Interview with The Zoo Project’s Live act Saytek

Interview with The Zoo Project’s Live act Saytek

9 September, 2008 | 12.17PM

• Written by: jukeboxpr
• Filed under: Music News:

The Zoo Project’s live act Saytek has gained a reputation as one of the most exciting and innovative live acts around.

His undying love of hardware sees him regularly arriving at clubs with a Roland work station, synths, Ableton, Kaos pads and various other noise mangling gadgets and weaving together a seamless mix of floor shaking electronic that is as live as humanly possible .

Saytek takes eager fans on a unique off the cuff journey that not only defies genre but is emotive, spontaneous and intellectually pleasing.

Armed with 1000s of loops and patterns he has created, Saytek can literally take his performances in any direction he chooses from deep and minimal house grooves, Detroit inspired tech-funk, jacking techno workouts and even bass driven electro breaks.

As well as rocking the seal pit at Ibiza’s Zoo Project, the buzz round Saytek’s shows has resulted in headline slots everywhere from Circo Loco at Sankey’s, Jaded at the End, The Egg, The Cross, Monza at Victoria Works warehouse Leeds in the UK.

Some of the highlights of his European exploits include the sweltering Circus Festival in Spain and the uber cool patent blua in Berlin.

Saytek’s performances remains the firm favorite of many promoters and clubbers alike his credentials do not just fall into the arena.

He has released many critically acclaimed records that have been supported by the likes of: Laurent Garnier, Cluade Von Stroke, Carl Cox, Clive Henry, Tim Sheridan, John Digweed, David Duriez, Kevin Saunderson, Justin Drake, Colin Dale, 10 Sui, Smithmonger, Meat Katie, Phil Kieran, Terry Francis, and Ricky Stone (+ many more top underground DJS) having already carved out a name for himself as one of the best live acts in underground music, and certainly the livest !

You have currently just spent a month in Ibiza as The Zoo Projects Live act. How has that been going?

Really well , I Love the Zoo Project.

It’s got an atmosphere and vibe that really can’t be beaten.

Everyone on the island was talking about it and saying it’s the best underground thing going on, it’s so different from anywhere else - an outdoor party that runs through the day into the night, I really felt like I was involved in something amazing!

I have been lucky enough to perform some of the best slots: in the seal pit after sunset and the last set at the pool. The crowd are really into their music and love to party; it’s the new generation of techno and house lovers and they are so enthusiastic and high spirited.

What does your Live act entail?

Everything is my own music performed live. 

I like to think it really is as live as this kind of music can be.

I make everything as individual patterns then loop them up and arrange them live, mix them, trigger samples and tweak effects. 

The fun really begins when I improvise.

For example I can take a bassline from one pattern and combine it with a hi hat from another whilst layering a beat from another whilst firing of samples from a controller keyboard.

I use four channels on my DJm800 so I can send anything to any channel so I can send a synth line to a channel where I can filter it and layer a Kaos pad effect over the top of it. 

Its pretty labour intensive but it really is great fun and it gives me unlimited control.

A lot of DJs nowadays are calling themselves live. What sets you apart from the rest?

I create my live material for the live arena only - I don’t play finished productions. So it’s improvised and structurally free form.

A lot of producers use the moniker “live” to play finished productions, remixes and even other people’s records using Ableton whilst adding effects and the odd loop…

People have been doing that sort of thing since the dub movement in the ‘70s (without Ableton of course).

I don’t think there is anything wrong with doing it just the term live doesn’t fit.

I was speaking to someone in a club the other day and apparently if someone does this in Holland it’s billed as “semi-live”. Perhaps it’s a term we should adopt here.

How do you go about programming your set as you don’t use other people’s records?

I create loops in Ableton, Reason, Logic or even Fruity Loops depending on how I’m feeling at the time.

I then strip them down to there smallest possible parts, i.e. kick, snare, hi hat, bass line etc.

I then bounce then down and put them into scenes in Ableton where I assign keyboard keys and laptop buttons to fire/mute/stop the clips.

Ableton is synced to a Roland MC909 which is like an old skool studio in a box but geared for performance; it’s a 16-channel sequencer with a mixer on it.

It’s got samplers, drum machines and a good synth engine on board you can use as many as each as you like until you fill up your 16 channels.

It’s also got a pattern call so you can call up any pattern you have created at any time.

Then I pretty much jam with what I have got!

How has the crowd at The Zoo Project reacted to your shows?

I could not have hoped for a better reaction!

The crowd is so receptive they really know there stuff and know how to party.

I was playing the seal pit after sunset - the reaction was truly awe-inspiring.

When I was performing I had fire eaters and people dressed up as animals dancing on the stage in front of me…

It added to the special atmosphere.

I played the last set once at the pool and that was equally as good in a different way, I had a thousand people dancing right in front of me, it was amazing.

I was really surprised by the amount of people that would come up to me after my show, its normal to get a few but the passion of the zoo crowd blew me away!

Your releases have gained critical acclaim across the board and widespread DJ support from the likes of Laurent Garnier, Claude von stroke, Tim Sheridan, David duriez, Kevin Suanderson, Clive Henry, Phil Kieren, Carl Cox and John Digweed. What’s it like to hear some of the biggest DJs in the world dig your music and what producers and DJs do you admire and draw influences from?

It really is an amazing feeling to have people I respect so much be into what I do, but I don’t let it go to my head.

They are DJs and they need records!

In terms of DJs that inspire me there are so many good ones.

It’s not always the most famous people that are the best I have been blown away by some relatively unknown DJ playing in a small bar in the east end of London.

In terms of pushing technology it’s got to be Richie Hawtin.

I have heard that you will be releasing a LIVE album in November. Tell us a bit about that?

Initially I was going to release a live album that I recorded in the studio, but after Playing at the Zoo Project we got to thinking why don’t we record an actual set from the Zoo and release it as an album, so that’s what we did.

It’s not an artist album and it’s not a compilation, it is simply a Saytek live performance recorded after sun set in Ibiza’s best new underground party.

I am so happy we did it that way, and I am really glad I have got The Zoo Projects backing!

Who do you draw influence from in your LIVE sets?

I have seen so many inspirational DJs and live acts in my life time and I would say each one has played a part influencing what I do.

That and all the great experiences I have had in clubs.

Where is your favourite place to play?

The Zoo Project!

What are you up to over the next few months gig wise?

I have got loads of exciting stuff coming up, Including Rave in The Caves in Kent, loads of London clubs, some international stuff and all the Zoo Projects up-and-coming events around Europe.

I will be launching at the all new Pacha London in November.

We are in the process of organising the tour so it’s best to keep on checking out: www.myspace.com/saytek

If you could change anything about the dance music industry what would it be?

I don’t get the whole jumping on a bandwagon thing, with so many great records out there and t styles within underground house and techno, I have never understood why you can go into 10 different clubs and hear different DJs playing exactly the same sound? I think people are more open minded than that and are interested in hearing more than just the latest fashionable sub genre.

I think it’s better now than a few years back and there are a lot more DJs playing what they want rather than what they think they should be playing.

Check out www.myspace.com/saytek for more information
Also check out www.myspace.com/ibizazooproject for more information on his gigs in Ibiza.

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