Matrixxman's 'Homesick' Is a Tesseract Through Multi-Dimensional Techno

Is Matrixxman homesick? The endlessly restless producer (AKA Charles McCloud Duff) says the title of his debut album Homesick (out July 10 via Ghostly International) comes from missing home when "you're off doing something somewhere in some part of the universe." If that declaration sounds vaguely futuristic, like something a lonely alien would say, that's the point.

While a track like "Packard Plant" is named after the historic Detroit factory, Duff says its sounds are inspired by "the barrage of whirling robot arms on the assembly line in the year 2200," and the "fucked up sounds of a futuristic ghost factory run by autonomous artificial intelligence"—rather than anything you'd hear there today.

Furthermore, the idea of "home" to Duff is more of a conceptual sense of belonging than rooted in a specific place. It extends beyond San Francisco, where he resides, and includes the trifecta of electronic music meccas—Detroit, Chicago and Berlin—where his music draws from.

It also includes the DC area, where Duff grew up listening to drum and bass after his sister handed him a CD of generic jungle anthems. It "fucked [my] shit up in the best way possible," he says, recalling how he got lost in a rave euphoria after hearing jungle's dark and dystopian, yet futuristic, sounds. Like Duff himself, his music also found home in many places, planting roots in techno, but also in acid, house, and jakbeat.

From a park in the Bay Area—where he might be making good on a promise to burn the leftover material from his album—Duff helps us unfurl the Ghost in the Machine-worthy, sci-fi storylines weaved into Homesick... and why he finds the whole release "revolting."

THUMP: Homesick pulls from your ties to Detroit, Chicago and Berlin. What draws you to these cities?
Matrixxman: A lack of other cities that have made real contributions. [Detroit radio DJ] The Electrifying Mojo was a profound influence for a lot of Detroit cats because he was playing awesome-ass, new wave stuff juxtaposed with sounds that were black as hell. That was pretty progressive. Chicago house had something really special happening too, with rhythm, drum, and acid tracks.

True Chicago acid and jak[beat] resembled techno to me more than traditional house or deep house: it was very drum machine-oriented and stripped down. Berlin put its own darker and more menacing slant on Detroit and Chicago, while still adhering to core elements.

It's interesting you say that because your "Packard Plant" track—which is obviously a Detroit-based name—has a Chicago sound.
The noise I used on "Packard Plant" is more of a Mr. Fingers-style square wave bassline, which is distinctly a Chicago tone. It's a nod to the fact that the two cities were [and are] inexplicably connected... the barrage of whirling robot arms on the assembly line in the year 2200: that was the vibe I tried to capture.

So your sound is the Packard Plant that once was, but 300 years into the future.
Yes.

How do you take places like the Packard Plant and the Red Light District—both track names on Homesick—and transform their vibes into sound?There's the literal interpretation of having sounds you'd hear in a factory, like buzzing and humming in the case of "Packard Plant." The indirect vibe is the fucked up sound of a futuristic ghost factory run by autonomous artificial intelligence. There's something subversive about the tones I take for "Red Light District" because it feels like a place where you're doing something you shouldn't be doing; it evokes sentiments of moral transgression.

Did you encounter any difficulties in making Homesick?
Yes, I had an excess of material. In all honestly, I could have easily presented a two-hour journey, but the decision was made to streamline it and make it more digestible. Left to my own devices, I probably would have made it insanely long and bored the shit out of people.

What are you going to do with the rest of the material?
I'm going to burn it.

Are you happy with the way the album turned out otherwise?
No, I'm ready to do another one because I think I can do better. The natural thing most people want to hear is, 'Yes, I'm ecstatic! I'm thrilled! I'm so happy!' but truth be told, I'm never happy with my work. I find it revolting.

I once saw a Venn diagram with art in the middle of absolute narcissism and crippling self-doubt.
I'd say my Venn diagram is heavily skewed toward the self-doubt side of the spectrum.

What are both your short-term and long-term plans?
My short-term plans are remarkably simple: I'm going to keep making music and read some nice books and eat some nice food. My long-term plans entail a plethora of interesting things like uploading my consciousness and digitizing my soul.

How has the digitalization of information affected electronic music culture?
One of the cool things about living in a digital age is the rapid-fire dissemination of ideas and things that previously would've taken a lot more effort to become hip to; you can find things on the fringe of society. In the 90s and before, the only way you could find out about parties or different styles of music was through someone going to the party or from a record shop flyer; there were no internet invites or YouTube.

But then there's the opposing argument that having all of this information takes away from what the "underground" was originally about.
To define the parameters of the world we live in, I'd make things a little more archaic and more closed off. But we can't change technology or stop the flow of information. There's definitely a dividing line between the underground and cheesy-ass EDM, but that being said, the frequency in which people defect from the cheese bullshit and come to the dark side is increasingly apparent.

The underground is the dark side?
The dark side with a positive connotation, yes.

