Rhythmism.comQ&A with AMBIVALENT - New M_NUS Release out Friday 4.20.2007
by rhythmism
Thursday, Apr 19th 2007, 01:20 PM
BY STARSTUFF & BMC
Kevin McHugh aka Ambivalent aka micromini has been maximally engaged in New York's electronic music culture for some years now. He's been a minimal tour de force working as a promoter, event producer, DJ, and recording artist.
His work as a promoter and event organizer dates back to the Music in the Anchorage series for Creative Time in 2000 for some of the most memorable parties we've been to in NYC. He later went on to organize the Micro-Mini series of events at Filter 14 with guests like Magda, Matthew Dear, and Akufen. Next he temporarily relocated to Berlin to help Richie Hawtin prepare for his live show at the 2004 Mutek festival. After Mutek and the "Closer" release tour he returned to NYC going on to start the Novay event series at APT.
On top of the event productions, Kevin has combined his curatorial and DJ skills by hosting a weekly radio show - along with Camea - called The Nerd Tank. You can watch - or listen - to the nerds Thursdays on East Village Radio. Most recently, Kevin has been putting out records under the Ambivalent moniker; with releases on Clink, Clickhaus and M_nus.
Am-biv-a-lence
uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
Many people misinterpret ambivalence as indifference. What are you ambivalent about these days?
Everything. No one who knows me would deny that I'm obsessively passionate about both sides to every issue. I like the song I wrote yesterday, and I hate it. I want people to like my music, but then I'd prefer to stay obscure. I want it all, and I also want it all to go away.
Your first EP was on CLINK records and now you're on the venerable techno label M_NUS. How did you make the leap?
Releasing on Clink and M-nus wasn't a leap at all. They are both labels run by friends who are close enough to be family. They're both labels with great reputations and great rosters of artists. I'm honored to be included in both. I share my music with friends to get honest feedback. I'm just very lucky that my circle of friends includes such capable, talented people.
Ambivalent's Discography
Clink 005 - Roomies EP
Klickhaus 003 - Palindrome EP
M_nus 49 - R U OK EP
You already had a strong relationship with Richie having worked with him in Berlin on his Plastikman Live multi-media audio-visual performance in 2004. What were some of the challenges in executing the Plastikman vision. (Mutek 2004 - Plastikman Live: http://media.m-nus.com/plastikman/v/
Rich and I had been friends for a while when we developed the live show. I couldn't begin to list the challenges we faced, mainly because we were making a show using 2008 technology in 2004. What we wanted to do was barely rooted in what was technically possible. Rich had a big idea, we dreamed it into being even bigger, and with the help of some massively talented people (namely Derivative Inc.) we tried to reach out into new terrain. We proved to ourselves we could do it, and I still believe it will be a while before someone does it better.
Can you share the craziest antic witnessed during your time in Berlin or on the Plastikman tour?
The strangest thing I ever saw in Berlin was a desiccated cat corpse in the corner of a party 3 stories underground. There was a spotlight on it like it was in an art gallery. At 10am we walked outside and knew how that cat felt.
The new video for 'R U OK' seems to channel Darren Arronosky and some dark descent into an afterhours abyss. I've been referring it to as "Requiem for a Rave." What kind of art direction did you give the director or did you just play him the track and let him exercise his own creative vision?
We all felt like the title track from the EP has this dark, comic edge. It's sinister; it's about the ugly side of partying too much. When we talked about doing a short promo video for the EP, it seemed to make sense to go further with that. I did a sound design for it that only used about 10 seconds of the original track. Ali went with his own interpretation of the sounds and came up with a pretty arresting video.
Why didn't you go to Miami for WMC?
I have a lot of gigs coming up in other cities, as well as a day job. It was a tough choice, but in the end, it made more sense to save vacation time for gigs and travel.
What direction are you headed in now for your music production, DJing and events?
Well, I'm religious about the radio show I do with Camea called The Nerd Tank. It's on East Village Radio every Friday night from 10pm-12am. It's the most fun I've had as a DJ since I first started playing records in London in 9I'm playing live a lot more, which is really nerve-wracking, but way too much fun to pass up. And I'm enjoying going to all the great parties happening in NYC these days.
