John Tejada
The synths, sounds and science behind his new album
Born in Austria, John Tejada moved to LA in the summer of 1982 where he quickly identified with the sound of early Hip-Hop. By the age of 12, he was already performing rudimentary gigs with his first set of turntables and a mixer. As the era flourished with new electronic modes, Tejada became as much fascinated by the production process as the technology itself. While still in high school, he purchased an Ensoniq EPS sampler and started experimenting. Collaborating with long-term friend Arian Leviste, the duo composed and pressed their first single in 1994, although a more fruitful partnership began when Tejada joined forces with classical jazz guitarist Takeshi Nishimoto to form I’m Not A Gun.
By now, Tejada was DJing across the globe and emitting solo releases on diverse European labels such as A13, Multiplex, Generations and R&S, yet his career really took off in 2004 following the release of Techno classics Sweat (On The Walls) and
Mono On Mono, which together sold 23,000 vinyl copies. Equally successful follow-up singles and a raft of albums cemented Tejada’s reputation. His brand new album, Signs Under Test, displays all the hallmarks of an artist who is highly adept at creating electronic music for multiple environments.
FM: What was your path from Austria to LA?
John Tejada: “I moved from Vienna to LA at the age of eight, so I pretty much grew up in LA. My mother is from LA and decided to come back home. That was back in ’82. While some things were a bit of a culture shock, I quickly got exposed to a lot of music that had a strong impact. Before that, I was only exposed to classical and a bit of The Beatles.” Was the Techno genre your first influence or were there other artistic influences? “Once I got to LA I got my first taste of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Rush, which made me want to start playing drums; something I still do with Takeshi Nishimoto as I’m Not A Gun. The other sound that had a massive impact on me was this mixture of electronic experimentation that made its way to me through the Hip-Hop scene. We had a great station here in the mid-’80s called KDAY. It mixed a lot of sounds together, from US Soul/ Funk to European music and the NY sound of Arthur Baker/Newcleus/Man Parrish, and their peers. I also loved LA’s Egyptian Lover and Uncle Jamm’s Army, Chris the Glove, Dr. Dre, The Wreckin’ Cru, and similar artists.”
What effect did these artists have on you? “They led to me wanting to figure out how to DJ and how they were putting these sounds together and making mixes. I was able to get a set of decks and a mixer and started DJing at school dances. My main influence was always this experimental sound that my ear gravitated towards. A lot of early Hip-Hop comes to mind, like Marley Marl Scratch by Marley Marl Feat. MC Shan, or the first records where artists sampled drums and programmed them, which sounded totally future. The way that groups like Art Of Noise and Kraftwerk put sounds together really haunted me. It was this experimentation of electronic synths and samplers that led me to a more Techno sound, then I got some hints of Acid House, early Detroit and sounds from artists in the UK who I always thought took those influences a bit further. Especially the Ambient House scene at the turn of the ’90s, which had a mix of everything I liked: Hip-Hop beats, synths, DJs flying sounds in and out, Sci-Fi themes etc.” “Initially I was doing local gigs from the age of 13 and through high school. These were more on the Hip-Hop side of things. This led to a spot on a local college radio show on KCSN called ‘The Fly ID Show’, so most of my playing at this time was on the radio every Saturday. I was still too young to get club gigs, but influences from the electronic side were really taking over. It was around ’90/’91 when my interests really switched to electronic Dance music.”
What gear did you first buy? “My first little experiments in the late ’80s were on a four-track cassette and a Digitech delay looper. After that I got my first workstation, an Ensoniq EPS from my friend DJ Nu-Mark. Soon after I started using a couple of synths like the Casio CZ-101 and Juno-60, which were very cheap at the time, and they just opened things up in an incredible way. In 1991 I
What were your initial DJ gigs like?
