Hippie Dance Takeover: The Golden Rave Days Have Dawned
Some may say that the golden age of raving has long had its day. They may say "leave it back in the 90s where it belongs with your acid, smiley face t-shirts and your glow sticks, you nostalgic numpty". But to them we stick up our proverbial finger. Superpitcher agrees and salutes this period of hard-core, indulgent raving with his 12-part offering 'The Golden Rave Days'. Here he sits down with Fantastic Twin and Rebellodo to discuss sandwiches and why he's created such a long release.
Fantastic Twin: Can you tell us more about 'The Golden Rave Days'? Are you feeling old? Is this your retirement gift to the world?
Superpitcher: 'The Golden Rave Days' is my third ful-length studio album that is being released across 2017 in 12 chapters of two tracks each. Thanks to this album, I've aged significantly, but as my favourite poet Robert Frost said: "I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep." I know that people may think I'm reminiscing a bygone era but in my mind the golden rave days are being lived right now. It was not my idea to refer to some golden age of raving that are long gone and should be remembered with nostalgia and soaking wet Kleenex. It's an ode to all the musical styles that have influenced me over the years, in that sense it honors the past, but my hope is that these tracks will carry their own golden rays into the future.
Rebellodo: Why did you decide to release music every month? Were you afraid we would not have other material to release on Hippie Dance? Were you bored with the existing formats?
SP: Haha! You And Your Hippie Friends might think that, right? No, it is not as if I was bored per se with the exisitng formats, but I had to question the limitations that producers face when I had this dilemma with the longer-than-usual material I created. When I made the music for 'The Golden Rave Days', the tracks naturally stretched out beyond traditional formats. I did not have the heart to cut any of the sound. The result was that I had to find another way of releasing this album, hence the 12 respective LPs.
FT: Tell us how you produced this epic body of music? Did you lock yourself up in your studio and follow a German regime of perfectionist self-slavery?
SP: Ja! Mein Fantastisch Twins! Well, it was not unlike that. I still had no fixed address to live in when I arrived in Paris but I was offered a space, a cave actually, to build a wonderful studio in. It was winter and I basically stayed indoors for a full month. I really did not plan anything special even though I did feel that the time was right for a new album after releasing King So So in 2015. Every day a new track made its appearence and sessions took their own course. By the end of the month I had so much new material and had to consider which path I should take to release the music.
R: Why do you like long tracks so much? Is it a new thing for you to explore or do you feel you've stayed true to the style you've become known for over the years?
SP: It's not as if I am opposed to shorter tracks, it's just that I've come to realise that the groove of music I create likes to take its time and explore many corners of the different sound spaces I wish to reflect. I do feel that this production actually compares very much with the characteristics of my very first release under the alias- Sir Positive, too many full moons ago. I listened to that release the other day (still on tape!) and even surprised myself when I realised that I did indeed stay true to a signature technique. In those beginning years I was heavily under the influence of reggae and dub. Even though the extensive archive of other genres of music I've collected over the years have influenced me in other ways, I am still very much in love with reggae and dub music and the slow deconstructed pace of the sound they create.
FT: You've been based in Paris for several years. Can you speak French yet so you can communicate with my twin? Rumour has it that you have honed your tastebuds over there and become even more of a foodie since your Cologne days. Do you have any favourite restaurants?
SP: I get by with the little French I ahve learned, but, sadly, your twin will have to wait until we can have a proper conversation. I am very lucky to have discovered wonderful restaurants here and in general I don't like to single out favourites. However, there is one I would like to mention. It is a jewel of a place that kept me alive while producing 'The Golden Rave Days' and continues to do so. It is called 'CheZaline', a lunch restaurant offering the most incredibly delicious sandwiches, salads and daily plates. If the English saying "you are what you eat" is true, then Delphine from CheZaline deserves all the credit for the music of 'The Golden Rave Days'.
Buy 'The Golden Rave Days' TRG5 HERE.
Follow Superpitcher on Instagram: @thegoldenravedays
Listen to the R$N premiere of 'Burkina' HERE.