Kate Simko flips the switch

Kate Simko flips the switch

13 July, 2011 | 5.58AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: hello?repeat, kate simko

If you want the model of a truly DIY producer and DJ, look no further than Kate Simko. In a scene full of cliques and followers, the Chicago-born musician really has done it her own way. Sure, she’s gotten a boost from some powerful outfits like Ghostly International and Spectral Sound, but you can tell that she’s built her career on her own terms.

When many artists were flocking to Berlin, she stayed in Chicago, playing and promoting her own parties; to broaden her horizons, she spent time living in Chile (where she worked alongside Andres Bucci in Detalles) and, later, Buenos Aires.

Now, eight years after Detalles’ first album, for Traum, and five years after her first work under her own name, Simko delivers her debut solo long-player. Released on Berlin’s Hello?Repeat label, Lights Out plays to Simko’s strengths with supple basslines, gauzy atmospherics, and drum programming that’s jacking and restrained in equal measure.

We spoke to Simko about her background, her time in Buenos Aires, and her impressions of the current North American scene; read on for the full interview.

Aside from your ”Atom Smashers” soundtrack, this is basically your debut solo album, even though you’ve been releasing music for at least five years now. At what point did you say, “That’s it, I’m ready to do an album”?

Honestly, it was suggested to me a few times by other people before I considered it. It was so daunting and I felt like the electronic music album was a dying breed. It seems like most people are just looking for what’s the “hit” and downloading two or three songs from the digital release, not listening to albums from start to finish, as intended. But I’m really glad I made the album! It renewed my faith in the artistic side of dance music and was a great experience.

How did you hook up with Hello?Repeat?

I met Jan Krueger and Daze Maxim in Detroit (at Movement) a few years ago. Jan killed it at the Old Miami party and I think I sent him a message afterwards. We kept in touch and he’d been asking me for music, so I sent over the album. They were the only label that was up for releasing it as a double-pack vinyl and CD, which sealed the deal.

The album was partially recorded in Buenos Aires. Could you tell us a little about your time there? What brought you there in the first place? What kind of dance-music scene did you encounter? And how did the experience work its way into your music?

I first went to Buenos Aires in early 2004, a side trip from Chile. I met some cool people and fell in love with the city. Chicago winters are brutal, so I started a new tradition of heading to BA for one or two months during the winter. That’s my least creative time in Chicago anyways. So, I’d save up money during the year, then head down to South America on an extended music break. No cell phone, no obligations, vibrant South American city - it’s easy to get into an inspired mood.

Is there something about being displaced into a foreign environment that helps you get into a creative mindset? You lived for a time in Chile, right?

Yeah, I moved to Chile in 2001 for a music composition study program and met Pier and Andres Bucci. I was just messing around with my first songs back then, and was a mess trying to use Logic. But Andres was patient and we cranked out our album and it ended up on Traum. I think a less hectic routine helps the creative mindset. I’ve toned down my obligations in Chicago a lot, so it’s a great place for me to make music now. I love my studio and have made it a good space, so guess it’s not all about being abroad.

While we’re talking about place, let’s talk about Chicago for a minute. Did you grow up there? How did you find your way into the Chicago electronic-music scene, and what impact did it have on your work? I’ve always thought that it must be extra hard for producers who come up in cities like Chicago or Detroit, given the depth and intensity of the history around them—the bar is awfully high.

Yep, grew up in Chicago. I first heard of house music when I was 14. A good friend of mine went super deep into the rave scene and ended up at rehab at that young age. She went straight edge and gave me and another friend all of her mix tapes. So, here I am, age 14, jamming out to Diz, Bad Boy Bill, Keoki, David Hollands, Traxx etc., and the tapes led to parties, which led to dancing and friendships, which led to an obsession with the music. I never thought I’d be a DJ. I threw my first party when I was 18, but never thought I’d learn to make beats or get involved from that angle. Things just happened naturally. I left Chicago, thought I was done with that “phase” of my life and going to college. But I missed it, quit my classical piano degree, and started learning to make electronic music. Who knew…

And yes, Chicago and Detroit are intense. But, I got to this spot through a lot of love, hard work, and dedication. We’re a real bunch here in the Midwest. You can’t get away with a lot of bullshit.

Back to the album—there’s a very delicate balance of sounds, between classic drum machines and analog-inspired synths, and then sample-based percussion, human breath and other “real world” sounds. How do you achieve your particular sound palette?

Overall, I like a warm, organic sound palette. The breaths and sound recordings help bring in a sense of randomness and warmth. It’s really a matter of taste, but I’ve always loved the classic drum machine sound, so I used the Roland 505 and 707 on the album, along with more intricate drum programming in Logic. I didn’t use sampled percussion on Lights Out. Maybe that’s why it took me so long to make the album actually…

Your track titles tend to be pretty evocative: “Bikini Atoll,” “Cairo,” “Flight into BA"… How do you come up with them? As a track takes shape, do you know what it’s going to be called, or are you assigning names later, as the mood becomes clear?

Most of the time I name a track once it’s already started. Like, with “Cairo” I started jamming out a piano melody, and it sounded Egyptian. So, then the track became Cairo, and I took it farther down that road. I thought “Bikini Atoll” was a cool name because it’s a woman’s album using the word “bikini” but with such a dark meaning.

You’ve been producing and DJing for a long time now, both in the Americas and Europe; given your perspective, what do you see happening in North America’s dance-music scene right now? It definitely feels like something is stirring.

Yeah, things are on the up-and-up over here. Smart Bar and Spy Bar are doing great parties in Chicago, New York is really going off (as it has been for the past couple years), and it seems like LA, San Francisco, Miami, etc. are also going off. It’s cool, happy to see it.

Finally, what do you have planned for the rest of the summer and fall?

I’m based in Chicago most of the summer, composing a film score and excited to be working on new music. Tevo Howard gets back here in a month, so we’ll make some new tracks soon too. Our first two releases will be dropping on his label in the next couple months. Then, I’m off to Ibiza, Fabric, Berlin, etc. in September, back to Europe again for ADE in October, and a couple weekends in November. That’s it for now…

Kate Simko - Live @ Eleven Tokyo - March 2011 by Kate Simko

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