The latest offering to land from techno producer Holldën arrives in the form of his newly minted ‘Infinity Pools’ EP, which brings four fresh original tracks to his own Kuiper Noise imprint.
Previously the Portuguese artist has released music with labels such as Second State, trau-ma, and Quartz Rec, while Kuiper Noise has played host to productions from Buru and Destination Unknown.
We spoke to Holldën to talk about the new release, what we might see from both himself and Kuiper Noise in the near future, and his thoughts on the current state of the music industry. Get the full discussion below.
Hey Holldën, how are things in your life right now?
Hello. How’s my life? I really can’t say. I don’t make assessments like that. I just plow ahead, like a stubborn mule. I mean, I breathe, I work, I eat. What else is there to say? I guess I’m just taking a backseat and laughing at all the so-called “techno business”. Funny stuff.
With war going on, that’s about the only thing that can make one laugh these days. The techno diaspora, I mean. Not much different from the EDM diaspora, in turn not that different from the general musical industry. Egos, hustlers, jokers, winners, losers, fakers. The whole shebang.
You recently released your new ‘Infinity Pools’ EP on your own Kuiper Noise imprint, what message do you want to send with this one?
Never thought about the message. I’m not one of those “oooh-look-at-how-conceptual-my-conceptual-techno-record-is” kind of people. I don’t want to be conceptualized into oblivion. I just wanna improve my game every day and have my music resonate with people on a deeper level. To have someone, somewhere, remember when one of my tracks played as they were falling in love with that boy or girl on the dance floor.
You won’t get that from those random distorted farts people are turning to now, even formerly respectable artists. Modular fart music, I call it. It erupts with your typical intestinal confidence, stinks up the room for a while and then swooshes out the window, to everyone’s relief.
Do you ever second guess yourself when releasing on your own label?
Not these days. I’m very consistent now and my skills are only getting sharper. I mean, I released my share of crappy tunes some time ago, when I was starting out. Fortunately, only a handful of unfortunate souls got to endure those. But it’s never too late. Maybe your readers can go look for them — circa 2016/2017 — and have a laugh at my expense.
The label has previously released music from Buru, Destination Unknown, and Ülos Ovest. Who else might we see on there soon?
Just me. I only rarely indulge myself with Kuiper Noise these days. It’s fun to control the process. Other than that, it’s just a waste of money. Like everything else in this business if you’re not part of the cartelised 1%. But if I ever release someone else’s music on my label again, it won’t be anyone you’ll be seeing in Ibiza, that’s for sure.
Your own music has come on Second State, Trau-ma, and Quartz Rec. What else do you have planned for the near future?
I plan on getting an outrageous mask for my face and become the biggest asset in the industry. The other day I noticed someone playing on a famous livestream with a horse mask. Unsurprisingly, it was very entertaining, in the sense that it was utter shit. He or she will go far. No irony here. The industry has a boner for masked individuals.
But I’ll go bigger and bolder. They won’t stand a chance. I’ll get a neon peacock mask, complete with a full peacock suit. I’ll come on stage every night with my latex talons, donning my glorious sequin feathers, shaking my beautiful neon crest, just spraying trashy Britney Spears remixes all over the crowd and doing my randy peacock dance, waving my pointy claws in the air. Tour managers will be lining up for interviews. That’s my plan.
What’s your favourite label, besides your own?
On my files, I have a list with hundreds of techno labels in there. I know some are better than others, and some are bigger than others. But I wouldn’t be much of a man if I spent any time trying to figure out which one I like best. I’ll tell you what’s definitely not the best: my label.
Thanks a lot for answering our questions. Is there anything else you want to mention?
“Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry”. Winston Churchill.
Holldën – Infinity Pools EP is out now on Kuiper Noise.