Sula Bassana Interview

Interview:

Thank you very much for agreeing to do this interview. You started your music carrier in a bands called Solaris and Yttrium, then you formed  Liquid Visions. What can you tell me about that experience?

I started as an electric musician, playing synthesizers, sequencers and drummachines only. But in early 90s I decided to stop this and try to play bass. We founded Liquid Visions in late 1994 and we started playing live in (I think it was) May 1995 and some later we recorded our first promotape, what some years later became our selftitled debut LP and CD.

You made four albums with Liquid Visions. The first one is from 1998 and its called Liquid Visions. I really like the vintage sound on the first release. In 2000 you released album called Endless Plasmatic Childhood Overdose that is kind of a tribute to Hawkwind. A great one I have to say. In 2002 you released Hypnotized, which is in my opinion your best release. Last album Liquid Vision did is called From the Cube. I would like if you could share few words about this releases you did with Liquid Vision?

The debut was recorded in one or two hours at the rehearsalroom, on a Fostex X-15 4-track-kassette recorder with 4 microphones! We made around 500 tapes, 500 LPs and 1000 CDs and sold them quickly! What a great success with very less expense! Nasoni-Records released the vinyl issue. Also the 2nd album Endless Plasmatic...

That was recorded also in the rehearsalroom, but that time with the built in microphones of a trashy Ghettoblaster! No one was thinking about recording for a release, it just happened and we liked what we jammed! The live song was recorded on a festival on a 2-track.

Hypnotized was a proper studiorecording that took weeeeeeks. I like the album a lot as well! From the Cube was our last recording, done in a cheap studio, while I left the band.

In 2000 we started a lot of recordings on my 8-track taperecorder but haven’t finished the vocals. But in 2005 Robert did the vocals and I mixed it, and Nasoni released it on CD and 2-LP as „The Lost Recordings“. Great album!!! Very psychedelic!

 

Besides the Liquid Visions you had many other music projects. Growing Seeds with album called Miraculous Journey from 1997 is one of them. Then around that time the project called Weltraumstaunen was born. You released two albums with the band. The first one is called Weltraumstaunen and it was released in 1999 and the second one is called Weltraumwelt and was released in 2004.

I joined Growing Seeds in their last year of existence (on drums), after they did the Miraculous Journey LP and CD. We traveled to Portugal and recorded a lot on my 8-track-kassetterecorder, but sadly never finished the recordings, except 3 tracks for a 7“ vinyl EP called Mr. Moog. 

We also recorded some tracks at that time and released it as Weltraumstaunen (mostly done by Andi and me). In 2004 Andi and me recorded the second album in one hazy week in Andi’s rehearsalroom in Bavaria.

Probably before Growing Seeds you formed Zone Six. You released many great albums. I would like if you can share your thoughts about Zone Six? How it was born etc.

It was born by surprise. Because Liquid Visions got a festival gig offer but couldn’t play there. So I grabbed Hans-Peter (guitarist of Liquid Visions ) and Claus Bühler (ex-drummer od L.V.) and we started a kosmik jam project. That was in August or september 1997. One week before the festival we recorded a jamsession in a rehearsalroom of some friends (The Butlers, thanks again!) and I produced our first tape out if it, adding some synthscapes and some slight overdubs. Later we recorded Jodi Barry’s vocals to that stuff and that became our debut CD. Jodi left in early 1998, before the CD release. Later the line-up changed a lot and we did 2 more studio-albums (on Sunhair-Records), one live CD/2-LP (on Nasoni-Records) and a compilation with outtakes and unreleased stuff (on Sulatron-Records). We just started new recordings in a new line-up, with Lulu and Alex (from Electric Moon), Paul Pott (ex-bassplayer of Vibravoid), Martin (old Zone Six member, also Modulfix) and me. There will be a split LP with Vespero (from Russia) and a new CD or CD-R later this year!

