Going Swimming On Rachel’s Birthday - ‘is a fun and flickering stand-alone track that I made for a friend after we went swimming on her birthday.’
Influenza - ‘is from the forthcoming “Life & Death of St. Kilda”. It’s a kind of organic live jam using a sequential pro one, moog/realistic mg-1 and a small doepfer modular with an oberheim sem filter. This is when things start to go bad on the island.’
Dundee’s Botanic Gardens annual music and arts micro-festival N.ILK returned this week, featuring a diverse group of underground artists, including the likes of Lukid and Samoyed. Also featuring on the packed bill was Stefan Blomeier, a relative newcomer to the scene, whose recent releases are starting to draw attention towards this mysterious Danish synth producer. After a frenetic live show we caught up with Stefan in order to find out more…
Where are you currently based?
I’m currently operating out of my home studio in Dundee, Scotland. It’s all right, the window looks on to the airport runway. The runway is too short for big stuff like 737’s but it’s cool to be making music whilst watching the light aircraft land.
You released Popular Electronics II / Radio Astronomy in March, which is very abstract synth work, is this what we can expect from your future releases?
Yes and no… there’s more incoherent radiophonic rambling due to come out on public information sometime next year. There’s also an Ep called “The Danish Straits” coming out soon on Ruralfaune synth series. That work recounts a clandestine operation in Denmark, a sort of synthesized spy film soundtrack. It’s “Steeped in Aalborgian Mythos” or something. There was a lot of FM/digital synthesis used. It’s good for that freaky soundtrack kind of stuff. I have another Ep lying around that I’d like to put out. It’s called “The Life & Death of St. Kilda”. It’s about a sequence of inexplicable, undocumented events following the evacuation from the Scottish island of St. Kilda. That one has a lot of majestic synthesizer arpeggios and some berlin school style sequencing.
You were recently involved in an exhibition with artist Eric Schumacher, can you give us a further incite into this project?
That was a new graduate show at the generator projects gallery in Dundee. I made a video installation “developed within the confines of an arcane midi environment”. I wrote some music on a Yamaha Dx21 and assigned each note to a block of colour. With a bit of midi magic, three screens responded rhythmically to the composition. Ben Butler & Mousepad came and played at the after party in an old hotel that kind of looked like a Swedish sauna. That was great fun.
What music has helped to inspire you?
I’m infatuated with vintage synthesizers and that undoubtedly dictates what I listen to. I like Emak, Klaus Schulze…the whole kraut thing. Veronica Vasicka’s minimal wave venture is admirable. She’s brought a wealth of previously neglected synthesizer fiends to the attention of the music world and she’s supported my work a lot. So yeah, I’m into a lot of minimal synth, cold wave or whatever you want to call it – Jeff & Jane Hudson, Absolute Body Control, Oppenheimer Analysis, The Neon Judgement…that kind of vibe. My biggest influence is probably Danny Wolfers’ work under his innumerable pseudonyms. His Klaus Kinski stuff as Legowelt and The Smackos – computer day record are favourites. Actually, the whole Dutch thing is a big influence. Stuff like I-F’s Intergalactic FM and the old cbs in invaluable. I run a club night called Zazou with an obsessive italo collector called Il Discotto. The night gives me an opportunity to have a bit of fun and play a lot of artists whose influence isn’t necessarily evident in my own music. We play a lot of italo, hi-nrg and new beat. Acid and chicago stuff too, that sort of thing. I also have a soft spot for Jan Hammer’s Miami vice soundtrack. I play in Jonny Trunk’s hauntological orchestra and we recently performed a version of an old natwest bank commercial that used Crockett’s theme. That was awesome.
