INTERVIEW BY JEREMY BISPO
Hello Patrick Gil, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. I’m very much looking forward to you making your AYLI debut July 26th at Public Works alongside Regis, Max Cooper and Sassmouth.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? How did you get into electronic music?
I’m from a city in Los Angeles County called Palos Verdes. I moved there when I was 1, from Long Beach. I got into electronic music by being into weirder post rock and pink floyd, and then when I went to UC Santa Cruz, some friends started to show me a lot of cool stuff, like Boards of Canada, Four Tet, Lemon Jelly and Telefon Tel Aviv. I wasn’t into House and Techno until much later.
Who are some of your biggest production influences? And are there any producers that you’re really feeling right now?
I love people who make music in between House and Techno, or beyond. I love dubby chords and big reverbs. Right now I’m really into Myk Derill, Luke Hess, MIke Dehnert, and Shifted, to name a few.
So far your releases are under the name Patrick Gil. Why Patrick Gil and not your birth name of Patrick Gilligan?
I started out by releasing stuff on Beatport, and was just another name on the internet. I decided to go with ‘Gil’ as my Production name cause it was like, a short and sweet kinda thing, but it was taken by some electro house dude, so the label guy suggested Patrick Gil and it sounded pretty cool. Its a little weirder now that I’ve been playing in town more, and everyone around knows that’s not my real name.
Your Zissou release on Deeplabs was vinyl only and has recently sold out. It’s gotten some love from DJs such as Bill Patrick. How did you connect with Deeplabs label head Luke Hess?
Luke and I had a lot of mutual friends, and I sent him a message and introduced myself. He checked out my stuff, and said it was good, so I felt confident enough when I had Zissou done to show him. I wasn’t trying to make anything happen, I just thought it was up his alley. Turns out, he was trying to put an EP together and the timing was perfect. I got lucky to have it out on such a solid distributer, and I’m super stoked that so many people have played it.
And does vinyl have anymore significance for you than a digital release?
100%. The time and money and risk it takes make it feel like the ‘real thing’. It’s so easy to put rushed together tracks on Beatport, and I’ve done it myself, but vinyl takes care and patience and dedication. I have some upcoming digi stuff coming out (which I’m very proud of,) but I’m thinking of after that, holding off only for vinyl. We’ll see.
Tell us a bit about your studio. What software or gear do you use to make music?
I love hardware and software and samples. The all play an equal role. My current go to devices are: Juno 106, MFB Kraftzwerg, Elektron Monomachine, Line 6 Delay Pedal, Eventide Space, DBX 160A, Madrona’s Aalto, Live’s Sampler, NI’s FM8, and most importantly an amazing set of 909 Samples that my best friend in Brooklyn, Alex Hamadey from Voodoo Down Records, made and sent to me from his studio.
And a follow up to that, what do use play on when you DJ? and have you ever played ‘LIVE’ before?
I had played live with my friend Renzo Gorrio as Click.Boom probably about 5 times before I had ever DJ’ed. Some things have gone backwards for me, including how I’ve DJ’ed. I went from Traktor to CDJ’s and now CDJ’s and Vinyl. I love to play vinyl, its really special for me. This podcast is a collection of vinyls and digi copies that I’ve been into recently. The beginning of the mix somewhat matches the vibe I’ll be playing for an opening set, but I couldn’t resist a nice techno workout in the end.
Where do you see your production development heading? Any new gear or software you’re planning on purchasing?
I’ve been making stuff thats a lot less banging and a lot smoother lately. I don’t know if that’s a trend because stripped back techno is very fun to make; I love how raw it is to make and how raw it sounds, and it opens up a nice palate for long smooth mixes. As far as new gear, I really want to upgrade to Ableton 9, and I’m looking at both the Doepfer Dark Time and Dark Energy. Also, I want a Jomox 999 and Nord Lead 2 and Microwave XT. Maybe a Maschine.
Do you have any future releases or projects on the horizon?
Yes, an EP for my good friend Simon in Australia on a label called ‘Transclucent’. 2 excellent remixes there from Fundamental Interaction in UK and Ground Loop in Aus. That will be a good one. Past that, I’m going to hold back a bit and really spend time and energy into what I want to do release wise. The next goal is a limited run of white label vinyls featuring a track of mine and one from a friend. It’ll happen soon.
Your crew Direct to Earth (DTE) has been making some recent waves in the underground. Tell us a bit about them and ZORG?
Direct to Earth are my best friends, and we’re super powered by the fact that there are a few of us, with different tastes and connections, and we’ve been making a lot of things happen recently. We started by doing little events on thursday nights in East Oakland, and at Brian’s parents house, to taking over big clubs and underground warehouses in Oakland and SF. Myself, Max Gardner, Brian Knarfield, and more recently, Bob V have all been taking the reins on different parties, and we’ve been getting to do a lot of stuff. I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of it, and I can’t believe what its become, especially in the last 6 months. Its one of the most important things in my life right now. Zorg is kinda like our theme, mostly started by Jay Russell, one of DTE’s most important members. Zorg is just a thing, and a way of life.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions. Can’t wait to hear you at Public Works!
