No Step – Artist Interview
Tony Coke: You’ve been making electronic music a while now… Do you feel it’s easier now, with the advancement of audio editing software?
No Step: Definitely. But there’s such an abundance of options and things you can do now that you gotta work hard not to get lost. Every plugin and piece of gear comes with thousands of presets and gigabytes of samples, and each one of them is so deep you barely use 10% of what they can do. Things were harder a few years ago, but the limitations forced you to learn just how far you could abuse your toys.
Tony Coke: I listen to a lot of music these days and think, “that dude has probably never picked up a real instrument in his life”. I don’t get that feeling when I listen to NoStep. Do you also play traditional instruments, or is it strictly mouse and keyboard for you?
No Step:My first instrument was the computer, way back in the 90s running Impulse Tracker on DOS. I started playing drums a few years later and I can fake my way on keyboards and guitars, but I’m honestly not that good at any of those. Since the beginning I was always more interested in textures and how the same instrument can sound different depending on how it’s played, recorded and so on. That’s why I love samplers in general; I can build a beat using drums from the 90s, bass from the 70s and a subway train as percussion.
Tony Coke: How has relocating from Brazil to Toronto changed your music? I would imagine your influences would change dramatically.
No Step:Music is still a surprisingly regional thing and most indie Canadian artists are unknown elsewhere. Everything you hear influences what you do, so yes, there was definitely a change.
But the biggest change was realizing there’s space for pretty much any kind of music in Toronto. People in Brazil can be incredibly conservative in this aspect, and there’s an inexplicable prejudice against anything that isn’t typically Brazilian. As someone non-typical, I’ve never really felt at home there, so moving to Toronto was liberating in this aspect. The only thing that bothers me is how people don’t dance!
Tony Coke: Your have a show coming up July 17th with the RAW: natural born artists organization. It sounds like a mix of all kinds of art. How did that partnership come about? Did they reach out to you, you reached out to them?? Have you done a show similar to this before?
No Step:I did a show at Nocturne a while ago with a few local artists and Michelle was performing with her Mantragora project (The Databats and Iderdown were also there). I didn’t know she was connected to RAW by then – only that she played a killer minimal techno set using vintage hardware. I connected the dots when the opportunity to submit material for RAW:Glimpse came up, so it was a very serendipitous thing.
I’ve played festivals and showcases with past projects, but I’ve never been part of anything as diverse as RAW. I’m really excited for it!
Tony Coke: What’s the rest of 2015 have in store for No Step and what’s the best way for people to connect with you?
No Step:I’ve started doing livecasts from my studio recently, sometimes performing and sometimes geeking out about production. There will be a new EP soon(ish), and definitely more gigs.
You can find everything No Step at http://nostep.ca, and I’m @nostepmusic on Twitter and Instagram. Oh, and buy tickets for RAW:Glimpse at http://rawartists.org/nostep!
Tony Coke: Thanks for catching up with us and all the best on your upcoming gig and ‘Arctic Summer’!
If you happen to be in the Toronto area, here’s the info on the No Step show:
RAW:natural born artists Toronto presents GLIMPSE
July 17th at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club, 722 College St.
A multi-media showcase featuring Toronto’s best talent in Music, Film, Fashion, Visual Art, Photography, Dance, Performing Art, Hair and Makeup
An interactive event where audience members should expect to be entertained! Sip on a glass of wine, watch performances and walk around the labyrinth of art displays!
RAW also has events around the world I believe, definitely all around North America.
They combine visual, audio, and other forms of art to create a different kind of event, to stimulate your artistic receptors in multiple ways.
Check them out at http://rawartists.org