Searching for Meaning with Phil Kieran

The eclectic Belfast born musician Phil Kieran has had an array of techno releases spanning back to the early 2000s. With a career that encompasses far more than his dance music productions, his resume includes helping to score Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience,being the front-man and brainchild behind Le Carousel, and co-writing and producing parts of the White Noise Sound album, which is set to be released next year. As a techno producer his works have put him amongst some of the most influential artists today, yet as a musician he strives for more. "I think I could be a lot more successful if I just said I'll make a certain kind of sound at this tempo and just keep hammering on that note. That is what a lot of people do and they do it quite well, but I think if you know what you're going to be making in six months time then there is a problem there." We were able to catch up with Kieran and reflect with him on his most recent project Le Carousel, his process in the studio, and his newest event series, Anon.

When discussing the specific formula he has in the studio, we discovered that he rarely goes in with a set plan. "I approach production in different ways, and that's one of the reasons why I'm taking a break from it and working on my car." (He is restoring an old Volkswagen.) "I think you repeat yourself, and a break is necessary if you want to come at it from different angles. I feel like people get lazy with sample packs and they take short cuts. It's a bit like a chef taking chips out of a packet instead of preparing the meal from scratch," he describes. "If you're relaxed, that's fine and wonderful, but there is probably something wrong. You learn from your mistakes more."

Kieran's studio work embodies the range of a real musician, as he uses both electronic and acoustic elements. "I find I am more creative when I am working with outboard stuff because it is more hands-on, it feels somewhat random and exciting." For contemporary producers and musicians there has been a consistent debate over the uses of software and hardware, ever evaluating their pros and cons. For Kieran, it's a matter of over-use and saturation of preset sounds. "Sometimes you feel when you are working with a plug-in that there are thousands of producers around the world starting from the same preset and might come up with a similar sound and do something different with it, but there is something about old gear that is spitting out weird sounds that the person that made them didn't even intend to do. In the studio I'm searching for new sounds consistently, otherwise what's the point?"

With spontaneity and adaptability being key elements in his studio work, Kieran is consistently crashing the walls that many other musicians seem to settle within when they get something that works in the studio. With a long career his experience has lead him to reflect on not only the way he produces music, but also why he produces in the first place. "These days it's more about marketing and who is online more. The older I get the more I think of myself as an artist, and it sounds a bit wanky, but you know you feel that way whenever you are genuinely trying to find something new. Searching to emulate a popular sound is depressing," Phil states. "The important thing is to go off and try and be the person in front, creating and inspiring, and not just trying to trick people by making music while using popularity to get gigs instead of searching for a sound that they believe in."

His own imprint was a pivotal shift for him and would be for anyone going off to stand on their own in the music industry, yet it was a necessary step in retaining his creative control. "I started it because I got tired of making something then approaching record labels with the idea and they tell you 'we want more of that other sound that you made,' or 'yes we like it, but we can't release it for nine months.' Then nothing comes out for months and three releases come out at the same time. You find yourself not having any control over your music, it's at the mercy of other people. Of course you get a bit more exposure, but creatively having your own imprint gives you complete and utter freedom to do whatever the fuck you want and all you have to do is answer to yourself."

His ambition to consistently push his own boundaries formulated into his project Le Carousel. He describes it as such: "With Le Carousel I was trying to do something that had no boundaries, I was trying to make music that described the way I was feeling and who I am. Out of all my works those productions are what I'm most proud of," he reveals. "As you get older, looking back you ask yourself, which [productions] am I really proud of? That's when you start to take your music very seriously. I want to make music now that stands the test of time. Le Carousel was something that I feel I put everything into it. I was thinking about it all the time and by the end of the project I felt like I had just run a marathon. Now I'm looking to do some techno stuff, house productions, just fun things and DJ a bit. If I keep things new, I am always excited."

Even the artwork led to a creative endeavor for Kieran. "We did an album launch at an art gallery in Belfast in a space that was alongside an Andy Warhol exhibition—the main image [the horse] was put on the back wall and when the gig was over we cut the image up into 225 squared and put them on 225 copies of the vinyl. Each one was numbered and each one had a section of the cover," he explains. "Although it was a lot work, I feel alive when I get creative, otherwise I go a bit mad."

Currently Kieran is preparing to launch a new event series in Belfast known as Anon [short of Anonymous]. With the first one being held in an art gallery, and the subsequent ones to venture deeper into more experimental spaces. Anon will be a barely legal adventure into the unknown spaces both musically and physically, adding yet another voyage to Kieran's creative chronicles.

You can follow Geoff on Twitter: @gpharricks