BANGALORE: Overwhelmed by the amazing three dimensional quality of psy trance, it was love at first sound for Nate Raubenheimer. Popularly known as Protoculture, this psychedelic guru has given versatility and melody an entirely different perspective. Churning out tunes that have taken the international psy trance scenario by storm, this musical machine is now heading toward a more progressive and melodic style. Expresso catches up with Protoculture to find out more.
How many years have you been working under the project name Protoculture? Why that name?
I’ve been producing under that name for about nine years now. I originally got the name from an old classic anime cartoon I used to watch on TV as a kid called Robotech. Although, the word Protoculture means the ‘original’ or ‘first’ culture, which I thought was sort of cool as well.
In your career, what track would you consider being your ‘biggest hit’ and why?
It would be a toss up between More Directions, which was the track that really put Protoculture on the map back when the first album was released, or the remix to Binary Finary’s 1998 which was a massive hit for me.
n There have been many Protoculture imitators so far. How do you feel when you hear so many artists that have ripped off your sound?
You’ve gotta look at it as a compliment. I’ve taken inspiration from a lot of other artists as well. As an artist though, you’ve just gotta keep evolving ahead of the pack. I’ve been exploring new genres and styles now as well to keep the sound original.
Can you tell us about your first international trance release Superhighway Samurai?
I had barely started working on trance when this got liscensed from Nano Records to Spiral Trax in Sweden. It was really exciting for me at the time as I was among the first of the SA artists along with Rinkadink to make it onto international labels.
Tell us about Love Technology
Love Technology is my third studio album. It’s quite a milestone for me as the album was very much a transition from being previously purely psytrance, to something in between psy, progressive and trance. I wanted to do away with the traditional psy sounds that I’ve been finding a bit boring and create something new and more unique to my style.
Are you looking forward to Sunburn this year? What do you think of the EDM scenario in India?
Definitely, I’m super excited. I think the whole Indian scene is really on the up at the moment and there are some great artists performing there now on a regular basis.
Can you tell us about the biggest/craziest party (in terms of music) you have attended so far ?
Glastonbury music festival for one. It featured acts like Radiohead, James Brown, Paul McCartney, Depeche Mode, Orbital, Chemical Brothers and many more. Also, XXXperience in Brazil which had a massive 30,000 in attendance to see Paul van Dyk, Calvin Harris, Richy Hawtin, Mark Knight, Sasha, myself and a bunch of other artists.
n What is the most random thing anyone has said to you at a gig?
I had a girl in Belgrade, Serbia once ask me to marry her.
And the future of Protoculture is?
I am heading towards a more progressive and melodic style at the moment. It’s just what is really turning me on right now, and I have had some good success with the new sound with support from guys like Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Above and Beyond and many others. So, I guess we’ll have to see what happens from here on out.
akshata@expressbuzz.com