further down the spiral

by Lounge Lizard

Photos Courtesy of Julius Landau, Marc Campbell and AYP

The Analog Girl (http:// www. analog- girl.net) has been quietly releasing her works over the past few years. Melting her love of electroklash and pop into a single unit, her music invokes a sense of paranoia. Vocals washed with heavy reverb swirl around metallic sheets of white noise and pulsating bleeps. Sonic bliss or sheer cacophony? You decide. Nevertheless, she turns heads as one of the few female practitioners of Singaporean electronic music, serving up her compelling, unconventional pop tunes. The Analog Girl is one musician hard to ignore.

How did the moniker, The Analog Girl come about?

A friend came up with it - and I just think it sounds sexy.

When did you start churning out your own tunes?

I wrote my very first song when I was 7. It has stuck with me ever since. I used to write a song a day for an entire year when I was a teenager - sounds like it has become an addiction of sorts! I released 2 tracks sometime back in 1994 and it was played on Perfect 10's Home Connections. Made a comeback in 2002 with The Analog Girl EP.

I understand you are creating music full-time. Is it a very painful and difficult decision for you to drop the pursuit of the rat race and plunge head on into this?

It’s actually the easiest thing I have done in my life because this is my passion. It is what I live for. I don’t see dropping the pursuit of the rat race as being a sacrifice. Instead, I see it as a privilege, a pursuit of freedom.

Besides the obvious comparison to electroklash, I hear distinct shades of Nine Inch Nails in your tunes. How much are you influenced by Trent Reznor and his cronies?

I am always pleasantly surprised when people make that comparison to Nine Inch Nails because I do not own a single Nine Inch Nails record! I am more of a trash pop person.

Who or what else do you look to for shaping your musical ideas?

I look to next season's fashion trends for inspiration. I believe there is a strong connection between fashion and music. Because music is a sonic representation of style.

Could it be another excuse for you to go shopping. Haha… Perhaps, you could share with us which designers influence your works?

Marc Jacobs ’ collection in the ‘90s and John Galliano’s future.

The combination of both organic and electronic elements in modern music appeals very strongly to us in the AYP team, fusing the best of both worlds. Is there a particular reason why you chose to take that direction?

I am both a fan of electronic and rock music. Unconsciously, these 2 elements come together in my work.

I see an inclination on your part to run most of your vocal tracks through effects and filters. Is there a reason why you do that or are you uncomfortable with your natural voice?

The effects are part and parcel of the music that I do at the present time – which is electro noise pop. Perhaps in the future, I will drop all effects and go totally organic. Who knows…

The processing of the vocals seems to signify that it is just part of the instrumentation, enhancing the mood of the tune rather than to convey a message. However, what are the main lyrical themes revolving around your songs?

Your inner desires…

I love your short pieces in the past which are even barely a minute in length. They seemed to be constructed as mood pieces for movie soundtracks. However, the newer tunes are more vocal-based and based in traditional song format. Are you moving away from the more cinematic soundtrack school of composition?

Thanks for enjoying my earlier works. That style has never left me really. I just like to push new ideas and a new direction with every record that I make.

I find it intriguing that you perform live just with your Mac G4 Powerbook.

I enjoy the freedom of making music anywhere I please. Most recently, I worked out of my hotel room in Paris when I was there for a performance at the Cirque Electrique. (It’s the) same thing in London when I played at The Spitz.

I understand the idea of making music on the fly where an increasing number of   DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) manufacturers are gunning for. What are your views on this trend? How much would this affect artists of your genre?

Does making music on the fly mean making music anywhere you are? If so, I think many hardware manufacturers like Korg are reacting to this trend by coming up with kick-ass software versions of their classic synths, so musicians can take them everywhere and create pro-sounding tracks. It’s a good thing for us, and a sound creative decision on the manufacturers’ part.

It’s definitely lovely to see musicians to gain more flexibility in using their equipment, instead of having to lug all that heavy gear all over the place. Laptop musicians are pretty a novelty in Singapore as folks still prefer to watch performers playing traditional instruments. How would you preach to the unconverted?

My set is slightly different from the usual laptop fare as I sing and operate a couple of other electronic instruments like the Airsynth or the Kaoss Pad. I say, just come with an open mind and a sonic imagination.

How did you manage to land the gigs in both Paris and London?

I hooked up with the organisers through the net, sent them my press kit, and everything just took off from there.

You went to Japan on a few occasions to perform. How was it like up there for a performer? While we know they are pretty much Anglophiles (it’s a recurring joke since Spinal Tap), how receptive are they to Singaporean artists?

The Japanese are very receptive to electronic noise music and avant-garde styles, so they have been a brilliant audience. It doesn’t matter which part of the world you come from really, or what language you speak – it is the music that matters most.

You named your previous album “Pink Bento Boutique”. How much of a Nippon-phile are you?

Not much really – I just thought it sounded cool. And it coincided with my Japanese trip.

How open are you to the idea of playing with additional musicians?

It would be a buzz to feed off the energy and vibe from other performers on stage, so that’s a good thing when the time is right.

The Workmen’s Tools

Aging Youth talks to The Analog Girl about what she uses to craft her electro-pop tunes.

Are all your compositions done on your Mac G4 Powerbook? Were any other external compositional devices used in the process, eg. USB keyboards?

All my latest tracks are done solely on my Powerbook. Even my keyboard is computer-based, as in I play the musical notes using my computer (QWERTY) keyboard.

What software are you running to compose? Would it be different from what you'd use for live playback?

It is exactly the same software - Ableton Live. Highly versatile, with infinite possibilities.

Ableton Live is more known for its capability in generating loops rather than its recording abilities. Is that more suitable for your needs? In your opinion. how does it hold up against Propellerhead Reason   which is known for its versatility for creating electronic dance music?

Ableton Live was primarily designed to function as a live sequencing tool, where the performer is able to play back pre-recorded sound loops in realtime, and at the same manipulate the loops and effects realtime. It also has a great editing and arrangement capacity, and operates just like any other multi-track sequencer (e.g. Logic or Cubase). You can play any loop like a musical instrument too by transposing the sound, or chop it up until it’s a completely new phrase.

Basically, you can make an entire track with just one sound - be it a snare drum or a sine wave – anything. With Live 4, midi and software synths are packed in and therefore makes it a complete music production tool.

Sometimes, I do use Propellerhead Reason to generate loops, which I will then import into Ableton Live for further treatment.

What sort of plug-ins you use on your vocals for most of the tracks?

Creative use of EQ and delay.

What interface are you currently using?

I am using a MOTU 828 audio interface.