Words by Art Jefferson
Photography by Cosmin Bumbut and courtesy of Liar
Raw, uncut and unfettered is the music of Bucharest-based producer Liar. The unsparing boldness embedded within each track smacks you in the face like a playground bully. And no matter the direction of genre that he chooses to travel, the level of quality always remains undeniable. Perhaps this is why his songs have garnished support by the likes of Mary Ann Hobbs down to Jamie xx. Whether manipulating vocals in a haunting manner over rumbling bass or remaking tracks like Katy B’s “5 A.M.” into dark dance floor scorchers, Liar’s production seems to steamroll over even the thought of cookie cutter electronica in today’s market.
Liar’s latest record “Cybertime” explores the idea of cyberspace, while infusing heavy pounding, classic grime-inspired rhythms and future-forward electronica without compromise. The six song EP will get released through the Canadian label Infinite Machine on May 12th. If cyberspace is simply the sphere of communicating electronically, then Liar is definitely aiming at sending shocks to system.
Art Jefferson – You came into the scene a few years ago. When did you first begin producing and what inspired you to want to make music?
Liar – I’ve been producing electronic music since as long as I can remember. I’ve been generally making music even longer than that. We’re talking close to a decade here. Now it’s second nature. I do it because I am, because that’s what I do, and because I am what I do. Liar is a different matter altogether. Me becoming Liar, first only in pseudonym, and then all-pervasively, had to do with me going through some third-eye opening shit. With that, my inspiration’s become a merger of deeply human, visceral urges and 4D non-linear orders that I follow unflinchingly.
Art Jefferson – You’re based in Bucharest. What is the scene like for electronic music at the moment?
Liar – The parts of it that are not disappointingly amateurish or disappointingly derivative are disappointingly underrated, and the parts of it that are indeed disappointingly amateurish or disappointingly derivative are disappointingly overrated. Yours truly not included. It’s disappointing overall, and somewhat lonely, with the disappointment stemming from the endless well of inspiration that I consider being a Romanian today is. The only compatriots I can wholeheartedly endorse are Herne, an absolute word-class DJ and my mentor in DJ matters, and Ivilstrad, a budding talent from the opposite side of the country that I’ve recently signed.
Art Jefferson – Musically you have produced various styles without restraints. How would you personally describe your sound?
Liar – An endlessly adaptive musical retrovirus synthesized through a blend of biotech, nanotech, cyber-interfacing and magical assistance.
Art Jefferson – Your new EP “Cybertime” pulls inspiration from the idea of cyberspace. Explain a little more about that concept and how you wanted to translate it in this new recording.
Liar – To quote the release notes, “Liar attempts to translate [the concept of cyberspace] from the very author who first coined the term, William Gibson, to a 4D vantage point. As such, he imagines not only every single point in infinite 3D space theoretically collapsed to a single point upon digitally trivializing distance, but, furthermore, the collapse of every discrete instance of said 3D space into a single, non-linear event, upon digitally trivializing time. Hence, ‘Cybertime’.”
In simpler terms, in making this record the main process was pooling resources from a wide variety of genres, subgenres, styles, scenes and crews, throughout the globe, throughout recorded history, and throughout my own musical history, and then making it all work together. Achieving tracks wherein current cutting edge developments in electronic music coexist with jungle, with black metal, with classical music, with pre-polyphonic Hellenistic music, etc.
Art Jefferson – You have produced records ranging from techno to bass, grime to what I would call all out ‘apocalyptic electronica’. What is your creative process like when you initially begin a track, and do you start off knowing the direction that you want to go in terms of genre or does it come to you throughout the process?
Liar – Both. I always start out with a very elaborate conceptual blueprint, but I allow any aleatoric occurrences that produce captivating sounds or interesting musical phrases to inform the process.
Art Jefferson – You played a number of gigs at A.D.E. last year. How was that experience?
Liar – The professional canned answer would be “Awesome! Lots of experience! Such an honor!”. The honest answer is that I’m a know-it-all, entitled cunt, I’ve already travelled a lot on account of being a spoiled brat, I had the flu, it was cold, it was hectic, I made too little money (I always think that though) and I realized there are no audiences anywhere in the West that are devoid of twats. But I hung out with a lot of friends of mine, I did a lot of stupid shit, I touched base with Kastle, the gigs were memorable…I had fun. I always have fun.
Art Jefferson – You remixed The xx’s “Chained”. A lot of people were really feeling your version. How did that come about?
Liar – My manager contacted their management. They were aware of me since they’d been one of my earliest big-name supporters (with them plugging my first EP and Jamie playing tracks of mine in his sets), something that was quite serendipitous and which I’m very grateful for. They sent over the stems, I started the remix on the spot while nursing a little over-excitement panic attack, 6 hours later it was done and I sent it in. Then they sent some very clever notes, I finalized the edit with them in mind, sent it in, and it was approved. Then, as the trappings of music industry release methodology crept in, it only saw release close to 9 months later. What followed were the requisite (and expected) hype, support and viral dissemination. It got about half-a-mil plays, out of which I got about only 100k hits on my various outlets. The rest think that it’s an alternative edit of the track that The xx dubbed “Liar Remix”, or that it was made by Majestic Casual. lel
Art Jefferson – Finally, what do you have in store for the rest of 2014?
Liar – I’ve completed a new club-oriented EP, tentatively titled “Scorpio” – shopping it around. Also completed a techno EP along with a local bestie, under the moniker New Romancer – shopping that around as well. And finally there’s my third full-length, tentatively titled “Antediluvian”, that I’m currently putting finishing touches on. I’m also starting an imprint on Infinite Machine, called Tessier-Ashpool Recordings, with pending releases from 2ndSun, Vlsonn, Specialivery, Foba, Isomov, Lancor, and Ivilstrad (to name a few), which will focus on anything that qualifies as “futuristic machine music”. Me and Kastle will also be releasing a special single bundle for “Pygmalion”, off of “Spirewards”, on Symbols Recordings, featuring remixes from Druid Cloak, Panda, and Trust (again, to name a few) and also some original previously-unreleased goodies. Hopefully, I will start touring more consistently. Will start working on my first novel. And maybe do rehab if I can find the time. Will watch a lot of anime. Start a church maybe? Busy year ahead.
Finally, I’ll be starting a collaborative meta-musical project with my better half, multimedia artist Andronis. That’s my vacay.
Liar’s “Cybertime” EP is out May 12 via Infinite Machine.
Preorder: http://www.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/IM023/Liar_Cybertime.html
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