Tony Teran aka Antidolby appears in Minimal Wave Fest in Lima/Peru (18 Feb.) along with Selofan, Tearful Moon, Antidolby & Ferdinand Cärclash, he’s gonna pour some eclectic darwave/synthetic music on the souls of the dedicated Peruvian fans, and I am damn jealous about it (the air ticket Athens-Lima hasn’t popped up yet, guh!). Therefore, and in order to be calm, decided to interview most bands performing on that night, to avoid my dark/electronic/minimal tears erode my second skin. Dear readers, this is Antidolby himself, read the interview, while I go to the bet-store to challenge my luck (who knows, maybe I will luckily be flying to Lima…), don’t forget to listen to his music, and loud!
***Important Note by the Publisher: We managed to do the impossible, possible regarding this interview. Although our questions were in English, the artist chose to answer in Catalan without notifying us, and above all without ever providing the translated version on time as promised! Combined with the limited time limits, we hope that you may understand most of this one.
By all means, this article does not keep up with the quality of the rest, but we chose to publish this as part of the event. ***
Hello Tony and welcome to Last Day Deaf. You name your project as Antidolby, but what’s the statement behind it related to your music?
Hi and Thanks for the Last Day Deaf invitation.
Antidolby is a project based on the design of the synths under a concept that can derive exactly from a past time but the essence of this present, not that sound clean, produced and common here travels to the magic of distorted analog beauty of sound. Dirty dark and cold, sounds sometimes vintage flat and particular more than that my inspiration could be more bizarre but new things will come, there are friends that we make an effort to get beyond and in my case I feel comfortable in the underground. More future in this one time where everything is so banal and basic people are basic and boring but better one fills them with something, as is the electronic music to us and the new bands from the time we were born to give an exclusive sound for people with a lot perception for the new character of synthesizer and the elegance of the sound. The knowledge becomes here central part.
You also run Plastic Politic, what are the differences and the need to hold them both, regarding that the two of them are synth-based electronics?
Plastic Politic was my beginning in 2006. Many ideas at that time regarding music a very abstract panorama and on the other hand the common electronica. Many people told me to compose other styles, but commercial, but the fashions did not really fill me. My ear was interested more than everything in the minimal synth punk cold wave post punk until EBM old school had turned to my origins that was my primary engine and sound design for so many things. I heard being a younger boy, after several disappointments I was taking form and to my surroundings, here I am and here I follow .. This phenomenon in southern musical wave with bands and sound of great strength countries like Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Argentina have great torrents of sound that inspire future scene’s members all under the concept of man band lyrics in Spanish that makes us reamin to our roots and a vision of life different and critical of the environment and utopia.
I am reading that you describe Antidolby as “…a contemporary sound on the new generation sounds of electronic music.” Tell us about it, and the Antidolby “universe”…
When I started my vision of music in my mind, I highlighted that design issue with the analog synthesis technology and FM, sequencers, arpegios, samples and other ingredients; the Antidolby character is more than a sound experiment of humor and post punk style but minimal synth punk sound passing several states until electronic shoegaze. The basis of the concept is the sound design, dense atmospheres with each layer behind designed to demonstrate a sound from the perspective of the bizarre surreal post-apocalyptic sometimes, giving it an ambiguous ambiguity and obviously polarizing with the commercial side. So much music that I heard in the time that I believe makes me listen to what I do today.
Synth-wave, consisting of synth-punk on a cold wave ground, is my viewpoint on Antidolby, so why do you think is the new generation fond of that kinds of electronic music, and notably you?
Punk is the attitude of the music. It’s not dark, it is dark now. It is different nowadays. The commercial music that is heard, lacks what we do we design the sound to create advanced electronic pieces; A mixture of sounds and design of separate synthesizers of the set mounted live that is the partiality of lo-produced as original work and performance. The machines are only 40 years old, the first boxes of rhythm and synths of different brands I try to make something sharp but not fragile like crystalline I pass or 2 days in a song or even 2 years. I learn something to control and frustration.
Now I am particularly working a comprehensive work since I handle several codes within the technology and art, many things are in process and constant progress.
What are the facts, in general, to inspire you as a musician? What leads you in this cold and experimental electronic fusion?
Something I experiment in the time to design for me all this world, is house of toys and for my curious soul all pass long time ago now is part of my familiar world and inspiration in me always in many aspects different codes. A way of working always learn something new is to create sounds is fun I go mix all and I learn to put lyrics all in one leftovers.
Can you share with our readers the gear you use in studio and for live performances too?
All the new work is based on new show in Peru. I think, soon we have to make new material with all new material. I try now to make some video clips and visuals too, but for now we have to work on the new soon….
‘Agonia National’ by Plastic Politic and ‘Sistemas Y Ruido’, ‘Undone Structures’ by Antidolby, are strong and precise titles you use for your music, what is Tony Teran trying to tell the world?
‘Agonia National’, is a concept about Venezuela my country has died several times and is like a curse since 2013, Decadent war internal, new generation of war, communism, no work, many lyric speak about that, I don’t know I’m an artist, I have my vision and I try this in lyrics. ‘Sistemas Y Ruido’ is a song dated from 2009 and was one my first releases with voices and lyrics, that talk about of those recorded songs. No one wants to listen anymore, what are declassified tapes that with echoes and noises are dead songs. Here put in the use the underground, the tapes. An intervention about the time the future the pass and record in a tape. The music is inspired by a sound cold and minimal, a distorted voice, a background whistle and synths.
‘Undone Structures’ is a song dated from 2008 are that part instrumental in me but in these times I work some times in a song more bizarre or sometimes I try to make a mixture I have many of this style.
Antidolby, together with Selofan, Stockhaussen, Tearful Moon & Ferdinand Cärclash, an international team are getting on stage in Lima, Peru on 18th February. All involved in synth based wave musings, what’s going to happen on that night?
The world of synth is actually more transparent and real than the ‘commerciality’, not that there is anything good in the commercial, but it is that the commercial is distorted at many factors.Level is no longer a natural phenomenon of the synth in this generation, meaning much at the level of those who share direct perspectives with a more advanced and pure reality. Perhaps, it’s a utopia but the design makes feel the core of the human and the new experimental music concepts. This union of musicians means that we advance in a path of evolution a fort built each country each sound every statue and time we are a sign of the future so be 2 so 1 and in the future more.
…and what are Tony Teran’s future plans in music?
I always work. Working right now on design and technology, oil painting and I will soon show some work. I am in my time monochrome in the music I want to elaborate pieces that fence the hand with the everyday, as we are flowing also thought in my instrumental part. There is enough road and if more teammates to join we’ll create a band.
Thank you very much for the interview, you may add anything you like!
I want to thank all the good friends and artists that I found on this road that have made this a reality. There are many of different countries and we are continuing on the vision of never stopping. This is to make the difference, which is a responsibility.
Mike Dimitriou