Author: [ESTÉTICA CIBERNÉTICA]

We’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a distinctive and talented musician known as Cement Tea. Varying in styles and sounds, he is certainly not one to sit still when it comes to creating new music. With a We recently released his hard-hitting EP, A Little Bite and we’re thrilled to have such a skillful and unique voice on board.

Can you give us a brief introduction about yourself and your music?

Hi! I’m Cement Tea, I’m a Brazilian musician and I make various subgenres of electronic music, from ambient to hardcore since 2016, my discography is pretty vast and you can see hardcore, drum and bass, drone, rhythmic noise, skullstep, breakcore, etc.

You play around with a multitude of styles and genres. Is there one you feel most comfortable with? What are you favorite to listen to?

It’s kinda hard to say any specific genre, but definitely I’m very used to make Skullstep and Techno, I do those quite often and I’m 90% of the time satisfied with making them, that’s why my latest releases are mostly of these genres, they’re more fun to make in my opinion, unlike some other genres I do like Industrial Hardcore, Ambient or Terrorcore, that I’m not that satisfied while I make them sometimes or they take more time to do so, but I don’t limit myself though! I always like to experiment new things, like lately I’ve been in a more Drone and Rhythmic Noise mood so I might make some tunes of these genres too!

About what I listen is mostly stuff like the music I make, like Industrial music in general, Crossbreed, Rhythmic Noise, Industrial Techno. But there’s some exceptions of course, for example I’m a huge fan of Hypnagogic Pop and more Experimental Lo Fi tape music, I love listening to these but I barely felt like making music like these at all, I only did stuff like that twice and it was on my first album ever I did as another project when i was around 16 years old, and a EP released on tape last year on the Ukranian cassette label Diploma Supplement.

It seems you are constantly releasing new music left and right. What is your creative process like?

My creative process is quite quick compared to many other fellow musicians hahaha, honestly it’s not something I necessarily understand completely, when I just feel like making songs I just open my DAW and make whats on my mind or start something just by making certain sound and slowly making it into a full track, I get new ideas for mixes, music and artwork all the time, plus I listen to music a whole lot, almost 24/7, guess is just how my mind works and probably why i make so much music.

There is certainly an admiration for anime in your music. How do you go deciding what to sample?

I like to pick innocuous, silly or just cute samples and make them into a more darker sound, for example A Little Bite I sample just a scene from the anime Wakaba Girl that Wakaba bites Moeko’s ice cream, and I turned it into a weird dark tune, I like to do this kind of thing, plus I sample overall media that I like, that means I also sample some streamers or Youtubers, like I did with my tune Russian Roullette that I sampled Vsauce and tunes like Cockroach that i sampled Vinny from Vinesauce, even though I consume a lot of Youtube stuff is kinda harder to get a good sample for it, more because a lot of it has loud soundtracks on the background compared to anime and is harder to make them fit in tunes.

Who are your biggest influences?

Well, when I was around 5 years old my love for music started because of some games like Dance Dance Revolution, I loved many songs from DDR 4th Mix I used to have in my PS1 at the time specially the darker ones, and at that age I played around with a sequencer called Hammerhead on my computer trying to make songs hahaha. But then when I was around 12 years old I started digging lots of J-core and music outside games, started listening to artists like t+pazolite and m1dy, some IDM artists such as Aphex Twin, Melodium and The Flashbulb and even Dubstep like Caspa & Rusko, Cardopusher and Skrillex. Around that time I used FL Studio for a bit and did some mini DJ mixes on Virtual DJ, I remember some of them were actually pretty decent!

I started exploring music a lot when I was around that age, discovered labels such as Sociopath Recordings and SKRD that I used to love at that time, then when I was around 14 I discovered many other netlabels with more experimental content, such as Tsundere Violence, proc-records, Genetic Trance, Sirona, Dramacore etc.

Was around this time that I started wanting to make music, is hard to tell necessarily what my biggest influences were but I can say that Nekophiliac, Shisa and goreshit’s music inspired me a lot when I was around 14, then when I was 16 when I started learning music theory and actually started posting music on the internet I got into Boards of Canada, Hype Williams, James Ferraro and other more oddball experimental artists, along with more known crossbreed and skullstep artists such as Current Value and The Panacea, that also influenced me a lot.

