CONVERSaCTION n°1: ZAVOLOKA
Zavoloka is an electronic musician from Kyiv, Ukraine. She mainly focuses on exploring digital synthesis and voice processing using as source her own voice as the folk singing of her country.
I knew of her because of a friend of mine who is a fan, than he took part in ‘Post awakening sound’ and finally this summer we had a nice chat in occasion of her performance at Interferenze. She released her two solo albums (Plavyna and Suspenzia) on Nexsound, i know the label because of her and now (hopefully soon) my When I’m not will be released in their mp3 catalogue.
For this couple of reasons i thought of her as the right person to open this series of conversations (but i didn’t realize she was such i “minimal talker”…). The result of this mail exchange is a quite funny kind-of-interview, made of tons of questions and ultra short answers.
“One of her big influences is the traditional Ukrainian culture. She traveling by Ukraine and recording native traditional ethnic folk songs, which singing old people in country-sides of Ukraine. But nevertheless it’s not about world-music.”
This quote is from the bio on your site, and it clearly underlines your strong relation with your country’s folk music. I’d love to know if this relation is just an aspect of a strong identification with the traditions of your native country or its just something concerning sound?
I just love our native music very much.
So it would make no difference for you to use folk material from other countries as well? I mean, is that a possibility in the future?
No, I dont think. May be in future and if I will come to some country, that I will liked so much but not now. Now I want to promote my country.
Again from your bio:
“When asked about the motive of building such a diverse and complicated constructions, she explained her intention to produce more and more frank music that could reflect her momentary shades of feelings and emotions.”
Do you feel like your music really menages to comunicate to the listener your inner states?
I try.
And you are always have another feeling and mood in next seconds. And listener too. I mean, that all people feel different little emotions in life.
The ‘downloads’ section on your site is full of songs from all your album and recently you released a new Ep with Kotra available for free on Nexsound. So it seems like you pay quite a lot of attention to keeping free a huge part of your music. Does this attention orginates from some free culture convinction?
I love mp3 music, I love netLabels, and I want people to listen to my music.
Do you listen yourself things downloaded for free? If yes what would you recommend me?
Yes, you can load many good music from Nexsound, Autoplate/Thinner.
Tecnique: I’d love to know a bit about your creative process and your relation with the technology you use for creating your music.
Hard long studio work and precisious construction. I am not fan of “live improvisation” on album works.
Since your music is based on delicate equilibriums, complex structures, change and editing (at least that’s what i hear….) it shouldn’t be really adapte for live playing. How do you translate your studio work on stage?
On stage it is more rythmical and simpler, of course. I mix old samples with new, loading sounds to sampler, playing..
For how long have you been making music? Did you started directly with this kind of stuff you’re doing now or you have a different musical background?
I’ve been doing electronic music from 2000-200, I have been also in musical school, and I’ve been singing in churches.
:-)
Do you live just of your music making (i mean in economical terms)?
I am a designer too, sometimes I make covers of Cds for my friends and some advertisment.
Can you describe your current studio set up?
I have little time-machine ;-), it is like a sampler/delay, a self-made machine made by my friend Ok-01 (a guy from the Moglass).
I like mastering very much, all those equalizers and compressors!
How did you and AGF worked to ‘Nature never produces the same beat twice’ ?
We loaded self-generated and recorded sounds and voice in two samplers and then played in real-time together with analog metronom
between us. Then we called all this miniature tracks like different plants and other. Then it was edited in our studios.
Is there a label you’d really love to be out for? and why?
Me and Kotra will realese our new collaboration CD on new ukrainian label “Kvitnu”. I wish to Kvitnu to become a powerful new ukrainian label!