A remarkable embodiment of persistence and consistency, production maestro Bleep Bloop possesses a superior work ethic and ceaseless desire for innovation that allows him to remain full strides ahead of even himself, producing nearly three times as much content as meets the public ear. Released this past February, The Psychic Staring Effect is a two-part sonic epic that dove deep into the caverns of modular synth work, which depicted the brilliant California-native working proficiently in an area where he is both passionate and knowledgeable.
In his latest audible endowment, Bleep Bloop establishes an undermining aura of chaos fueled candidly with hauntingly sinister nomenclature, such as ‘Eye Patch of Power’ and ‘Lady of War’. Characterized by shadowy experimental soundscapes and torrid plunges of bass, Gain the Axe further perpetuates a vision for unhindered creative cohesion that permeates every aspect of the project.
An opportunity to catch up with Bleep Bloop in anticipation of his latest project revealed some intriguing details about the nature of his workflow, his passion for modular synthesis and live instruments, his creative relationship with Gary Paintin, and a brief look at what is still to come on the horizon for his recently debuted imprint Eat the Bomb.
Be sure to check out the full interview and Gain the Axe EP, out today, below!
You’ve released nearly one complete EP each consecutive year since your debut in 2011. How have you been able to maintain such a consistent workflow, while also balancing the other aspects of your career?
Making music is the best part about my music career and the only one that has ever really seemed like a priority for me. I always figured that as long as you have good tunes, and a good support system, that the rest would fall into place. So really no challenge in staying consistent as far as output goes. I have always made about three times as much music as I released, when it is coming out it is really coming out. The real challenge comes from the life of being a traveling musician; trying to keep up on your mental and physical health/sleep and whatnot.
There is something really soul-sucking to me about spending all day staring at a screen, so synths are a great way to break that habit and get your hands on something real.
Is modular synth work something that will always have a place within your interests, or are you making an inherent effort to shift fully into this style for future releases?
I’d say that it is impossible to say that something will always have a place in my interests. I try not to say things like always/never/forever because that is a great way to end up being wrong. Also, most of the sound design on this EP is based in modular synthesis. I sampled a lot of modular sound design that I made into granular samplers to get a lot of the sounds on the record. But I will say that I think that physical instruments will always be a part of my life. There is something really soul-sucking to me about spending all day staring at a screen, so synths are a great way to break that habit and get your hands on something real.
Following the release of your two-part The Psychic Staring Effect last February, you set out on a string of tour stops that featured live modular work on stage. Do you have any plans to continue to fan the flame on this technique in anticipation of your forthcoming tour?
No. The forthcoming tour dates are all DJ sets. The amount of time that I spent on creating and setting up the modular sets kept me from writing new music for many months, so this time I decided to go out and DJ again so I could get back into my studio flow.
How did you approach selecting track titles for the Gain the Axe EP?
On this release, I decided that I would write the songs after choosing the song titles. So over the course of the last six months or so, I have been writing down song titles. I went through and picked titles as I went, and tried to best represent the name of the song through the sonics. Naming instrumental tunes can be difficult in this manner. Songs with lyrics, I generally just name the song after the lyrics.
The artwork that Gary Paintin creates for each release is astonishingly cohesive with the symbolism of the project, at which point during the creative process do the two of you get together to begin shaping the visual aspects for a release?
We generally start talking about the look for the next project after I have started writing it, but before I have finished. I generally come to him with some sort of idea that he takes and adds to or changes completely to arrive at what everyone ends up seeing. Gary is a true visionary and singular artist with a rare talent and eye.
SoundCloud kinda sucks and I would love it if people supported the musicians they wanted to support on a platform that actually pays artists, instead of taking money FROM artists.
There was a brief period of time between Prologus Axilium and the latest batch of remixes where your content was available almost exclusively through Bandcamp. What led to making this decision and why have you since returned to SoundCloud for the lead single from Gain the Axe?
Honestly, the main reason was because I wanted to upload the psychic staring effect releases as single tracks to encourage people to listen to them end to end. I guess that came across as me not putting as much music on SoundCloud. Also, I think SoundCloud kinda sucks and I would love it if people supported the musicians they wanted to support on a platform that actually pays artists, instead of taking money FROM artists.
This past year you’ve made an inherent effort to keep social media at arm’s length. How have these changes been reflected in your emotions and overall mentality?
I kind of fell off on that and fell back into being addicted to social media like everyone else, sadly. But now I do give myself days where I just don’t look at my phone and those are always pretty decent days. I will say though, when I was off social media it felt great. It is clearly really poisonous for our minds, especially any of us who are in the public eye. I think more people should take a second to get away from it, but I also know about the allure of constantly checking socials. I still try to keep it at an arm’s length though. I want to still express political beliefs, but I am no longer interested in engaging with people that want to abuse me for said beliefs. All of those people can go dry up for all I care.
I would love to champion multimedia art, whether its books, paintings, or film, or anything really. I want it to be a hub that people go to when they want something fresh and inspiring.
In February you shared some exciting news about launching your new imprint. What was the original intention with Eat the Bomb and what are your plans for future direction?
I wanted to start something with some friends that I trust deeply on an artistic level, so working with Gary Paintin and Patrick DNAE just made lots of sense, since they have been confidants forever. Eventually, I would love to champion multimedia art, whether its books, paintings, or film, or anything really. I want it to be a hub that people go to when they want something fresh and inspiring.