About my Industrial Hardcore work i’m mostly influenced by [KRTM], Acid Diaper and The Outside Agency, I got into Industrial Hardcore kinda recently (around 2017 or so) so I don’t have that as much influence, but I still make this kind of music here and there.

What are your ambitions and goals as a musician?

It’s a dream to make a soundtrack to some game or short film, especially if i’m not limited and completely free to do what I want to, would be amazing!

I also would love to start doing gigs someday, I’m currently saving money to buy gear to finally go to my first gigs, but due to Covid it got delayed, but I have no problem with that, I will just wait.

What artists are you currently listening to?

Currently I’ve been listening to more peaceful music, been getting into Nekophiliac’s recent content, been getting into the vast discography of Josh Burke and some other Experimental Lo Fi or Hypnagogic Pop/Neo Psychedelia artists.

But well, I still do listen to harder music if I want some energy, been specifically getting into the russian skullstep artist EriS and been listening to Breaks recently, stuff like Denham Audio, Mani Festo, some of Aphex Twin’s works for example. Been also into some harder techno and rhythmic noise here and there, stuff like Slave To Society, AnD, Tim Tama and older Hypnoskull.

What other other hobbies and interests outside of music do you enjoy?

I used to play games a lot but I stopped a bit in recent years, a shame! I need to get back playing, I’m more a fan of retro or indie games, I used to explore gamejolt some years ago and I need to explore some more indie games soon, I’m particularly a fan of puzzle and racing games, I loved rhythm games back then but I kinda lost interest to them as time went by. I also like cooking but I discovered this passion just recently so I need to get better, and i also do some bizarre drawings when I feel like to, you can see some on my Twitter.

Do you have any anime you would like to recommend?

I have many to recommend, i’m particularly more a fan of slice of life shows, so I recommend Wakaba Girl that I watched recently, is pretty fun, then Bottle Fairy and Slow Start that are like one of my favorite animes ever.

Any final words?

Thank you for the interview! Big up to all labels and friends that supported me!

Cement Tea:
soundcloud.com/cement-tea
cementtea.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/cementttea/

Luc Lhuissier, also known as Aegis Falcon, is a concept artist who excels in beautiful cyberpunk inspired landscapes and architecture as well as character designs. His work captures a dystopian future in which technology rules society. With an aptitude for intricacy and detail, Aegis Falcon is certainly an expert of his craft.

1. Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from many places, I am a very big Sci-i fan, I was lucky to be born with parents who are passionate about the genre, it is not that which helped me but rather oriented me towards this direction. To answer the question more clearly, I would say that my inspiration comes from everything I see, masterpieces that come out in the cinema. So I pay attention to artistic direction, colors, design etc…. Then the gold of the passage of the sketch from the elements I observed I let speak for the inner creativity.

You can see on some artworks I sketch on my portfolio. Some are often very basic, others are abstract. I first try to have a composition before the design. I prefer to do the design step afterwards so as not to be limited by features. Then the inspiration can come from certain real time events. It can be events in Hong Kong like technologies currently under development that could upset our lifestyle.

2. How would you describe your style as?

My style is “futuristic”. OK it seems simple but the definition of this word also means that it is not just an artistic style but a philosophy. To be futuristic is to think about the distant or near future, to project oneself into a good or bad future and to reflect on many aspects of this time, the technologies that may exist in the lifetime of each individual.

3. What kind of music do you listen to while working on pieces?

The music I listen to is mainly film music, and it varies according to what I paint. If I go cyberpunk then I listen to cyberpunk to get in the mood and accentuate my creativity. Besides that I listen chill music.

4. What are your ambitions and goals as an artist?

My ambitions are big, I aim high and I give myself the means. As any artist stay at the same level becomes one day boring, as for a game one wants to progress and this is done for life. There are ups and downs, but it must be accepted as a step in the process. I am by nature someone who thirsts for growth. Staying in a little cocoon, a comfort zone, does not interest me.

