Geek speak

I'm in the middle of doing a load of interviews before taking a well-deserved break until the new year. All of the people I'm talking to are producers I rate, some more than others, including a number of names who released my favourite records in '07. However, one problem I'm encountering, almost without exception, is what to ask them. Don't get me wrong, I can be talkative when I want to, but due to the volume of the interviews I'm trying to complete (15 in total), most of are taking place via e-mail, where the flow of informal chit-chat and conversation is lost, supplanted by questions that make the process look like a formal interrogation. Still, this should not deflect from the main problem: I have been doing this for years and although I still have the same passion, it never gets easier, mainly because it's difficult to describe techno in words and the people who make it are well, kind of normal, anonymous types. There is only so much one can talk to your favourite producer about their best record, how they made it, what software they prefer, etc, until you get to the point where it descends into geek-speak. It's no surprise then that my favourite interviews are with those few DJs/producers who can talk about their personal lives, discuss other, wider issues or aren't afraid to make their opinions known in a fortright way.
Maybe it's because techno rarely features vocals (although asking a pop star about the banal lyrics that someone else has written for them is far duller) and its essence is so abstract - I'm also a fan of modern/abstract art and the other day watched a critic on TV trying and inevitably failing to appraise work by Pollock and other abstract expressionists: believe me, I felt for him - that makes writing about techno similar to 'dancing to architecture'.

Comments

[leeism]

I feel for you, Richard. I too am in the middle of a gargantuan reviews/interviews splurge, and you reach a point where it all becomes a bit much. I find myself thinking 'Did I already use that phrase/metaphor/adjective already?' or 'did I unconsciously plagiarise that from someone else's writing?' or even 'why am I doing this? This artist clearly has nothing of even the faintest interest to say' ;)

[Z]

I'd suggest finding an angle (any angle) and trying to make it work. All these interviews on the net are sooo boring. What kind of gear do you use? Why is DC-10 so amazing? What do you think of (insert current trend)?

Find something in their personal life that really gets some insight into why they're who they are and why their music sounds the way it does. Life influences music and people are interested in what makes other people tick.

[lerosa]

try to record and transcribe the interviews when possible...I know, huge pain in the *bleep* but check out shake's interview on infinitestatesmachine, you can almost feel the rhythm of the spoken word, it definitely adds to proceedings...of course shake had also interesting things to say and Tom was good and getting them out...looking fordward to part 2 in fact...Tom, you reading this...?

[jeremy]

woot woot! i feel for you, richard. personally, i'm only interest in profiles in which the interviewer is willing to open up a bit. best way to do that is to spend a bit of time with them (record shopping? hanging out) rather than doing an interview as such