s the next step for Lotek?
L: Ahhhhhh! Bollocks, I knew I should have had a prepared answer for this, it always comes up! (laughs) Well the next step for me is I’m going to try and burn a DVD again, for the 3rd time…
Watch some more TV?
L: Oh yeah for sure… also make some carrot juice, I need to go to the supermarket (laughs). Seriously though, next step is going to be Australia in the new year to finish the album, and after that it’ll probably be a new Lotek album at some point in 06 and also a short film and sitcom I’m currently writing.
"...I don’t sample in a straight forward way... It’s like now I’m treating [session] musicians as a record box..."
Really? What’s it about?
L: Well I can’t really say, because I don’t want it to be online for people to read. Because then Ricky Gervais will come in, nick the idea, do it and get an award for it. So I’m keeping it under wraps, even though I really want to talk about it. But basically it’s based on personal experiences, which should give you an idea of what to expect. I guess without giving any of it away it’ll be something that’s about a life of music and music of life, if you see what I mean?
Yeah… are you writing the screenplay then?
L: Yeah doing it all pretty much. Good thing is the short movie is only about 30 minutes, and it’s all in one room with no real decoration, so that should be pretty easy to sort out. And the sitcom will be along the same lines, but obviously a bit bigger. Like I said you will all have to wait before I reveal the masterplan! Mwaahahahahaha (laughs)
Ultimately it’s 2006 and we live in a multimedia world, and while the internet still does my head in, you got to work with it all. I just wish someone would write a goddamn manual for the thing! So yeah the website is on its way too, I’ve got my brother, who is a bit of an internet wiz, to sort it out.
"...[There were tracks] we didn’t put in, that had loads of crazy classical musical elements that aren’t used anymore today, like 10th and things like that which make the music sound very different..."
So expect that soon, it’s going to be dope. It’s not going to be a band’s website, but a website run by a band. So there’ll be loads of stuff on there to do, it’ll look good too, because I never find all the good looking stuff on the net. Everyone else is always going on about the amazing looking sites, but I never find the fuckers. All I find is porn and penis enhancers! (laughs) So ours will be like that, a good looking site. And there’s gonna be a version of Top Trumps on there as well, but with dubplates. Like Top Dubplates Trump or something, and people can have sound clashes and battles… all kinds of crazy shit.
And you can always make some money selling porn and penis enhancers if the going gets rough…
L: (laughs) Yeah if people ask for it, we’ll give it to them!
Wicked. And you got any last words?
L: Yeah… Er… Banana hammock! I’ve been wanting to say that for a while. So there you have it. Also I’m watching way too much Scrubs recently, thanks to this freeview thing… Got to say ABC1 has got some good shit, but it’s a shame it’s all just the same series repeated…
Yeah still, series 1 of Scrubs has some quality stuff!
L: Yeah but the only thing on there that’s shit is that Hope and Faith series, that’s crap. The rest is pretty dope. So yeah got way too much time on my hands these days, so been watching loads of TV. I’m also getting a new laptop soon, custom built with a keyboard, some speakers and anything I need to have a mobile studio I can carry around easily. Basically I want it all to be able to run off the laptop, so I can go in a field and make some music! Make some crazy shit with it and then sell it to someone.
"...Producing [someone's] vocals is really something you don’t really see anymore..."
Maybe I could find some TV channel that wants it, like ITV 7 or some shit! (laughs) I mean seriously how many versions of the same channel do you need? It’s ridiculous, and most of it is just the same shit but one hour behind, which is cool I guess but still it’s a joke… I tell you what I should go and speak to some of these channels that don’t operate between like 6 and midnight or something and get them to let me come in and take over… it’s all about digital TV now and soon it’ll be all there is. So yeah I’m gonna take over some digital channel and bring my own thing…
Lotek TV?
L: That’s it! My last words are watch out for Lotek TV!
Our chat continued on for quite a bit afterwards, touching on the benefits of broadband, uploading files to server and other assorted geek talk. Many thanks must go to Laura at Ninja for hooking this up and Wayne for his time and openness. And be sure to keep an eye out on our reviews section for more info on the other projects mentioned in this interview.
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K-Per
"...Ultimately there’s only 12 notes in western music scales, so I find it amazing that there is that much music still being made every year..."
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