Mochipet teams up with Mr. Lif for ‘Spark’, an industrial bass banger about pursuing goals and finding inspiration. Heavy drums, random blasts of obscure sound and a shifty, classical melody help hammer home Lif’s rhymes. “If you envision that light through the dark, through the spirit of the heart, better follow that spark.” The track was born partly out of David’s (aka Mochipet) struggle to find his own spark after taking a year-long hiatus from music to tend to his father’s severe health problems.
Now Mochipet is back and seeking to push the sonic envelope more than ever. With much to say for his experience we spoke with David about free music, life lessons, remixing and quantum physics sound design. We recently had a chance to catch up with him.
I notice you enjoy remixing others’ music. What’s your favorite style of music to put your touch on? My personal favorite of yours is the ‘When the Dust Settles’
I always love getting new sounds to remix. It opens my musical vocabulary up to things I might never have used before. Some of the ones that people seem to enjoy are the STS9 remix and the Kraddy Android Godzilla Porn remix. I actually have a bunch of remixes that I have started on through out the years for friends like The Glitch Mob, Daedelus, and SiBegg that I never had a chance to finish until now. I will be making them available as free downloads on my Facebook and Twitter pages soon.
On March 16 you offered your entire discography to fans as a torrent, asking them to seed it. What are your thoughts on pirating and free music?
I grew up in the age of Napster so I have alway felt music should be free. I would never want money as barrier between someone being able to enjoy my art. Also, I have put out so many genres of music through out the years that I really want my fans to have access to all of it. Torrents are a great way to share music because of it’s peer to peer system. But it’s only as strong as the number of people sharing it. So if you download Mochipet music via torrent remember to always seed it. This way others can have access to it as well.
So we know you put a ton of work into ‘Spark’ during a troubling time in your life. You stopped working on music altogether. How did that feel? Did it change the way you make music?
It was really difficult. My father was constantly in and out of the hospital and I had to attend to his daily affairs which I had no experience with what so ever at the time. I had to cancel all my shows and stop touring all together. Many of the friends and colleagues I had met through the music industry quickly disappeared from my life as soon as I wasn’t around anymore. For a whole year I didn’t have any desire to make music at all. But looking back on it now I feel like it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I am closer to my family then ever before and most of the people I lost touch with were never really my friends to begin with. I finally had time to do more work in the studio, to hone my craft and grow as a musician and a producer, which was what I wanted all along.
‘We love Spark’ – its gritty yet uplifting and Mr. Lif kills it. Your sound lends itself well to rapping, so do you have any other great hip-hop collaborations up your sleeve?
Nothing is set in stone but I am currently sending some beats to Kool Keith and Del The Funky Homosapien; two of my childhood heroes that I have always wanted to work with. I also have a song with M. Sayyid of Anti Pop Consortium that should be coming out soon with some great remixes from up and coming producers out of mainland China.
The industrial groove and the NIN soundscape on ‘Spark’ – is it a preview of what we can expect on your forthcoming album?
The new album is very diverse. Recently I have been been opening up my horizons and exploring new soundscapes and ideas that I have never been in touch with before. There are some collaborations with friends like Salva, Machinedrum, and Robot Koch that sound nothing like anything I have ever made before. I am trying to finish them as fast as I can as I am really excited to set these songs out to the world.
The Psilocybin Samurai remix contest. The two songs you offered for remix are absolute bangers. Who do you feel really killed that remix? We love that you gave away a ton of production gear to the winner, what was your motivation behind giving all that away?
I think my main motivation was to help give up and coming producers a voice to showcase their talent and try and help give them the tools to make their dreams a reality. There are so many great producers out there who never get a chance to shine. But in terms of the contest, there are so many great remixes I honestly can’t personally pick a clear winner. The production and composition were both top notch. It was really difficult, not just for me, but for all the judges.
You can check out the winners of the Psilocybin Samurai remix contest here.
What is ‘truffle step’ to you?
You know #TruffleStep. It’s a dance, a swagger, a feeling, a mind-state, Jimi Hendrix had it…This cat knows what’s up.
You had your music performed by an orchestra at Carnegie Hall, what was that feeling like?
It was an incredible honor. Alarm Will Sound is an amazing Orchestra. Watching them pull off acoustically what I did all on the computer with custom programing was an astonishing task. I couldn’t be any luckier.
This was the song they covered: “Desert Search for Techno Baklava”
You’ve been at this for a long time. Who inspired you to this crazy, funky, glitchy bass music you make? What artists or events influence your music?Where do you see your music going in the near and perhaps the distant future?
I have been getting more and more into quantum physics sound design, non-linear music structures and experimental production techniques. I find myself going back and listening to a lot of Classical Music, Flamenco Guitar, Jazz, Blues, Astor Piazzolla, Mr. Bungle, and Guns and Roses; what inspired me to make music in the first place.
Big thanks to Mochipet for taking the time to speak with us! Head over to his bandcamp page to check out more of his originals and remixes and “Spark.”
http://mochipet.bandcamp.com/album/spark-featuring-mr-lif
Connect with Mochipet:
https://www.facebook.com/Mochipet.PetNation
https://soundcloud.com/mochipet
Connect with Mr. Lif:
https://www.facebook.com/mrlif
https://soundcloud.com/mr-lif
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