03.21.12Svoy News
06.28.11Grow Up, Automatons & IMAs
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S V O Y
A U T O M A T O N S
10th INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS
W I N N E R
BEST DANCE/ELECTRONICA SONG
12.10.10"Driving Away" video #65 on MTVMusic Electronic/Dance Top 100 Chart this week
11.19.10Svoy GAJOOB Magazine Interview
Interview by Bryan Baker on 11/17/2010
So, besides the new album, what's new for Svoy in the four years since Eclectric?
A lot of sudden and exciting turns happened in my career in the past few years. Since I released "Eclectric" independently back in late 2005, the album was picked up by Beverly Hills-based label Rendezvous Entertainmend/Universal Music Group Distribution, re-mastered, re-packaged and re-released nationally in the United States in May 2007 to great critical reception. I also was signed to a multi-album publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and an endorsement deal with Yamaha as a Digital Artist. Most of the sounds I have used on my records come from the amazing Yamaha Motif and Yamaha Motif XS, so this endorsement is a very special honor and is extremely exciting. The first album gained substantial popularity through Japan-based major CD retailers (such as HMV, Tsutaya and still-operating in Japan Tower Records) as an import. This resulted in album's eventual deluxe 2-CD edition release in Japan on Tokyo-based label called Thistime Records. Meanwhile, I finished working on the follow-up album "Automatons", featuring collaborations with two amazing artists/writers, Adam Levy and Ilya Lagutenko. The success of the first record in Japan led to "Automatons" being licensed and released by Tokyo-based legendary P-Vine Records with album and its single "Beautiful Thing" charting in Billboard Japan Top 100 Singles and Top 100 Independent Albums.
Tell me about your studio.
The studio is a laptop-based set up with a MacBook Pro, simple sound interface/mic pre, two Event TR5 monitors, a bunch of software plug-ins and samplers, a Yamaha Motif XS and a condenser mic. Luckily, this setup is pretty much all you need to make records these days.
Do you create meticulously or in a flash of inspiration?
It really depends – sometimes it takes just one evening to write and produce a song entirely. But sometimes it takes months and months before a song or a track takes shape.
Tell me everything about recording 25 AM.
"25 AM" is probably one of those tracks I had a certain goal for as far as sound, mix, arrangement, etc. It did take some time to materialize, but the way you hear this track now is pretty much the way I heard it in my head before recording.
Tell me about the future of music.
I am pretty certain that music in the long run will become a one big mashup of styles. For instance, if we only look at the way Electronic music has seamlessly integrated with Hip Hop and R&B in the past year alone, it'll become pretty evident that a single huge melting pot in music indeed exists and is extremely active. I also think, very soon people will be able to make great-sounding music without the necessity of having any prior musical training whatsoever, thanks to the rapidly evolving world of OS-based applications. Apple with its Garage Band may be very well on the way to creating a piece of software that in the future will help non-musician users write and produce great music with only a few clicks. But hey, speaking of the future, we're just heading backwards and seeing what's passed, right? ;^)
11.02.10"Automatons" reviewed by CelebrityCafe.com
Jesse Seilhan
Svoy
Automatons ✮✮✮✯✯
Svoy is a New York-based one-man band originally from the east of Russia. His new album, Automatons, shows his hand fairly well; a few pop hits, one smooth voice and fifteen different shades of the same color. After earning a degree in professional music and studying with some of the best in the world, Svoy demonstrates a layered sound that uses piano, bongos, and an electric approach to Indie rock. He is not afraid to explore tempos and soundscapes found off the beaten path of electronica, delving into up-tempo dance numbers as well as slow jams and digital freak outs.
With vocals like Mutemath and Jamiroquoi (and even a little John Mayer sometimes), this album uses electronics as the entire band. Some of the more subtle songs give off a Stabbing Westward vibe, blending slow tempo vibrating notes with soft spoken words. The level of grit on the track “Psychotherapist” is a sign of better things to come with this artist, offering insight into what could be a solid concept album with a pulse, not just auto-tuned club hits. One complaint would be overuse of auto-tune and digital help for his vocals, unlike say a fellow computer master like Trent Reznor who leverages the raw, imperfect sound of the human voice to match his precise robotic counterparts. The title track sounds better coming from him than used as a Ke$ha backtrack as it easily could.
Svoy is going to have a tough time convincing music fans that his heavy stuff is dense enough to please that crowd or that his pop stuff is complemented by similar tunes. Sadly, this album will only give the close-minded fan a taste of what they want, which leaves Svoy at a crossroads. Either he delves more into the digital side of electronica, or he branches out and introduces some more of a human element. Either path can lead to success, but only one will make him stand out in a world where anyone can essentially make this album in their bedroom. This man obviously understands the subtle complexities of music as an artform, and within a few years Svoy might be more than just an up-and-comer.
The album is set to release next Tuesday, November 2nd, and has already appeared on Billboard charts in Japan.