5. Do you have any advice for upcoming artists?

The advice I can give to beginners is not to miss the fundamentals, to be assiduous and regular because if you don’t practice the fundamentals often then they get weaker. Repetition is the best way to progress. Produce again and again so that everything you have learned is inked into your brain, just like the alphabet. How many times have you gone from A to Z as a child? You have to fill your subconscious with these things.

https://www.artstation.com/aegisfalcon

https://aegisfalcon.cgsociety.org/

https://www.instagram.com/aegisfalcon/

https://www.facebook.com/LukeAegis

BOKKEN is a true cyberpunk, a creative musician and a kind human. With several releases under various labels and his signature TECHWAVE sound, you need to take a dive into the world of BOKKEN and receive a glimpse of the future. He was nice enough to give us a chance to explore his world and get some insight.

1. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what style of music you create?

MY NAME IS KONRAD, AND I CAME FROM POLAND. I STARTED PRODUCING MUSIC WHEN I WAS 8 YEARS OLD IN 2000. I’VE RELEASED SOME MUSIC ON NNJL, the_accidental_poet, NOIR, AND CZELUŚĆ AND 3 SELF RELEASED EPS AND PLAYED TWO TIMES AT CZELUŚĆ FESTIVAL WHICH IS A BIG POLISH FESTIVAL THAT FOCUSES ON BASS MUSIC AND BOOKS PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND ALSO PROMOTES YOUNG POLISH ARTISTS. AS MY NAME SUGGESTS, I’M FASCINATED WITH JAPAN, ANIME AND MANGA, AND ALSO SCI-FI LITERATURE AND MOVIES. I CREATE MOSTLY MY GENRE CALLED ‘TECHWAVE‘ WHICH CAN BE INTERPRETED AS TECHNOLOGICAL WAVE/MOVEMENT IN A SENSE OF CULTURE, OR JUST AS A “FUSION” OF TWO GENRES: TECHSTEP DNB AND WAVE.

I DON’T LIMIT MYSELF WHILE MAKING TECHWAVE. IT GIVES ME FULL FREEDOM ON WHAT I CAN DO. I CAN MAKE AN AMBIENT TRACK, SOFT WAVE TRACK OR MORE HEAVY DNB INFLUENCED STUFF. MY GOAL IS TO TAKE EVERYBODY ON A MENTAL TRIP WITH MY MUSIC AND VISUALS, JUST TO TELL A STORY ABOUT THE FUTURE AND TEACH SOMEBODY A LESSON. I JOKE THAT MY MUSIC IS FROM THE FUTURE, COS I HAVE A SYNESTHESIA AND FOR ME SOUNDS ARE COLORS, SHAPES, OR SCENES, AND VICE VERSA. SO I CLOSE MY EYES AND FULLY EMBRACE THE SETTING I WANT TO INCLUDE IN MY STORY AND TRANSFORM IT INTO THE SOUNDS. AND MY MOTTO IS “STAY SAFE, STAY TRIPPY”  

2. Who are your influences?

OH THERE ARE TOO MANY TO SAY, BUT I MOSTLY TAKE INFLUENCE FROM BOOKS, MOVIES, ANIME AND MANGA AND THAT TRIGGERS ME ENOUGH TO MAKE A TRACK. IN TERMS OF MUSIC… BILLAIN !!!! THIS GUY IS INSANE IN HIS TRACKS, VISUALS AND AESTHETICS, AND HE ALSO MAKES FUTURISTIC STUFF SO HE IS MY BIGGEST IDOL, BUT ALSO NOISIA, EVOL INTENT, G JONES, DEADCROW, AND MY POLISH FAM SOKOS, LOAA, AND BIG UP TO GEDZ RAPPER AND PRODUCER THAT INSPIRED ME FOR A LONG TIME AND HE IS THE REASON WHY MY CARRIER EVEN STARTED !!

