Acquaintance… Pleased to make his

Showcase: Acquaintance

Published on November 11th, 2013 | Jonny Abrams

We dug the luxurious, nocturnal electronic textures and sweet, sultry melodies of Acquaintance, whose Parapsychology EP was released last week on Anti-Ghost Moon Ray, so we fired him over our Showcase Q&A to find out more…

How would you describe your music, if pushed?

Every musician’s least favourite question! I suppose I would call it ‘melodic electronic music’. I’m influenced by electronic music in various forms: dance, ambient, R&B, pop and experimental. I think you can hear elements of those styles at different moments in my music.

Where are you based, and what do you use to record with?

I’m based in Brighton, in the UK. I make music in Logic and Ableton Live, using synths, samples and vocal recordings.

Are you signed to a label? If so, how did you come to their attention?

I’m a co-founder of Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Records.

Is there a full album in the works? If so, what can you tell us about it? (Feel free to be as abstract as you like…)

The album is called Satellite Stream and it will be out on Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Records in early 2014. It consists of nine songs that are linked together by recurring themes and characters.

Where can we hear your music online?

You can follow me on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/acqntnc. All useful links to videos, streams, etc get posted there.

Which have been your most exciting gigs and/or overall moments so far?

Definitely playing the Roundhouse Rising festival back in February. We had a label showcase and got to collaborate with video artists Eyes on the Wall. Creating live versions of my songs was quite a challenge, but during that process I accidentally wrote two new pieces, so it was creative too.

Got any more coming up? (Gigs, that is…)

I don’t have a band, so performing live is difficult for me at the moment. But there will definitely be a release party in Brighton when my album comes out next year.

Are there any obscure and/or up-and-coming acts that you’d like to recommend or give a shout-out to?

I’d like to recommend the other artists on Anti-Ghost Moon Ray: Great Pagans, Bernholz and Gazelle Twin. They are incredibly talented musicians and well worth checking out.

Finally, if you were forced to spend the rest of your days in solitary confinement, but were allowed to bring the entire works of five different artists along to tide you over, whose would you choose?

Miles Davis

Let’s start with something obvious. In a situation like this it makes sense to pick someone who produced a lot of work. Miles has quantity as well as quality. I have to make sure I get all those big box sets with the endless alternate versions though. I’ll be needing those.

Terre Thaemlitz

Terre’s discography is so diverse: experimental art music co-exists with some of the most gorgeous deep house I know of. And his/her work is always conceptually led, and full of intelligent ideas and observations. S/he usually includes essays within the liner notes, so that will provide me with reading matter too.

Joni Mitchell

I’m choosing Joni for moments when I want to listen to songs in a more traditional style. Also, she manages to convey so much personality in her lyrics and voice, and I think that would provide some companionship in this lonely situation.

Autechre

This is music that rewards repeated listens. Some of it is so detailed and complex that you feel like you’d hear something new every time. I find a lot of their more recent work quite difficult to access, so it will be nice to have that challenge.

Bjork

I’ve always loved Bjork’s music, and listening to her early records now really takes me back. If I’m in solitary confinement for the rest of my life then I expect I’ll be doing a lot of reminiscing. Bjork will help to make that a positive and celebratory process, rather than a melancholy one.

Acquaintance, thank you.

Artists: acquaintance

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.