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Interview with SISKIYOU



There are sounds that totally transport us , make us dream and touch our inner self. This is what happens everytime I'm listening to Siskiyou 's songs which are a unique exploration, an invitation to a journey filled of emotions leaving free course to our imagination and making us vibrating from the inside. To me, Siskiyou's sounds are definitely synonym to MESMERIZING VIBES!!! 


Can you introduce 'Siskiyou' for those who don't know you yet?

Siskiyou is James Jackson who used to be DarkElixir and Alexander Rosson Co Founder and former CEO of Audeze. 

What is the story behind the name "Siskiyou"?

Siskiyou is a project that was started through the needs to explore music creation and to not follow hype, pushing the envelope in every direction we can. It was a time when we were both going through change; the project was nameless for some time and a lot of the ideas remained ideas for a long time; as in all honesty the project only started due to close friends telling us to start showing this sound to people. 

When and How did you get to Music?

I (James) got in to music production very randomly. I had a childhood friend named Paul who showed me hip hop beats he had made on cubase vst 5; from there we made some hip hop beats together, I had a ton of fun and then Paul got reason too; the rest was history, no rules just making sounds we thought were cool. I then went on to study it at college and being already a listener and active in the Underground scene in Manchester. I started to make dubstep as DarkElixir. 
Alex has influenced me musically a lot. He is one of the best drummers I have heard and a really amazing DJ. Alex and his wife Reid Speed are one of the early people to push me and develop me through the time I spent making music as DarkElixir; so I'm glad to have these influences in my music.

Did you plan at your early age to make from music your career?

I didn't think music was even an option until not too long ago. After I was making music, I started to see people asking about the music I was making and then I don't think a career could have been an option until I got booked to play shows outside England, to be so shocked that people who didn't speak english could relate to me; it is something that inspires me every day! So grateful to have friends throughout the world that have connected with us through music. We are amazed by the amount of amazing musicians that are currently pushing the boundaries.

What were you playing before starting producing?

I don't play any instruments. I'm glad I have a good ear. Alex is insane on the drums. I got to hear some of the music he had made with his band and it was top notch to say the least!

What are your musical influences?

We have a really good range of influences, throughout music scenes were are active in. I think having a wide range of musical tastes is the best thing for anyone pursuing music as their career. I'm a dancer as well as a musician and old funk and soul played a huge part in my life. James Brown, The Budos Band, Can, Jimmy Castor Bunch, The Jackson Sisters, Afrika Bambaataa, to name a few, Old hip hop, drum and bass influence us both massively. I'm in to singer songwriter music;  my taste I would say is very very random, having a lot of old synth pop guilty pleasures which come from family influence on my music taste. Love glitchy and robotic sounding music, industrial, dark.



Who is your biggest inspiration? and why?

My biggest inspirations are too great to list just one person. I will say that my biggest inspirations are those who aren't afraid to be themselves, shine without care of being judged. I'm inspired by those who want the best for their friends and family and uplift those around them, for the short time we are here why not do something that leaves a mark forever! 

How did you get involved to producing?

I was a hip hop lover and I thought it would be fun to make beats and it was the first style of music I produced, staying in on rainy days with a childhood friend and making some beats. 

How would you define your sound? What is(are)your style(s)? How did you develop it?

Our sound has depth, very chip tune inspired, hip hop with a touch of DnB influence and you can't deny the dubstep sound in our music.

Where do you get inspiration from?

I get inspiration from daily life, feelings, experiences. I've been so thankful to make some of the best friends I will ever get to meet and you obviously go through life meeting those who push you to be the best you can be; they inspire me a lot. Having music as a medium to express myself is such a great way to get feelings I have out in to sonic form, those words you can't say or those emotions you can't even begin to explain, almost like the listeners will go through the same things you will and you will know how we feel from the way in which our music is moving.



What are the main elements and conditions for you for producing?

There are some good things to do if you want to get creative music. Making sure you are at peace and are in the mindset that you are going to just go all out on music for a while, TURN OFF YOUR WIFI!!!
I think that actually does a lot, ahaha. Roll a blunt maybe and smoke it when you feel you have the idea down. Trying no to be too clinical as it takes time and having a song on loop for a while makes it hard to think around the ideas as you are too used to what it sounds like.

