aaamusic | On 20, Nov 2010

AAAmusic: How did the project come together?

Shigeru Tanabu aka Solid State Soul (SSS): I first worked with Azzurro when I played guitar on his record “Nagisa” from 2007 and kept working together since. After a while, I was telling him I was heavily into dubstep and turned out he was too so there and then we decided we’d make an album together.

Azzurro (AZZ): I’ve been moving in the hip-hop field and Shigeru has been in the techno/house scene but we’ve both been heavily influenced by dub. It was because of dubstep that these 2 types of people got connected.

AAAmusic: How would you describe the music that you make?

SSS: Never really thought about it..

AZZ: I don’t think that’s something the creator of the music should or could describe. Whatever people feel when they listen to it is how it should be described..

AAAmusic: Which artist inspire you?

AZZ: Paul C、DJ Premier、DMZ、Augustus Pablo、Daddy Kev、Elemental、Sun Ra、Dabrye、Intrusion、Basic Channel、Indopepsychics……

SSS: Moritz Von Ozwald Trio, Monolake, Scuba、Shackleton、2562…it’s endless. As far as guitarists, David Fiuczynski, Wolfgang Muthspiel are inspiring.

AAAmusic: It’s a good time for dubstep at the minute; what do you think people like so much about that genre?

SSS: I think it has something that seriously fires people up. Everything, including the attitude, for me, is rock’n’roll.

AZZ: The polyrhythmic beats really strike a chord with me. Also the way it gobbles up all genres into one nondescript music reminds me of old school hip-hop and that’s also something that I love about it. I think personally, the 140 bpm tempo is a tempo that’s physiologically comfortable.

AAAmusic: How does the scene in Japan differ from in the UK?

SSS: It’s nowhere near as widespread as it is in the UK here. But compared to a year ago, things are definitely starting to change and more and more people are getting into dubstep.

AZZ: I’m not too clued up on the UK scene but I think having the scenes differ is a good thing.

AAAmusic: What can fans expect from your upcoming album?

AZZ: Stereoscopically massive sounds. Rhythm and chord textures with a hint of subtlety.

SSS: We made this without thinking about what’s popular out there at all and did what we wanted so I think that comes through in the music. By 2 artists from different backgrounds coming together, I think we were able to create a sound only AZZXSSS can make.

AAAmusic: Have you done any live shows yet?

SSS: Yeah we played a show in Sapporo in 2009

AZZ: Shigeru plays giutar as well so there are going to be alot of interesting things we can do live.

AAAmusic: What are you planning for 2011?

AZZ: I’d like to do as many remixes as possible as AZZXSSS..I’m also planning to release my 4th solo album.

SSS: More Gigs and more production, and I’m gonna be a daddy in 2011.

Author: Josie Payne