Interview with Wildplanet

Wildplanet

Relevant Sites

430 West
Loft Electroclub
Octave One
Scan 7
Submerge Detroit
United Record Pressing
Wild Planet

Wildplanet is the brainchild of Stockholm based electro and techno producer Simon J Hartley. Simon has been producing music for the last decade under many different monikers, but his Wildplanet project has attracted the most attention, with its stunning fusion of Detroit style melodies and textures with the UK tradition of analogue bleeps and experimental sounds.

Brought up in the UK, he was involved from the very start in the local electronic scene, and after involvements with LFO and Warp, he left the country to move to Sweden. Having recorded for many high quality electronic labels in the UK, France and Sweden, Simon signed to the Burden Brothers' (Octave One) Detroit label, 430 West. Here he finally gained worldwide recognition with the seminal album 'Transmitter', and two outstanding EP releases.

With more and more time being taken out for his career as a producer of other bands, and his continuing development as Wildplanet, we were very happy to be able to catch him for an interview

We are proud to present: Simon J Hartley aka Wildplanet

11th-hour What first attracted you into the world of electronic music?

Simon J Hartley By playing along with my old Casio to tapes of the Human League, and the thought of some day being able to create my own music using just synths and drum machines.

11th-hour Can you describe your music as you see it?

Simon J Hartley Focused, deep & original. If my next song sounds like my last then I'll scrap it immediately!

11th-hour How did your first release come about?

Simon J Hartley I started making music in '87 with my local buddy Mark Bell - we formed a band called TUF (The Underground Force). I had the synths and liked synth pop & he had a 1200 and a drum machine and liked hip hop. We did loads of tracks but 2 years later we had a big break up, and he got signed to Warp as LFO. One year later we became friends again and he lent me a mixer to finish a demo I'd been working on, and when I played him the track I'd done he loved it so much that he played it to Warp. They liked the track so much that they fell on the floor when they heard it and signed Wildplanet for the track Electron and the later production of an LP.

11th-hour And how did things progress from there?

Simon J Hartley The Wildplanet Electron EP was released summer '92, and then I produced the Blueprint LP which was released '93. '92 to '94 I toured with LFO as the 3rd member of the live band playing around Europe. In 93 I changed my style to more housey stuff and under the name FEEDBACK released the I'm for Real EP on FNAC records then in 94 the Element EP on F Communications. I moved from Leeds to Stockholm Sweden late 94 and from then on produced tracks on the Swedish labels Hybrid, Planet Rhythm, Svek & Polygram.

11th-hour How did your link with 430 West come about?

Simon J Hartley I made an LP while living with friends in a house out in the Swedish suburbs, it turned out sounding really good so I sent the completely finished LP to my favorite labels and 430 West were the first to call back.

11th-hour How has your production developed over time, and how do you hope to continue that?

Simon J Hartley I strive to get better at what I do with every track, if I don't surprise myself then why continue? I think the only way to develop is to try new ideas all the time and not get trapped by one style of music.

11th-hour What equipment do you use for production?

Simon J Hartley Mainly old analog gear. On the Wildplanet Transmitter LP, I used a Roland System 100, R8 & 106, Korg MS20 +VC-10 Vocoder, sequential drum machines, Casio Fz10 sampler & Atari running Creator, with FX´s and mixer to a DAT master. I do a lot of post production and mastering on the tracks using ProTools with TDM plug-ins.

11th-hour Have you found any difficulties in promoting your music, and where in the world is it most successful?

Simon J Hartley I try to stay away from promoting myself as what I do is art and should speak for itself, I usually leave that up to the record company. My records sell most in Germany then UK & USA.

11th-hour Do you have projects with any other artists, or do you prefer to work alone?

Simon J Hartley I've been co-producing and mixing various bands here in Sweden mainly for Polygram but for my own music it's very much a private therapy that I need to do alone.

11th-hour What music/artists do you draw your own inspiration from?

Simon J Hartley I make Electronic dance music but I only listen to dance music out in clubs. At home I listen to old favorite albums by bands like Depeche Mode & New Order and a lot of new pop! I gather a lot of inspiration from films!

11th-hour You seem to release records only once or twice a year - is this due to a lack of time to write, or a desire to release only when perfect?

Simon J Hartley I make my music first for private pleasure but if I want people to here a track and I think it's good enough I'll release it. I also produce & mix other bands and music through my own production company based here in Stockholm so a lot of my output goes into those projects under different names.

11th-hour What are your thoughts on the disparate nature of the scene at the moment - do you think all musical styles should be separate, or integrated?

Simon J Hartley I'm tired of the segregation of dance music styles, I don't think it's good for the scene as a whole - that's why I usually call what I do "Electronic dance music"

11th-hour What do you consider to be your greatest achievement in your musical career?

Simon J Hartley This is hard to answer as I'm far from my greatest achievement but to be able to play live around the world and move a big crowd is fun and a big achievement.

11th-hour What plans do you have for the future?

Simon J Hartley To build a more professional studio for myself with sound proof rooms for vocal projects, and I'd like to buy more classic old equipment & synths, and still surprise myself musically!!

Many thanks to Simon for answering all our questions!