LAMP Artist Feature with Sara Landry and Selective Response
Today we have a chance to speak with a couple of amazing producers that are making big moves with their music as of late. Sara Landry and Selective Response. Sara is a bad ass when it comes to making things happen in the studio and her particular brand of techno that will rock you down to your core. She has joined Los Angeles label owner Selective Response who is the owner of Crisis Of Man which has been gaining a lot of attention from some of the biggest names in the techno community. Their EP Enemy inside includes 2 tracks which you can check out down below. The title Track coming from Selective Response and the other single from Sara is “The Devil Inside”. I am excited to have the opportunity to ask these two some questions and get to know little bit more about them and their process of making music and share it with you.
Interview with Sara Landry and Selective Response
PZB: I am a huge fan of all shapes and sizes of Techno and really loving this latest release Enemy Inside that just dropped on Crisis of Man Records. It is a rather punishing style of techno that is not for the faint of heart and both tracks bang super hard. Can you please tell me a little bit more about how this EP came together and what inspired you to connect on this collaboration?
Sara: Kane and I have an amazing friendship that is founded on our mutual love of both techno and self-growth/self-improvement. We both have big ideas, and spend a lot of time discussing them and supporting each other as we have been focused on growing as artists and moving into new phases of our careers. This EP was really a product of our friendship, it was a very natural next step. Gotta support the homies!
Selective Response: My track ‘Enemy Within’ came about last year from a jam session and happened to be one of those tracks where everything just worked. I sat on it for a little bit and then got it to a couple friends, one of which being Dax J who rinsed it in almost every set. As for the actual EP, one of my goals with the label this year was to introduce another artist, and with Sara being one of my closest friends, it only felt right. Initially we were planning on doing a collaboration, but it never happened and so we just each went with an original. We’ll definitely collab in the future.
PZB: Might be a one-sided question seeing as how one of you is the label owner, but can we expect to hear more from both you of you on Crisis of Man in future collaborations?
Sara: I never speculate on those types of things since my creativity is fluid and my sound is always evolving, so I guess we will see! I love what Kane has created here and I find the ethos of the label to be very powerful.
Selective Response: Yes definitely. Like I mentioned above, it just wasn’t in the cards this time around but we are constantly sending music to each other, so it will happen eventually.
PZB: Sara, The “High Priestess of Ableton” I love that! When did you start writing/producing music - and what or who were your early passions and influences? What is about music and/or sound that drew you to it?
Thank you! Haha The High Priestess of Ableton is actually something a friend said to me a few years ago when we were in a session (hi Bo) and it really is a spot on accurate description of my general energy. I’ve been producing for over 5 years now and DJing for nearly 7 years. Music has always been present in my life and I have always been obsessively drawn to it/able to understand it to a high degree. I remember being 11 and marvelling at the way classical pieces like Chopin’s nocturnes pulled emotion out of me, seemingly from nowhere. It was then that I began to understand the function of music as a language, and I immersed myself in it from that point on as a means of tapping into emotions I otherwise couldn’t reach or even just escaping from the chaos of the world around me. When I was 15, I found in deadmau5’s early work what I had initially found in classical music, and that was the divergence point that eventually led me to begin teaching myself how to produce, and now I’m just here in this deep k hole of elite techno nerdery. I’ve never been happier.
PZB: Sara, it has been a particularly tough 2020 Sara but looking at your catalog and activity for 2020 you have a had in my opinion quite a successful year. You have this latest release and several others with the likes of Kraftek, T-Minus records and a few others along with a recent sold-out show in your hometown of Austin and fairly consistent performances on Twitch for your Klubhaus series. What advice would you give to someone who is trying to navigate these really difficult times to help them get there music out there and keep pushing through?
