Interview with Judy

What better way to start the new season than by interviewing Judy? This artist in residence of Phase.ctv He is from Gasteiz, although he has been living in Bilbao for about 8 years. He is an expert in creating quality live performances where techno is usually the protagonist. For all of you who are curious to know his real name, his name is Iker.

We loved being able to interview Judy because, in addition to her creativity and musical talent, she is a wonderful person. Sometimes, it is difficult to express and materialize what one thinks and wants to say through words. Even with all that, you could say that Iker is one of those people who manages to harmonize and generate a “very good vibe” in the environment, even if it is the first time you meet him and start a conversation with him.

We had the opportunity to chat with him about his evolution and impact on the scene, as well as his upcoming appearance and performance at Basilar Festival.

How long have you been creating Lives and producing music? What led you to it?

I have been surrounded by music since I was little, something I have to thank my family for, who have always given a lot of value to culture and art. I signed up for guitar classes when I was 14, then I was in a death metal band with some friends, and I tried some timid tests as a teenager with FL studio or Cubase (with disastrous results), but it was during my Erasmus in Warsaw that I had the time and desire to start learning how to do things with Ableton. At that time I had some gadgets (Volca Samples, Kaossilator 2… toys) and a guitar, and I started recording and making music because I had a lot of fun.

It was during those years that I started to enjoy going out to dance techno more than going out to party for the sake of going out, and I've always had a very strange obsession with being able to create the things I like, so I started trying to understand techno so I could do it at home with my machines. This became a bit of an obsession until we were locked up at home for 3 months in 2020, and then all I did was get up, turn on my machines and Ableton... try a thousand things and start again the next day.

I decided to release an EP that I'm not very proud of right now, but it served as a starting point for me to want to improve my sound and gradually learn more and more about this music that has driven me a little crazy. It's a very brief summary, because I also really like experimental music and I've worked a lot in that field in recent years before focusing on techno.

We always see you in symbiosis with R-010, how was that bond forged? What is, for you, the best performance you have ever done together?

Lucas and I met in Madrid the first time Phase took me there to perform. I'm quite reserved and a bit shy around a lot of people I don't know, and for me this was the first time playing away from home. Javi, a friend of Lucas', shouted from the dance floor "Come dance with us!" when he saw me not knowing what to do after my performance, and there between dances I met a lot of great people, including Lucas.

I had already heard about him from Phase because he was going to perform live on a date after mine and I had never met anyone with my interests and who also did live. We got along really well right away and, if I remember correctly, there appeared a phrase like "What if we did a live together there like Karenn?". Our live has little to do with Karenn's, but that idea led us to decide to meet here in Bilbao for a week and get down to work. And from that week, until today. 

The best performance? For me it's usually the last one we do, because it's a project that grows with us and our technique, and I think we're getting better and better. But to give you an answer, the last one we did at the Garage of the Bass Valley in Barcelona was the best one to date for me.

We have seen you perform in different parts of Spain, what city and club/clubs in Spain would you highlight and why?

Well, it's very difficult to single out just one place because the truth is that I've had nothing but good experiences in Spain. My number one mention is Madrid because the support and warmth I've received from the first day there is something that makes my hair stand on end. It's like I'm playing at home, the Madrid public has always let me do what I wanted and they always respond with 101%, wherever I play. Granada is a city where you can see more of the same, you can notice the purity in the atmosphere, it doesn't matter if there are 1000 people or 35. In León... well, more of the same, and a special mention for Santiago de Compostela, great people and attitude that is lacking in many places.

Have you had the opportunity to perform outside of Spain? In which clubs and what perception did you have? Which ones would you like to act in that you haven't done yet?

Yes, I have been lucky enough to have played several times at Gare, Porto, my favourite club, of course I only have good things to say about it. A good booth, a good dance floor, quadraphonic sound, perfect lighting… like everything it is a very subjective experience, but for me it is perfect. I have had very little exposure to clubbing in Europe, I don’t know what the majority of clubs sound like or what their booths are like, so beyond wanting to play in many legendary clubs like Berghain, De School, Tresor, Bassiani, Khidi… for what they are and what they mean, I couldn’t say which ones I would especially like to play in.

I think for my live gigs, out of all the club offerings, I'd want one with a super comfortable booth. For playing, the clarity of the monitors and the comfort of the booth is essential, especially since I carry a lot of extra gear that needs to be set up somewhere. I've heard great things about the Khidi and Blitz booths in that regard, but really, I'd like to be able to play anywhere they want to take me.

What is your latest production work and under which label have you published it?

The latest thing that has come out is a song from BCCO's latest VVAA, it's called "Ostadarra". The previous one is a 4-song EP that I've released on my bandcamp, "Eroa".

Have you had the opportunity to release your work on vinyl? If so, which one(s) and under which label(s)?

For now I have a track on vinyl on a VVAA from Eclectic Reactions, a great label run by two friends from here in Bilbao. I am very grateful to them for having trusted my music so early, it is a track I made quite a while ago, as it has a different tone to what I am working on now, with a touch a bit more EBM even. But there are already quite a few tracks that are going to start coming out on vinyl in the near future, starting with a split with Lucas (R-010) on a label that I am very excited about. There is also a much larger project planned for much further down the road in conjunction with Phase, but there is still a long way to go before it gets off the ground.

What are your favourite record labels? And artists? Could you highlight any in particular and tell us why?