 

If we go to year 2002. You released album called Dreamer, which is an amazing album. Psychedelic/Space rock in the 60's/70's mold that blends Steve Hillage style glissando guitar, Hawkwind bass lines and trance states, and general Floydian atmospheres. What are your strongest memories from the recording session and the production of the LP?

ppfffhhhh, hhhmmmmm.... It’s a kind of collection of my earliest recordings where I play all instruments by myself (bass, guitars, drums, synthesizers, organ, sitar...). The whole thing took long to the finishing. Like all my solo-albums. The Night took years as well and my very new one, what is at Eroc’s ranch for mastering now, also took years!
Ah, by the way, there was a split LP of Vibravoid and Sula Bassana on Nasoni-Records, but it’s sold out since years!

Sulatronics was your next release in 2003. This one is electronic/ambiental piece of music which is very hypnotic. It was released only on CD in limited copies (100?)...

Yes, limited to 100 and sold out. After some years with Liquid Visions I recorded some electronic music tracks here and there (I think it was between 1995 and 1998) and released then on this CD-R. I still love old Synthesizers and Drummachines!

Neumeier Genrich Schmidt is another project you started with legendary Mani Neumeier (drums) and Ax Genrich (guitar). I actually did an interview with Mani two weeks ago!!!


This must have been an amazing experience for you. Playing with two of the most legendary musicians. You recorded together two albums. The first one is a live album from 2004 and it's called Psychedelic Monsterjam. Its a killer!

Thanks a lot!

 

Then one year later you released another album called The Intergalactic Travel Agency. What can you tell me about this project. It must been a great experience for you to play with Mani and Ax?

It was very interesting! We invited Ax for some gigs with Zone Six also! Ax can play really mindexpanding. But he is very shy and sometimes too shy on stage. The opposite of Mani. He is an entertainer and entertains too much! 

2006 was a very busy year for you. You released several albums. Endless Winter is your solo project. Its ambiental and very psychedelic. It slowly start to hypnotize you. Then you released Electric Orange & Sula Bassana album. How was working with Electric Orange?

I met Dirk Müller of Electric Orange in 1991 on a Electronic Music Festival in east-Berlin’s Planetary, where I played with my project. We became friends instantly but met very seldom. Electric Orange recorded their stuff without bassplayer and asked me later if I like to record a bass for that album. And I did. I like Electric Orange very much!

Sula Bassana and Friends was another project. You released album called Spaced Out. It's over two hours of seemingly improvised space jams with ambiental parts. Pretty much far out. I have been blowned away few times! Then you also did a project called Sula Bassana and The Nasoni Pop Art Experimental Band with album called Vol. 1. What can you tell me about this release?

Chris and Jürgen (both from Johnson Noise. Chris became Liquid Visions drummer in the last years) recorded some jams on drums and bass at their holidays on the island Hiddensee. They asked me if I like to finish these recordings with guitars or whatever. So I did. Later Silke from Growing Seeds joined me for doing some more songs.

The last one from 2006 is called Südstern 44, with an album The Dampfwalze and another album called just Südstern 44. What can you tell me about this?

Silke, Julius (from Zone Six) and me founded Südstern 44 just for having some fun. I was playing the drums in Südstern 44. Our rehearsalroom was near a square called Südstern  and we all lived in Berlin (postal-area-) 44. Short time before I left Berlin I invited Zone Six drummer Walter for Südstern 44. After a Zone Six tour we jammed with Walter on drums and me on second guitar. This jam became The Dampfwalze.

Moving on. Sula Bassana & Modulfix is a project you have with Modulfix. He played synthesizer with you in Zone Six. Dämmerung was your first release from 2007. Then you released Half Past Six also in 2007. You created an amazing music. It is so trippy and I really dig the electronics.

What can you tell me about this two releases? How do you like it and how it was recorded? Why only 100 copies?

Martin (Modulfix) and me did a lot of recordings over the years, but never finished and released stuff. But in 2007 we recorded more straight and finished some albums. And in case of very less money and self-confidence we decided to do CD-R issues.

 

Let's go further up the road in your amazing discography. Silent Music is your next solo release from 2009. Along with this release you released Pingpong with Modulfix. Another groovy project you did is called Interkosmos, with release called Интеркосмос. That is some spacey music out there. Tell me about this releases?

