MashStix.comStix Interview With Eve Massacre - Added 10/06/08
We're back with another interview with a prominent figure in the scene. This week, I got to sit down with the lovely Eve Massacre. Eve has made some excellent mashups and is well known as the moderator over at GYBO. She is also a very down to earth person and certainly knows how to keep all of us in check :)
So without further adu, my interview with Eve Massacre!
Stix: Eve, thanks for giving me a little time out of your busy gig schedule. Can you tell me how you came up with Eve Massacre as your dj name?
Eve Massacre : It's really not that very exciting. Before I got into djing/producing electronic music, I played in an indiepunk/postpunk band called The Flamingo Massacres. We chose our name from a chapter in Irvine Welsh's novel Marabou Stork Nightmares. After we split, I simply took over the "massacre" part and added the english version of my real name.
Stix: Your mash "Break Ya Inside Out" is the best Dianna Ross mashup that I've every heard (in my opinion). Any story behind the concept or where the idea came from?
Eve Massacre : Thank you. There's no real concept behind it though. It rather was one of those mixes that just seem to fit. There was something about that Yuksek tune that got me humming "Upside Down" and when I finally managed to get that Diana Ross acapella I mixed it pretty quickly. I have no clue though how that M.I.A. girl got into that track. Somehow she manages to sneak her way into far too many of my bootlegs. ;)
Stix: I know that you are the moderator on the worlds best mashup forum (GYBO) and you have seen many newbies come and go over the years. Any advice to anyone making their first mashup and how they might approach a veteran dj for advice?
Eve Massacre : I would rather not give people advice on how to make their first mashup cause it might limit their creativity. Of course you could say something like "don't make mashups with overused songs cause people won't listen" but then over the years it has happened quite a few times that someone came up with a totally fresh idea for some overused acapella and everyone loved it.
To give at least one piece of advice: Never post a track directly after you've finished it. No matter how tempting it is or no matter how much you burn for feedback. Wait a day or two until the excitement has cooled down a bit, then relisten with fresh ears and fix the weak spots. In 90% of all cases, there will be weak spots you hadn't noticed before. Listening to your track on a different soundsystem helps too. Then, only when you're really happy with it, post it. Of course I've never managed to stick to that advice myself cause my middle name ain't "patience" (it's "Alice"). It would be more fun to listen your way through the dozens of new mashups that get released every day if people wouldn't post every crap mix they've made.
On GYBO it should be no problem at all to ask someone for help. Actually that is one of the things that I've always appreciated about GYBO. You can get help for almost anything if you ask in a friendly manner. It doesn't matter if you are looking for the best hamster food or for tips how to cure your cold or travel advice for exotic countries, and, oh.. yes: production help too. Of course people should first read their way through the help section because there are some typical questions that get asked over and over again. Some users are tired of answering those for the bazillionst time but from my experience even then there's almost always someone who will take the time to help.
Stix: Over the years, I've heard and read a good number of people say that some "regulars" over at GYBO have gotten a pretty big head. Is there any truth to this or is this just drama stirred up by jealous types?
Eve Massacre: Really?! Drama? Tell me more! :)
I don't know who you mean, not even which "generation" of GYBO regulars you are talking about. Of course GYBO is not different from the rest of the pop cosmos: Some people feel like they should get special treatment cause they are "names". Others get their share of fame and stay friendly and humble. Some people are brutally honest and some are all about polite masks and mutual backslapping. We should not forget that people on GYBO come from all over the world and from very different backgrounds, so it's perfectly natural that misunderstandings will happen. Best advice is to not take things too seriously and to not let your egos swell too big.
You can look at McSleazy himself for an example of what is the real GYBO spirit: He could promote himself as a bootleg legend all the time and go around making himself the center of the GYBO universe (or bootleg world) but he doesn't. On GYBO he sticks to keeping things together as the backbone of the board and doesn't get tired of encouraging people to get involved.
Stix: Any thoughts on the future of the mashup scene? Has it hits its peak or is there room to grow?
Eve Massacre : I don't really see the mashup scene as one scene. Things that you could consider "mashups" have popped up in different music scenes that don't have much in common. For example, the UK scene of the Boomselection days with its "Stroke Of Genius" doesn't have much in common with Brazil's Baile Funk scene and it's "Funk Da Esfiha". Also, the violent breakcore/cutup scene doesn't have much in common with the straight A+B mainstream pop scene.
That's why I prefer to look at mashups as a phenomenon, not as a scene. As such I'm sure it still will grow because it seems to be part of a big paradigm shift in music. Sometimes I think we slowly move towards something like the 'web 2.0 of music'. Pop star casting shows and games like 'Singstar' or 'Guitar Hero' are weaker symptoms of the same thing. People like getting interactive with music. It's weird because at the same time people seem to get more and more passive about things that might affect them much more in their real lives (take for example the decreas of people voting on elections, or protesting against injustice etc.). It's exciting though that this change in music is happening and I'm curious how it will go on breaking up existing structures.
Stix: Lastly, anything you want to plug or what we might see from you in the future?
Eve Massacre : I'm busy with a few things at the moment. I've started a new club night with friends (Kill The Poor). At the moment I'm also excited about a queer night I host (Orchid) because I've just managed to get Bruce LaBruce's "Otto" or "Up With People" screened at the next date. Another remix I've made will get an official release, Dadajugend Polyform is the name of the band. I'm also back on music radio hosting a bi-weeklyshow called Castrop on a great local independent radio station (Radio Z) There's livestream too if someone cares to tune in. I have a few live and dj gigs coming up that I'm looking forward to. I hope I will get booked for some more although I'm a lousy booker and sometimes too busy with my "other job" to travel a lot. And of course I will keep on making mash ups and my own tunes and post a few of them on my blogs over at www.evemassacre.org and www.myspace.com/eve_massacre
Thanks for having me for this interview, Paul!
Don't forget to preview, vote and download mashes made by Eve Massacre on the Eve Massacre Profile page
