Geist Contagion Interview on Nagamag

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Nagamag:
What are the genres that describe better your music style?

Geist Contagion:
With my project Geist Contagion, I find myself with varied inspirations from one song to the next, so it becomes a bit of a daunting task to label each with its own discrete genre. There are elements of Glitchstep, Breakbeat, Techno, Industrial, Ambient, and Drone throughout my releases. I generally don't stick to one style for very long because I get bored easily, and I like to keep the listener on their toes.

Nagamag:
Few words about your musical background and career?

Geist Contagion:
I started out like a lot of people do, playing guitar in a garage band with my friends. *That eventually fizzled out, as it often tends to.* Shortly after, I attended school for artist management and music production, which is where I developed my love of synthesizers, and of a whole new world of musical styles and composition techniques. From there, I dove headfirst into experimental electronic music which lead to the formation of my main project, The Databats. I met the folks over at Slice Records around this time and after working together on a couple of gigs, they brought us into their stable of artists. Geist Contagion spawned from there as my first full solo project. I wanted an avenue for the music I was writing that didn't stylistically gel with my work with The Databats. This has allowed me to explore my songwriting ideas more deeply, and to illuminate music that otherwise wouldn't be making it out into the world at large.

Nagamag:
Do you remember your first connection of love to music that was the right impact to be a music artist now?

Geist Contagion:
I've felt a strong connection to music since I was very young. Some of my favourite parts of Saturday morning cartoons were the theme songs, not the cartoons themselves. As an adult, one of my more formative experiences was attending a live performance by Alessandro Cortini's solo project Sonoio, opening for Ladytron at The Phoenix in Toronto. Watching him utilize a myriad of synthesizers and vocal effects to craft such a layered and complex performance really opened my eyes to what was possible as a solo electronic performer, and to what an audience would be interested in experiencing.

Nagamag:
Tell us about your new album Écoutez and the process behind it.

Geist Contagion:
Écoutez is a collaborative album by Geist Contagion and Arcane Trickster. I met Damiano from Arcane Trickster a few years back when The Databats travelled to Australia and hooked up with the Slice Records crew for a couple of club gigs. We got along well and had a good rapport, so working together seemed like the logical next step.
Flash forward to 2020, and we found ourselves with a lot more time on our hands, so Damiano and I messaged back and forth a bit to discuss our ideas for a project. We then exchanged a bunch of demos via email, and once we decided on the tracks we wanted to use, we got down to editing, remixing and performing on one another's work. The ensuing result was a rather cohesive blend of each of our styles that we hope provides the audience with a fun journey from start to finish.

"Écoutez" means "listen" in French. It's both a title and an instruction. We'd like the audience to take a moment out of their hectic lives to do exactly that, just listen.

Nagamag:
What are the plans for Geist Contagion in 2021?

Geist Contagion:
I've been writing a lot of music, so hopefully we'll have followup to my record "Residue" out by the end of the year. On the collaborative front, there are a couple of projects going on at Slice Records that I plan to be very involved in, so you'll be hearing new remixes and joint productions from me as well. I'm very excited for those.
In terms of live performances, we're still under tight lockdown up here in Canada, so I've had to adapt. Thankfully, there are more ways than ever to reach out and interact with your audience, and I plan to take full advantage of those. Livestream performances, music videos, and interactive experiences are all part of the plan, so stay tuned for that! I'm also hoping I'll be able to get out and perform work by this project live some time before the end of the year, as I haven't had the opportunity to do that yet.

Nagamag:
Most artists have a favorite song from a different music genre than the one they are producing music for... Which is yours?

Geist Contagion:
Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois "Night MXCMPV1 P74"

Nagamag:
Of Course Nagamag would love to listen also which track from a similar artist you admire?

Geist Contagion:
Oneohtrix Point Never "Nothing's Special"