3. Do you have a method or pattern on how you create each song?

I DO HAVE A SPECIFIC WORKFLOW AND COLOR CODING COS OF MY SYNESTHESIA. THE BASS IS VIOLET, LEADS BLUE, DRUMS ARE RED, PERCS ARE GREEN AND EFFECTS ARE YELLOW. SO I ALWAYS GROUP SOUNDS IN THAT MANNER. MOST OF THE TIME I MAKE EVERYTHING IN ONE PATTERN AND THEN I JUST SIMPLY MAKE ‘A WHOLE TRACK’ AND ASSIGN TO MIXER CHANNELS AND BUSES, AND THANKS TO THE FUNCTION IN FL STUDIO CALLED ‘SPLIT BY MIXER CHANNELS I HAVE THEN EVERYTHING SEPARATED INTO PATTERNS AND I CAN ARRANGE AND MODIFY FREELY.

I DO A LOT OF SOUND DESIGN STUFF, OR JUST TAKE A SIMPLE PRESET AND MODIFY IT TO SUCH EXTENT IT CAN’T BE RECOGNIZED, COS I USE A LOOOOOOOOOOOOT OF GLITCHING AND ‘ERRORS’ COS EVERY MACHINE MAKES ERRORS. PEOPLE JOKE THAT ‘I BOKKEN THE SHIT OUT OF SOUNDS’ HEHEH. MOST OF THE TIME I JUST START WITH A LEAD, BOKKEN THE SHIT OUT OF IT, MAKE A REESE BASS, AND ADD SOME DRUMS ETC AND VIOLA. THEN SOME ARRANGING AND SOME CRAZY AUTOMATION AND THE TRACK IS DONE. IT TAKES ME FROM 1H TO 20H TO FINNISH A TRACK. FOR EXAMPLE, “DIGITALIZATION” THAT I RELEASED ON CZELUŚĆ TOOK ME 10H AND 23MIN AND IT’S ONE OF THE MOST COMPLICATED TRACKS I’VE EVER MADE.

4. You create concept albums that tell a larger story as a whole rather than just a random collection of songs thrown together. Is there a specific inspiration for this?

I ALWAYS TRY TO RELEASE AN EP ON MY BIRTHDAY (15TH DEC) AND EVERY TRACK HAS A MEANING AND EVERY ALBUM IS BASED ON SOMETHING. MY FIRST EP CALLED KOMOREBI (SUNLIGHT FILTERING THROUGH TREES) COS MY SURNAME IS GAŁĘZIA (WHICH MEANS A BRANCH IN POLISH) AND I CALLED MYSELF BOKKEN (WOODEN TRAINING KATANA), AND IN THE SAME MANNER AS A BRANCH NEEDS TO BE MADE INTO A BOKKEN, I HAD TO DEVELOP AS AN ARTIST TO GROW, TO NOT ‘SEE THE SUN THROUGH THE TREES’ BUT TO GROW ENOUGH TO BE ABOVE THE FORREST.

ALSO MY FIRST TRACK I MADE AS BOKKEN WAS MOKUTON NO JUTSU (A TECHNIQUE FROM NARUTO THAT THE USER CAN FIGHT WITH A WOOD AND PLANTS) THAT I MADE INSPIRED BY THE FIGHT IN THE NARUTO OF THE 5 KAGE VS MADARA. SO I’VE FINISHED READING NARUTO AND ADAPTED HIS ‘WAY OF THE NINJA’ THAT NO MATTER HOW BAD YOU WERE IN THE BEGINNING, CONSTANT TRAINING WILL MAKE YOU BETTER AND BETTER, AND YOU WILL BECOME THE BEST. SO KOMOREBI EP IS 100% ON NARUTO MANGA AND IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY JOURNEY.

IKIGAI (IN JAPANESE IT MEANS THE WAY OF LIFE), I’VE READ THE BOOK “FUTU.RE” BY DMITRY GLUKHOVSKY WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ANYBODY INTERESTED IN CYBERPUNK, AND IT IS MY LOOSE INTERPRETATION OF IT. IT TAKES PLACE DURING AN EXTERMINATION MISSION THAT THE MAIN CHARACTER HAD TO TAKE, AND HIS CHANGE OF CHARACTER AFTER MEETING THE EASTERN PHILOSOPHY. I WAS SO FASCINATED BY IT THAT MY EP WAS READY IN JUNE. IT ALSO REPRESENTS THAT I FINALLY FOUND THE WAY OF MY LIFE, THAT MUSIC AND ART IS EVERYTHING FOR ME AND I WILL FULLY DEDICATE TO IT. EVERY TRACK ON THIS EP REPRESENTS THE EMOTIONS THAT THE MAIN CHARACTER FELT.