I listen to a lot of music so I'll say a few artists in no particular order: Surgeon, Regis, Blawan, Planetary Assault Systems, Boards of Canada, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Mike Parker, Jeff Mills…those would be a few that I consider essential within the electronic music that has left the biggest mark on me, as I believe it has on all people who like techno.

Speaking of labels, Semántica, Warm Up, Hayes, Illian Tape, Timedance, Tresor, Downwards… It's difficult to single out just one. I like labels that take an idea and elevate it to the nth degree. I think all the ones I've mentioned do that. That's why I'd also mention newer labels that I love, like Praxis, Hemisferio, CloudCore or Yuku, all with fresh ideas and a clear vision. I'm leaving out a lot of things because we live in a time when there's a lot of quality music everywhere.

As for artists, I would highlight Blawan because I just saw his live performance at Dekmantel this year and I'm still speechless. He's an artist with a brutal, very distinctive, super psychedelic sound of his own, and it's also his live sound, which is everything I like.

At Basspirit Magazine we like to know about our interviewees' musical tastes outside of electronic music. What artists and musical genres do you listen to when you're not immersed in the hustle and bustle of electronic music?

Well, just like the other question, in general I like a lot of things that don’t have much to do with each other: Fugazi, Swans, Godspeed you black emperor!, The Body, King Gizzard, Coil, Full of Hell, Brian Eno, Converge, The 1975, Bell Witch, Metronomy, MGMT, Ceremony, Wu Tang Clan… I’ve always been very curious about music and in the end I like a bit of everything, it comes in waves. And then there’s a group of friends, Sal del Coche, they haven’t released anything yet, but they’re already my favorite group.

Could you tell us what you consider to be your best work so far, in terms of production?

Well, I think that the best I have is not yet out, because whenever I do new things I usually have the feeling that it is the best I have done, and most of the things I have published are works that are already a while ago. So I couldn't tell you, but my EP on Phase is perhaps one of the most special for me personally, because of what it symbolizes for me.

What are your go-to tools, i.e. what kind of synthesizers/machines do you usually use when creating music?

My rig consists of an Elektron Octatrack, Digitakt, Digitone and Model Cycles and an Eowave Quadrantid Swarm. For live performances I usually take all of them except the Cycles, because it tends to be too much, I've only taken it when I've done a very long live performance, to have some extra resources and tonal variety. The machines Electron They are very useful and very reliable for making live broadcasts, they provide a lot of resources in a very small space compared to other solutions and that is very good for carrying it around.

The only drawback is that they allow you to improvise a lot, but especially with things you've already worked on in the studio. But making various sequences "on the fly" is not feasible for me at least live without listening beforehand, and it's not a time when you're in the right place to prepare a new synth and sequences while the rest are still playing in the room. That's why I introduced the Quadrantid Swarm, a pretty crazy synth that lets me quickly improvise sequences and sounds without even having to listen to them, and it gives me the security of being able to turn up the volume and make sure that whatever is coming in fits in the mix. It's a synth that I use to improvise new sequences, textures, beeps... live that add to what's already playing and also allow me to make much simpler transitions between Digitone patterns.

I put all of this through an Oto Boum, a compressor and saturator that basically serves as a “live master” so that it doesn’t sound softer than the mastered songs that come out of a CDJ. Normally, live recordings have a lot of dynamics and the kick drum or cymbals clip the channel long before the rest of the elements reach their optimal volume. By reducing this dynamic range, the live recordings get closer to the power that mastered songs have.

You recently performed alongside R-010 with Phase.ctv at Quartz Festival. Was this your first performance at a festival? And how did the audience respond to your live show?

Yes, it was the first time I played at a festival and the truth is that the experience was very good, we received very good words and a lot of dancing from the people, so we think we did a good job, we had a great time!

Next September you will be performing at a top-class festival such as Basilar (Portugal). What do you think of this type of festival that welcomes a small number of attendees and, in addition, takes care of every detail with the aim of creating an atmosphere of familiarity and unity?

Can you tell us anything about what awaits us from Judy and its staging at Basilar 2023?

I've been waiting for this moment all year, I'm very excited to play at a festival like this. BasilarLast year I went as an attendee, drawn precisely by the idea of a single stage, long sets where the artist can do whatever he wants, with spectacular sound, in a natural setting, for a very small number of people (compared to what a festival usually is) and on top of that dedicated to techno. I enjoyed it a lot and this year I was going to go no matter what, so imagine when they told me I was going to play there.

What I can tell you is that everything I bring will be new, and it will be the first time I show it. I've been working all summer on new sequences, new patterns, new rhythms to be able to condense my sound into an hour. I'm the second, opening the first day of the festival, I think it's a fantastic position to show what I like the most and immerse the dance floor in the tunnel. Expect a lot of psychedelia and spacey rhythms to start the Basilar.

Could you give us a sneak peek into what you have in store for us this upcoming season (be it performances, productions or any music-related work you'd like to highlight)?

As I said before, there are several vinyl works already on the way, as well as some other projects, but I can't say anything about any of them yet. Lately, I'm much more impatient than before with the times so you can also expect more self-released works, as I've always liked to have control over all parts of the process. Finally, I would like to highlight that at the end of this month of August the 8-hour live set that I developed last May for the friends of Suburban Alliance will be published.

https://soundcloud.com/phase_radio/meet-our-residents-judy-12?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

MThank you so much for taking the time to help me, see you next time! ♥