Thank you! Yeah, this year has been very strange and full of a lot of lessons and ups and downs. I was so ready to head into Spring 2020 on a mini tour that included SXSW and Coachella, but COVID derailed those plans 4 weeks before they were scheduled to take place. I really struggled with that initially, and had a hard time escaping the feeling that my dreams were taken from me so suddenly. Looking back now, this time has really been a blessing. Yes, it has absolutely SUCKED losing all my income and having to change some plans around, but the musical growth I’ve been able to achieve this year is astonishing and I am really proud of it. This time has allowed me to refine my sound and focus on incubating new, larger-scale ideas, and I’m really excited for everything that 2021 has to offer. The most important thing for me has been: if something doesn’t work out, that just means that the universe has something better in store. Remaining in a headspace of love and gratitude will help you weather any storm. Create from a place of joy, love, and authenticity, and your art will always reach those who need it.
PZB: Selective Response, Crisis of Man is your Label that you started last year. It has been going very well by all accounts with a ton of support from the techno community at large. Tell us a little about your background, where you are from, some of your influences and what prompted you to take on the major task of starting your own label.
I’m born and raised in Orange County. Growing up here was amazing for many reasons, one of which being one of the epicentres for punk and hardcore bands, of which I was in when I was younger. I think it’s a perfect counterbalance to the often luxurious and pompous stereotypes people have of OC. In terms of influences, I love everything from Blondie, Hatebreed, Perc, and pretty much everything else. I started the label as a way to clear out my back catalog because I was sitting on so much music that I believed in but just didn’t exactly fit anywhere else. It turned a year old in September and reflecting back on the previous 12 months it’s actually amazing what I’ve managed to accomplish. Thanks to my manager and long-time friend Emma ☺
PZB: Selective Response please tell us about your label Crisis of Man… does the name have a particular significance? Are there any labels you’re looking to emulate, either in the style of music, or way they do business?
It initially started out as a track title, but when I was coming up with names it just seemed to work. In terms of the meaning, there’s a successful entrepreneur named Dan Pena who once said “man’s greatest burden is unfulfilled potential.” That really strikes a chord with me because too often we are afraid to push ourselves to the limits because deep down we fear our own power. As for emulating other labels, imprints like Perc Trax, Monnom Black, Ostgut Ton, and even Kompakt are big influences because of what they stand for. The second you hear one of those names, and without even hearing the record, you already know it’s going to be quality.
PZB: For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and the transition towards your own voice? What is the relationship between emulating, learning and your own creativity?
Sara: This is such a great question. This really is SO true… I’d say the first 2-3 years are spent learning the rules by imitating others, and the ear training required to emulate others effectively is a critical skill that all producers must develop. I worked in phases. First, I had to learn how DAWs worked, and then I had to learn about sound physics, sound design, and audio processing in conjunction with musical arrangement and music theory (though I work largely by ear). After I had those skills then it became about creating a sonic fingerprint. In the 5.5 years I have been producing the bulk of my progress has taken place in the last 4.5 years when I started working in Ableton, which just makes the most logical sense to me. I spent a lot of time making music that, to be honest, doesn’t feel authentic to me now because I can very clearly hear myself learning and experimenting and emulating (I call these works my “earlier musical ideas”). My philosophy is that you have to learn the rules before you can break them in a new way, and that is my only true goal: mastery to the degree that I can do things that are new and unexpected. Now that I’m about 8000 hours into production and audio engineering, I’ve gotten to a place where all of my work sounds very distinctive because it is a mosaic of earlier influences and tricks learned playing with other genres. It wasn’t until the last year or so that I knew I wanted to start making the hard techno style that I’m making now (and I’ve done the bulk of the work on that in the last 9 months), but at the same time, it’s everything I’ve learned trying on different genre hats that has put me in a position to push the envelope with my sound design and audio engineering. It takes a long time to develop a sonic fingerprint.
Selective Response: I’ve been making music for 10 years now and my evolution as an artist has been tremendous. I started Selective Response in 2018 and it was really my true-self I would say. What I love most about techno is there’s no rulebook. It can be whatever you want it to be. One thing I don’t do enough actually is use other people’s tracks as foundations for my own, meaning following their structure etc. This is definitely a great way to learn quickly.
PZB: What were your main compositional- and production-challenges in the beginning and how have they changed over time?