What do you love about New York City right now?
I love walking down one block and being able to see representation from nearly every part of the world. I love that the city keeps me so buzzed I can hardly sleep through the night, even after 11 years here. I love that people all over the world are seeing New York as a center of great musical talent because of the efforts of labels like Clink, Klickhaus, Goosehound, Thema, Wolf+Lamb, Microcosm, and others.
What are your upcoming plans for summer 2007?
I can't even see past the end of April. I have no idea what the summer will bring.
We'd like to give you a chance to share a funny story about some techno notable. Names may be withheld to protect the guilty.
Okay, here goes... I was in a private plane with a few friends. One of the people in the plane was _____, who had just been paid with a bag of ancient gold coins. We were flying over Macchu Picchu after a dinner of bottle-nosed dolphin steak smothered in rainforest tree-sap syrup. We'd all gotten totally drunk off a rare, fermented ox-milk. Delicious. Suddenly, ______ stands up, opens the plane door and starts throwing gold coins at the ruins. One of the groupies reigned him in and we all had a laugh. It wasn't until a year later when we found out that ______ ______ had almost given up DJing because he'd had a religious experience after a gold coin struck him in the head. Where? Machhu Picchu. And that's a heartwarming tale you can only get in the techno world.
P.S. One of those people was Troy Pierce. Another was Heartthrob. I can't confirm or deny Camea's involvement.
AMBIVALENT | R U OK
M49 12"
R.U.OK? R.U.OK? Everyone's been there at one time or another but no one's documented it quite so explicitly as Ambivalent (aka Kevin McHugh) on his first release for Minus.
Artist/Title: AMBIVALENT | R U OK
Catalog No.: M49
Label: MINUS
Track listing:
A1 - R U OK 45 RPM
A2 - R U OK (a cappella)
B1 - Indecision 33 RPM
B2 - Nugget
Digital exclusive tracks: Bunt
Cold Hands
Format/Info: 12” VINYL SINGLE
Barcode: 881390584963
Release Date: APRIL 20, 2007
Kevin McHugh aka Ambivalent aka micromini has been maximally engaged in New York's electronic music culture for some years now. He's been a minimal tour de force working as a promoter, event producer, DJ, and recording artist.
His work as a promoter and event organizer dates back to the Music in the Anchorage series for Creative Time in 2000 for some of the most memorable parties we've been to in NYC. He later went on to organize the Micro-Mini series of events at Filter 14 with guests like Magda, Matthew Dear, and Akufen. Next he temporarily relocated to Berlin to help Richie Hawtin prepare for his live show at the 2004 Mutek festival. After Mutek and the "Closer" release tour he returned to NYC going on to start the Novay event series at APT.
On top of the event productions, Kevin has combined his curatorial and DJ skills by hosting a weekly radio show - along with Camea - called The Nerd Tank. You can watch - or listen - to the nerds Thursdays on East Village Radio. Most recently, Kevin has been putting out records under the Ambivalent moniker; with releases on Clink, Clickhaus and M_nus.
Am-biv-a-lence
uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
Many people misinterpret ambivalence as indifference. What are you ambivalent about these days?
Everything. No one who knows me would deny that I'm obsessively passionate about both sides to every issue. I like the song I wrote yesterday, and I hate it. I want people to like my music, but then I'd prefer to stay obscure. I want it all, and I also want it all to go away.
Your first EP was on CLINK records and now you're on the venerable techno label M_NUS. How did you make the leap?
Releasing on Clink and M-nus wasn't a leap at all. They are both labels run by friends who are close enough to be family. They're both labels with great reputations and great rosters of artists. I'm honored to be included in both. I share my music with friends to get honest feedback. I'm just very lucky that my circle of friends includes such capable, talented people.
