LAMP Weekly Mix #194 feat. Anakim

LAMP Weekly Mix #194 feat. Anakim

This week we welcome Anakim to the mix series fresh off his release "Veins" for Understated records. The L.A. bred producer is on the rise with his dynamic grooves and captivating melodies that will fill your head with joy. If you are in LA this weekend you will want to make sure to catch him performing at the first Understated Records Showcase. The info will be linked down below the wonderful interview conducted this week by MR PUZL. A full track list is available as well. Enjoy.MR PUZL: Riccardo, welcome to our guest mix series. We’ve been looking forward to this mix for a little while now and Congrats on your latest release ‘Veins’. I personally gravitated to the title track when I first heard the demo. There’s a lot of texture in the instruments and the vocals are a nice addition to the arrangement. What were some of your inspirations for creating this EP?Anakim: For anyone hearing about me for the first time, Deep Space and creating music that could be the soundtrack for interstellar travel is the biggest theme for me as an artist. But for me “Deep Space” doesn’t always mean what is out there. It’s a metaphor for the deep inner space that lies within you. So when I was creating this EP I was in a little bit of turmoil trying to figure out essentially what I was doing with my life, am I making the right decisions pursuing music, etc. All the questions one would ask in a quarter-life crisis. So I remember sitting down at my production desk and thinking to myself, “If I was the captain of a spaceship travelling an unknown galaxy and I came across a hostile group of beings that only knew war as an answer - those “beings” represented my inner struggles at the time - what would the soundtrack of that interstellar war sound like? Then within a month’s time the two tracks on the Veins EP, “Stranger Things” and “Veins,” were born.MR PUZL: I love that the deep space and the idea on interstellar auditory communication run in tandem with your artistic approach. If you could travel to a known planet or system tomorrow where would you go?Anakim: Nibiru. Now I know it’s not exactly a “known” planet, but according to ancient Sumerian texts (and by the way, the ancient Sumerians have 5,000 year old tablets depicting the solar system, every planet in spherical form, and an extra planet yet to be found) Nibiru is a planet with a roughly 3,500 - 6,000 year elliptical orbit around our sun. They claim the Annunaki, from which the Anakim giants descend from, live on this planet and one day it shall return. I want to visit this planet, which NASA is finding evidence exists, and see if the Sumerian legends are true. How could they possibly have so much knowledge of our solar system, which they say the Annunaki told them about, in their ancient tablets when current science found out about these things much later? Definitely google search these things if you don’t believe me! (Here is that 5000 year old tablet)MR PUZL: Your association with mythology is wonderful. I’m curious to know how and why ancient history became apart of your creative mindset.Anakim: I wouldn’t say ancient history as a whole is a part of my creative mindset, so much as ancient history that depicts ancient astronauts or the possibility of Earth being visited does. One thing I took away from my education at UCLA was critical thinking, which I don’t think schools or workplaces really emphasize these days. I think humans are a race of amnesia. I think today’s science culture discredits ancient people as being less advanced, when I don’t think that’s the case at all. Think about how many written records of our history were destroyed by conquering people. History is always written in the eyes of those who conquered, so how much do we really know today? How much information have we lost in the past? Hint: The majority. So I like to look at the evidence, writings, and stories left by ancient peoples that are still preserved with a totally open mind and I make sure I don’t discredit them based on this notion that just because we live in 2017 it means we are automatically more advanced than them.MR PUZL: ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ is regarded as one of the earliest surviving works of literature. It has reference to the etymology of your own name. What are some of your favorite mythological works?Anakim: By far, my favorite mythological work is the Bhagavad Gita, which tells the story of the warrior Arjuna seeking the answers to life’s fundamental questions from his spiritual guide Sri Krishna, as they’re on a battlefield waiting for war. The Gita had a profound effect on me as an individual because the book is not what it seems at first. The dialogue is not between two mythical figures, but actually the battlefield represents the war within you, and the story represents the struggle for self-mastery. Arjuna then, represents all of us as we struggle with who we are, what we are meant