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MORPHEUS
MUSIC INTERVIEW - SHULMAN
29.11.07
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| Q:
The new album Endless Rhythms of the Beatless Heart is now
released – what can the fans expect to hear? |
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We think
that “Endless Rhythms of the Beatless Heart”
is in some ways an improved, more mature continuation of
“In Search of a Meaningful Moment”. However
this album stands out strongly on its own, being a whole,
complete and unique creation with its own colors and sonic
images. It is by far our favorite album of all four so far,
and we feel it shows a major musical improvement and that
we took a significant step forward in our compositional,
arranging and production skills. We feel that this album
is truly unique and that we did manage to break the mold.
It’s the first album we are completely proud of! For
sound clips from the new album please check out this amazing
e-flyer created by the most talented Phillip (Agalctia):
http://www.aleph-zero.info/media/AlephZ08/eflyer/Shulman4Flyer.htm.
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Q :
For those unfamiliar with Shulman’s music - how
would you describe your current sound? What makes your music
distinct?
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If we
have to define it then it will be something like a multi
cross genre music project, with emphasis on the more mystical,
visual, spiritual and psychedelic side of acoustic and electronic
music. We feel our music and sound is very unique and distinct
and is categorized by the original combination of multi
cultural beautiful melodies, rich harmonies, hi tech sounds,
sonic patterns and 21st century audio manipulation. |
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| Q :
We hear the new album took 4 years in the making – what
exactly takes all this time? |
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We don’t
really know why it took so long. We guess that we didn’t
want to release it before we were 100% happy with it, of course
that during this time we did many other things in our lives.
We did not sit for 4 years in the studio and work on this
album all day. For example, the opening track on the album
-“Retroscape” is actually the first track composed
after “In Search of a Meaningful Moment” was completed.
In fact, we think Retroscape’s first version was completed
before “In Search of a Meaningful Moment” was
released! But this track was edited from time to time and
we think it turned out to be one of the last tracks to finish
on the album! With that said not all of the tracks were edited
repeatedly, some were just left as they were originally written.
To be honest we don’t really care how long it took to
produce, much more important to us is the quality of the music
and the story it tells. |
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Q :
Was there a particular goal you set out to achieve through
this project?
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There was
no special purpose or goal we tried to achieve, except for
fulfilling the constant urge to write music. I think we are
some sort of audio / music junkies… |
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Q :What
do you consider to be the most satisfying result from this
release?
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Although we
really love all tracks on ‘Endless Rhythms of the Beatless
Heart” our favorite tracks are “One Step Closer”
and “Invention”. For us these two pieces are on
two opposite sides of the musical spectrum in terms of atmosphere
and vision but they both really do it for us. |
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Q :
Can you tell us a bit about your recording techniques –
how does a Shulman track come about?
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Usually the
work flow begins when we have an idea for a theme or a rough
sketch which we would like to develop. Then we usually go
into the studio to a recording session in which we try different
ideas and improvisations on the theme. After the initial session
we work at the studio and edit the recording to form a finer
draft of the track. Then we go back into the studio to record
corrections and additions if needed. So we guess the process
is some sort of incremental loop in which every phase the
music is changed until we are satisfied with the result. |
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Q :
The Shulman sound always has a high degree of polish
- would you care to share one or two production secrets with
us?
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Thank you!
We don’t really have any secrets.
To achieve good sound you need a good room (in terms of acoustic
signature), good monitors (we use Genelec 1031APM and Dynaudio
BM6A) and most importantly a little gift from god –
reasonable hearing sensitivity and talent. If you have all
of these then the final ingredient is experience. The more
you work the more likely is that you’ll achieve good
results. |
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Q :
How do you put your artwork together for your CDs –
what say do you have in this side of the business?
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We usually work very hard
on our covers trying to design and tell a complementary
story to the music. So far, every album was designed by
different people. For example “Random Thoughts”
cover was inspired by the artwork of Matyas from Reality
Engine in NYC. So to make this happen we photographed
my girlfriend Dovrat, mixed her photo into an artwork
done by one of my favorite visual artist ever, FTHR, a
Finnish guy who currently lives in Spain. The image remix
was passed to a Canadian graphic designer called Sijay
for the layout and typographic design, and then finally
back to me for some finishing touches. As you can see
it was a *very* long and complicated process but I think
the outcome was worth the effort! As for the business
side of things, many people are “buying with their
eyes” and we know that if the artwork will be appealing
there’s a better chance of someone picking up our
CD from the enormous selection of CDs in the shop, therefore,
we put a lot of effort end emphasis on designing a cover
that will be interesting and will accompany our music.
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Q :
Where do you think electronic downtempo music is heading?
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We
think that the electronic downtempo music will have a very
bright future. Musically speaking it’s a very free
and stretchable genre where there’s almost nothing
“illegal”. You can make people float, dance,
visualize and create any sort of atmosphere and feeling
possible through music. We are sure this kind of music will
attract more and more intelligent listeners in the years
to come. The rest is up to us artists, if we will make good
music than were sure the scene will grow and develop. |
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Q :
How might Shulman feature in this musical future? |
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Hopefully
we'll continue to grow in our musical creation… in
this genre and others as well. |
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| Q :
Thank you for the interview do have any last words to
share with the fans? |
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We want to thank all the fans
and promoters who support us. It’s very much appreciated
and keeps us going, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
We hope people will enjoy “Endless Rhythms of the Beatless
Heart” as much as we enjoyed working on it.
Please check out our website: www.shulman.info
and our myspace page www.myspace.com/yanivshulman
for more info, samples and downloads etc’. |
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Thanks
to Yani and Omi for allowing us that interview.
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