[/caption]This is the 55th post in our Musician of the Day series.
Check out our Exclusive Interview with Tettix!
Judson Cowan has gone through a few evolutions as a musician, from Rephlectiv to Cicada to Tettix. But what always remains the same is that he is an amazing electronica musician with a rather unique outlook on music. His music spans a wide variety and is all available free of charge on his website. So get ready to enjoy a decade of music and some unique insight into this talented Atlanta musician.
Earth's Assault by Tettix
[audio http://fansiter.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/earths_assault.mp3]
Let Him Go by Tettix
[audio http://fansiter.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/let_him_go.mp3]
Exclusive Interview with Tettix (Judson Cowan)
Stephanie Schoppert:How/when did you get into music?
Judson Cowan:I started writing music my freshman year of college - this was fall of 1998. I picked up a copy of Propellerheads' ReBirth for my old Pismo laptop and spent hours ignoring my art classes to make ridiculous little tunes on it. Ironically, I'd never been overly interested in music creation before then but Propellerheads found a way to make it so simple and accessible - a real achievement for the time - and I latched on and never let go. I originally used the name "Rephlectiv," kind of an inside joke between a friend and myself that wasn't even funny to US. It wasn't until a year later that I became "Cicada," then ten years later "Tettix" (the ancient Greek - homeric - term for the cicada).
Stephanie:Who are your biggest influences?
Judson:I've probably never heard a song that didn't influence me in some way, but that's probably true of all musicians. My idols when I first started writing were Orbital. I've strived over a decade to achieve the rich, orchestral style of electronica that they seem to be able to do with their hands tied behind their back. Other big influences span the gamut: Plaid, NIN, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Philip Glass, The Faint, etc.
The word "who" is a bit limiting, though. The more obvious influences on my music are the soundtracks from old Nintendo, Super NES and Genesis games. Megaman 2 is a favorite. And Journey to Silius.
Stephanie:If you had to, who would you compare your music style to?
Judson:I guess I already covered that one. I do, however, constantly get compared to bands I've never listened to. It's a great ear into music that I somehow managed to miss and has turned me onto some of my now favorite bands. Depeche Mode, TV on the Radio, Art of Noise, Mindless Self Indulgence. That sort of thing.
It's also hard to lump my music into a single category. Some of it sounds like NES music, some of it sounds like Emo-electro, some of it sounds like a horror film soundtrack, some of it sounds like Glee. The array is ridiculous.
Stephanie:If you had to pick, which of your songs is your favorite and why?
Judson:Jeez. That's tough. I only write music that I want to listen to, so I'm usually happy with anything I bother to finish. Most of them I get sick of, though. Everyone else's favorite is "Earth's Assault on the Central AI." I love it, too, but it's not my favorite. I'm really happy with most of the most recent album, T.K.O.E.P. and "Chicken Pox" off of Maladies is a blast.
Stephanie:What got you into Electronica?
Judson:A girl in my high school art class named Naomi... I think. That was a long time ago. She let me hear Orbital's "Crash and Carry" on a plane to the grand canyon with our science club. I spent the next four years in a really obnoxious raver frame of mind. Ironically I've never done drugs and I didn't start drinking until I was 21.
Stephanie:Where did your name come from?
Judson:Like I said before, I was originally called "Cicada" - after the insect. The real story is much lamer and much more teen-angsty but the subtext of it is that I always loved cicadas - all insects, in fact - as a kid. I would collect the shells from the larvae off trees in the summer and attack my He-man toys with them. Plus the obvious fact that cicadas are quiet noisy little critters.
Stephanie:You have produced a massive amount of music, how long have you been creating albums?
Judson:Okay, so the not-answering-questions-before-they're-asked thing isn't going so well for me. My first album was as Rephlectiv in 1998 and it was called something long-winded and ridiculous like "You're not just another pretty face, you're just not my pretty face." Those were not pretty years. Braces. JNCOs.
Stephanie:How long does it typically take you to create a song?
Judson:It really varies, but I rarely take more than a few days. Usually the basic song is done in a single six-to-eight hour shift, but I'll keep taking it out in my car and finding things to change for weeks sometimes.
Stephanie:Are you currently working on anything new?
Judson:I wish I could answer "yes." I've been on hiatus for about six months now. I keep having new ideas but I just haven't had the time to see them through. Tell the video game industry to quit with all the amazing games for a minute so I can write!
Stephanie:What is the writing process like for you?
Judson:Time disappears. Suddenly it's 1 a.m. and I haven't eaten dinner.
Stephanie:You give away a lot of music for free. Do you give away everything you create? Why do you not charge people to listen to your music?
Judson:Yeah, everything's free. You CAN pay for a few albums on iTunes, if you feel like I should be making money. Or better yet, make a donation on my website - it's much more personal. I've long since stopped trying to make people pay for my music. I tried to make an album and burn a bunch of copies a few times. Even my closest friends seemed short on cash when it came down to it (except you, Dipanfilo - I haven't forgotten). So I just put it out for free and hope karma takes care of me. I do get a fair amount of donations - from all ends of the earth - but it's mostly just beer money.
It's really changed my perspective on music and money. I don't feel like people SHOULD have to pay to listen to music they like. I always support artists and bands I like, but I like to give people the option to have it for free. Radiohead and NIN are on the right track with their digital distribution. I've made money on my music a few times, but it's always been from big corporations that just have advertising budgets to toss around. I don't feel bad about taking their money. Let the kids have it for free and make The Man pay.
Stephanie:When not creating music what do you like to do?
Judson: Games. Mostly console video games, but I do play Magic, super nerdy 8-hour board games and occasionally tabletop RPG stuff, too. I have a lot of costume parties. I'm an avid, and snobbish, movie-goer. I'm a sucker for improv. I've been to every Zombie Walk in Atlanta. I work in advertising, so I have to drink to stay sane. I go to a lot of art openings and gallery crawls. I try to travel abroad every year but money and/or busted knee don't always allow for it.
But mostly games.
Stephanie:What do you consider to be your guilty pleasure?
Judson:My girlfriend asked me the same thing recently! I think I told her that my entire life is one big guilty pleasure that I just don't feel guilty about.
I also told her "eating Chinese delivery while watching anime."
To learn more about his official website.
Earth's Assault by Tettix
[audio http://fansiter.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/earths_assault.mp3]
Let Him Go by Tettix
[audio http://fansiter.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/let_him_go.mp3]
[caption id="attachment_1866" align="alignnone" width="392" caption="Tettix"]
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Crap, WP just ate my comment when I accidentally refreshed. :P
BalasHapusUrm ... one thing I'd like to know the background on is the collection of songs where he sings them AND their instruments. Like his great cover of Manson's "Beautiful People".