Sara: In the beginning for me it was mixing and figuring out a way to carve a space for each individual element. I spent a lot of time working on mixing and space design, and now all my tracks have very distinctive spaces, which I think is really cool. The other thing, and I still struggle with this, is over-producing. For each project I do a ton of sound design and I end up taking out like ⅔ of what I’ve made by the end of the session. I will mess with something endlessly. My ideas are never really finished.
Selective Response: Since starting Selective Response, the most difficult challenge was learning to use the gear I’d bought, and then learning to create the right amount of aggression without it sounding cheesy or overdone.
PZB: What was your first studio like? How and for what reasons has your set-up evolved over the years and what are currently some of the most important pieces of gear for you?
Sara: So, I’m still technically in my “first studio” (it’s in the same place), but I’ve added some considerable gear improvements. I used to try to work in an uncomfortable chair at an Ikea dinner table, and that was not sustainable, so I upgraded to a serious producer desk (with rack space) and a Herman Miller chair I found on craigslist. I also added a subwoofer, acoustic treatment, and I invested heavily in converters to get the best sound possible. My current favourite pieces of gear are my Antelope Orion 32+ converters (which are brand new), my Elektron digitone, and my Ableton Push 2.
Selective Response: My first studio consisted of a laptop and a $100 Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speaker setup that I bought after going to my first rave at my parents’ house. I used those for about 2 years and they actually got the job done. Since then, I’ve gone pretty much full hardware and my most important pieces are probably my Elektron Analog RYTM mk2 and Orion 32 interface.
PZB: How do you make use of technology? In terms of the feedback mechanism between technology and creativity, what do humans excel at, what do machines excel at?
Sara: I’ve always thought of myself as a sound programmer/space designer, so I appreciate the technological advances that allow me to build custom macros/effects/devices that I can then set up and play as instruments. I know I personally excel at creativity, and I use technology to streamline and optimize my creative process so that I can stay in flow and avoid getting bogged down in the minutiae.
Selective Response: Machines bring your creativity to life, but it all starts on the cellular level.
PZB: Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work? Do you have a fixed schedule? How do music and other aspects of your life feed back into each other - do you separate them or instead try to make them blend seamlessly?
Sara: I am the poster child for ADHD so I must have a routine, or I am straight chaos. I get up around 8 and I go work out, then I come back and get dressed and send a bunch of emails and bother my manager and then I journal/meditate. I prefer to journal/meditate before a session to remove unnecessary stuff from my energy field and increase my creativity. I’m usually in studio from 1-10pm, but that varies based on what I have to do and how creative I’m feeling. I work in creative binges, but it’s important to note that I do take regular ear breaks and rest every 3ish hours. My entire life is music; there isn’t really any separation. I have deliberately structured my life to maximize my creativity, and I love living in my own creative world.
Selective Response: Ideally, wake up around 5am, complete my morning routine which consists of meditation, journaling, and reading, then go surf, come back and check emails, then get right to work in the studio. My discipline fluctuates, but they all feed into each other so it’s hard to really separate them.
PZB: Could you describe your creative process on the basis of this latest release or another piece/ album that's particularly dear to you, please? Where did the ideas come from, how were they transformed in your mind, what did you start with and how do you refine these beginnings into the finished work of art?
Sara: With ‘The Devil Inside’ I had originally started that track for a different label in August, and I got it to a point where it was a cool idea that wasn’t fully fleshed out so I let it sit for a while. Then, the deadline for our joint EP came out of nowhere so I spent a 4-hour session finishing the idea/updating it to my current standards. I made this track while beta testing Live 11, so part of the work I did was explore new functionalities and update my drums and the groove and my sound design. I think of each track like building a house. First you have to buy the lot (create a space for the track to exist inside of), then you have to pour the foundation (designing solid drums and atmosphere), then once all of that is locked you can build the house (arranging, song structure, melody), and then you can decorate (sound design, transitions, vocals, etc.). This is how I work, but I can tell instinctively when a track is done, and I will mess around endlessly until things sound right.
