[01.08.07]

zirzamin interview with amir ebrahimnia An interview with Amir Ebrahimnia, from TECHNOFUNKCOLLECTIVE

Homepage: www.myspace.com/technofunkcollective Listen to radio zirzamin

Z.Z: This interview is long over due! AMIR: yes it is. My apologies. I have been unreachable for the past year. Z.Z: What is Technofunk Collective's music style? AMIR: We are electronica producers. Our style ranges through a variety of genres. From nu jazz / acid jazz, down tempo, trip-hop to house, intelligent techno and progressive. Z.Z: What does the name stands for? AMIR: Technofunk Collective was originally an urban artist collective I started almost 8 years ago. Over the years, it evolved into the trio you see today. Z.Z: Who are behind the project? AMIR: myself (amir Ebrahimnia), Simón Rojas & Jason (dj shine) spanu Z.Z: Could you please give us a brief history of the Technofunk Collective? AMIR: We are three good friends who all share the love for producing electronic music. We've all been DJing for as long as we can remember. Jason and I started DJing in the 80's. I met Simón 7 years ago through a friend. He purchased my old turntables and mixer to learn the art. We've been inseparable best friends since. Z.Z: So, you are living in Iran, Simón & Jason are Canadian musicians who live in Canada, is that right? How does it work? AMIR: Internet helped a lot. All three of us are technological geeks (hence techno) I moved to Iran for 2 years to experience the land & culture and recharge creatively, Simón was living in Spain for the same time and Jason was Touring with Nelly Furtado doing the live PA for the band. Simón and I are back in Toronto now. Jason is still on tour with Nelly Furtado but is based in Toronto. We do see each other constantly. Z.Z: I see. How did you find Iran? Was it as "recharging" as you wished it to be? AMIR: no. I found it extremely draining. At first glance you would think different, but after actually living there and facing every day issues, you realize how quickly problems build up. Things I normally wouldn't worry about would build up to such that it would occupy your whole life. I have so much respect for Iranian underground artists & talent. I believe they are on a different level of creativity obviously due to there social / political surroundings. Z.Z: Sounds like you had a terrible time. AMIR: I wouldn't say i had a terrible time. Just extremely spiritually draining. Iran is not "reality". It has become a fantasy playground for the elite and a suffocating nightmare for the rest. Z.Z: Is Techno or Electro music in general popular in Iran? AMIR: It's the fastest growing genre in Iran. Yet it lacks the history and culture which has taken years to develop in the world. Though it has caught on like wild fire, the genres with in electronic dance music have not been properly defined in Iran. Trance is house, techno is trance so on and so forth. For example; how do you explain Dub to someone who has never heard reggae? How do you tell them about Lee "scratch" Perry and the Jamaican early ska movement and its link and influence on modern music. Z.Z: For those who don't understand techno music, how would you explain what you do? AMIR: Instead of employing traditional compositional techniques, we, usually act as producers, treating the electronic studio as one large, complex instrument: an interconnected orchestra of machines, each producing timbres that are simultaneously familiar and alien. Each machine is encouraged to generate or complement continuous, repetitive sonic patterns that come relatively 'naturally' to them, given the capabilities and limitations of early sequencers - such sequencers, especially those built-in to old drum machines, tend to encourage the production of repeating 16-step patterns with a limited number of instruments being playable at once, yet they also allow sounds to be arranged in any order, regardless of whether live musicians could easily reproduce them. Rather than just mimicking arrangements playable by live musicians, we are free to prominently feature unrealistic combinations of sounds. Striving to achieve a listen able, dance floor-friendly balance of realistic and unrealistic arrangements of mostly synthetic, semi-realistic timbres, rather than a demonstration of machine-powered extremes. After an acceptable palette of compatible textures is collected in this manner, we begin again, this time focusing not on developing new textures but on imparting a more deliberate arrangement of the ones we already have. We play the mixer and the sequencer, bringing layers of sound in and out, and tweaking the effects to create ever-more hypnotic, propulsive combination. The result is a deconstructive manipulation of sound. Z.Z: In some of your tracks, you've mixed the voice of some of our famous female poets like: Forough Farokhzad and Maryam Heydarzadeh reading their own poems. What is your concept behind it? AMIR: Sampling is lots of fun. We dont do it often because we prefer original sounds. I am a big fan of Farrokhzads works and I found Heydarzadeh's voice intriguing. The high pitch was enticing. Z.Z: The remix of Deev's "Dasta Balaa", do you see Technofunk.Collective as a politically active Band? AMIR: Deev approached me a couple of years ago about doing the remix. I really like what he has to say and love his stylings and lyricism. The message Deev has, needs to be heard and it needs to be heard loud.. We fully support Deev's point of view and respect him for speaking up. We need more artists to rise up and shout it out. We are social conscience individuals. Simón and I are both children of revolution. My family was kicked out of Iran following the 1979 Iranian revolution. Simón's family escaped the clutches of Pinochet in the late 70's. There is a bond between us. The 3 of us being raised in Toronto, have tremendous amount of understanding and respect for different cultures and people. Being a Canadian means respecting and understanding all walks of life. We will never be afraid to speak out on issues. Be it social nor political. Z.Z: Sounds like you have a lot to say besides music. AMIR: Given the opportunity, I will speak my mind. Z.Z: Do you listen to other genres in persian underground? AMIR: I listen to absolutely everything from jazz to punk. I absolutely love what the Abjeez and Kiosk are doing. Z.Z: Do you normally do lots of other artist remixes? AMIR: we are very selective at this point in the game who we work with. Z.Z: Will there be an album in the future? AMIR: We have lots of material. Now that I am back from Iran, an album is in the works. Z.Z: Any other plans for the future? AMIR: We're doing some wicked collaboration with artists & musicians and preparing for our performances & live concerts. Combining the DJ / live PA elements with live instruments and performance art. Working on the album will be a high priority though. Z.Z: Thank you Amir. It's been a pleasure. AMIR: The pleasure was mine.