Interview with Ashtech

Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your musical background?  How did you get into music?

I got into music when I was very young, I used to listen to electro , techno and hip-hop and began as a DJ when I was still a teenager. This led me to know and learn more about several artists and listen to different music styles and a few years later I was really into reggae and dub music, which inspired me to experiment with the sound and become a musician and a producer.

I studied many instruments and chose the bass guitar as my main one, played with different bands and produced different artists, and then a few years ago I moved to London, where I released my first solo album, Walkin’ Target, with Interchill Records and produced by Gaudi.

You’ve just released Meditronica which is a collaborative project between you and fellow artist, Polcari – can you tell us a bit about this release and what listeners can expect from it?

Meditronica is produced by me and as you said it is a project created by me and Polcari. It is a dub oriented album that goes across different moods – electronica, live sound, dark and chilled.

Meditronica is an open project, the aim is to have collaborations from different artists and in this first release the guests are three great artists – Dub Gabriel, one of the key players in the dub music scene in America who works with Meat Beat Manifesto, Dr Israel, Mad Scientist, Michael Stipe and countless others; Eraldo Bernocchi, a guitarist, who has worked extensively with artists such as Bill Laswell, Mick Harris, Thomas Fehlmann, Harold Budd; and Raiz the former frontman of Naples act Almamegretta, who collaborated with Massive Attack, Leftfield, Adrian Sherwood and Steward Copeland amongst the others.

Polcari and I wanted to realise an album with different artists who share our same passion for Dub

You’re also currently working with the RareNoise label – what is the focus of this label and how did you link up with them?

Yes, Meditronica will be released on 23 June on the new London -based label RareNoise.

RareNoise Records is a record label whose releases sit at multiple crossroads – crossroads between audio and video, crossroads of live performance and studio reconstruction and, more generally, crossroads of musical genres, which focus on a broad palette of genres, from ambient/electronica, to electro/avant jazz, to alternative rock, to dub and dubstep – often within the very same release.

Meditronica and RareNoise were born together – while  working in studio we met with Giacomo, the owner of RareNoise. He was still planning the label, he liked the project from the first moment and was very enthusiastic  about  it, there has been a good synergy from the beginning. We liked the idea of Meditronica being a new project and the first album release for RareNoise.  We plan to let them grow-up together.

Are there artists that you are or have collaborated with on the regular?

Some of my good friends are artists who love dub music as I do and we share ideas and opinions about music, so it comes naturally to do projects together now and then but not on a regular basis, there is no tight bond to do this. I have been collaborating on a regular basis with Almamegretta, as a bass player and composer for many years and this is when I met Polcari and Raiz.

What are your upcoming projects for the second half of ’09?

Other than Meditronica, I will be, as Ashtech, in the new Interchill compilation, One Dub, set to be released on 23 June…the name of my track is Just Try and it is a new spaghetti-Western style track.

I will also be touring in Europe both as Ashtech and with The Meditronica Project.

Do you know much about New Zealand or Australia?  Any plans to make it over to this part of the world for some shows?

I would love to play there, New Zealand is a wonderful place that I would love to visit. I have been told that Walkin’ Target did very well in Australia and I know that there is a massive scene over there and spectacular festivals! Maybe next year I will be there!

Any last words for the NZ massive?

Massive respect and love  to everyone, dub it up!  Thanks for this interview, it has been a pleasure to speak to you.