| Distraction-packed by RAF KATIGBAK
To call Teknostep (aka Stephane Vera) prolific would be an understatement.
He teaches music, performs with his live-house supergroup Galactica
Blast and has played keys for Chicago house legend Roy Davis Jr. for
the last six years. As a composer, remixer and a session musician, he’s
also worked with a huge and varied list of artists, ranging from minimal
techno innovator Algorithm to Grammy-winning R&B star D’Angelo.
Now, with the release of his debut album Music for Short Attention Spans
on Toronto’s Nice+Smooth label, Vera is set to bring the deep,
jazzy Teknostep sound to the masses. “Music is something I’ve had in my head from early on,” says Vera over the phone from Toronto. “My teachers were always saying that I was constantly distracted by music, always had it in my head, y’know, drumming on my desk. That’s partially the inspiration for the album’s title. It’s also an expression of how I’m involved in so many scenes. I write minimal techno and house, but I also do hip hop, write film scores, work in a live band and even make music for a kids’ television show on PBS.” With an underlying jazz element, each track on the album is as varied as his musical tastes. From the organic, IDM-ish glitch hop of opener “Mass Transfer Dub” to the deep, four-on-the-floor vocal sound of “Nextune” to the soulful breaks behind “Needing Love,” it’s obvious that for Vera, keeping it fresh and keeping it real are one and the same. “There’s just so much great music out there that I can’t just say, ‘Okay, this one small, specific sub-genre is who I am.’ I’m constantly trying to find interesting ways of hybridizing things. The fun of electronic music is that it’s always moving forward. As an artist, you can stay on the winds of moving forward or you can get caught on the shore, where the money’s at. But if your music isn’t continuously growing and improving, you have to really question your importance as an artist.” : Live, with vocalist Skyla J and resident DJ Phil Larochelle at Jingxi on Friday, June 21, 9pm, $6 |
