By tobias v

 Tomas Jirku’s fame is growing like a rhizome as an internationally recognised minimal techno composer. Jirku combines dub elements with haunting rhythms to reconstruct a sound which, although it borrows from Cologne and San Francisco, is distinctly his own. Mutek saw the launch of Substractif, the new Alien8 offshoot focusing on electronic minimalism that features Toronto’s Jirku and Montreal’s Mitchell Akiyama at the forefront. I had a chance to discuss Technotronic, minimalism and raving with Jirku over email. 

Discorder: First: your obsession with Technotronic. Any story behind it? 

[Discorder point-of-info: when Jirku played live in Vancouver, he remixed several Technotronic classics] 

Tomas: I've recently been able to appreciate that kind of techno again since contemporary techno has become so devoid of melody and vocals. My early musical tastes were shaped by groups like The Shamen, Technotronic, 808 State, etc. So when I throw some remixes of my favourite old techno tracks into my live sets, it's nostalgic for me and anyone in the audience with a similar appreciation. 

Discorder: A maddening question, but: what gear/software do you use? Especially with the Variations cd on Alien8. Some of the sounds (especially their processing) are extremely haunting. 

Tomas: I will only say that my production is done entirely on PC. Source samples from my recent productions have mostly been culled from my favourite funk and pop tunes, and then processed to such an extreme degree that the original is indiscernible. 

Discorder: What would you say if someone called your music "minimal techno"? Are you a "techno" producer? 

Tomas: I wouldn't object, it's a healthy genre to be associated with. But when I'm producing I have "house" on my mind rather than "techno," I like to keep things a little bit more funky than techno usually allows. 

Discorder: Would you call yourself a post-raver? What scene did you come out of, if any? 

Tomas: I have some raving in my past, but whole drug culture turned me off. And though I've been exposed to lots of music I've never really felt connected to any "scene." My tastes are too broad for me to narrow in on something. 

Discorder: What constitutes a "live" performance in the age of laptop artists? 

Tomas: If the person performing can take credit for the production of the music, then it's live to me. I don't need too be distracted by someone twiddling a whole bunch of knobs to be convinced that it's live, so as long as my ears are stimulated, I don't see a need for a multimedia/multisensory display. Though there seems to be a need/market for a DJ, I appreciate a live performance for the fact that you see the producer and that respect for the music is given where it's deserved. I've always felt that DJ culture directs a whole lot of unwarranted credit to people playing records. 

Discorder: Does your music attach itself to a certain sort of politics, or thinking/thought? 

Tomas: I don't connect myself to philosophies or politics. I prefer to think of my music as an exhibition of my aesthetic ideals, and to attach myself to something would only constrain me. And while minimalism is a pleasant aesthetic, it appears to have saturated our culture to the point where it has lost all context and meaning.