AND FINALLY THE TSUJIGIRI (A JAPANESE TERM FOR A PRACTICE WHEN A SAMURAI, AFTER RECEIVING A NEW KATANA OR DEVELOPING A NEW FIGHTING STYLE OR WEAPON, TESTS ITS EFFECTIVENESS BY ATTACKING A RANDOM DEFENSELESS PASSER-BY). IT IS THE EP I’VE RELEASED AS A FULLY FLEDGED ARTIST “A TRUE SAMURAI” AND IT IS ALSO AN INTERPRETATION OF AKIRA, MANGA AND ANIME. I TRIED TO BALANCE THE TRACKS IN THE SAME MANNER AS THE MOVIE AND MANGA STORY ARCS TAKE PLACE SO IT GOES FROM SOFT TUNES, TO HEAVY BASS TRACKS. IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY YOU WILL HEAR IN THE TRACK ‘LATE NIGHT IN NEOTOKYO’ THE VOCALS FROM THE ORIGINAL AKIRA SOUNDTRACK, A HOMAGE TO THIS MASTERPIECE.

5. You also DJ. What sort of music do you do in those sets?

THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. I PLAY BASS MUSIC. DNB, DUBSTEP, GRIME, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS WEIRD OR GOOD ENOUGH TO TRIP EVERYBODY INTO ANOTHER DIMENSION HEHE. I ALWAYS TRY TO MAKE PEOPLE REALLY FEEL THE VIBE AND MAKE THEM GO WILD.

6. What are some of your favorite films or series?

MOSTLY CYBERPUNK AND SCI-FI ONES. AKIRA, GHOST IN THE SHELL, THE MATRIX AND ANIMATRIX, BLADE RUNNER AND ITS SEQUEL, ALTERED CARBON, OBVIOUSLY NARUTO, ATTACK ON A TITAN, AND I LOVE DARK TOO. I ALSO HAVE TO POINT OUT THAT MOST OF THE PHILIP K. DICK’S NOVELS ARE HUGE INSPIRATIONS FOR MY ART.

7. What is it about cyberpunk culture that fascinates you?

IT’S EVERYTHING, TECHNOLOGY, THE POLITICS, THE PEOPLE, CITIES, THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, THE ARTIFICIAL LIMBS, THE A.I. I MEAN EVERYTHING. I DO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE ALREADY LIVING IN A CYBERPUNK SOCIETY BUT I WOULD LOVE TO LIVE IN A  MORE FUTURISTIC WORLD AND HAVE AN A.I. COMPANION, AND THAT I COULD CONNECT TO THE COMPUTER SO I COULD MAKE MUSIC AND ART FASTER AND BETTER.

8. Any recent albums or releases you’ve been listening to a lot?

OH WHATEVER I FIND ON SOUNDCLOUD COS I DIG A LOT. JUST CHECK MY REPOSTS HAHA. BUT RECENTLY I LISTEN TO DEADCROW – TRANSMISSION EP, AND GEDZ – BOHEMA LP, AND BILLAIN – NOMAD’S REVENGE LP.

