Interview with Views
A few months ago we at Delayed were introduced to yet another talent hailing from the German underground scene, Atilla Fidan. Better known as Views, Atilla has an intricate, hypnotic style of electro and techno that caught our attention almost instantly while we were listening to his latest EP ‘Kyoto Love’ that came out via Garage Hermetique. Through that great EP, we were led to a world of a man with many disguises. Atilla creates under multiple monikers such as Aswa, Waitress and the aforementioned Views while also running a cool boutique label, Tape Archive based in Berlin. We wanted to find out a little more about Atilla so we reached out for a quick Q & A...
Hi Atilla, great to have you here at Delayed, how’s your day so far?
It’s a perfect, hot summer day and I’m drinking my morning coffee.
You recently released a super cool EP under your Views moniker on Garage Hermetique, how did that collaboration happen?
Thank you, happy you like it. I’ve known Federico for a few years now. He is one of my best friends, and a true believer and supporter of my creative output. The EP has been in the making for a long time, with some unavoidable back and forth-action, but it finally happened, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
I would say that your style sounds quite organic, do you use more hardware over software when working on music or vice versa? Do you play any instruments and how did your path into making electronic music start?
I almost entirely make “computer music”. I’ve never, ever played any instruments. I’ve always considered myself to be creative, but I’ve had more of a visual output. I discovered electronic music through my brother whom I learned a ton from, just by watching him record, collect, play, arrange, edit, mix etc. Following the same path wasn’t and still isn’t easy, but I keep on trucking somehow.
Listening to your discography, I heard that you visit many corners of electronic music when producing, from ambient to electronica to techno. Who are your influences and where do you find inspiration when working on music?
My influences encompasses a large spectrum of artists, genres and sounds. In terms of electronic music, I lean towards early Warp-sounds, namely Autechre, and labels such as TTT, CPU and Likemind... I’m also a huge fan of artists like Brian Eno, Fennesz, Donato Dozzy, Kassem Mosse aaaaaand the list goes on and on... and let’s not forget all the amazing new stuff that comes out everyday. Then there are also inspiring life events.
Do you listen to other people’s music when working on your projects or do you prefer to be in ‘your own world’ and don’t get distracted by different ideas?
Unlike almost all the music I produce, the only time I don’t feel distracted is when I – more or less – spit out a track under the ASWA-moniker. When I write these songs, I have no idea what to do or where to begin, it can’t be compared with my usual process. I just know the track will write itself fast, like an urge. This process feels much more intuitive, less automated. Otherwise, as everyone else, I’m influenced by the music I enjoy listening to. It often feels like I’m trying to come up with this one perfect track over and over again, failing every time. I guess that motivates me to continue to produce club music.
I’m interested in the stories behind the tracks ‘Kyoto Love’ from your latest EP and ‘Ravus (Sarajevo mix)’ from a few years back. Are these tracks influenced by the time you spent in these cities?
I’ve never been to Kyoto unfortunately, but I would absolutely love to visit. “Kyoto Love” is more about capturing this romantic vision and idea I have of the city. I imagine shrines, temples, birds, trees and a japanese woman whispering softly in the background. I wanted to create a dreamy, poetic, peaceful and, well, borderline erotic atmosphere. The purpose was to create a love song for club use only. Sarajevo is more true to life, because I’ve actually been there and experienced the vibe of the city. I found it to be quite intense, so I figured I’d create a ravey, aggressive soundtrack to illustrate it.
What do you prefer, to DJ or to play live and why?
It is simple, I don’t really DJ. But who knows, I might invest in some CDJs and usb-sticks, dig some tunes on the internet and get that moolah.
How does your live set up look like? Do you change the set up after some time?
It’s an easy set-up: A computer, a mixing desk, a drum machine, an analog box for low range frequencies, plus a few effect pedals. Never really had the chance to change my live set-up because I’ve only played handful of times.
You started a label Tape Archive in 2016, what’s the idea behind the label, and what’s new coming out on Tape Archive?
In 2013, I started uploading random and weird videos with all sorts of sounds, under all sorts of monikers, to YouTube. I found it amusing not being personally linked to any of them. Then I continued to do the same thing on vinyl-releases, and now on cassettes. I’m not sure what comes next. There’s an ASWA album that’s almost done, some music under the Views-moniker, and maybe also a new project. But there’s no rush with any of it, I just take my time. I genuinely love to experiment and to create; I never really stop. And I have no rush whatsoever to put it out there.
You’ve been releasing music under various monikers such as Views, Waitress, ASWA…When do you decide which track will be released under which moniker, before you start making it or when the track is done?
I never really start out knowing which moniker the track will be made under, but I always know before the track is done.
Are you a vinyl collector? What’s your all time favorite release?
Yes, I have a small collection of records. My all time favorite would be Lunatic - “Mauvais oeil”, but it’s impossible to pick just one, so Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 will be up there too.
What new can we expect from you in the near future?
Maybe a bass line, and some melodies with a story to tell.