started working with long-time collaborator Arian Leviste who also had a Juno-106, plus a Roland TR-909, Alesis HR-16B drum machine, a Mac with Studio Vision, and other things. We put everything together and just started trying to make music.” “With Signs Under Test, the songs do seem to have a common theme; there was something about that collection of tracks that tied it together. There’s a dreamy undertone, which continues throughout. It’s a tough thing for me to judge, but I just got into this mental mode of a theme, then I was able to create this little universe inside my head.” “I’ve always enjoyed listening to music at home and just really concentrating on it, so in a way I guess that’s what I’m always writing music for. With an album, I feel it should really take you on a journey and be listenable to in a variety of spaces. It’s surprised me that some of my music has made its way into clubs, and vice versa. Usually when it comes to albums I don’t worry if anyone is going to bother playing it out. That’s more of an objective with singles, as the format is really for DJs – at least that’s the way I saw it growing up.” “I’m always trying to experiment with different processes, but after 24 years it really just comes down to sound design, melodies and rhythm, and the process behind that is more about really feeling comfortable in a good workspace. I’m trying to move forward without overcomplicating the process. Sometimes moving forward might mean backing off a bit and I do feel like I’m taking the next step with this collection of songs. There’s less of my influences on this one and a bit more me; perhaps that’s what I’m ultimately working towards.” “For at least ten years now I’d say 95% of my sounds are from hardware instruments. Of course, when I first started it was 100% because DAWs didn’t exist, so hardware is what really guides my music making. While I find DAWs interesting,, I don’t find them very interesting for creating music. I loved those days of just getting lost inside the EPS or an Akai MPC, so for that reason I’ve become a huge Renoise fan. Half the album was done in Renoise, but now I’m using it all the time – except for things like multi-tracking multiple input channels or sessions that have tons of stems streaming from disc or writing to picture. Then I’ll use Logic Pro or, if I’m jamming with friends, Ableton is really handy for capturing multiple inputs without having to stop. At the moment Bitwig is really catching my eye; at first I thought I was looking at something familiar, but now I realise there are some fantastic new features under the hood.” Do you see the album as an evolution of your sound or the genre itself? Your new album, Signs Under Test, is quite old school sounding. Is there a concept behind it? How might DAWs be enhanced to bridge the gap between software and hardware? “I feel at the moment they’re all lost in this sort of paint-by-numbers system of large sound banks and preset audio clips. I’m not a fan of every EQ and compressor emulating the same old thing with the same vintage gear imagery that everyone is using. Something like Renoise doesn’t really sell itself because it makes the user think and make something from scratch. I’d like to see less emulation and more original, unprecedented ways to use a computer in an interesting and fun way. Numerology 4 is also quite amazing. We’re dealing with code after all, and I would rather have a new concept in the box than trying to get people into believing they are using analogue hardware or anything related to it. I find these GUIs really distract the process. I don’t want my computer to do things from the ’60s and ’70s – its 2015! It could be argued that Renoise is also a bit vintage-based, but it was an idea specific to working in the box which has been developed in a modern way. I find developments in that direction more interesting.” The album sounds as though it can co-exist between the dancefloor and home listening…
What software DAW are you using?
What about plug-ins or VSTs? “I’m a big fan of the FabFilter plugs. They don’t emulate the same old thing and have UIs that I really enjoy using. The Valhalla effects are very nice. Native Instruments Reaktor is still very useful as well. As far as emulations go, I do enjoy my UADs and the Apollo interface, especially with the Thunderbolt Option Card. I use them on the way into the box, as they now have some nice preamp emulations that give everything that feel of going through pedals, and the latency is negligible.”
How about outboard gear? “I’ve got the SSL buss compressor, some rack EQs, lots of pedals from the likes of Strymon, Eventide and Metasonix, and a Roland RE-201 tape delay. It’s fun to have some interesting things to process the sounds on the way into the computer rather than always going through plug-ins.”
Do you mainly mix in the box? “I do at the moment but my experience has always been of using a console. After dumping my last console I used a summing mixer. I feel I have a better understanding of these now, so I’m actually enjoying that element. Treating things on the way in makes everything a lot more fun, I just need to be careful of phasing issues and cutting things out.”
“Latency in the box, especially when using hardware instruments and effects, such as IO inserts. It’s gotten better but, when you’re also syncing external hardware, things can get a bit challenging. I don’t think any of that should even be an issue, but unfortunately it is for me. It seems DAWs sort of ignored people wanting to incorporate hardware into their set-ups, but now that hardware’s become so popular again it seems that third parties like Innerclock are making tools to keep things in time and DAWs are also finally thinking about it. Things have definitely improved in the last couple years.” “It seems to be going full circle. A lot of nice and simple ideas are coming back. Ideas and sounds that we once deemed old and minimal have become interesting again, simply because they are good, functional and let you do creative things quickly. Maybe that’s something which only benefits how I want to work, but it does help me a great deal and prevents me from having limitless options.” “This point comes up a lot in conversation. I just feel it’s unnatural to work with as many options that you get when working with modern DAWs. It’s become a clichéd statement these days, but still holds a lot of truth for me, especially in relation to how young people are introduced to music-making on computers these days. I guess I sound a bit ‘when I was young we walked 10 miles through the snow’, and it comes down to personal experience of course, but I couldn’t imagine being introduced to the current modern production. The experience I’ve gained over the years, including the learning process, is something special and perhaps nostalgic for me. Simpler tools are definitely being introduced and small hardware is making a huge resurgence, so maybe there is something to that after all.” “I’ve always wanted an Oberheim Xpander. I got to play with an Oberheim Matrix 12 recently and just loved it. I keep passing on Xpanders though. I’ve got enough to play with in the studio as it is, but maybe one day. That and a Roland System 700 and some other more unattainable pieces, but the Xpander is a probably bit more realistic.” “For me it’s more about getting back to what feels good and what makes me happy instead of trying to ignore those instincts to push on into some new territory that I think I should be exploring just because it feels foreign or is some huge challenge. I have this conversation a lot with friends who have really influenced me and they seem to have the same challenge of embracing the qualities that make them really unique, because the process is what suits them. I do welcome the challenge of new ways of working, What technical issues do you still find yourself coming up against? How do you hope to see electronic music technology evolve?
