CFCF
Michael Silver (aka CFCF) brings his Canadian expertise to electronic music.
CFCF (code name Michael Silver) started out like
many great musicians do - sitting in his room tinkering with ideas before
having that creative spark to make them into music. Building a personal
arsenal of electronic beats and vast knowledge of music, this Montreal native
soon busted out to become a mainstay in the city. Continents, his most recent release, reflects his overall maturity from bedroom to
venue with intricate compositions and a new, refreshing take on the electronic
music genre. HEAVE got a chance to catch up with CFCF via email and gain
some insight on his personal style.
HEAVE: You've been making music since your teen
years. What was the push to go from making music privately to publicly?
CFCF: It was just a matter of getting to a point
where I felt what I was making was good enough for other people to hear. Being
confident enough in a piece I produced to think that others might enjoy listening
to it as much as I enjoyed making it.
HEAVE: Is the audience in Canada any different than
in America? How do different countries receive your music?
CFCF: I have absolutely no clue. I
haven't detected any real difference in the way people in different countries
receive it. I'd think the majority of the feedback and communication about it
being online has taken away any particular differences and made it so that no
matter what country, it is a similar reaction.
HEAVE: I know on the road it's hard to eat healthy,
but you must encounter some awesome food. Have you eaten anything
extraordinary while touring?
CFCF: I haven't ever actually done a real tour. I did
a small tour around Europe in June but it was more of a vacation built around a
few DJ dates in different cities. The food that was served at the dinner I
played in Copenhagen was excellent though. I think it was braised beef and
potatoes. Really good.
HEAVE: The music video for "Crystal
Mines" and the artwork for Panesian Nights both come from the French film
Nuits Rouges or Shadowman. What about this film intrigues you?
CFCF: Only, really, the image of the villain in the
red mask. His costume is so extremely simple and he stands out in every frame.
In the close-ups of his face you sense real dread. It is so immediate and yet
so outlandish. Really, the movie is pretty poor and dull, but out of context
this character is really interesting to look at.
HEAVE: You use archive footage as the basis for the
music videos "Crystal Mines" and "You Hear Colours."
Is classic film a big interest for you, or do you find old films to be more
malleable for music videos?
CFCF: Film is a huge interest to me. I'm much more
interested in learning about how a filmmaker works than how a musician works.
The fact that both videos are made from old films, I guess it's just because I
have a cinematic feeling in mind when I work on the music. But I don't think of
films as just something to exploit for videos, of course not. I see movies as
something very important.
HEAVE: Modern electronic music can often be dance
driven or too upbeat for a casual listen, but Continent and Panesian Nights
offer a more chill and relaxed genre of electronica with a lot of rock
influence. What made you go in this direction personally?
CFCF: I'm necessarily trying to make
"chill" music, but just trying to make something that reflects the
way I want to listen to electronic music. I don't want to make music just for
dance floors and club settings, I think that there are already enough artists
who fill that role. I spend most of my nights in my home, I'm not one who
revels in the nightlife so the music tends to reflect that. Of course there are
club music influences that I can't deny, and I do like club music, but I guess
in my own music I've tried to filter it into a style that's more reflective of
a calmer setting.
HEAVE: Putting aside obvious differences, is
construction a remix more difficult or less difficult than creating something
by yourself? How easy is it to put your own style into someone else's
music?
CFCF: Depending on the song it can be a breeze or a
real challenge. If I'm working on something that doesn't quite mesh with my own
established style, it's a bit of a trial. If it gels perfectly it could be
finished in one day. At least when I'm working on my own music, it can go any
which way I want, and if it doesn't work out, I can scrap the whole thing.
There is more pressure with a remix, but it is satisfying when it works, often
just as satisfying as completing an original song.
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Dec 14, 2009 @ 9:00 am
