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An insightful interview with Nicolas Oesch aka Mekkanikka
A Portrait of Mekkanikka : Paint your soul!
What influenced you to get into your field?
The combination of music production, sound designing and the party scene
As an artist, what role do you think you play in society?
The role of an outside perspective reflecting society itself
Creating on a regular basis can be a bloody tough job, so what motivates you to press
yourself into the workstation every single day?
I Don’t get in a creative space everyday. I try more to grasp a moment, a few days, from time to time and get it out and then leave the studio for a few days…it very easy since I live 5 min away from the beach in the barcelona area. 🙂
Do you get nervous before a performance?
Not so much anymore. I used to be much more nervous when I was playing in bands before getting on stage, since there was no computer making music but only humans.
What’s the story behind your artist name and project?
My friends call me Nikka for many years, when I was looking for a name for a solo project I stumble upon aa obscure comic book where this guy mechanica was going from one world to another to live some adventures. It spoke to me and since I am a big fan of Metallica, the name had a ringing to it that was pleasant to my ears.
Mekkanikka`s Inspirations
What other genres of music do you listen to? Name your influences.
I like every well produced music with a particular taste for electronic stuff. If it sounds good sonically I’m into it . Country is pretty much the only genre I don’t listen to.
Has the process of making music transformed you? In what way?
Maybe not the process of making music, but the life style that comes with it, the extensive travels, tours and experiencing different culture gave me a more global picture of what this human experience on this planet is all about, so i guess yes in a way music making transformed me into a “field anthropologist” working on a modern shamanic thesis. ^^
What is your muse? What inspires you? Tell us about your favourite piece of music, and the source that inspired it.
I like other forms of art. I get inspired by pictorial art, architecture, living in Barcelona is very fulfilling since there is such a great psychedelic culture here. From Gaudi to Dali and Picasso, the city is full of opportunities. one of my most favorite musical piece is probably Miles Davis and Gil Evans an album called “sketches of spain”, an adaptation of classical spanish flamenco influenced music. Probably one of the many more reason why I ended up in spain.
What’s your biggest temptation or vice, what can you not resist?
Weed, Ganja, Mary Jane, Pot, Grass, Herbs, Reefer, Da Chronic, the Bomb, the Kush, la Mota, whatever other name you might give it ^^
Face-off: Let’s get the grits on the table
What quality do you admire the most in others? What quality do you like about yourself the most?Honesty is something i enjoy in other people and in myself.
Which phase was the hardest/scariest in your life?
When we were attacked at the party I was playing at in Monterrey by “los Zetas” a narco cartel operating in the northern territories in mexico. They came in while I’d just had started my set, about 12 of them with guns and shotguns at an outdoor event near the city. I ended up escaping my had a gun in the back of my head for a little while….that was probably the most scariest shit ever……
Any embarrassing/funny moments? Yes, you’d hate to disclose your secrets but we’d love to
A while back I got drugged while playing at a party. someone spiked my drinks with gab I believe, and I believe these drinks where not intended to me. I finished my set…apparently…ended up partying on the dance floor for a few hours…and woke up the next morning in the room at the lodge i was staying at on party site and there was a donkey in my room…..that was probably the most funky moment eve…my door was open and apparently he was left out of his enclosure and sneaked in my room at some point. I was just standing there not able to go any further….^^
When have you been most satisfied in your life? Care to share one of your happiest
memories?
Probably my first live set in europe at the Voov festival back in 03 was quite a happy memory. the sound system was huge and I had lots of friends around.
Everyone starts somewhere, what was your first job before you got into music?
I Did a few jobs from Barista to waiter when i was living in the US, always part time so I could make musician one form or another.
Flash-forward in time. You are now really old. What would you tell your children/loved ones?
I Would tell them to live their life to the fullest, cause this shit goes fast, and it’s good shit 😉
Into the time machine again. What do you miss about being a kid?
The innocence and worry free feeling of just being. The carelessness of time. It s a crazy world we live in nowadays
Excessive chopping dulls the axe. Time-outs are a must. What do you do when you take time
off from creating? Got any hobbies? (Books? Movies? TV shows?
As I mentioned earlier I live 5 min walking distance from the beach here in spain, I make it a daily habit to go swim and enjoy the beautiful nature and weather we have down here. a true paradise.
Mekkanikka`s Ideology: Beliefs that bake your brain:
The genie comes out of the lamp and grants you one wish that will change the world.What would you wish for?
Erase all languages and make it a common one for all humans, hoping we could all communicate better with each other. How do you connect to the spiritual side of yourself?
I start my day with an hour of yoga followed by a little meditation.
Do you have any belief/beliefs that you cannot do without?
None that I am aware of
On the Scene:
Where do you think psytrance is headed? Future trends?Not sure where it s heading but I have noticed that over the years there is a recur ant cycle of BPM change. It goes faster for a few years and then slows down for a few years and then back up. Think we might be on an ascending trend atm.
What do you think of the scene at the present moment? What would you like changed or what
would like to see remain at status quo?
I wished there would be less politics and more music quality control. I end up putting ear plugs when the quality of what is being played is hurting my ears.
Piracy, works out negatively for the artist, but it allows listeners’ to access music that would otherwise be hard to source. Art should be shared…
in this light what are your thoughts on piracy vs. a price tag?
It seems the trend right now is going this way, free everything. It is cool for the consumer end of things, it also allows everything to be out there without a filter system. The problem is that the musical genius who is not very good at promoting himself might be never heard, whereas the promotional beast might be all over the place with not such exceptional genius traits.
Pearls: Words of Wisdom for reader and fans:
At the end of the ride, everyone’s looking for some form of success (tangible or not), what does success mean to you?
It means feeling happy and proud about the work you have achieved, and if there is recognition of it then it s a fantastic feeling
We are almost done. Give us a nutshell of the life philosophy/motto/mantra that you clutch close to your heart.
lokah: location, realm, all universes existing now
samastah: all beings sharing that same location
sukhino: centered in happiness and joy, free from suffering
bhav: the divine mood or state of unified existence
antu: may it be so, it must be so
What’s the best advice you have ever received?
Be truthful with yourself.
One word to describe yourself, and one word to describe music.
Passionate, Deep
Mekkanikka on facebook
unitedbeatsrecords.com
Mekkanikka on beatport
Mekkanikka on omega artists