Ambivalent's Discography
Clink 005 - Roomies EP
Klickhaus 003 - Palindrome EP
M_nus 49 - R U OK EP
You already had a strong relationship with Richie having worked with him in Berlin on his Plastikman Live multi-media audio-visual performance in 2004. What were some of the challenges in executing the Plastikman vision. (Mutek 2004 - Plastikman Live: http://media.m-nus.com/plastikman/v/
Rich and I had been friends for a while when we developed the live show. I couldn't begin to list the challenges we faced, mainly because we were making a show using 2008 technology in 2004. What we wanted to do was barely rooted in what was technically possible. Rich had a big idea, we dreamed it into being even bigger, and with the help of some massively talented people (namely Derivative Inc.) we tried to reach out into new terrain. We proved to ourselves we could do it, and I still believe it will be a while before someone does it better.
Can you share the craziest antic witnessed during your time in Berlin or on the Plastikman tour?
The strangest thing I ever saw in Berlin was a desiccated cat corpse in the corner of a party 3 stories underground. There was a spotlight on it like it was in an art gallery. At 10am we walked outside and knew how that cat felt.
The new video for 'R U OK' seems to channel Darren Arronosky and some dark descent into an afterhours abyss. I've been referring it to as "Requiem for a Rave." What kind of art direction did you give the director or did you just play him the track and let him exercise his own creative vision?
We all felt like the title track from the EP has this dark, comic edge. It's sinister; it's about the ugly side of partying too much. When we talked about doing a short promo video for the EP, it seemed to make sense to go further with that. I did a sound design for it that only used about 10 seconds of the original track. Ali went with his own interpretation of the sounds and came up with a pretty arresting video.
Why didn't you go to Miami for WMC?
I have a lot of gigs coming up in other cities, as well as a day job. It was a tough choice, but in the end, it made more sense to save vacation time for gigs and travel.
What direction are you headed in now for your music production, DJing and events?
Well, I'm religious about the radio show I do with Camea called The Nerd Tank. It's on East Village Radio every Friday night from 10pm-12am. It's the most fun I've had as a DJ since I first started playing records in London in 9I'm playing live a lot more, which is really nerve-wracking, but way too much fun to pass up. And I'm enjoying going to all the great parties happening in NYC these days.
What do you love about New York City right now?
I love walking down one block and being able to see representation from nearly every part of the world. I love that the city keeps me so buzzed I can hardly sleep through the night, even after 11 years here. I love that people all over the world are seeing New York as a center of great musical talent because of the efforts of labels like Clink, Klickhaus, Goosehound, Thema, Wolf+Lamb, Microcosm, and others.
What are your upcoming plans for summer 2007?
I can't even see past the end of April. I have no idea what the summer will bring.
We'd like to give you a chance to share a funny story about some techno notable. Names may be withheld to protect the guilty.
Okay, here goes... I was in a private plane with a few friends. One of the people in the plane was _____, who had just been paid with a bag of ancient gold coins. We were flying over Macchu Picchu after a dinner of bottle-nosed dolphin steak smothered in rainforest tree-sap syrup. We'd all gotten totally drunk off a rare, fermented ox-milk. Delicious. Suddenly, ______ stands up, opens the plane door and starts throwing gold coins at the ruins. One of the groupies reigned him in and we all had a laugh. It wasn't until a year later when we found out that ______ ______ had almost given up DJing because he'd had a religious experience after a gold coin struck him in the head. Where? Machhu Picchu. And that's a heartwarming tale you can only get in the techno world.
P.S. One of those people was Troy Pierce. Another was Heartthrob. I can't confirm or deny Camea's involvement.
AMBIVALENT | R U OK
M49 12"
R.U.OK? R.U.OK? Everyone's been there at one time or another but no one's documented it quite so explicitly as Ambivalent (aka Kevin McHugh) on his first release for Minus.
Artist/Title: AMBIVALENT | R U OK
Catalog No.: M49
Label: MINUS
Track listing:
A1 - R U OK 45 RPM
A2 - R U OK (a cappella)
B1 - Indecision 33 RPM
B2 - Nugget
Digital exclusive tracks: Bunt
Cold Hands
Format/Info: 12” VINYL SINGLE
Barcode: 881390584963
Release Date: APRIL 20, 2007