What is a typical day of production with Siskiyou?

A typical day is to do some stretching, sitting down can give you aches after a while so limber up! Going through sounds we have made and other ideas we kinda just got out to see if anything inspires something, play some chords or melody patterns to figure out the tone and feeling which can help find the right samples; then just build 16 bar loops of ideas until you have a pretty amount of content to turn in to a song. 

Is there a particular creative process while producing and do you have favorite programs in producing?

A dope creative process is literally to play the song and see if you can dance to it , if you have made something catchy enough that it sticks with you as you want it to make as many people feel it as you can. Reversing sounds is always fun!
FM8 and Massive, Logic and Ableton are the best ways to make sounds I can think of. 

What makes you different and unique among all the talented producers around?

I feel it's the roughness and way in which our songs groove; we want to give that almost sluggish and monstrous feel to the music and the clarity and depth of the music, analog equipment help vastly. 

There is a remix of yours that is part of Blankface 'Louder'EP that is available since October 17th. How did you get approached for this project? and what kind of experience did you get in working for it?

Salar and I have been friends for a good while; they are doing a bunch of great things with Savage Society and I watch what they do; I got the EP as a promo and I said to him that 'Louder' tune is dope and asked if I could remix it; he then sent the stems. 
The experience I got was in creating a whole different sound and type of vibe from what I was given, really taking the song in a different direction as the remixes on EP already covered a lot of styles. 

What can we expect from the future?

We have some forthcoming music; Prime Audio and UKF have some music coming up soon. We have our album which has been in the works for some time. Expect more and more music. We will cover as many styles as we can so we hope to be rocking a dance floor near you.

Are there any gigs planned so far for the end of this year and 2017?

I have something with a friend of mine and the Bad Wax Audio crew, Zak Hz is one of the first people who repped me  and one of the greatest friends I made through music, so I'm honored to be playing on their rig. Shout out the Gash Collective.
We are also going to start a Canadian Tour early 2017.

What is your favorite venue or festivals to perform at? Why?

My favorite venue was the Fonda Theatre in LA. I had some great memories there. Played on lines ups with some amazing musicians too. Always love the reaction and response we get from the american crowd. 

What is your biggest dream?

I wanna play a festival tour and play a festival on each continent in the same season. Dreams to build schools and hospitals; I made a promise that if I make it somehow, I would do all I can to help people we share the Earth with . We can all do so much. 

What are your new challenges? Either in music, in your life or both.

I think what challenges me now is to keep the mindset strong as I've made music for a while now so I'm always trying to learn as much as I can and try to learn more about other styles of music; it's amazing to see where your inspiration can take you if you let it.

What is your Top 5 of tracks?

Glitch Mob- Can't Kill Us
The Prodigy- Smack My Bitch Up
Sean Price - Boom Bye Yeah
Mr. Carmack- Pay (For What)
Lorn- Broken Mantra

It's so hard to pick just 5 tracks. All those tracks are amazing and such different sounds.

Is there any artist you want to collaborate with?

So many. The Glitch Mob, Noisia, Skrillex, Metallica, Dr.Dre, Eminem, Mala & Coki, Teddy Killerz, Funtcase, Mr. Carmack, James Blake, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Remarc, Heist, Datsik, Excision, NIN, Radiohead. There are too many. We are lucky to be alive whilst so much amazing music exists.

What is the project you are the most proud of?

Mirage! It's on our soundcloud. This one has a really special story behind which few people know. One of the songs that will always give me goosebumps and take me back to making it. Trip music is fun...



 What do you think of the music scene nowadays and how do you see its future?

The music scene now is amazing; it gives many people access in to creating and pushing a sound they want. I do feel that people hide behind the word 'Art' a lot, with so many ways to push your music saturation has occurred which will always make it harder but the best always rise; it's starting to feel more like a content war, although free music is great it means a lot of throw away tracks will be posted to keep download gates active.

Define Music.

Music is a feeling. You can forget or remember everything when the song is right. It's the beat that powers us all, the fire that pushes us to move forward. It's the force that can conquer all the darkness in the world. Universal in it's language but common in it's feeling.


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