Matrixxman is on Facebook // Soundcloud

Ashley Zlatopolosky is on Twitter

Is Matrixxman homesick? The endlessly restless producer (AKA Charles McCloud Duff) says the title of his debut album Homesick (out July 10 via Ghostly International) comes from missing home when "you're off doing something somewhere in some part of the universe." If that declaration sounds vaguely futuristic, like something a lonely alien would say, that's the point.

While a track like "Packard Plant" is named after the historic Detroit factory, Duff says its sounds are inspired by "the barrage of whirling robot arms on the assembly line in the year 2200," and the "fucked up sounds of a futuristic ghost factory run by autonomous artificial intelligence"—rather than anything you'd hear there today.

Furthermore, the idea of "home" to Duff is more of a conceptual sense of belonging than rooted in a specific place. It extends beyond San Francisco, where he resides, and includes the trifecta of electronic music meccas—Detroit, Chicago and Berlin—where his music draws from.

It also includes the DC area, where Duff grew up listening to drum and bass after his sister handed him a CD of generic jungle anthems. It "fucked [my] shit up in the best way possible," he says, recalling how he got lost in a rave euphoria after hearing jungle's dark and dystopian, yet futuristic, sounds. Like Duff himself, his music also found home in many places, planting roots in techno, but also in acid, house, and jakbeat.

From a park in the Bay Area—where he might be making good on a promise to burn the leftover material from his album—Duff helps us unfurl the Ghost in the Machine-worthy, sci-fi storylines weaved into Homesick... and why he finds the whole release "revolting."

THUMP: Homesick pulls from your ties to Detroit, Chicago and Berlin. What draws you to these cities?
Matrixxman: A lack of other cities that have made real contributions. [Detroit radio DJ] The Electrifying Mojo was a profound influence for a lot of Detroit cats because he was playing awesome-ass, new wave stuff juxtaposed with sounds that were black as hell. That was pretty progressive. Chicago house had something really special happening too, with rhythm, drum, and acid tracks.

True Chicago acid and jak[beat] resembled techno to me more than traditional house or deep house: it was very drum machine-oriented and stripped down. Berlin put its own darker and more menacing slant on Detroit and Chicago, while still adhering to core elements.

It's interesting you say that because your "Packard Plant" track—which is obviously a Detroit-based name—has a Chicago sound.
The noise I used on "Packard Plant" is more of a Mr. Fingers-style square wave bassline, which is distinctly a Chicago tone. It's a nod to the fact that the two cities were [and are] inexplicably connected... the barrage of whirling robot arms on the assembly line in the year 2200: that was the vibe I tried to capture.

So your sound is the Packard Plant that once was, but 300 years into the future.
Yes.

How do you take places like the Packard Plant and the Red Light District—both track names on Homesick—and transform their vibes into sound?There's the literal interpretation of having sounds you'd hear in a factory, like buzzing and humming in the case of "Packard Plant." The indirect vibe is the fucked up sound of a futuristic ghost factory run by autonomous artificial intelligence. There's something subversive about the tones I take for "Red Light District" because it feels like a place where you're doing something you shouldn't be doing; it evokes sentiments of moral transgression.

Did you encounter any difficulties in making Homesick?
Yes, I had an excess of material. In all honestly, I could have easily presented a two-hour journey, but the decision was made to streamline it and make it more digestible. Left to my own devices, I probably would have made it insanely long and bored the shit out of people.

What are you going to do with the rest of the material?
I'm going to burn it.

Are you happy with the way the album turned out otherwise?
No, I'm ready to do another one because I think I can do better. The natural thing most people want to hear is, 'Yes, I'm ecstatic! I'm thrilled! I'm so happy!' but truth be told, I'm never happy with my work. I find it revolting.

I once saw a Venn diagram with art in the middle of absolute narcissism and crippling self-doubt.
I'd say my Venn diagram is heavily skewed toward the self-doubt side of the spectrum.

What are both your short-term and long-term plans?
My short-term plans are remarkably simple: I'm going to keep making music and read some nice books and eat some nice food. My long-term plans entail a plethora of interesting things like uploading my consciousness and digitizing my soul.

How has the digitalization of information affected electronic music culture?
One of the cool things about living in a digital age is the rapid-fire dissemination of ideas and things that previously would've taken a lot more effort to become hip to; you can find things on the fringe of society. In the 90s and before, the only way you could find out about parties or different styles of music was through someone going to the party or from a record shop flyer; there were no internet invites or YouTube.

But then there's the opposing argument that having all of this information takes away from what the "underground" was originally about.
To define the parameters of the world we live in, I'd make things a little more archaic and more closed off. But we can't change technology or stop the flow of information. There's definitely a dividing line between the underground and cheesy-ass EDM, but that being said, the frequency in which people defect from the cheese bullshit and come to the dark side is increasingly apparent.

The underground is the dark side?
The dark side with a positive connotation, yes.

Matrixxman is on Facebook // Soundcloud

Ashley Zlatopolosky is on Twitter