Back with another interview and this time we managed to get hold of Gor FLsh, a name that has been featured on this blog a few times already with his tracks. Gor FLsh is from Canada and has been producing some killer tunes for a while now. Most known for his brutal sound and his Metal influences, this Canadian up & coming producer not only has impressive production skills but also great track ideas and is definitely one of the heaviest, most aggressive and most uncompromised Electronic music producers out there. With his debut album out just yesterday on Jet Set Trash, we thought now would be the perfect time to get hold him and see what he has to say about his music, album and future plans!
01. Hi Raphael! Would you mind introducing Gor FLsh?
I’m Raphaël L. Durand a 24 years old, french-canadian, brutal electronic music producer. When I do live gigs, most of the time, I share the stage with my friend Donald Gagnon. He builds some insane lighting & destroys all kind of crazy shit to make sure the Gor FLsh gigs are memorable.
02. You grabbed our attention quite a while ago with your track “Get Over Here”. Would you say that was one of your trademark tracks that helped you define the Gor FLsh sound and style?
I think that every track I pull out helps me define my sound & style, I don’t want people to expect something in particular from Gor FLsh really… beyond big sounds that make you think, dance and/or mosh!
03. What are your influences/music background and what or who might have played a role in shaping your sound and style?
I listen to a wide range of music styles, from post-rock to classic and from ambient to noise so I’m trying to squeeze a bit of them all in Gor FLsh! But for sure, my main influence is everything metal and banging!
04. Speaking about influences, I will assume you’ve had your share of rock/metal music in the past. Did you ever play in a band?
I played in a couple of bands, Donald as well, but it never really sounded like we wanted or some band members didn’t have enough free time and stuff like that, so all of those projects just died over time or continued without me.
05. What would you say is your biggest music achievement/highlight so far and what would your most embarrassing moment be? Related to music always…
Finally finishing the album was great! I’ve worked for so long to make it possible!
06. Do you prefer working only with computers/sequencers or do you get your hands dirty playing and recording instruments? Do you use samples and what’s your opinion on sampling and copyright?
I do everything on my computers in Reason. I like the precision of programming everything and anyway I’m not a very good musician. I use samples from time to time since there’s stuff you can’t emulate with synths. So I’ll grab what I need here and there, mostly from death metal records. I don’t see a problem with it as long as you don’t, like, rip off a whole melody.
07. If your studio was on fire what would be the first thing to save?
My backup hard drive!
08. You have been coming up with quite a few original tracks and a number of remixes. Do you prefer working on one more than the other and if yes, why?
I like both, with originals I can really let my imagination go wild but remixing is a lot of fun too, I like to distort and trash other peoples songs!
09. You collaborated with Hypomaniacs for one track of your album tracks, “Masochist” which I must say is one the heaviest tracks I expect to listen all year long. How did this collaboration idea come up, are you happy with the result and should we expect any more collaborations with Hypomaniacs or other artists anytime soon?
I had the track started, in fact almost finished but I felt like there was something missing to it in order to make it the song as massive as it sounds now. Thanks to Metalectro, I heard the Hypomaniacs track “Breach” and I was very impressed by it. So I contacted them and the magic happened! Shaun added melodies and effects on the track bringing it to the next level and Stacey brought her vocals in making the track a pure mosh-pit monster!
We are already working on another Co-Prod together but I can’t tell more since it’s too early in production. I’ll also feature on one of the next Hantise tracks but again I can’t tell much except that both tracks will be banging for sure!
10. Who would you dream of collaborating with on a track and spend some time in the studio with?
It would probably be Justin K. Broadrick from GODFLESH (where my very own band name came from), Jesu and much more… he made some of the best tracks ever imo! Check him out! Mixing his sound with mine would certainly give something… interesting!
11. You recently gave a 21 track freebie, should we be expecting any more such great gifts coming from you soon or is it going to be all official releases after your debut album?
I already have official releases planned but I still have at least two freebies coming in the next months. So I’m not forgetting the poor broke fans!
12. What do you think about today’s mainstream music and what’s your opinion on Haezer’s “Commercial Music Is Dead”? Do you agree or not?
I think there will always be commercial music but I don’t care about it! I do not listen to radio or watch TV so I don’t have a clue what’s playing on them! I’m pretty sure it sucks though… Anyway, there will always be people trying to make music only to please the most people.
13. Do you believe that an electronic music artist can earn his/her living from music nowadays?
Maybe, but you’ll have to make a shit load of sacrifices… artistically and monetary. I don’t think I could live from my art, it’s too violent to be really big in the mainstream and I won’t start to make easy choruses to please as many people as possible!
14. You’ve been playing quite a few shows if I’m not mistaken and you have the reputation of playing some really great as well as brutal shows. Live drums and smashing laptops are some of the things people should expect to see in your shows, what else should they expect coming to a Gor FLsh show? Favorite artists and line-up you’d like to play a show with?
Donald is always thinking about new ways to make the live gigs more insane but seriously we broke laptops, speakers and mixers… we jump everywhere and start mosh-pits… We’re really far from the DJ, staying behind is a mixer immobile all set long. Also, an interesting fact about my set is that it’s 100% Gor FLsh tunes, most other artists mix all the new hyped stuff but I don’t… I mix my music and that’s it.
I would simply love to play live with Hypomaniacs and Hantise! We never had the chance to meet in person and even less play together!
15. Your debut album “Gor Flsh” is out on the 26th of March on Jet Set Trash and I have to say it sounds like one of the best albums of the year in my ears. Pretty aggressive and dangerously loud, even the cover sends out a warning about what’s going to follow. What should the listeners expect according to you?
I would begin with thanking you for such an awesome welcome and introduction. I hope more people will share your thoughts about the album!
The album is pretty much… death metal, hardcore and sludge that you can dance to! Our metalhead fans love us because they can bring their girlfriends that don’t like metal at all to our gigs and they’ll have a blast anyway because of the fusion of styles. Beyond that, I had a lot of fun playing with the “limits” of what makes a “dance” song and what makes a “metal” song. I think I have some pretty original ideas in there for which I am very happy for!
16. What other plans do you have for 2012? Any more releases, remixes, live shows? What does this year hold for Gor FLsh?
Right now, I’m working on an EP for my friend Ahllex‘s label Who Is Louise Records. Beyond that, I have a few freebies coming soon and like I said before, I have a collaboration coming with both Hantise and Hypomaniacs, so there’s plenty other new stuff coming but nothing I can talk about right now.
I’ll certainly be releasing something else on Jet Set Trash later this or next year as well, those guys are like family to me! I talk to them more often than I talk to my own mother…
17. What are you listening to lately? Any tracks/artists you recommend?
The latest Belzebass EP is awesome! Beyond that I’ve been listening to some good old Bongzilla and Meshuggah.
18. How does Gor FLsh like to spend his time when not in the studio producing?
I’m a big B-movie and video game fan. So my free time is mostly spent watching gory movies and shooting guys in the face with a shotgun… virtually…
19. What do you think about the Metalectro blog and the music featured on it?
Easily one my favorite blogs around! Pretty much everything you need to listen to about this scene is on it! I’ve always been really glad to be featured on it!
20. Something else you’d like to mention and we forgot to ask?
STAY BRUTAL!!!