Can too much choice become a problem?
Is there anything on your studio gear wish list? How do you think your long experience in the industry influences your music for the better?
like learning new hardware or software, but I feel that musical ideas shouldn’t be as challenging.” “Yup. I don’t really get the point of that to be honest, unless it’s something curated in a very original way. The origins of the remix were to make an intro longer for DJs, which was a sort of functional thing that made sense, and also to get a louder cut of one song onto a 12-inch for club DJs. But now it’s become just an obligatory promotional tool.” “I enjoy it when working with a close friend or the music is exciting or inspiring to me. Working on the remix of Jimmy [Tamborello]’s Postal Service project track Such Great Heights was a memorable one, but more recently, my remix for The Field track No. No… was also great to be involved in because Axel Willner is also a friend. I do try to stay more true to the original than I probably should. I’ve recently had artists bring up an issue with a sound they don’t like and it ended up being one of their original sounds, which I find incredibly odd. Again, coming from a perspective of the classic remix, if it was up to me it would be more of a re-engineering and editing rather than reinterpreting their work.” “Yes, Palette is still going after 18 years and I’m very proud of that. The digital age has become a huge challenge for the label as it’s greatly affected physical sales. It seems more people than ever are listening to the music, but it’s mostly streaming. I think we’re in some kind of in-between moment as everyone tries to figure out where this whole thing is going and how to take care of artists and make sure they get paid. The massive reach that music streaming has is a new and exciting factor, so now it’s just about figuring out how artists can once again be paid for their music fairly.” When it comes to playing live, what’s your approach in terms of the equipment you use? “I’ve always enjoyed playing live sets with hardware rather than just having a laptop full of software. I think live sets should sound a little more stripped down, and I feel like I should be doing something. That’s why the Elektron instruments are perfect. Before, I was using Elektron’s Machinedrum and Monomachine, but these days I’m using the Octatrack performance sampler and Analog 4 synth/sequencer. The Analog Rytm might make its way into the set one day as well. For live shows, they are absolutely rock solid, extremely portable and sound great. I’ve got MIDI-out tracks on the Octatrack as well, so I can easily expand the set-up to include more synths when they’re available or if the space permits more gear. It’s a great customisable set-up for me.”
Do you allow yourself room for improvisation? “Elements are pre-programmed by the way of patterns. There are probably about 100 on each machine, so memorising all that is a bit weird. They’re basically starting points from which, once they are playing, I can deviate, change sounds and the pattern itself. So while pre-programmed, in some ways there’s a lot more room for improvisation than you’d get from a laptop. I was never good with controllers, although some people are amazing at that. Pushing all these buttons live keeps me pretty busy and I just try to play the best set I can. I hardly notice the crowd, which is good for me as I can enjoy it more, although it’s nice to hear some positive response from them.” You’re known for your collaborations but are there any artists you’d jump at the chance to work with? “There are a couple of very good friends who have influenced me in a huge way that I’ve had the pleasure of becoming really close to. We keep talking about starting something, but it hasn’t happened yet. Everyone is busy with their own projects. As far as people I don’t know personally, I think I’d just prefer to admire their work from afar. I wouldn’t think I was contributing anything in a case like that, rather doing it for selfish reasons just to be close to a hero of mine.” You do a lot of remixes – this seems like an industry born out of financial necessity for artists. Is it the same for you? Is your label Palette Recordings still running? What difficulties do you find in this digital age? Have you made any remixes that are particularly special to you?
The massive reach streaming has is exciting, so now it’s about figuring out how artists can once again be paid for their music fairly