for – our purpose. Sri Krishna represents the voice of insight, inspiration, divine guidance, our highest self or conscience.MR PUZL: From reading your interview with Nightenjin I’ve come to learn that you have vested interest in taking your work on the festival circuit both here and abroad. What festivals would you like to see yourself being apart of now and in the future?Anakim: My major introduction to dance culture was EDC 2010, the last year EDC was held in Los Angeles at The Coliseum. Though I’ve only gone to EDC one other time since, the fact that my love for dance music was born there is something I’ve never forgotten. It would be a dream for me to perform on the neonGARDEN and have everything come full circle.Coachella is an actual festival I’ve gone to for the last 8 years in a row. It acts as a reunion of sorts for me and my closest friends, friends I don’t get to see too often now that a lot of the crew has moved to different cities. The Yuma Tent is one of my favorite stages in the entire world. Being able to perform in front of my friends there would be a trip and a half!Other notable festivals I’d like to see myself at are Kappa Futur Festival in Italy, Sonar in Barcelona, and also Movement in Detroit.On a side note, two of my closest friends and I have started a record label / events company called Celestial Body and we’re already working towards launching our own mini festival within the next two years. We look at the Do Lab and what they’ve done with Lightning In A Bottle as major inspiration.MR PUZL: Your statement about creating a ‘huge’ sound with your music runs parallel with the scale of big event production. As those audiences traverse the tail end of “EDM” and Big Room style music how do you see your own music finding ground within that landscape?Anakim: As an artist I try to make music that is “huge” sounding to me, while still fitting into my themes, but I think the pyrotechnics and lighting rigs of today are stale and played out. Without giving away too much secret sauce, we’re in talks with various visual artists to see just how we can create a whole new experience for the audience, one that transcends conventional lighting rigs and what not.MR PUZL: Richie Hawtin is one of your main inspirations. Have you had the chance to test out his Model 1? I saw Stephan Bodzin play on it this year as he was playing right before Richie.Anakim: I have absolutely been dying to test out the Model 1 mixer, but have yet to physically come across it! I have no doubt it’s what I’m looking for in a mixer, as I prefer the Allen & Heath Xone 92 to any mixer these days and they manufacture the Model 1.MR PUZL: To stay on gear for a moment I’d love to know what your studio setup looks like? If money wasn’t an object what would you want to add or change to it?Anakim: My studio setup is pretty simple actually. It looks like this:○ Ableton and Logic (Ableton is my preference)○ UAD Apollo Twin MKII Duo audio interface○ Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitors (For producing)○ Neumann KH120 Studio Monitors (For referencing / mixing)○ Phonon Smb-02 Headphones (For referencing)○ Ableton Push 2○ Novation Bass Station II analog synthesizerHonestly if money was no object, I’d spend as much money as it took to acoustically treat my studio to perfection. It doesn’t matter what kind of gear you have if your room is not acoustically treated properly.MR PUZL: So it’s unfortunate you’re a Manchester United fan ;) Being a Liverpool fan I’ve been trying my hardest not bring this up during our interview but... fuck it. Who finishes in the top 4 this year?Anakim: Haha! I guess we can still be friends after this interview. Just not on October 14th of this year and March 10th of next year. Those are the two days we play each other!My honest Top 4 looks like this:1. Manchester City2. Manchester United3. Tottenham4. ChelseaNow here me out! I think Liverpool will crack the top 4 if, and only if, they sign major defensive reinforcements this January. Their defense is looking horrendous at times, but their offense can be scary when they really turn it on. Sadio Mane - what a crazy talent that guy is. Barring any major injuries, the league title is coming down to City and United. They’ve both settled into their coaches playing philosophies, both have insaneattacking talent, but it’s City who is looking crazy good at the current moment. They’ll have the upper edge in goal differential, if not points.

Tracklist

1. Three Less One feat. Fleur - Like In A Poem (Original Mix)2. Paul Ursin - Sintesi (Original Mix)3. Township Rebeillion - Baud (Original Mix)4. Luigi Gori & Larsun Hesh - Utopolys (Anis Hachemi Remix)5. Animal Picnic & Aaryon - Tets (Original Mix)6. Mimram - The Joker (Original Mix)7. Framework - Feel You Hold You (Quivver Remix)8. Scott James & Jimmy Strip - Gotta Make This (Original Mix)9. Anakim - Stranger Things (Original Mix)10.Anakim - Veins (Original Mix)11.Quivver & Shane Blackshaw - Rescue (Original Vocal Mix)