Q:
Can you tell us a bit about your musical background - where
did
your interests and abilities come from?
When
I was a child, I started playing the piano learning melodies
just by ear and not necessarily by learning notes.
My passion for music came from my heart, and got help from
my uncle who was a dj for a long time.
When I was visiting him almost each weekend with my family
- I always remember my self with head phones and small mixer
listening to tunes from records that he collected.
Beside that, I've been into parties and started working
in the music industry at very young age.
Another visit to Ibiza in 1997, gave me the opportunity
to meet one of the great talents those days (Juan-Muses
Rapt), and drove me into my dj-ing career in a professional
way.
Q :
What is the musical scene like right now in Israel?
The
musical scene in Israel has changed in the last years.
The progressive sound got into the scene strongly, and the
chill out and free style added to some lines of organization
.from the “doof festival”, to the first “taz
festival” by the 3rd empire.
Many dance bars and coffee shops also got in their lines
artists that play free style.
Still-our scene is not so strong in Israel (even though
we've got some nice labels such as Mighty Fat Records and
Aleph Zero), as there is a lot of commercial music and too
many real TV shows, that push new & not professional
singers, and not the electronic music artists.
The whole market has got into a loop of music that just
crushes our young and new artists in other genres.
The cd industry in Israel prefers to promote and sell “stars”
of kids shows from the TV, and not to try to take risks
with new artists or any electronic artists...at least not
too many .
The full on style got a lot more exposure than the free
style music in our land.
In any case-the electronic Israeli artists, get much more
success & exposure in my opinion-out side Israel, and
in fact all around the world.
I hope for more development in this area in the near future
also in our small not silent land...
Q :
Why Kukan Dub Lagan - the project and the name?
Kukan
Dub Lagan was created with the propose of trying out a different
style of music.
After playing trance as a dj for a long time in many places
around the world, I decided to produce another style of
music in the hope of playing it as well.
My dream was to make an album, and to try to make people
smile & feel good vibes while they listened to it.
From that time, even though I also produced trance as “ItaiTaiko”,
i just fell in love with this project, that is less commercial
than trance. Therefore, reaching people with this sound,
was a greater challenge & vision for me.
One of the nice things in the name of Kukan Dub Lagan is
that the “kukan” means “space” in
Japanese, "dub" is the style, and “lagan”
is a shortened form of the word “balagan” that
means in Hebrew “chaos”.
For me it was the variety of the styles in the music of
this project.
Still-the main sound of this project for me is dub, in my
own style, always psychedelic, without any purpose to do
something that sounds like others.
Q :
What did you set out to achieve with the latest album Step
Ina Rasta Step?
For me
this album was a real upgrade from the first album, .as
“Life is Nice” was more commercial & upbeat
in my opinion, this album gets more into the melodic &
dubby side of me.
For exmple, the intro of this album is another style that
I really love to produce, and I got a lot of this style
of music in my studio - finished and in progress.
I hope to release a full cd in this style in the future.
I also hope to get to more potential customers and listeners
around the world with the second album, as I believe is
“easy to like” with its melodic shiny sound.
Q :
How would you say your sound has progressed since Life Is
Nice?
I believe
that my sound has matured. The whole concept of my sound
has changed.
The melody is more developed, each of the parts and channels
in each track has got its own special idea, and the quality
has developed as well.
I think that by listening to my first and second album,
one can surely understand the evolution of the music style.
Still - I love the first album. It's got different sound,
many people love it and I am sure that there is always room
for progress.
Q :
Can you tell us a bit about your methods - how do you write,
record,
produce your music?
I don't
have one regular method :) I've got many ways to produce.
If it is by playing on the piano, or by drumming on the
percussion, or by recording any vocal...
I can even watch a movie, listen to one sound there and
then immediately open my computer and try to produce a whole
track just from that one sound that got me inspired.
I always try to make my sound as high quality as possible
... fat and warm.
Q :
What feedback from listeners have you found to be especially
pleasing/useful?
Many people
wrote me that the music gave them the feeling they are sitting
& relaxing on the beach with a drink in their hands.
Some wrote me that the music made them smile ...
I get a lot of daily feedback, and the great thing about
it is that it makes me & inspires me to make and produce
more and more music.
Q :
What led up to the formation of your own record label?
The label has been created with the purpose
of supporting the scene, and to bring new original sound
with out the regular terms of labels that goes only on
the main stream stuff.
The main purpose of the label is to release original music
and to support existing artists as well as new talent,
and to be direct and true with the artists we work with
and will yet work with.
Q :
What are your goals for the label?
To bring some new sound to the
scene.
To get into more directions and not only to the trance market.
To bring quality dj's to our group, that will be professional
& unique in their way of working and sound.
Q :
You have other musical projects on the go too - can you tell
us something about these?
I've got another 2 projects.
One is “ItaiTaiko”. It is my progressive trance
project. I just released an album “A Little Different”
on Quantic Chill Records from Portugal.
It is a different sound, and the feedback and reviews on
it already mention it as a different sound in our scene.
I'm already working on the second album.
Another project is “Raijin Gaijin”. It's an
electro tech acid house project.
During my last gigs around the world I developed this style
and I am working these days on an album, “It's Time
To Spin”, that will be released under my own label
“MikelaBella Reccords” in the next months.
I believe that this project will be very successful...
Q :
Where do you see Kukan Dub Lagan heading in future?
In the future I will finish
the 3rd album of Kukan-DuB-Lagan, that is already in progress.
I am already in contact with some reggae singers around
the world with the purpose of getting this project to more
music markets.
I have got also another style of music of Kukan that I have
developed.
More ethnic style, some more chill and relaxation, and I
want to get with my style into sound tracks, in the hope
of making people smile also in the movies ;)
I wish you my best and say “FEEL Life” as much
as possible, each minute that passes.
Thanks
to Itay Berger for allowing us that interview.
