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The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22!
A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden
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'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!

Broken Records, Flying Solo and Reminiscing with Eat Static

Reported by Tom Cypher / Submitted 25-02-11 11:29

A name allied with electronic music since the early 90’s, Eat Static is psy-trance based, UFO-obsessed, Merv Pepler. Going solo since the departure of Joie in 2008, Eat Static is responsible for some of the biggest sci-fi psy trance hits from ‘Abuction’ through to ‘Impact’. Twenty years on Merv keeps the name well and truly alive as Eat Static remains one of the best live dance acts on the scene.



You’re playing for the Broken Records March Mad Hatter Ball, what in store for us?

The usual random, chaotic mish-mash of inter-stellar psychedelic noize...I hope!

What makes an Eat static experience different from any Psy-trance gig?

I still drag out half a studio and play LIVE instead of jigging around behind a laptop, doing nothing, plus I don't like following rules and will quite often throw in completely different styles of dance music in the middle of full on psy sets . . . it keeps the crowds on their toes!

You produced some tracks for video games, how did that experience differ from what you normally do?

It wasn't too different in that the theme was an Alien one which is kinda what I do anyway.

How has Eat Static changed since Joie left?

Musically, not a lot, as I was always the main programmer anyway. His job was mainly weird sounds when we played live so it just means I don't get a second to relax during a live set anymore or even time to get a drink! I am also quite envious of him not having to sit around in airport terminals anymore!



World music plays a part in your music, is there a particular ethnic country that inspires you?

I have been inspired by world music for as long as I can remember. It used to be really difficult to track down in this country and I remember ordering from CD importers at the back of NME magazine quite a few times. My biggest inspiration has to be the Middle East. It pops up regularly in my tunes..

Do you tweet or use Facebook? What impact, do think social media has had on the psy trance scene?

Eat Static are on Facebook, not twitter. It’s hard enough keeping up with the ones I am on, it’s definitely been a great medium for direct contact with fans and getting their feedback. It's also a great way to publicise yourself if you're a new act as it was a lot tougher getting your name around in the early days of the scene…

Can you describe your most memorable gig to date?

Oh man, far too many fit into that category! Different gigs are memorable for different reasons. I mean, even the one's that went horribly wrong can lurk in your mind and haunt you! I have been lucky enough over the years to have so many good memories; the first time we did the Glade stage at Glastonbury was magical! It was a tiny stage, in the corner of the field and we had lights and lazers mounted up in the trees and a 3D PA surrounding the whole thing, we wondered if anybody would even notice it or come to watch, in the end, over 8000 people turned up and it was amazing. Also, playing at Albert Hoffman's 100th birthday was a buzz, the last time we played in Amsterdam, on a big steel squatted battleship, with a Russian nuclear submarine parked next door . . . also squatted! Life certainly doesn't get boring.



Out of all of the projects you’ve done so far, which is your favourite and why?

Well, not including Eat Static, I would probably say The Flexitones, working with Will White was great as I have known him since he was 4 years old and riding a bike with stabilizers! I was really at a point of being sick of dance music as I had been relentlessly doing it for years and years. That project was a real step back and taking stock of some of the techniques I had learned and also enforcing my self belief. We also had pizza every day and lived like teenage bachelors for the duration! Un-healthy, but healthy at the same time.

What advice would you give to aspiring electronic artists?

Well a lot of what I hear seems to be people being lazy and just using the easily available ready made Synth patches/samples/style that you can get nowadays. when we started, we had to make everything from scratch using the real hardware equipment. But in doing this, you automatically have your own unique sound. I don't understand why more people don't want their own identity and are happy to follow the herd, be yourselves! Don't be afraid to take risks and do something new and different, that's what keeps a scene healthy and flourishing. People have forgotten how to FEEL music. I get so many DJ's/acts coming up and asking ''what BPM are you starting at,what BPM are you finishing the set at'' etc, I don't have a clue! Whatever feel's right at the time and right with that particular crowd.



What does the future hold for Eat Static?

More experimentation, more gig's, a new album soon, more act's on my label 'Mesmobeat', another chill out album for Interchill, a new Dendron album (my breaks project), generally flying the flag for weird psychedelic noize!

You can catch Eat Static alongside Miles Dyson, Tom Real + many others @ Broken Records March Mad Hatters Ball on 5th March. For more info click here



Photos courtesy of Eat Static. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Other Features By Tom Cypher:
Perfect Stranger Takes a Leap of Faith With His New Album
Marco Scherer's Patchwork 17
Lee Mortimer goes Loopy.
My Digital Enemy
Studio Talk with Organ Donors
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
Comments:

From: Disco Diva on 4th Mar 2011 21:41.15
Great interview, I have been an Eat Static fan for years, Abduction is wicked & one of my favs.. Good old days.

Keep up the great work, hope you & Shira are both well xx

From: Kamora on 13th Apr 2011 01:24.58
I will checkout some Eat Static tunes now Smile

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