Selective Response: As much as I would love to say there was some fantastic story for how Enemy Within came about, it was actually very standard procedure. It just happened to be a track that really stood above the rest. At the time, I only had two pieces of gear which were the Elektron Digitakt and Digitone, and that’s all I used for the track.
PZB: Our industry is constantly going through changes, and we as artists are competing for ears with so many others out there. This has never been more prevalent than now during these great times of uncertainty and change dealing with Covid-19. Listeners are bombarded and overwhelmed with the amount of music out there, whether through Spotify, Soundcloud and now we can throw streaming platforms like Twitch and even Zoom. How do you try to connect with your audience, and what do you feel helps you stay relevant?
Sara: For me the answer is authenticity. I love what I do, and I love nerding out on it along with sharing my music with people. So that’s what I focus on; intentionally and authentically sharing with my audience.
Selective Response: There has always been a huge challenge trying to get to that next level, but honestly, I’ve been rather unfazed by pretty much anything that’s been happening in the world around me. The most important thing is to stay true to myself and to focus solely on my work. I think too many people get lost in the day-to-day happenings and end up falling behind or worse, because they’ve lost sight of what is most important to them. I’ve only ever made music for myself, so whether someone else likes it or not, or says it’s relevant or not is none of my concern.
PZB: Our sense of hearing shares intriguing connections to other senses. From your experience, what are some of the most inspiring overlaps between different senses - and what do they tell us about the way our senses work? What happens to sound at its outermost borders?
Sara: My ears are my most intense sense… I can hear everything. Sound is an energetic vibration like anything else, and there is an irrefutable link between sound and emotion for me.
Selective Response: To me, music is emotion is physical form. The physical experience can come in a variety of different forms, but for me personally, the most inspiring is when you feel something in every cell in your body. Most of us are totally out of tune with our bodies, but even still, when you hear that one special record, it hits you at the molecular level. I recently had an experience where I stood crying on the beach listening to Time by Hans Zimmer and Subterrel + Ex Funzione by Luigi Tozzi & Antonio Ruscitol. It was surreal.
PZB: I know this might seem like ages ago but there was a time when we got to actually play in clubs here in Los Angeles and elsewhere across the globe. Seeing as how you have a close connection to Los Angeles; I am curious if you have a favourite Party or Venue in LA that you really look forward to playing and for that matter anywhere else in the world?
Sara: I like Sound a lot, but as a warehouse aficionado, I have to give full marks to the 6AM crew. I haven’t gotten to play with them yet, but they’re doing an amazing job creating proper warehouse experiences.
Selective Response: I will always hold Lot 613 in my heart of hearts as it was my first gig as Selective Response, and of course the various warehouses with my friends at 6AM. I had some things lining up in Europe pre-lockdown, but it’s actually a bit of a blessing they got cancelled because it’s allowed me to further hone my craft and continue building the Crisis Of Man brand. When the parties do return though, the USBs will be loaded with the heaviest of artillery.
PZB: Is there anything else I didn’t touch on that you would like to share? Do you have any other upcoming releases, podcasts, or twitch channels our audience can follow that you are a part of?
Sara: Nothing I can say anything about yet, just watch my social channels for all the details on things coming soon! Also, if you missed my Klubhaus sets on twitch, those can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3l1zkKI2-_aAqlUNTDO9Lw?view_as=subscriber
Selective Response: Don’t wait to take your life into your own hands. We are in a state of complete unknown, and there is no better place to create from than the unknown. Be the creator of your own reality. I also have a mindfulness podcast on all major platforms called Mind Body Future where I talk about all kinds of great mindfulness topics and tools. Check it out :) West Coast represent!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mind-body-future-with-kane/id1533606458
Thank you so much to the both of you! It was a pleasure and I look forward to seeing you both in LA soon. Please keep us posted on events when they happen so we can let our people know. For more info on both of these amazing artists and links to their music I will have all the pertinent links down below.
Cheers LAMP Fam and thanks for checking this one out.
Socials
Sara Landry:
Selective Response: