From the home of the haze. Interview with Jenifer Sanchez.

Let's not beat around the bush here; we go back. So who was the artist that lit the fire under you? Was it a family member?

Both. My brother took me to my first real museum show when I was in high school. it was keith haring. it blew me away that such simple, bright, 'cartoonish' stuff was in a museum. It inspired the hell outta me and made me realize that what I was doing, even in high school was worth continuing.


Do you think New York is still a good home for an artist? Or has it just become a haven for the rich and famous?

Once again, both. Good for an artist because I'm not sure if there is any other place in the US with so much and such a diversity of art. Let's not down the rich and fabulous - they are supporters of the arts; even if the art is being used as a status symbol.

Who would you say has had the most impact in support of your work?

My brother, mom and dad. But various people that have come in and out of my life. particularly my dad. I remember one low point (scraping by, crappy job) when i first moved to nyc he asked me, "what am i doing w/my degree?! why don't i have a real job" or something to that effect. I remember saying, "what else am i gonna do?" it was his not understanding what i was doing that pushed me more. It's totally unrealistic, but romantic to move to nyc and think you're gonna make it. There are a lot of people doing the exact same thing - you're just a drop in the ocean.


Your academic background isn't as a painter, but as a graphic designer. How do you think this affects your work?

I actually graduated w/a double major in fine art and graphic design and minored in art history. most ad campaigns may get you to buy their product but another important goal is brand recognition. Simple, bold design concepts work the best and this has translated into my painting. i like bright colors and capturing movement thru an unpredictable spaces. They leave an impression on people; a sense of exploding optimism.


How do you see your technique developing over the coming years? Will you start working on larger canvas space?

I really don't know. I look at what i was doing just 3 years ago and amazeed at what I'm doing now. but yes, I would like to work larger.


You've lived in the same New York City neighborhood way uptown for some time. What is it that keeps you so far from the downtown art nucleus?

"da haze" - really, that is a perk.
I prefer to call my neighborhood 'little D.R." or 'upstate manhattan' because fort tryon park and the cloisters are right there. I love living away from manhattan proper; it gives me a rest from the craziness. I lived on w13th st. for nearly a year and did not like it so much. But at the same time i do love all that manhattan craziness has to offer. I just don't need to be in it all the time. artists are not just downtown. i think that's a big fat myth. no artist i know can afford the rent. Few art establishments aren't uptown because the average tourist isn't willing to go that far to see art.


Are there any upcoming exhibitions we should look for?

Thomas Nozkowski, I think at Pace W.
Yoko one and Donald Judd have shows up now too.
Ahh and Jesus Christ the Courbet show at the Met!


Word has it you're planning a bit of a home base change; are you able to elaborate at this time?

We, my boyfriend and I, have decided to keep our options open. we have it pretty good here in nyc.
I only go to the j-o-b 20hrs/wk and he only works 4 days/wk. originally we wanted to move ideally to southern Spain.
now, we're motivated to continue eliminating our hrs at work and visit spain for longer periods of time. Still working on Spanish citizenship though - always good to have another option in case the shit hits the fan!

Is there anything you were hoping I wouldn't ask?

How much i weigh? How much i make?


Has working with a yoga center for some time made you a more focused person?

Yes, i think so. The practices really. meditation helps you realize all the same thoughts that run in your head over and over again. Once you see those you get that that's all they are, thoughts not truths.


What are you reading right now?

My two trusty art fag magazines: Art in America and Art news.


Well, be good, and bring me something nice from Europe. You missed my birthday.

Bitch, you always miss my birthday!


go here for new work http://miss-sanchez.com

Coachella 2008

Wow wow and more wow... not exactly what I expected from the ninth installment of this once a year, desert throw down known as Coachella. Yes, the meat heads were there along with the so-cal and NYC mega hipsters, but what was most surprising was the ease in which one could simply opt to not deal with the bullshit. I must mention that we in fact had the much sought after main stage badges which we could have done without, seeing as we spent the majority of the time either at our rendezvous point (the big rig art installation by some Brooklyn artist) or in the mix with john q public. The times we did venture out to backstage was mainly to use the much more pleasant bathrooms or try and sneak a peek at the purple midget.

