Rex Riot Talks Faking the Magic, Pushing the Envelope, and More [Exclusive Interview]

“It actually came up in conversation. I was talking with my friend Austen (aka. Royal Brown) who had done vocals on a track for me years ago. At the time I was thinking of putting the track on the album, so I asked permission to use the vocal take. When he got back to me, he expressed that he would rather do a few more new takes to get it perfect on his end. I rebutted, recanting the atmosphere in our lives when the song was written, and insisting to him that there was magic in the take we had… to which he responded “Yea, but if I can nail the recording on my end, I can probably fake the magic”. The name struck me immediately as something much more poignant and universal than just what it meant in that construct. Sort of a microcosm for a much larger philosophy we often employ in life and in music, the aesthetic of which really fit this album I think.”

“Well I would start by directing readers to my influence mix. There’s a lot of music in there that prominently shaped the project, and the last song is actually the song that spurred the conversation mentioned above, and ultimately the name of the album, though the song itself didn’t make the cut.

There’s a lot of bands that influenced me as well though, most of whom are tricky to spin into an EDM mix. Notably Blonde Redhead, M?m, The Roots, The Beatles (I know it’s cliche, but I really was on a Beatles kick while writing this project), Do Make Say Think, Mono (the Japanese Post-Rock one), Radiohead (I know, cliche again… but with good reason), Eliot Smith, and The Faint. I also draw a lot of classical influence in my misc in general, sometimes more obviously than not. In that world I’m a big Russian composer guy, most notably Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky, also a pretty raging fan of Beethoven and Wagner.”

What is your favorite track on the album?

“I suppose that’s a bit like choosing children… Each song definitely tells a story, and each story is definitely meaningful to me. I will say, though, the last track “A Song For My Bird Friends” tells the story of the album, and for that it is special.

There are some birds who made a nest in my neighbor’s window frame, directly across from my desk. Maybe 15 feet from where I write music in the 3rd floor room of my DC row house. Over the course of the spring months, as I was writing and revising this album, I simultaneously had the opportunity to watch this small family of birds grow. First with little peeps coming from the hole in the windowsill, then tiny naked bird heads poking out, then fluffy chicks who would venture to the ledge overlooking the street. Eventually they grew into bold adolescents, not yet completely rid of their down, venturing into the air in longer and longer journeys, until finally it was time for them to fly away and start a life of their own somewhere. I didn’t get out a lot, and I became pretty attached to these birds, as they mirrored the evolution of my own project. Similarly, “A Song For My Bird Friends” uses one instance of each synthesizer from the album, starting with a singular theme and slowly elaborating to a more complex and complete idea, before the album is finished and ready to go out into the world.”

The album crosses over many different genres, would you say making this album has been a journey in trying to find a sound that fits you? Or are you just showcasing that you can master almost any genre?

“Well for me music is really just a way to an express an idea or an emotion. Sometimes those things can be encapsulated in a single genera or form, but this time around I guess it just didn’t really work out that way. I think people don’t often look towards electronic musicians for examples of musical diversity, and to an extent we may bring that on ourselves a bit. If you dig a little though, most of the more noteworthy among us have considerable non-electronic music accolades as well. In that regard I’m no different. I love to write all kinds of music, and often do, but with music being both an art and an income for me, sometimes I have to be a bit discerning with where I put my time and energy. Most of my fans expect dance music, and it is really important for me to be able to give that to them, but “Fake The Magic” has definitely been an experiment in how far I can push the envelope.”

You use a lot of instruments in the album (acoustic guitar, piano), are you playing those yourself or do you have a band playing those for you?

“I play all of the instruments on the album. All of the piano and keys sounds come from my Nord Electro 4 keyboard (I’m a huge sucker for the Rhodes and Farfisa emulations on that thing), and then I used a vintage Epiphone electric guitar, and a Martin acoustic as well. For me the biggest challenge, though, is the singing. I really do like the aesthetic of my voice, but despite having a pretty sharp ear musically, I can’t hit a note to save my life. I sang a bit on my Play Me Records release “Beyond”, but on this album my voice is a lot more naked and out of my comfort zone (in a good way). I really hope to work on my voice in the future and integrate it into more of the music that I release.”

There also quite a few synthesized sounds in this album, did you make those or are they from a pack?

“I try not to use anything straight out of sample packs or pre-sets, I think it’s a lot more interesting to do that stuff myself, and ultimately yields a much more intentional and cohesive sounding product. Almost every sound on the album I made with either the Nord and guitars I mentioned earlier, or my Access Virus TI, Teenage Engineering OP-1, and Moog Minitaur. In fact, the only song on the album with any software instruments at all is “Now Now”. ”

Finally, what would you say is the most unique thing about you as an artist?

“Oh man, that’s tough, I always wish other people would answer those sorts of questions for me! As I touched on earlier though, for me music is really about self expression, and the communication of ideas. Honesty is a really big part of that too. Honesty with myself about what I’m feeling, and honesty in the way I communicate it through music. There are a lot of incredible musicians out there, but there is only one person who thinks and feels the way that I do, and my ability to portray that honestly in my work is what shows people something they haven’t seen before, and with any luck something valuable.”