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Again we are late with the AOTM announcement but for compensation we bring you a nice and long interview with the top artist from August - Anssi Hohti aka a98. He has been active in music scene for quite some years and he is the first AOTM to represent the trance genre.
Analysis: To start the interview, I would like you to introduce yourself.
a98: My name is Anssi Hohti, a 1983 born trance lover from Kotka, Finland. I'm currently studying programming technology for my first year, and of course trying to compose some music when ever I have time.
Analysis: Anything interesting that happened in your life, that might be cool for us to read?
a98: Well, I don't know what's interesting for you.. My social life is doing good, I started dating about a month or two ago and I'm quite happy now. My school is going pretty good at the moment, and I even have some interest on it. My music is doing fine as well, I have gotten some important connections recently and people seem to be interested in my music, although it still needs that special something in it. I also won the Anergy remix contest (together with callisto), but I don't know if that will ever see a release as it had some serious leagal problems.
Analysis: You don't do much besides music, school and your girl? Isn't your life unexciting?
a98: Not at all, cause this is what I love doing, besides school then.
Somehow you're right though, in week-days there isn't much else in my life. I go to school, hang out with my girl, doing regular stuff, talk, walk, watching tv and so on. If there is time I'll compose some music and then go to bed. It's not as boring as it would sound though.
Obviously I go out in weekends and party or something like that.
Analysis: How did you get into music, and how did things evolve once you were into it?
a98: Well naturally I've been interested in music since I was a little kid, so I applied to music class in groundschool. I learned some music theory there, played drums and also had my first touch on electronic music, roughly said computer music, as I had this extra course on it. I can't remember the name of the program, but it was similar to cubase. I was about 11 years then, so that's like 10 years ago.
Later I got interested in playing the guitar and I started learning it, but my motivation kinda dropped somewhere. I wasn't part of a band or anything. In 1998 I discovered a program called Fast Tracker 2, which was almost the same as this old amiga program called Pro Tracker. I was a bit familiar cause my friend had used PT. The program felt right to me, and solved my need for a band. Somewhere around 1999, I heard ATB - Don't Stop, and it was probably the first instrumental electronic music song that caught me big time. After that I got introduced into trance through sets of the finnish dj orkidea, tunes like goldenscan - sunrise, salt tank - eugina and so on, had major impact on me.
Naturally I started producing that style of music. After that it was lots of learning, different, better programs and lots of scene friends, and here i am now.
Analysis: Talking about the scene, what do you think of CTG, when you compare it to other sites you've know? (I thought you were a member of TiS way back.)
a98: True, TiS was huge. i don't know if i would be as excited from a site like that anymore, but back then when i was just startting out, trackers where very popular and tracker format was used (visible source), internet has just come and you could meet similar producers all around world, it was just amazing.
Sites like that are very essential when you are startting out and in serious need for feedback and advice, all the improvement i have made in the past years is all because of the tips i've gotten from other producers.
I also knew Gaj and Mark back from TiS and i guess they had the same passion for TiS as i did, making a similar site and all. i think they did very well with the site, and Gaj has made it very interesting and working. The fact that it doesn't actual host anything has probably made it prevent the fate of other sites like it. Well of course there isn't that same magic anymore that was with TiS.
Analysis: Lets move towards an other subject. How do you usually produce your songs?
a98: Well, i'm using flstudio to compose. And even though trance is my main thing, i do other styles aswell. The way of working depends a lot on the style and also inspiration.
Normally i start out a trance song by inventing some sort of melodic hook, or chords.
After i have completed the main part i start from the beginning to work on the track to the end. After it's finished i work more on details such as effects, and also mix and fix stuff.
If i'm not inspirated enough, i usually just work on beat or tweak sounds as the melodies don't seem to turn any good, these songs usually come more progressive or then later on get used for some melodies. Well to be honest when you're not inspirated enough it rarely turns out any good.
For other styles, well when i'm doing techno, i try to make a sort of hypnotic loop or a rhythm which will be the main hook of the song, then i build the song around it. For other styles i don't think i have too much any patterns i just do what comes to my mind.
Analysis: Did your relationship affect your music in any way? Did your music become more emotional for instance?
a98: Naturally all relationships affect to my music in a huge way. I think now that i'm happy again, my tracks don't seem to have the melancholy they had when i was sad.
Most of my urban sounds tracks are done in sadness, i have easily put all the cry inside me into them. That's why some of them are very emotional (t.o.i.e.l. for instance) this really affets on melodies only though, although i guess when i'm feeling really bad, i don't feel like doing a party house track or something like that.
Analysis: What inspires you to write music?
a98: Hmm that's hard to say.. I guess of course music is the best way to express myself, i can put my sadness, happiness, anger and so on to the songs.. Even though it wouldn't be hearable for others it's for me. Of course i'm highly motivated to create something really good that i and maybe others aswell would like.
Analysis: I would like to finish the interview. Do you have anything more to add?
a98: Well thank you for interviewing, and i would like to thank the people who choose me for this and of course all the people that have downloaded, commented and reviewed my tracks, i really appreciate it.
I hope this community will last long, as it's a lovely combination of extermely nice people and great songs. Of course the site itself is packed with great features. I really don't understand all the people leaving the site. I think some people expect too much and wrong things from a site like this, as it's suppose to be fun, good friends online, helping each other and getting your music to your audience.
Analysis: Owh, how did you like the soccer game: "The Netherlands - Finland"?
a98: Hehe, as a true Netherlands fan ever since '94 or so i was truly pissed when Finland made that one goal, gladly our boys took care of them eventually ... sounds perverse right?
I almost wear my dutch soccer shirt next day at the school, but i thought people would beat the hell out of me, so i didn't. |
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