And the Sheffield Messiah himself, Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin (with child and wifey in tow) was present. Out of the gate, I got the weird feeling that everyone there was expecting a trademark live set, not the dj set we were assaulted with. As his weapons of choice, he used freestyle, house, techno, jungle and every other dance genre under the sun to transport us to an early 90's illegal warehouse all nighter. Not a lot of motion or emotion from the conductor except some guru-like crowd pointing. Here's an example of popular consensus which can be found on various online forums: "Was anybody a little underwhelmed by the performance? Granted it is RICHARD JAMES and yes HE WAS THERE AND PLAYING IN AMERICA, but I felt like he wasn't really into it and more or less was just pressing play..The playlist was amazing, but honestly I think Diplo killed it before he came on (with MIA coming on at the end too.)" In reality, his set was more of a perfectly mixed sonic history lesson than the hype fest, prefix set from the previous dj (Diplo). Then to completely squash his infamous rep for being a major Brit douchebag the guy goes and poses for photos with the swarming fanatics backstage. Not only could you have a flick taken with him but could also pour your heart out (about how you now build oscillators for roland) and he was responsive. I guess a 15 year hiatus and wife and kid have done the man once known as "pac-man" a whole lot of good.

Instead of blabbing on about how absolutely amazing Portishead's live show is, from the sensory throbbing visuals to the "by the seat of your pants" set list, I dare the critics and bashers (yes there are some) to disgrace themselves by denying this band their much earned respect. How can anyone ignore lead singer Beth Gibbons' emotional nakedness and refusal to do interviews, three classic albums back to back and yes, their truly soul moving live performances.

They followed the godfathers of electro pop themselevs Kraftwerk and in retrospect with a very cosmic feeling that you just know nothing will EVER compare to this. It just felt like we could have listened all night and some how come out better people.

Roger Waters was Music-as-Theater taken to its highest level, all to the backing of one of the truly landmark recordings in Rock n' Roll history, Dark Side of the Moon. As the amazing, perfectly clear 5.1 surround sound system elevated us, we were brought back to earth by a plane circling right above. The sound and special effects were amazing. This was one of the best, if not THE best, set I experienced at Coachella. Everything has been said about this, but the amount of work that went in to this production is astounding.

At days end, the fact still remains that one must experience something if one is to form a valid point of view. There's that seedy winter music conference vibe without any of the funny british fashions. The underbelly of the festival also features gangs of gypsy like, tech-fiends out to beat one and all security systems. Well organized and with no self-respect to be lost, these clans are next to impossible to stop and loads of fun to watch operate: in the hopes of not just getting nasty VIP riddled party girls to go down south on them, but to also plug their new made for TV street hustle, all the while smoking grade A dankness outta glass pipes, across from from demi-god and host with the most founder Paul Tollet!

I - F interview circa 2001

When did you start DJing and what were you playing?

I started mixing in the early 80's. Had my first gig in some fancy disco when i was around 16 but got kicked out after a minute or 30 playing "Robot is Systematic." It really started around 1992, in "De Blauwe Aanslag" in Den Haag, playing Acid, Techno and Electro with or without Unit Moebius.


Outside of Italo and Electro, what other types of music do you like?

I like a lot of music from anytime or anyplace.


Do you think mixing technique or musical taste is more important? Or are both equally important?

Both are very important. And not all records go together while other ones go perfect. You need to know your records from A to Z and anticipate the impact regarding the atmosphere. It's easy to play only hits for 2 or 3 hours, but my idea is to take people up, down, left and right. New music, old music and different styles.


Do you prefer DJng or playing live shows? And how do you see the differences between the two?

I prefer DJing. Saves me a lot of carrying things around and I have more songs to choose from.


So how do you find time between producing, DJing, remixing and playing live? It seems like the days are too short for you; how do you keep going?

By being picky.


Are you going to continue making songs as I-f?

I do not know.


You also run www.viewlexx.com and www.hotmix.nl can you tell us the idea behind it and what it is?

It's a relatively cheap and easy way to reach people anywhere on and off the planet and show them what we do and why we are on your planet.


Are there any upcoming plans for live shows as The Parallax Corp. scheduled outside of the Netherlands?

Probably I-f vs Alden Tyrell in Barcelona. No date confirmed yet. And we also play stuff from the Parallax Corporation. 30th of March I DJ together with Intergalactic Gary in Berlin. Cocadisco does Berlin!



Top 5 cities to DJ?

