interview with Aztec Monkey
What´s the name of your band? Aztec Monkey - inspired by some doodles I'd been drawing in lectures and Ozomatli, the Aztec god of dance and music, amongst other things.
How was the band formed? I've been writing acoustic, electric and electronic music for many years. Eventually, back in about 1998, I decided to give myself a name.
Can you tell about your band? There's not much to tell - it's just me (Chris) so it's a one man band. I started writing music entirely for my own benefit - sometimes it was the only music I fancied listening to. With the advent of the rising of the Internet, and in particular MySpace, I decided to make my music available to other people.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? I'm from the United Kingdom and I do everything!
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? I had no ambitions when I started writing music. I guess now I would like more people to hear my music but I mostly enjoy writing and listening to it, if other people like it then that's an added bonus.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? It's definitely electronica, but it has evolved over time and I struggle to put it into a more precise subgenre. The early stuff was fast, heavy, glitchy type of stuff. Strongly influenced by Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. Over time most of the tunes have become simpler and more melodic, although I have a recent desire to go back to the fast glitch-based music I produced in the early days.
Where was your first gig? I've never played any gigs as Aztec Monkey. Quite a few of my tunes are played out by various other artists including by some of my friends. I'm not too fussed about gigging. It pleases me when people like hearing my music but whether that's in my presence or not doesn't really matter. That said I think I would enjoy it though so I might one day.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? I have a youtube channel, www.youtube.com/theaztecmonkey with a number of my tunes on, but the only one of me playing live is just a home recording of me playing guitar.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? At what age did you start playing? I'm 35 and I've been writing and making music since I was very young, perhaps four years old. I've played the guitar since I was 11. My granddad teaching me simple right hand piano parts to ragtime songs is one of my earliest memories. I don't remember anything triggering a particular start in music though, I think it's just something I've always been innately passionate about. Music has always been important to me.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Reggae, drum and bass, dubstep, jazz, swing, hip hop, glitch you name it. If it's good and I'm in the mood for it, I'll listen to it.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Having taken a year out of producing music to study full time I've recently started to write again having graduated this year. A couple of the new tracks are strong contenders for selection here, but as they're not released I'll go with Cut With Glass (https://soundcloud.com/aztecmonkey/cutwithglass) and Come And Avacado If You Think You're Lard Enough (https://soundcloud.com/aztecmonkey/come-and-avacado-if-you-think-youre-lard-enough). And I Rise (Deus Ex Machina) (https://soundcloud.com/aztecmonkey/andirise) and Prolific (https://soundcloud.com/aztecmonkey/prolific) deserve special mentions as the tracks which are generally near the top of my list. My remix of Jackie Wilson's Your Love (Higher and Higher) also deserves a mention - it's not actually my favourite by a long stretch but it's certainly my most popular song, having been played hundreds of thousands of times over the years.
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? That's a tough call between Squarepusher and Orbital, but I think Orbital have to claim the top spot. Jurassic 5 and Gomez were both great too.
Do you have any webpages? You can find all of my music on www.soundcloud.com/aztecmonkey
What is your favorite crappy instrument? That depends. I have a cheap maraca that I occasionally record to give a bit of a human feel to otherwise mostly machine-made music, so musically probably that. In terms of emotional endearment though it would be my first guitar, an Encore. It's absolutely horrible to play but it has great sentimental value as I got it from one of my best and oldest friends who passed away a few years ago. I plan to keep that guitar for the rest of my life.
