Elliot Lipp is one of the freshest electronic musicians on the scene today.  He resides in Brooklyn and his latest release “Peace Love Weed 3D” on Old Tacoma Records can be purchased at www.1320records.com. His beats are always funky and his music always keeps the party alive! Nectar Notes decided to do an interview with him and make him this week’s featured artist. Without further adieu, we give you Elliot Lipp...

Q. How did you come about being an electronic musician?

A. It was an accident. I was supposed to be a hip hop producer but I got too into drum machines & synthesizers.

Q. Your music combines elements of electronic, funk, and hip hop.  Who are your biggest influences in these genres?

A. The Alchemist, Lonnie Liston Smith, Giorgio Moroder, Telfon Tel Aviv, Ray Parker Jr., Zapp & Roger, Madlib, E-40, Gui Boratto Dabrye, Piero Umiliani, Prefuse 73, Aphex Twin, Bruce Haack, Autechre, Jeff Mills, Joey Beltram, 2pac, Mathew Johnson, Amerie, John Carpenter, Dre, Rza, Stereolab, Drexciya, Tortoise, Elzhi, Mobb Deep, etc...

Q. What instruments do you play?

A. Laptop, keyboards, drum machines & samplers.

Q. What was the best concert you have attended and why?

A. Ever? hmm I don't know what the best concert I've seen in my life was
but in 1999 I went to the Hard Knock Life tour & saw Jay Z, Redman &
Method Man and Dmx!!! It was pretty amazing.

Q. What was the best show you have performed in and why?

A. Hmmm....not sure the best but I killed it in Portland OR the
other night. That was fun.

Q. What are your favorite three albums of all time?

A. um... all time? Don't know. But I like Nirvana "Nevermind," Mac Mall
"Illegal business,” and the first DJ Shadow.

Q. What are your favorite pastimes on the road?

A. Arguing, playing with my phone, taking photos/shooting video.

Q. Tell us about your equipment. What programs and MIDI controllers are the most helpful in your compositions?

A. I have two setups now. One is for live performance and one for production. Right now my live setup consists of my MacBook, my Livid Ohm64 MIDI controller, and a Nord Lead 2. This changes all the time but it's usually just a MIDI & a synth. I like taking a compact setup and pushing it as far as I can. My studio is now all analog and I usually don't even bring my laptop in when I go to work. I've got an 8 track tape machine and I make it all live. This is also constantly changing. I'm still open to trying VST synths but they all sound stupid compared to my awesome synth collection.

Q. As an electronic musician, would you say it is more important to rely on sampling beats or creating your own?

A. If you do use samples in your music it's important to know how to make them your own. There are sample based producers that are far more creative than any traditional songwriters out there (EL-P, Diamond D, Pete Rock, Dilla Dogg, Battlecat, No I.D., RZA, to name a few).

Q. How often do you work with acoustic musicians in your mix?

A. I work with a few guitarists: Nick Bockrath from Philly is a beast. I've done a lot of work with Kenseth Thibideau from Pinback and my homie Guitar Ron. Also Lane Shaw & Alex B from Pnuma of course.

Q. Tell us a little more about 1320 records.  How did you get signed and who are your favorite musicians to work with out of that label?

A. I met STS9 about 5 years ago maybe longer and since then I've done a lot of touring with them and when I started my label they were super down to help me out with distro. I just did some shows with 1320 artist Emancipator who is awesome. I'm into Count Bass D as well.

Q. What about electronic music appeals to you?  What challenges do you face in performance that acoustic instrumentalists might have an easier time with?

A. I like electronic music because it feels relevant to me. Acoustic instruments (wind instrument, stringed instruments, etc.) were designed as a response to the sounds of the environment at the time. This was before cars & machines so people were listening to wind & birds & shit. I am more in to music as a response to the sounds around us today. I think unconsciously I’m inspired by all the beeps, ring tones, machines, cars, trucks & subway trains I hear daily.

As far as challenges I face when performing? Well a crowd can respond more to a musician that’s playing something that they can watch like a drummer or something because they can see how the sound is being created. When someone is banging around on MIDI pads its just not as cool.

Q. Tell about some performance tricks you use to get your crowd to feel the music?  How important are the sound engineer, lights, and venue to the success of your shows?

A. I have two tricks

1. The high pass filter/bit reduction sweep that Nosaj Thing taught me

2. The beat repeat setting that Mux Mool taught me.

Other than that I have no clue what I’m doing. Sound engineers don't do much for me since I'm only sending a stereo signal to the speakers but you'd be surprised how many sound guys are able to fuck that up. Lights however can really make a show a million times better. My fav LD's are Michael (Squints) from Music Matters and Nathaniel from MarchOne Music,
those guys have skills.

Q. What is your general outlook on the music industry?  Is it more important for you to sell albums or perform live?

A. Nobody is selling albums. This is pressuring people into playing shows when they only set out to produce music. Artists should only perform live if they have a live set though. A lot of producers have terrible live sets. For me personally I really like playing live and I
never really tried to sell my music any other way. I'm not saying my live show is the shit, but I'll still be getting booked when a lot of these clowns fall off.

Q. What is the best venue you have performed at?

A. I love the Parrish in Austin TX

Q. In what city do you think your genre is currently the most marketable?

A. I don't know...Asheville? or maybe S.F.

Eliot, thank you for your time. We hope you enjoyed letting people in on your musical secrets. You are our featured artist this week and we wish you luck on the road.

Published Tuesday, 16th February 2010 - Written by Alex Tate