Pfffffhhhh.... I do a lot of recordings here and there, so sometimes there is a nice bunch for a release. Silent Music is a collection of very quiet songs. Pingpong is one long jam from the late 90s. You hear it forward and backward. That’s funny for my taste and a nice spaced out piece as well.

Interkosmos was a jamproject with Sergio Ceballos (of the Spanish band RIP KC, on guitar), who moved to Austria, where I lived for a few years. And Bernhard Fasching (aka Pablo Carneval) of The Blowing Lewinsky on drums. Bernhard later bacame the drummer of Electric Moon. We jammed together 2 evenings and I produced the album out of these two jams very quick. We had some gigs in Austria and Spain.

Brain Wash was you last album witzh Modulfix, right?

Yes, and the best for my opinion!

 

Around 2010 you started a very interesting project called Electric Moon. You have now released 4 album + live one. Firstly you released Lunatics by which I was amazed. Live at Epplehaus 2010 is your live release with this project. Along with Electric Moon you were doing on your solo releases. Albums like Sulatronics 2 and The Night were recorded.

My solo stuff was some time before we took off with Electric Moon. Electric Moon was invented by my girlfriend Lulu (on bass. She also made all the great covers for Electric Moon and some for Sula Bassana, please take a look to www.myspace.com/luludesign), Bernhard Fasching (aka Pablo Carneval) on drums (now replaced by Alex) and me on guitar. We recorded some jams and produced the albums very quick. Our first gig happened at legendary Duna Jam and we later played shows with Vibravoid, Farflung, Ufomammut and more. A great start for a new band! Nasoni-Records released 1 CD and 2 LPs yet, and Sulatron 3 CD-Rs! In less than one year!!!

Your latest solo album is called Kosmonauts.

It’s the „official version“ of Sulatronics 2, with new cover by Lulu, slightly changed versions and proper mastering by Eroc. Very spacey ambient electronic chill out stuff!

The Night was my second psychedelicrock solo album. A great spacrock trip!

 

This year in 2011 you already released Lunatics Revenge with Electric Moon and Inferno. On the Inferno there are only two songs on it. Inferno is so far out! I love long spacy jams. That's it!

Yes, we love it also! We also released a 2-CD-R called live at Immerhin Würzburg. From our last show with Pablo Carneval on drums. A very psychedelic trip!

Besides all the music project you are into you also have your own record label called Sulatron Records. You are releasing some very groovy bands. Electric Orange, Øresund Space Collective, THTX, The Movements and Vibravoid... How do you get in contact with this bands? I am also amazed how do you find time for all this work you are doing?

Most of these band are friends or friends of friends! J It started with the Dreamer CD, followed by norwegean friends Seid and their friend Annot Rhül and so on... It kills too much time! But my label brings almost enough money for living. And that’s good!

What are some of your future plans?

Releasing a new Sula Bassana CD, new Electric Orange CD and more stuff of Electric Moon and Vibravoid. A split-LP of Electric Moon and Glowsun is planned also.

Touring? Where can we see you in the future?

You always find our tourdates at www.sulatron.com or on the bandpages at myspace and facebook  . Myspace became too slow and buggy, so I can’t update the dates there! But you find us on facebook...

There are 2 gigs with Zone Six yet, and some more with Electric Moon.

I would also like to hear some groovy concert experience you have.

There are some CD-Rs of our concerts! ;-)
Come to a show! And if our gigs are too far from you, organize us some in your area! ;-)

When can I see you performing in my home country Slovenia, at Metelkova (avenue for underground movement)?

No idea...

Thanks for you time and effort, Dave. Would you like to share anything else about the band or yourself, that I didn't ask?

Electric Moon rules! We have shirts and stickers and stuff available! Please help us to survive and buy our music and stuff at www.sulatron.com!!! Don’t download too much, we need to sell our music, otherwise we must quit and go to work in a factory or so! THANKS!!!
And thanks to you Klemen, for this long interview!

Interview made by Klemen Breznikar / 2011

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