Zen and the art of musical paternity

Steve Law is a dad.

While this news shouldn’t come as any shock regarding someone Steve’s age (in his late 30s), it might surprise those who have known Steve more for his music – which always seems to have been the man’s top priority, under guises like Zen Paradox, Mr. Suspicious, and Mutagenic Mind, for labels across the world like Kk and Psy-Harmonics.

Those of us fortunate enough to be closer to him perhaps share the notion that he’s always acted as a mentor, or an unintended musical father-figure if you will, for some of Australia’s finest electronic musicians.

And I’m not just talking lately…read on for this exclusive interview with Zen Paradox.

I’m referring to the underground music scene in Melbourne over the past 15 years, ever since Steve unleashed a scintillating little acid-techno EP called ‘Eternal Brainwave’ (1993).

While Steve may have been the shy enfant terrible in a city considered by many, in the mid ‘90s, to be on-par with Detroit, Chicago and Berlin, he’s morphed into the respected elder statesmen in the Melbourne scene – respected as much for his humble attitude as he is for his unbending focus on superb, quality electronic music that pushes new boundaries and sets new perimeters.

2008 is no different to 1993, apart from Law now being a proud father. He also has a brand new Zen Paradox record out. It’s called ‘Liquid Spheres’, and it’s just been released online by Sydney’s Hypnotic Room imprint – as a digital download-only offering.

And, quite frankly, Steve Law does it for me – yet again. When am I ever going to get used to the flexibility and creative talents of this guy?

The first track, ‘Retina Glimmer’, starts off deceptively chilled and floral in sentiment; but ‘Hypochondriac Wasp’ introduces an organic, liquid-electro take on minimal Detroit, and ‘Shon Spagnolia’ would be at home on any quality Basic Channel release.

I first interviewed Steve Law for the Melbourne University newspaper, Farrago, way back in 1994. This time was possibly my 25th fireside chat with the artist, but he remains as effusive, thoughtful and refreshing as he did 14 years ago.

Read on, McDuff!

How and when did you first get into producing electronic music in general – and what motivated this commencement?

I became interested in electronic music in a big way back in 1981, after hearing things like the early Human League, Ultravox, etc., on the radio. Once I discovered what a synthesizer was, I immediately decided that I had to get one of these machines and start making music!

You’ve been working with music for much of the ‘80s, all of the 1990s, and most of this decade. What keeps you motivated?

Music is where I feel most comfortable expressing myself. The need to create is a pretty strong driving force, as is the need to express one’s self, so it is an on-going process.

Who have been your favorite techno and electronic producers over the past 20 years, and who rocks your world today?

As far as techno related stuff goes, people like Richard James, Christian Vogel, Luke Slater, Uwe Schmidt, Jochem Paap, and their like have always been outstanding, along with the Detroit pioneers such as Juan Atkins, Undergound Resistance, Drexciya, etc.

As I said, I’m not quite so in-tune with the current scene, which seems to be fracturing more and more… I’ve been very impressed with people like Ricardo Villalobos, Akufen, Convextion, and Bitstream.

What production aliases do you currently work under, and how would you define their separate styles?

These days it’s generally just Zen Paradox (for anything remotely techno oriented), and Steve Law for most of the rest – though I get billed as Steve Law for most of the techno-oriented gigs I do of late.

I may dig up other pseudonyms, such as Solitary Soul or Mutagenic Mind, for some projects from time to time.

How is the techno music scene different in 2008, compared with 1998 or 1988 – whether it be in Melbourne, in Australia, or globally?

I haven’t been all that in touch with the techno scene for some years now. I tend to just go about my business, and if what I’m doing happens to intersect with any particular scene, then that’s fine. I’ve always seen myself as a bit of an outsider as far as any techno-related scenes go.

What labels have you released music through over the years?

Too many to remember! I guess the most important ones would be Psy-Harmonics and Kk/Nova Zembla, but I’ve released one-off stuff on lots of other labels such as Kromode, April, Dorobo, IF?, Musica Maxima Magnetica, my own label Solitary Sound, and others.

How did you get involved with the two Sydney labels, Elektrax and Hypnotic Room, run by DJ Hi-Shock?

I met Simon when I played at a party that he was DJing at in Sydney back in 1994. I loved what he was playing then, and thought he was a really nice guy. He recently got in touch, asking if I was interested in submitting some stuff for his new labels, so of course I said yes.

What’s the attraction of going digital download with them?

I haven’t done a lot of digital download stuff as yet, apart from a few free releases. I’ve been talking with some people about doing a deal for my back catalogue, but I’m still unsure about the best way to go with that.

I’m very interested to see how things go with these new digital releases as it is something new for me, and is obviously an area that’s becoming more and more the norm as far as music distribution goes.

Which other artists/DJs do you currently enjoy working with, and what’s the attraction of these particular people?

I’ve been lucky to perform live with a lot of amazing musicians over the past few years.

Most of these live collaborations have been outside the usual techno scenes though – I’ve done a lot of improv stuff with various combinations of people – one particularly memorable recent gig was at the Make It Up Club Festival this year, where I was involved in a blistering free jazz/noise/psychedelic onslaught with Robbie Avenaim (drums), Kris Wanders (alto sax), Stephen Richards (baritone sax) and Yusuke Akai (guitar & voice) – all incredible performers.

I’ve also enjoyed playing in the bands Black Cab and High Pass Filter very much. As far as studio-based stuff goes, I’m currently working on the second Memory Geist album, which is a collaboration between me and the Greek musician Bakis Sirros (Parallel Worlds).

Where would you like to take your music from here?

I really don’t tend to think too much about where my music is heading – and perhaps that’s something I should be doing more!

So I always have a bunch of ideas kicking around in my head, constantly evolving, then work on whatever feels right from day to day.

I don’t like doing the same thing for too long, so I might be working on something completely different from one week to the next.

© 2008 Andrez Bergen