12 questions for DFANIKS
DFANIKS embodies a musical enigma. Whoever has had the pleasure to listen to his releases has felt the deep robotic quality of his work, so much that one must wonder if such heavily layered textures, which often feel completely devoid of any organic quality, could actually be manufactured by a human or if there is nothing but a very advanced artificial intelligence pulling the strings. DFANIKS recently dropped the long player ‘Save The Robots’ on ERRORGRID, upping his game to a new level of intricacy which could be described as the equivalent of total sonic overwhelm. We asked him our 12 famous questions.
1. What drives you to create music? What do you seek to achieve with it?
I would say that my drive for music is pretty simple and probably the same as many musicians in the world, it's basically the way it makes me feel, makes me heal and let's me express myself in a way words can't, also the way it makes me find out more about myself inwards like if i was dissecting my brain or soul, self exploration of some sort.
What I would like to achieve with it I think would be to see how far I can take my sound, how far deep can I go and explore new musical adventures and always try something new, see music has always been there for me since I was a small child, music has never betrayed me or done wrong by me, so I really do give it my full attention and dedication, like a romantic relationship of some kind.
2. How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard music before?
That's a hard one usually, but most times i just say it's a combination of hard sci-fi vibes with left field patterns and a bit of anger to it, or electronic jazz lol.
3. Which album do you wish you had made?
Probably none cause it wouldn't be me.
4. If music is a form of therapy, what is it healing in you?
Like I said previously yes music is definitely a form of therapy, probably the most effective one for me, I'm addicted to it, and having the honor to make music it's so important to me, music has been with me on the hardest times of my life, and i can even go back to my early childhood and remember me seeking refuge in music when things were bad, it has healed every stressful time in my life, one of the times that I can go back and remember how music has helped me was during the attacks of 911 in NYC, I was two blocks away from the Twin Towers on my first job in the city when they went down, I saw the people jumping out the windows and all that insane shit, it really fucked me up, but music helped me heal from that whole ordeal or at least kept my mind away from thinking of how crazy the world can get, it cured my anxieties.
5. If you could use one image to represent the intention of your work and burn it into your audience’s heads, what would this image be?
That's an interesting one cause I am a filmmaker too, so image is very important to me, but if was to use an specific image to describe my music I know it wouldn't be human or organic, perhaps I would choose something along the lines of robotics, the person who understands this is Alessio Spirli who has made two music videos for me (check out the video for ‘REPLIKKA’ off ‘Save The Robots’) and who totally gets the message of my sound.
6. What do you consider your best piece of work yet? And why?
Well I don't think I'm there yet, or maybe i will never be there cause I'm constantly trying to outdo myself, it's very hard for me to say I'm satisfied with something, perhaps in years ahead I can answer that better.
7. What is your sentiment about the current music scene, and how is it helping with the state of the world?
I have very mixed feelings about the current music scene. In a way I think it's great that kids are now able to express themselves musically without having to spend tons of money in recording studios and buying expensive gear, so cause of that we can find new fresh music and fresh ideas online all the time, but at the same time I think it back fires cause it's so easy for people to put out tons of music that you can't always find great talent cause it's just so much music out there that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, you really have to dig hard to find something that's worth it, and to top it all off social media makes any artist famous for just having tons of followers and having some sort of candy trendy image and the music becomes the second most important thing, it's pretty sad. I also don't see music contributing much to world issues now days, at least not at the level music did in the 60s, I think a lot young artists nowadays seem to be selfish and too caught up in their own little bubble and leave behind world issues such as racism, climate change and word hunger, not all but most, perhaps we need a new musical revolution like rock and roll did, or early hip hop, maybe electronic music could be that new revolution but I do see it hard for artists like myself cause we lack lyrics on our music to put a clear message out there, idk but I have faith.
8. How would you describe ERRORGRID in your own words? What is it to you?
Errorgrid to me it's like a superhero team, but perhaps not as like the good guys lol, more like the villains of sound, I mean I'm not saying that we are putting a negative message to the world but we are definitely very dark in our style, pretty much like a bunch of metal heads with electronic instruments and computers, I love it.
What Errorgrid means to me well i see it like a community of people with very similar ideas and passions, a platform where people with such taste and lifestyles can find music that honestly it's very hard to find now days, we are like a secret society.
9. When do you consider a piece of music finished and ready for others to hear?
I honestly never think any piece of music I make is done, it could always be better, it can always progress and change etc, but if I get stuck on those ideas I would never put anything out, it's like having kids, you can try to make the best of them teach them etc, but at the end of the day you have to accept the way they are, love them and show them off to the world.
10. How much importance do you put into your tools?
I do give some sort of importance to the tools I’m using at the time, but I don't worship them cause they're only tools and perhaps something better will come along and I have to move on, I give more importance to my brain cause that's where the magic happens, or the universe, perhaps i'm myself are a tool as well.
11. What is the one piece of equipment you will never part with?
Like I said in the previous answer, i can part from any piece of gear that I have if something better comes along, but the one I wouldn't get rid off would be my Korg ES1 cause it's the first piece of gear I ever bought when I started making music, and I wouldn't get rid of it cause I have sentimental value for it, not cause it's great, I hardly use it.
12. What do you have in the works/ what is next for you?
Well I just put out a full length album called (Save the Robots) with Errorgrid. I also have three music videos on the works made by graphic designers Alessio Spirli, Enouss and myself for songs for the album, I’m also working on a remix for an upcoming release by Nundale on Errorgrid, let's see what else, oh yes working on new music for some amazing experimental singers from Germany Jon Darc and Pari San...and hopefully a trip out to space.
The brand new LP ‘Save The Robots’ is now available on Bandcamp.
Watch the accompanying video for the track ‘Replikka’