9. What valuable lessons have you learned since you started making music?

THAT PATIENCE IS THE KEY AND LIKE NARUTO, NEVER STOP BELIEVING NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAYS. I’VE BEEN WAITING 17 YEARS FOR BEING DISCOVERED AND NOW MY HARD WORK PAYS OFF. ALSO YOU NEED TO STAY HUMBLE AND HELPFUL. THAT’S WHY I EVERY TUESDAY I HAVE A FEEDBACK SESSION WHERE I HELP PEOPLE WITH THEIR TRACKS, COS I LOVE TO SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE.
AND REMEMBER, STAY SAFE, STAY TRIPPY

ＢＯＫＫＥＮ 木剣:

Bandcamp

Facebook

Spotify

Soundcloud

Instagram

We’ve had the pleasure of getting to ask some questions to one of today’s most talented digital artist, Ash Cox, also known as ALTITXDE. While she is a 3D and digital artist with a unique approach to futuristic & cyber themed art, she is also an exceptional motion graphic artist for Music Videos, Web Graphics, Compositing and GIFs. Featured on custom apparel and album covers, Ash is definitely one to keep an eye on. Her passion for art is apparent and her style is distinctive and unparalleled.

1. How would you describe your style?

My style is definitely cyber-fueled mech, dark future and any kind of cyberpunk bot or character is my favorite thing to create.

2. Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from a lot of things… dreams and visions from my meditations, though I’m yet to totally be able to recreate any of the crazy art I see in my mind so far. I get inspiration from other art; I especially love 2D illustrations and anime art style. Nature is definitely a huge inspiration to me. It’s not necessarily a subject matter but it just recharges me to keep creating.

3. What are your ambitions or goals as an artist?

You know, I’ve never been one to set goals (in terms of… like in 5 years time I want this and this) I’ve honestly always just followed my heart with everything I’ve done. As long as I get to do what I’m passionate about and makes me happy, it’s all good as far as I’m concerned. I want to remain open to any opportunities that might come my way. I think if you are following your heart (living your bliss) then all the rest kinda takes care of itself. Amazing things happen when we get out of the way by thinking we know how it should all pan out.

4. If you could pick a favorite piece of yours, which one would it be?

I don’t think I’ve created it yet!! Still to come.

5. Any particular artists you admire?

There’s too many to name and no specific ones that have influenced me the most but I have so much respect for people who are just doing their thing and putting their art out there into the world.

6. What kind of music do you listen to while working on artwork?

I used to be a total drum&bass girl and still love it but now I’m also lovin so many different genres…hip hop and rap, electronic, experimental, wave… I was listening the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack the other day while working …You can’t NOT be inspired by that.

7. What is your favorite sci-fi/cyberpunk film?

Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, anything Star Wars.

8. Any advice for up upcoming artists?

Don’t compare your work to other peoples’ work! That’s been a huge one for me. Especially working in 3D, I used to look at all those guys on Instagram and thought I have to be doing the same kind of stuff they do to be successful. I was watching this video by a woman just the other day and her advice was to just keep your head in your lane don’t go looking around at what everyone else is doing and don’t try to be like anyone else. Be yourself, just let what is inside you come out.

The hardest thing is trying not to judge your creations. It’s definitely a fine line between looking at your work objectively and crossing over into judgement, but I really think the whole creative process is inextricably linked with knowing who you are as a person on all levels (physically, emotionally, spiritually). If you have that self love and acceptance and are grounded in the truth of who you are then I really think that’s when you can become fully into a state of creative genius hahaha Not saying I’m anywhere near that but if I had any goals I guess it would be that

The best advice I’d give is to come at everything with a sense of fun and play and just follow your heart. If you loose that and get too caught up in being a success or worrying about what others think then it just becomes ‘work’. Also, just make sure you’re passionate about your art, like you can’t wait to get outta bed and keep working on that project you started the day before. I love that feeling.

ALTITXDE:

altitxde.com
www.artstation.com/altitxde
www.facebook.com/altitxde/
www.instagram.com/altitxde/

We had the honor of speaking to Jonathan from Limbix. Limbix is a San Francisco based company that aims to make virtual reality applications widely accessible to clinics and patients. Using software to help treat anxiety-based disorders with exposure therapy, Limbix intends to improve several aspects of healthcare.

2. When discussing exposure therapy using Virtual Reality, do clients always find it easier to do the real thing afterwards or is there still a disconnection between reality and simulation?

3. With VR becoming more accessible to everyone via their smartphones and gaming systems, do you feel this accessibility will be advantageous to psychologists using VR for exposure therapy?

4. What is your outlook on the future of this research and development? Any predictions?