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I had been familiar with the artist Hobo for a while, but it wasn’t before July 2010 when I actually heard him live. At the Minus beach party during SONAR I was enjoying the music a lot but couldn’t see the DJ so when I approached the DJ booth to see who it was I saw – surprise surprise – Hobo! Most likely because of his previous Tractile productions I expected to hear from him a much darker and minimalistic sound but the reality was quite different. After that naturally I checked all his new music and had the chance to listen to him live one more time in Bar25 which successfully completed my conversion into a big Hobo fan.
If you haven’t heard much about him here is what you have to know: his name is Joel Boychuk, he grew up in Canada, and among his earliest influences were Kraftwerk, Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins and Plastikman. He forms the duo Tractile with his friend Adam Young and soon they are invited by Richie Hawtin to release on Minus. What follows is the successful “Silent Movie” EP, moving to Berlin and much traveling around the world. After this period Joel decides to go back to Canada trying to persue his own musical vision. His alter ego Hobo emerges in a National Park close to his hometown. His belief that the more you put yourself into the music, the bigger the chance the listener will get something meaningful out of it results in his new productions that are defined by his experience and view. Hobo has three successful EPs, the last one of which “Berlin Booty” came out in November 2010.
If you want to know more about him you can do it here. Also I strongly recommend his latest Minus Connections mix, which you can download via this link.
And here is what he answered when he kindly accepted my invitation for a short interview for PanicaOnline.
If you have to describe your style with a few words to someone who is not so familiar with it what would you say?
Hmmm, I guess I would have to say that it’s what it would sound like if you took pop dance music, took out some of the cheesiness, injected it with a little funk, and added more hi-hats!
You began your career as part of Tractile, then you made a short pause and came back as Hobo, why did you make this change?
I made this change because I had a lot of plans and goals could not be achieved as part of Tractile. Working in a duo is tough because two people have to have their ideas and goals always line up. Or at least be very similar. I had really big plans and goals and had my sights set much higher and so a duo divided cannot stand.
During that pause you also left Berlin, what role does Berlin play in both your personal and professional lives?
I didn’t realize at the time how important Berlin actually was to me. It took leaving it to really see and understand it. Essentially Berlin is the absolute most important player in my personal and professional lives. It is the common ground that has brought me together with the amazing people that I hang out with and also work with. My life would be very different had I not experienced this city.
Your sound is now much different than Tractile’s, why is that, what kind of sound do you want to create now?
Tractile’s sound was fun to make, and some days.. but only just some! I dip back into it for fun. The problem with wanting to make freaky, scary horror movie music that works in clubs is that freaky, scary horror movie music doesn’t work in clubs! Ok, maybe it worked a little, but its ok to not sound like a killer is about to jump out, and with the Hobo sound I make music that is a little more accessible while retaining just a nod to those scary undertones, rather than making them the focal point.
Where do you draw your influences from technically and musically?
Technically my influences are nothing but raw experimentation. No one taught me how to do anything, so it’s all up to my own experimental discovery. Musically my influences are usually the things that I do in my day to day life. All of what I can output comes from within and is fueled by life experience. That’s why, hopefully it will always represent me.
What do you like about being a live act? Have you ever thought about making DJ sets as well?
I like being a live act because you can take more risks, and push yourself a little harder. Every single moment of my set was created by me and will be put into so many different club environments. I think thats a cool control to have, but you also have to be a little bit diverse with your productions with is a fun challenge too. As for DJing, that’s how I got started with all this! The last time I had DJ’d publicly was in January 2005, but in 2010 a few very spontaneous parties and opportunities presented themselves where I found myself behind the decks again. It got me excited to quite possibly make a return in 2011.
What setup do you use for your live performances?
Ableton Live first and foremost, and I’m always trying out new controllers and things to streamline how it works. I have been experimenting in 2010 with a hacked Korg PadKontrol and with various iPad apps. The iPad has made the future look very promising for live performances.
You have three successful EPs until now, the last one “Berlin Booty” came out a couple of months ago, have you thought about an album?
I’ve been hard at work on a big album project for a little while now! Keep your ear to the ground for more on that not too long from now.
What role does Minus play in your career?
Minus is my home base in this busy and hectic industry. And it serves as a platform for virtually all of my creative output. It’s good to have a place like that to call home and to be associated with some other great artists through also.
It is the beginning of the new year so naturally comes the question what are you looking forward to in 2011?
I’m definitely looking forward to more parties! 2010 was an amazing year mostly because of all the fun it was. I can look back over a calendar and tell you what I was doing almost every weekend last year. So I’m looking forward to more of that and all that comes with it, fun, awesome people, the odd beach or two and future memories.
January 22nd, 2011 by Denitsa
source: panicaonline.com
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