Night Razor released his "Bleeding Edge Of Night" album in October of 2021 and it has been one of my favorite albums of the year!
1- Where did you grow up?
Mostly in West Des Moines, Iowa, but also Grinnell.
2- What is one of the first songs you remember liking as a kid?
Styx-"Mr. Roboto." I remember thinking how futuristic it sounded with the vocoder and synth line featured so prominently, and of course it was about robots-which every little boy loved at the time.
3- What influenced you to get into music?
When we moved into a new house when I was about 6, the previous owners left an upright grand piano in the basement (imagine trying to get that up stairs to move!) I started banging around on it and my parents decided that I needed to learn to play it properly, so I took a few years of lessons.
Later, in 5th grade I was voluntold into joining the school band. I chose the drums because it was the only instrument in the band that was also used in the kind of music, I was really interested in. When I got to High School, I finally got my first synthesizer-a Korg Poly 800 MkII, and started writing my first sequences.
Eventually I added a Roland TR-505 and a Casio CZ-101 and was doing full compositions on a Mac 512k with MidiPaint before I got to college.
4- At what age did you start playing/singing?
In terms of "classical-ish" training, 6 years old. My first synthpop would have been at about 17 though.
5- If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to yourself after finishing school?
"When Roland analog prices plotz, buy all you can and hold onto them for 10 years."
6- What are some of your favorite songs at the moment?
I really like Sheaf's "Lush," Die Warzau's "Funkopolis" and "Insect," Quintus Elementum's "Dark Roads," "Flesh and Blood" by Mona Muir and En Esch, Laure Dre's "I Wanna Be Your Only One," and of course Czarina's "Wonderland."
7- Do you listen to your own music?
Yes, but the farther away in time I get from it the easier it is to listen to. Right now, I'm sick as hell of the album I just finished, even though Tonebox's mastering added a warmth and character it didn't have when I sent it to him. It's more fun hearing Turbo F*cked or Alien Pigboy right now. There was an album I did several years ago under a different moniker with a song that I still listen to at least twice a week!
8- Which musician would you like to collaborate with next?
Probably one of my friends in the scene, from my synthwave "class year," as I think of it. I've committed to doing a remix for Best Korea, and I'd love to do something with Stephen from Night Rider 87 for instance, or if I could do something with Czarina-that voice could punch holes in the heavens.
9- What is one of your favorite memories so far in your music career?
The day I saw the 80's Guy's instance of the "Alien Pigboy" video cross the 10,000 views mark felt amazing. Having him accept and feature it was huge in the first place, but for me that many views was surprising, validating and exciting. For me, this is a hobby that I can use to justify buying some toys I always wanted, making some art and maybing supporting some animal rescues. That level of acceptance is beyond any dream I ever had for this endeavor.
10- What advice would you give to someone that is just starting to get into music?
Learn to actually play an instrument. You'll get the basics of music theory like chord construction and scalar forms, get a feel for what works and doesn't and most importantly, have something to give an audience. No shade on the acts that just take a laptop on stage with them-there are a load of total bad asses that do that, after all-but watching them feels a bit like watching the guy in the cubicle next to you set his desk to stand-up mode.
Check out Night Razor's music and video below. Also, his profile page is right here on the website.
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