I had a lot of fun in a lot of different places. But Barcelona is always extra...


Are there any cities that you haven´t played that you would like to go to?

Panama City.


What other interests do you have outside of music?

Movies and 80's BMW's. My favorite movie is "Dune" by David Lynch. I'm a sucker for gangster/police and conspiracy movies. I got a lot of favorites, but a few important ones are 'The Parallax View', 'Bad Lieutenant' and 'Assault on Precinct 13'

As for the BMW's I like the 323i/325i made till 1986. (Without the plastic bumpers and
all that crap.) A really fast one is one's ultimate statement of personal individuality.

the "Luke Eargoggle" show by Juan Jose

X-mas may have come early, blessing Miami's 23rd Winter Music Conference with an uncharacteristically top electro line up for the night simply billed as "Something Simple". The event was held on Friday, March 28th and hosted in Downtown Miami's PS14. Organized by Miami based label Transient Force "Something Simple" was headlined by Detroit's Brendan M. Gillen A.K.A. Eectomorph and Gothenburg's Lukas "Eargoggle" Pettersson. The supporting acts were a plethora of local electro talent including: Gosub, Alpha 606, Vidrio, Nomadic, AS1, Hectic,Spectre313, Wundt, Medley, Karakter, Uprokk. With a line up like this there should have been very little complaints about the no show of DJ Godfather, who was originally billed as the event headliner.

Ending their set was Alpha 606 with their blend of crisp bass notes & Afro-Cuban drums. As the trio's set progressed the dancefloor concurrently filled. Their fast pace electro was setting the tone for the Electro assault that was on the way. Instantly following Alpha 606's set there was a rush to the stage. Ectomorph had began to set the tables on fire. The thirteen year published artist and label head of Detroit's infamous Interdimensional Transmissions is also serving as a Moderator for the nicknamed "Legends of House" discussion panel along side Hank Shocklee, Frankie Bones, Carl Craig, Cornelius 'Atlantis' Harris, Man Parrish, Jesse Saunders, Junior Sanchez and Juan Atkins. His techno to electro seamless mix proved to be the crowd favorite. He ended the set with a few of his own productions and the classic "Space Invaders are Smoking Grass" by I-F.

Next up was one of Miami's original Electro producers, Shad T. Scott performing under his Go-Sub alias. The prolific artist is not only the main man behind Isophlux Records but after a four year hiatus has recently released on a slew of imprints including Citinite, KONDI, Point.One Recordings, Frustrated Funk, Device, and Transient Force. Tonight's energetic hour long set flooded the small venue with warm analog sounds flecked with intricate bass lines that manage to seam both blindingly simple and ridiculously complex simultaneously.

The receptive crowd seemed to slowly diminish to a steady fan fare of 15 or so electro heads and friends. I guess it's going to be another disappointing turnout for a rare and great Electro line up in Miami. You would figure that in a city known or its Electro roots, you would have a steady flow of supporters and fans coming through. I guess the House and Trance that has flooded WMC in the past years is the new sound of Miami A.K.A. Little Ibiza.

After a brief intermission and with little enthusiasm, Luke Eargoggle hits the stage around 2am in front of a small intimate crowed comprised of a few Miami local DJs & promoters, event staff, and some conference stragglers who can't quite leave 'til they come down from whatever they're on. Hailing from Gothenberg, Sweden, Luke Eargoggle is the proud mastermind behind the Stilleben Imprint and owns over 10 pseudonyms. Hidden in the rear part of the stage Luke begins his set as Ectomorph and crew began to take down their set up. So much for stage appearance. Fortunately stage appearance is not Luke's strong point. After a teasingly long intro of icy electro abstractions and eerie melodies he began wrecking the floor with slight reworks from his "Audio Warrior" LP and a few unfamiliar tracks that sound a lot like his Catnip collaboration with Legowelt: funky Electro / Disco beats and beautiful synth melodies combined with oddball vocoder vocals that weren't overbearing or excessive. 45 minutes into his set Luke stops the music and humbly raises one hand thanking the supporters. The pumped crowd of less then 10 begin to clap, whistle, and scream for an encore. Never getting their wish, Luke bows and unplugs his headphones. I'm not sure how he feels about coming from Gothenburg to Miami to play for a handful of people but I know those people who were there were very appreciative for this rare opportunity to party with the "Audio Warrior".